Online Distribution

Online Distribution?

With publishing methods like Steam, Vapour Online, and even FileFront, it seems like everyone is trying to scramble to become the largest digital distributor of all. Yeah, sure there are tons of these guys all over the place. Some small shops have started putting up their own shopping carts and building web based distribution methods, meanwhile apps like Steam and Vapour Online act as their own independent installation mechanisms.

Steam seems to be the poster child for digital distribution, and seems to be the only one to get the largest customer base, however even they still requires an extra publisher to get to store shelves. In the case of the most popular Steam title, Half-Life 2, they went with EA to put the game out there in your favorite stores. However, the market data has not been published, I estimate that for every one copy sold in stores, there are at least two copies purchased online.

Before Steam popped up, I was paying very close attention to a little known legal battle between the giant publisher, Vivendi, and the tiny little developer, Valve. It was a real life David vs. Goliath, considering Half-Life 1 was the first game of the ex-Microsoft employee, and founder of Valve, Gabe Newell. It was primarily developed using Id Software’s Quake engine and modified to support all the animations they were handling. With sales of Half Life 1 well below publishers acceptable standards initially, it wasn’t until the Counter Strike mod was developed and published that Half-Life became a hit. Vivendi was on the verge of pulling it from store shelves then came a miracle from outside Valve’s control. Now with the resources and popularity gaining, they started working on a sequel, meanwhile fighting the publisher for license agreements with internet gaming cafés. In the midst of it all, Gabe made a bold move and started working on Steam.

When news of the victory of Valve hit the streets, people inside the industry, including me I might add, shouted out “Death to the Publishers!” After a week of talking it over with my buddies, I realized that this was merely the first step. Publishers aren’t going away any time soon!

While steam may have something here, with being the largest “first to market” in the online distribution world, they also have a lot of room to improve, most notably the requirement to be online to play the game. This can be a huge inconvenience to the end user.

Everyone is racing to create the largest network of games and mods and trying to compete, head to head in many cases, to gain the largest audience. Since Valves bold first moves, file sharing sites such as FilePlanet have tripled their daily bandwidth usage. Is this becoming a reality? Have we finally entered the age of digital distribution?

When little Timmy wakes up Christmas morning, will he be scanning his computer for the latest downloads instead of unwrapping the game? Will he be pouring over some PDF file instead of cracking open the manual?

Wait, before I go any further! The concept of “the game manual” shipping with games has died! Last game I know of that had a manual was Black and White. Ever since then, the manual typically consists of a page or two about how to install the game and then nothing more.

Okay, back to the subject at hand! In short, little Timmy is safe. While hardcore gamers may adapt the distributor of their choice, sometimes basing their decisions on how intrusive is the distribution software, and how quickly can I get this game, the casual gamer will still head to the local store to pick up the boxed version of the game. Why? Because having a box is something that is tangible, something that can be added to the shelf above the computer to be put proudly on display, whereas something that is downloaded is just… well… boring!

-Ken Noland