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[cyberheater]

Just seen on ***** that there are companys who are working on whole games that the 360 can download! These games might never hit a retailer.

Now forgetting that we're talking 360 here. How do you feel?

Would you buy downloadable games for 360/PS3?

 

[Bebpo]

I dunno, there are a ton of negatives associated with this (download time, limited HD space, having to redownload in the future if you want to play again, etc...) So the game would have to be selling for like $20-30 vs. retail $50-60 if they want any sales.

 

[Lakitu]

Uh.. please.

(*****)

 

[Scalemail Ted]

Im assuming you're talking about smaller arcadey games, right?

 

[cyberheater]

Yes. I think cost would be key here. I don't know how much money retailers make on games but the fact that there is no media/manual/case etc would save a lot of money.

Also, it would be great for world wide distribution. The minute the game goes 'Gold' you'll be able to download it (providing the servers can handle the load).

 

[gofreak]

I think downloadable games are the future, but I'm not sure if the bandwidth and/or storage space is there to make it anything more than of minority interest next gen. Again, though, within the next 10 or 20 years I see larger and larger shifts away from the current dynamic of buying a game in a box at a local retailer. Eventually I hope developers will be able to sell games directly themselves, raise their own VC, and for the most part cut out publishers. And oh, what a happy day that would be.

Personally, for me, I could download a 1GB game in about 45 minutes assuming I was being fed as fast as my connection can take it. Which would possibly make that technically viable (i'm not sure what a typical game's size is though).

 

[cyberheater]

Im assuming you're talking about smaller arcadey games, right?

No. Full blown games.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

I think it's just going to be for arcade games. I have serious doubts about full blown games being downloadable.

 

[cyberheater]

I think downloadable games are the future, but I'm not sure if the bandwidth and/or storage space is there to make it anything more than of minority interest next gen. Again, though, within the next 10 or 20 years I see larger and larger shifts away from the current dynamic of buying a game in a box at a local retailer. Eventually I hope developers will be able to sell games directly themselves, raise their own VC, and for the most part cut out publishers. And oh, what a happy day that would be.

I'd like to see rentable games. Times in the past i've gone out and bought a game only to play it for a couple of days and get bored with it and have wasted the money.

 

[PhatSaqs]

http://public.garagegames.com/marketing/press/June052005.html

"We’ve got several exciting projects on the horizon including a killer casual game being developed in partnership with another company and a downloadable title for the upcoming Xbox 360.

 

[cyberheater]

I think it's just going to be for arcade games. I have serious doubts about full blown games being downloadable.

At least one dev is working on a full blown dl content game

Gossip was strengthened by GarageGames President Mark Frohnmayer, who said, "GarageGames now has three powerful engines, and we're constantly improving our development toolset. We've got several exciting projects on the horizon including a killer casual game being developed in partnership with another company and a downloadable title for the upcoming Xbox 360."

 

[DarienA]

A full fledged full blown big production game? Or a $19.99 Narc special?

You make the call!

 

[gofreak]

If MS makes dev kits cheaply available to indies, and allows their games to be buyable and downloadable over Live, that'd be great. The article cyberheater refers to mentions GarageGames, which is all about indie publishing etc.

Indie publishing and devving obviously is rooted in PC land, but assuming X360 ports were quick and easy (and they should be), this would be a really nice way to expose themselves to the console market.

I'm not sure how many "big" publishers would avail of this - they have important retail relations to maintain for now at least - but who knows.

 

[cyberheater]

LOL... I take it the "S" word's not allowed here...

 

[cyberheater]

If MS makes dev kits cheaply available to indies, and allows their games to be buyable and downloadable over Live, that'd be great. The article cyberheater refers to mentions GarageGames, which is all about indie publishing etc.

Indie publishing and devving obviously is rooted in PC land, but assuming X360 ports were quick and easy (and they should be), this would be a really nice way to expose themselves to the console market.

I'm not sure how many "big" publishers would avail of this - they have important retail relations to maintain for now at least - but who knows.

Well, that's the point isn't it. Big publishers don't have to get involved.

I would imagine that Valve would def go for something like this for next gen consoles.

 

[Scalemail Ted]

trust me, even if it was allowed here..you shouldnt use it, simply to maintain credibility.

 

[cyberheater]

trust me, even if it was allowed here..you shouldnt use it, simply to maintain credibility.

True and noted

 

[gofreak]

Well, that's the point isn't it. Big publishers don't have to get involved.

I would imagine that Valve would def go for something like this for next gen consoles.

They would, though only if they had complete control and took all the revenue. If MS was just becoming another middleman..

 

[Ghost]

"Casual title" sounds a hell of a lot like "arcade game" in my head.

 

[cyberheater]

They would, though only if they had complete control and took all the revenue. If MS was just becoming another middleman..

Knowing Valve. That sounds about right.

The more I think about it. The more I like the idea of downloadable games. I can imagine that a small startup indie just might make something really special available for download. Something simple but really addictive if the game idea was good.

 

[gofreak]

The more I think about it. The more I like the idea of downloadable games. I can imagine that a small startup indie just might make something really special available for download. Something simple but really addictive if the game idea was good.

Yeah, it would be nice to have some truly standout titles that become popular, if only to prove the viability of the model. Leveraging the network, word of mouth etc, for promotion should be feasible.

The ideal would be if MS released something like the Linux kit on PS2 for hobbyist development, and allowed people to develop games and provide them for public download. It'd probably be the ultimate embodiment of the whole "user-created content" theme that's being pushed. I'd like to see Sony do something similar too - they've already exhibited their willingness to allow for hobbyist development, and now they should provide a means to expose it for public consumption. Interest in that kind of dev would increase subsequently also.

 

[Redbeard]

I could see an online multiplayer-only game working well with this model. You could just download the game map by map, as much or as little as you want.

 

[cyberheater]

Yeah, it would be nice to have some truly standout titles that become popular, if only to prove the viability of the model. Leveraging the network, word of mouth etc, for promotion should be feasible.

The ideal would be if MS released something like the Linux kit on PS2 for hobbyist development, and allowed people to develop games and provide them for public download. It'd probably be the ultimate embodiment of the whole "user-created content" theme that's being pushed. I'd like to see Sony do something similar too - they've already exhibited their willingness to allow for hobbyist development, and now they should provide a means to expose it for public consumption. Interest in that kind of dev would increase subsequently also.

Homebrew dev tools would be great. And using the micro-transaction model of the new Xbox live, you can share/sell your apps to other 360 users. It could be the birth of micro-devs

 

[sprsk]

if they are xbox games, no way.

 

[Trustus Jones]

Can`t say i`m bothered about full games cause of the lack of HD space and time taken to DL which has already been mentioned. What would be nice though is downloadable demos of the latest up and coming titles, instead of having to spend £6 on the offical xbox mag just to try them out.

 

[cyberheater]

Can`t say i`m bothered about full games cause of the lack of HD space and time taken to DL which has already been mentioned. What would be nice though is downloadable demos of the latest up and coming titles, instead of having to spend £6 on the offical xbox mag just to try them out.

I think MS have already stated that demo's will be available.

I'm hoping Nintendo and Sony do the same.

 

[CabbageRed]

I would love to see smaller devs get a shot via a game download system (Live/Rev Online published). Some of my favorite games on the PC are from small teams that don't have the resources to make it toretail game, but definitely have good ideas and an obvious love for their game.

 

[shuri]

Sadly the problem will be the hd space; which may be fixed by the fact that the hd is detachable. On my connection, a full dvd image takes around 4 hours and a half to download. That's 4.5gb, and most games werent that big. If x360 had a steam-like system for buying games and preloading them, I would buy _EACH_ and _EVERYONE_ of them online. They could mail me the manual.

Hell I bought Half-Life 2 that way, and I never had any problems. I wouldnt mind buying them that way if they lowered the price by about 10$

 

[cyberheater]

I could see an online multiplayer-only game working well with this model. You could just download the game map by map, as much or as little as you want.

I like this idea. Sort of episodic gaming. Great.

 

[gofreak]

Homebrew dev tools would be great. And using the micro-transaction model of the new Xbox live, you can share/sell your apps to other 360 users. It could be the birth of micro-devs

Not the birth - they're already there. On PC. Stuff like this would open up opportunities for them in consoles howeer.

There's two types of indie dev - the hobbyist and the more professional outfits. Certainly for the latter at least, there'd be great opportunities in consoles.

 

[Unison]

I imagine it would function something like the Yahoo Games service, where after a brief initial download, games "stream" to your drive as you play them...

 

[cyberheater]

Yes. Not all games need to be epic FMV filled blockbusters.

A Console based community game builder would be an addictive 'game' in it's own right.

If the tools were easy enough to use. The community could build whole worlds from the ground up. Folks could map out there neighbourhood and the devs could add the detail.

Super GTA anyone.