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Social Gaming: A Concept Digital Distribution Doesn't Agree With.

It’s an interesting time for the video games industry. On one hand – you have the likes of the Wii and its army of peripherals selling like crazy. Such items like the Wii’s Balance Board, Wheel, Zapper and Motion Plus will only ever be available from retail stores; and they sell like mad. On the opposing hand you have Sony’s PSP Go, a handheld system designed with digital downloads in mind undercutting the traditional retail stores. The video game industry seems to be moving in two conflicting directions at alarming rates.

It seems like the majority of people like something tangible with their games. The Wii is evidence of that, but even moves from Sony and Microsoft suggests that peripherals are widely accepted. Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk Ride all suggest that we’re in an age where physical objects make the gaming experience more accessible. Yet they’re all objects that can only ever be acquired from a store, and to that degree a specialist store. Stocking the likes of Rock Band and Guitar Hero takes up a lot of space and as such the games industry rely on the likes of the US’ Gamestop and UK’s GAME and Gamestation to stock this kind of stuff. Yet essentially the industry are cutting such retailers out.

The PSP Go will be one of the first mainstream systems to offer a fuck-you to the common retailer. STEAM, PSN and XBOX Live Arcade have hinted at it for years. It just strikes me as really interesting that at a time when the industry is looking towards a future of digital downloads, the biggest selling games of the time are tangible products that would never work solely as a digital purchase. It makes me question how retailers are preparing for the switch.

In the long haul, the traditional game retailer makes money from the likes of hardware and used games. Used games are something that become a thing of the past, and hardware will no longer have the “attachment” figures tagged onto them. That’s something I find really interesting. Does it mean that in the future high-street video game retailers will solely stock peripherals? Is that a viable model compared to the current one? And if they don’t, and digital downloads eventually kill the retailer, where will consumers buy their peripherals that the market so desperately claims people want?

I feel like the industry is moving in separate directions.

“Twiggy” is an anonymous PushSquare columnist who has been spotted in three major cities across the globe. It’s rumoured he’s on the run from the British monarchy who accused him of treason.

Previous entries in the “Twiggy” range:

• The Ideas Presented In Mirror’s Edge & Red Faction Guerrilla Will End Up Everywhere – “Twiggy” The PushSquare Opinionator
• The Importance Of Exposure Against An E3 Splash: Which Is More Important?
• Sony’s Wand Technology Sent Out A Fierce Message To Competitors Hours After They Comfortably Assumed Victory
• Sony’s First, Second & Third Party Alliances Will Ensure A Thrilling E3 2009 Showcase
• Playstation 3 Is Platformed Out With Bionic Commando & inFamous This Week, And It Reminds Me How Much I Love Super Mario 64
• In A Year Dominated By Blockbuster Sequels, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain Vision Could Be The Diamond In The Rough
• Here’s What I’d Request In The PSP Go! If I Had A Job At Sony & A Say In Such Things
• Does The Playstation 3 Need Motion-Control & How Will Sony Apply It?
• Why Did Guerilla’s Killzone 2 Force Me To Kill The More Interesting Good Guys? I Hate The ISA!
• Sony’s E3 2009 Press Conference Could Be The Biggest In History & A Turning Point In Software Perception
• A Playstation 3 Pricecut Could Cripple Sony So Stop Asking For It