UK Game retailers feeling the end of the cycle pinch

Gamers are starting to download more and more games through their PC, smartphones, handhelds and consoles. No wonder retailers are feeling the pinch. I will admit that in 2012, I bought three PC games (Rift, Old Republic and Guild Wars 2). I only bought Guild Wars 2 from the stores. Downloading, especially a PC game felt easy. WE are already used to downloading and the best thing (this is for all digital copies) is that if you need to re-install it again, you can just go to the site and download the client again. Simple. Physical copies have the common problem of getting scratch, costing more and requiring the user to physically go to the store to get it. Granted, many people still like that experience, but as the article pointed out, others hate being told what to get sometimes because the store people are pushing certain titles to make their numbers look good. If digital copies of games were a bit cheaper, then you would see people download more. Or why not offer different pre-order bonuses to drive that adoption. I'm sure that its a lot harder to do than us gamers think. There are many relationships that rely on the physical distribution of goods, and its going to be that way for a while.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-12-13-retail-limps-to-the-finish-line-after-a-tough-2012