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(34)Previews
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News
(34)Previews
Review
Videos
(5)Screenshots
(12)Cheats and Walkthroughs
News
(34)Previews
Review
Videos
(5)Screenshots
(12)Cheats and Walkthroughs
A report from industry analyst and Newzoo CEO Peter Warman imagines that the release of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 will be download only. According to Warman, download only releases would allow publishers to "launch games faster, create continuous revenues on a title and simply to make more money."
In Warman's vision of the future, you'll still be able to buy GTA 5 in stores, but you won't be buying anything but a number. "Retail will always remain an important channel to promote and distribute games. Retail has a strong hand to play when it comes to eyeballs and… boxes make a nice gift. Boxed games will not disappear, but what is in the box will. That is why the boxed GTA V version will contain a collectible piece of merchandise and a download code. No disc," Warman said.
With all due respect the NewZoo and Peter Warman, I doubt Grand Theft Auto 5 will be download only. The speculation here at G4-central is that Grand Theft Auto 5 could be released at the end of 2012 -- no inside knowledge; that's just our best-guess, judging by the timing of the announcement and Rockstar's previous release schedule. That means Warman is predicting (or envisioning) a total industry re-alignment in the next year.
While it makes a certain sense in terms of ease-of-use, on the other hand, many, many consumers buy boxed discs and like it that way. I seriously doubt Rockstar/Take 2 will offer up their flagship title on the altar of an experiment in changing consumer patterns. Not to mention the logistical nightmare the download times and network stability would create on launch day, the extra money spent on "re-educating" more casual consumers on downloads, and a thousand other hurdles that I don't think anyone wants to jump in the next year or so.
What do you think? Are AAA games destined for download only status at some point in the near future? How long will it be?
Oh, and make sure you tune in to G4 tomorrow, where will be featuring the first Grand Theft Auto 5 video/trailer for ya!
Source: Industry Gamers
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Comments
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RelicCastle
To be honest I HOPE THE GAME IS DOWNLOAD ONLY!!!!!!! IM SICK OF THE FREELOADERS BUYING GAMES AT RETAIL STORES USED!!!!!!!! It is the whole point of why games cost so much in the first place is because you got the poor people buying used,which makes the industry charge 70 dollars a pop because there losing money on the freeloaders buying used.....I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL IT ALL GOES DOWNLOADING FOR ALL GAMES ON THE XBOX 360....EVERY GAME THAT I HAVE BOUGHT IN BOX FORM IN THE PAST,IM GOING BACK AND REPURCHASING THEM ON XBOX 360 AS DOWNLOADS NOW!!!!!!!!.....THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD MISS ABOUT BOXED GAMES IS THE COLLECTORS EDITION SWAG THAT COMES WITH GAMES....BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PREVENT THE FREELOADERS FROM PAYING THERE FAIR SHARE OF A PRICE OF A NEW GAME.....WHICH IN THE FUTURE WOULD DRIVE DOWN THE PRICE OF A GAME....MORE PEOPLE BUYING NEW AT NEW PRICE OF A GAME=DRIVING THE PRICE OF A GAME DOWN!!!!!!!COMMON SENSE
RelicCastle
To be honest I HOPE THE GAME IS DOWNLOAD ONLY!!!!!!! IM SICK OF THE FREELOADERS BUYING GAMES AT RETAIL STORES USED!!!!!!!! It is the whole point of why games cost so much in the first place is because you got the poor people buying used,which makes the industry charge 70 dollars a pop because there losing money on the freeloaders buying used.....I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL IT ALL GOES DOWNLOADING FOR ALL GAMES ON THE XBOX 360....EVERY GAME THAT I HAVE BOUGHT IN BOX FORM IN THE PAST,IM GOING BACK AND REPURCHASING THEM ON XBOX 360 AS DOWNLOADS NOW!!!!!!!!.....THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD MISS ABOUT BOXED GAMES IS THE COLLECTORS EDITION SWAG THAT COMES WITH GAMES....BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PREVENT THE FREELOADERS FROM PAYING THERE FAIR SHARE OF A PRICE OF A NEW GAME.....WHICH IN THE FUTURE WOULD DRIVE DOWN
RelicCastle
To be honest I HOPE THE GAME IS DOWNLOAD ONLY!!!!!!! IM SICK OF THE FREELOADERS BUYING GAMES AT RETAIL STORES USED!!!!!!!! It is the whole point of why games cost so much in the first place is because you got the poor people buying used,which makes the industry charge 70 dollars a pop because there losing money on the freeloaders buying used.....I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL IT ALL GOES DOWNLOADING FOR ALL GAMES ON THE XBOX 360....EVERY GAME THAT I HAVE BOUGHT IN BOX FORM IN THE PAST,IM GOING BACK AND REPURCHASING THEM ON XBOX 360 AS DOWNLOADS NOW!!!!!!!!.....THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD MISS ABOUT BOXED GAMES IS THE COLLECTORS EDITION SWAG THAT COMES WITH GAMES....BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PREVENT THE FREELOADERS FROM PAYING THERE FAIR SHARE OF A PRICE OF A NEW GAME.....WHICH IN THE FUTURE WOULD DRIVE DOWN
RelicCastle
To be honest I HOPE THE GAME IS DOWNLOAD ONLY!!!!!!! IM SICK OF THE FREELOADERS BUYING GAMES AT RETAIL STORES USED!!!!!!!! It is the whole point of why games cost so much in the first place is because you got the poor people buying used,which makes the industry charge 70 dollars a pop because there losing money on the freeloaders buying used.....I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL IT ALL GOES DOWNLOADING FOR ALL GAMES ON THE XBOX 360....EVERY GAME THAT I HAVE BOUGHT IN BOX FORM IN THE PAST,IM GOING BACK AND REPURCHASING THEM ON XBOX 360 AS DOWNLOADS NOW!!!!!!!!.....THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD MISS ABOUT BOXED GAMES IS THE COLLECTORS EDITION SWAG THAT COMES WITH GAMES....BUT THAT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO PREVENT THE FREELOADERS FROM PAYING THERE FAIR SHARE OF A PRICE OF A NEW GAME.....WHICH IN THE FUTURE WOULD DRIVE DOWN
sfutkmtc2
that would be so stupid....it would just be more money you have to spend to enjoy games, i mean just the console and the disk combined are almost 300 dollars...and then high speed internet, xbox live....my god!!!!!!
mafia940
this looks soooooo sick i need to get it badly.
matthewk519
no way!!!! I like to have DVD of each of my game. I done want to wait hours and waste my bandwith downloading the game. want buy a game put DVD to my PS3 and start playing. this is what the fun is about. have a nice looking box or collection edidtion you opened and there in the middle is a DVD not any dowloade kodes this will disapointed me.
Kelryth
I hope not, I'd rather have a disk then have to waste my bandwidth downloading the game.
imdave
The analyst is an idiot.
georgia21
they would be loseing to much money if they did that. i hate download anything why should i have to download sumthing that should already be in the game i payed 60 bucks for so why should i pay for sumthing that should be in the game. an downloading a whole game just isnt a good idea it would take up to much space on the hard drives an not every one has internet.
Kidmafia
Here's the thing, I'd buy it via download if I had to. In all reality this probably won't happen because though the industry is VERY greedy lately I HIGHLY doubt they'd want to do something so drastic that could really ruin them. Remember the PSP GO? Yeah...me neither. Gamers (Hardcore and Casual) aren't ready for this and won't be for a long time. And if we're not ready, the industry isn't ready either.
Now I could see this being something that occurs with re-released games. And we already have, look at the Wii-Virtual Console. And Crysis, RE4, RE Code Veronica, and the Dream Cast games on XBLA. I could also see this for something like the Halo C.E. Anniversary. But in terms of a brand new AAA title that nobody has played before and is damn well not an arcade game. Be prepared to keep hitting that "Disk Open, Disk Close" button for a while because it is not going anywhere.
qec
Download only doesn't make sense because internet is not universal. Some people that play games may not have the internet, or the internet may be so slow that it takes too long to download a full game, especially in rural areas.
I think it would be awesome to be able to download brand new games on release day for the consoles. But that isn't even the case right now for games that have disc releases. Has there ever been games yet that are on Xbox Games on demand on the same day they are released in stores? I think it would hurt my wallet a bit more because I would buy a lot more games as soon as they come out. The only game i have bought recently is Arkham City, but I would no doubt have already bought Battlefield 3 if I could just download it at home before I go to work some morning. Instead of having to go to best buy, get the little plastic card off the rack, wait in line for the cash listening to some incessant kids chattering, then wait again for the cashier to go get the game out of the padlocked gun cabinet they keep the games in, then have some pimple faced wal-mart greeter dweeb check my receipt like I'm some kind of criminal even though he just watched me pay at the checkout for the game. Yeah, I would much prefer to just download it to the console and avoid all that.
ElectricBluLion
I would not get it if they did that. I don't have the space on my hard drive for a game like that and I'm tired of going speending a hundred and something dollars a new 360 hard with a little more space tranfering everything on to it or redownloading it over and over again and then being told the arcade games I bought, I now can only play when I'm online because of putting them on a new hard drive. I hate download only. I hesitate bout buying any of the arcade games and I always try to buy a physical disk with the box and book. I would never buy any of the games on demand they cost way more then they do at the store and you can only play them on that xbox. You wouldn't just be able to take a disk over to someone's house that didn't have the game. I haven't got the hd versions of the 2 resident evil games because of it being download only, that and because of the price and them not changing anything about the games other then making them in hd. I also collect games and dvds, and digital just don't cut it. What if a major crash or hackers didn't just get peoples information but totally wiped out everything on the PSN servers or XBOX servers and it effected the consoles, can you imagine what you would have to go through to prove that you did buy the game and be able to download it again, that might be out there but the more things only exist virtually the easier it is for them to go poof and someone saying there is record of you owning it, anything can happen. I just really hate download only and anything that says you have to be online to play. If things ever did get that way I would just give up on new games and stick with what I have.
roscobot
It wouldnt overly bother me, although I do have to agree that the cons outweigh the pros. I don't see this happening anyway.
Cryptomaster420
better clear out my 250gb hard drive then lolz hopefully the make the consol codes reusable"most likely not" :(
bretthoof
WITH HUGHESNET I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO BUY A GAME EVER AGAIN D:
soldojo
*ahem*
*shakes magic eight ball*
The answer is No.
nearthehillbutnot30
this is stupid...i dont have cable.....and to assume that everyone has cable internet, or fios is stupid...ive always said, if i cant hold it in my hands im not paying money for it. Some, or most will disagree but those who disagree are the same retards that but clothes for a fictional character (Avatar).
I dont know about you, but when I see someone trying to con people into a "download" only phase, ask yourselves one question, once im sick of it, can i still sell it?
Industry Analyst = fancy word for "I dont get it but im gonna pretend"
TheDarkToken
rockstar has always been on the cutting edge of things and that just seems like the next step up from DLC's
James3167
Yeah, it will be on disk...
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