Ah, the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. John M Richardson Jr once said “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” We at Vogster would like to think of ourselves as part of that second camp, The Makers, not to be confused with THE MAKER, the mysterious omniscient entity responsible for the misadventures that plague Rick Ajax and Lori Machete in Unbound Saga for the PSP, available now for download exclusively on the PlayStation Network.
See what I did there? Bridge quotes about the future to a reference to Unbound Saga, which then leads to the topic of digital distribution? Yes, Unbound Saga is available for download only. You can’t walk into Gamezoinks, or wherever else you typically buy your disc-based gaming fix, and walk out with a plastic box full of brawling Unbound goodness. You can, however, buy this game from the comfort of your own home, while still in your bathrobe and bunny slippers. Click-click-clack, simple as that. Super easy, and all you need is an internet connection and a PlayStation Network account. And a PlayStation device to play the game on, of course.
But why would Vogster, or any other publisher for that matter, buck the trend and do something as radical as bypassing brick-and-mortar? What do we have against the good people at Gamezoinks? Nothing at all, I assure you (In fact, we just made that name up.). But the benefits of digital distribution cannot be overlooked. For the consumer, digital download offers unparalleled convenience. If you want it, you can have it NOW, regardless of weather, bus schedules, gas prices, etc. RIGHT NOW. In fact, I just bought the first three seasons of Dexter from the PlayStation Store while writing this. My fingers barely left the keyboard. How convenient is THAT?? It also guarantees availability. It would have stunk to drive all the way to the mall for that set of DVDs only to find they were sold out. Well, the internet is never sold out, and it is open 24-7. How ‘bout them apples?
Digital distribution is good for the developer, too. It is easier to get the product onto the market, cheaper to manufacture and distribute, and it bypasses the growing used- and rental- markets that eat into sales. The traditional model makes it that much harder for smaller companies to compete, even those with amazing new ideas and talent. Wouldn’t you rather have more good games to choose from? Going digital gives developers a viable stage to present their products for the gameplaying market to enjoy.
We certainly haven’t turned our back on the tactile satisfaction of holding something groovy and colorful in your hands. That’s why we’re hard at working producing spiffy Unbound Saga comics and sweet, sweet action statuettes to adorn your desktops and Unbound Saga shrines (Check out our Facebook Fan page some nifty pix.). And as DLC becomes available, you’ll be able to hop into the new content instantly, thanks to the uber-convenience of it all!
So yes, the digital download method is relatively new, and sometimes new can be scary. But you survived the change from 8-bit to HD, from 2D to 3D, from cartridge to CD to DVD to Blu-ray. I think we will not only survive the change from disc to digital, but we’ll all benefit from the process. And if you don’t believe me, here’s a rock-solid offer to try it for yourself: FIVE FREE CODES FOR YOUR OWN COPY OF UNBOUND SAGA! (codes are for North America only — sorry Lost Continent of Atlantis!)
Wait, what? FREE?? You bet, but because downloading digital content to your PSP is so darn easy (signed in from the PlayStation Store, select “Redeem Codes”) , we decided to throw in a little extra challenge just to emphasize how easy the actual process is WITHOUT the silly contest challenge. Here are the codes — all you have to do is guess the missing characters. (And yes, there is a pattern related to this posting…)
Have at it, junior G-men!
2F7I-GRB8-*K64
8H*2-EGBE-6XPT
XACJ-8IBI-M2E*
*F9P-5IB2-HAJ8
JIPD-I*BI-38PA
@72 There are only a few PS3 full game downloads available on PSN. I was thinking of games that may someday become DD, like MGS4? or FF XIII? I was thinking more along the lines of the capacity of a Blu-ray and how that would be difficult to translate into digital download in sizes that are easily accepted by most users.
Anyways, I’m pro-digital downloads as an option. I’m not proposing to eliminate physical media completely, but that they can both coexist. Steam and Direct2Drive are good examples of services that offer digital download of games that are also available in stores physically. Not too many people complain about those services.
Disc to digital.. hmm well I think they both have a presence in the world.
But this idea to replace disc with digital is well to me a very bad choice of words, in your case this is a good business model but that word goes beyond your business model into the real world.
As a blu-ray enthusiast and a supporter of Higher quality Audio and video “them are fighting words.”
As that thinking has already set back music through the use of low quality ITune music which allowed higher quality super audio to cough not make it in the market..
Sending signals to lower the quality of any product to the business is never a good thing for us to do…
Thankfully video did not suffer the safe fate, and blu-ray is becoming more and more accepted format, we are blessed with higher quality movies and games…
We should never settle for second best always champion for technology to improve not diminish, never accept diminishing quality as technological improvements, and champion higher quality.
In my mind that is what we the consumer should send, through again I say they both have a place in this world, as long as quality is not diminished let the content flow.
People, this is a PSP game we’re talking about, and backing it up is extremely easy. You just need to copy the contents in the PSP\GAME and PSP\LICENSE folders. And I do have them self-contained; I have a folder with a game’s title (prefixing it with terms like “PSOne Classic” or “PSP UMD Legacy”), and in that folder I have a single folder called “PSP”. Then in that folder I have two more folders, “GAME” and “LICENSE”, and they contain nothing but the files for that one game.
When I want to play a game or demo, I just open my main folder, then drag and drop that ONE “PSP” folder on the root of my memory stick. Done and done.
I currently archived over 4 GB of games and demos on one DVD-R – you know, the same media your hardcopy PS2 games are on! They aren’t going away, and if I feel I’m not as safe as I could be with just ONE backup, a few clicks of the mouse makes me another one, for pennies.
And a big kudos to EzraBones! Seriously, there’s no point worrying over the end of the world, but if there was even the SLIGHTEST rumor that the PSN servers went down, WE WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT, and make our 2nd or 3rd backup copies.
Wow. We really kicked the beehive this time! Who knew there were such strong opinions here about so many things! You guys are passionate!
Let me start off by apologizing for:
A) not giving everyone a free code (which would sorta neutralize the point of a ‘contest’ ), and
B) unintentionally offending anyone who loves their physical media. Believe me, that was never any intention — I’m one of you! I love my discs too, and will continue to buy LE’s and SE’s of PS3 titles for years to come.
We’re not trying to kill the disc; we’re just trying to give you guys a bargain deal that’s easy to grab. Going the route of UMD, we would have had to spend twice as much on materials and goods, which would have taken longer to produce and distribute, with a much higher price point for the final game. And frankly we were much more interested in giving it to you faster and cheaper, so you could have instant fun for barely a couple bucks more than seeing a movie. It is not unlike the other great DLC that is frequently offered for your other favorite games (and if you’re avoiding those items as well, you’re really missing out on some stuff).
You guys are absolutely right — DD will not replace disc content overnight. In fact, it has been around for years already, growing more and more secure with each new venture. Protecting your account and purchase history is a top priority for digital providers (such as Sony), so your worries are covered by the newest account management systems. So much of our daily lives are contained on digital servers — bank accounts, cell phone records, utility systems, airplane tickets, etc — but yet we trust that data to be managed consistently and accurately every day. If those systems went down, I’d be worried too! (Oh man, now I’m scaring myself…) Sony knows you value your purchases, and regaining lost content is a routine thing.
Its also really cool to hear how much you guys value physical media and packaging, and its a very encouraging argument for us to offer a physical backup option, should the sales demand justify the investment. We would LOVE to put Unbound Saga in a box, and maybe if it does well enough, we can make that offer with some groovy new incentives. (So tell your friends to buy it today!)
One last thought: The concern of purchased content disappearing from servers or becoming obsolete is totally fair and accurate, and I’ve got boxes of awesome old PC games that I would love to play again. Unfortunately hardware specs and operating systems have changed so much they’ve become little more than 5.25″ coasters. (Can you even buy 5.25″ floppy drives any more?) But Sony has you guys covered there, too. They’re very intent on supporting their software dating back two full generations – 15 years! — which is AWESOME. The fact that you can still play PS1 games today makes me very confident that we’ll be able to play PSP downloaded games 15 years from now.
That is unless the Electromagnetic Wars of 2019 don’t send us all back to the stone age…. Oh man, I’m scaring myself again…
(heh, hoping I’m not pushing the rules with a 3-part reply…. :)
Mr Kennedy, i would worry about it to much. Some ppl that are die hard on things will eventuly change over. It was the same from changing from 8track’s, to cassets, to cd’s, to music downloads.
Things change, it just takes time for some to accept change.
Arg i wish i the blog had a edit button. I ment to say I WOULDNT worry about it much.
Sony supporting software for generations gives even MORE of a reason to buy DIGITAL. Do you really think the successor to the PSP will bother to include those expensive UMD drives? No doubt I’d be able to play my downloaded PSP games that much easier on a future Sony handheld simply because they’re digital – no need to worry about supported (physical) formats.
Thanks to PSOne Classics already being digital and not on UMD, I get to play them on my PS3 *and* my PSP… and likely on the PS4 and PSP2.
You hit the nail on the head. We’re all pretty passionate about our gaming and gaming habits.
Great reply. It’s nice to see the 3rd party perspective, especially on topics such as digital downloads.
@Naquiel – Thanks! (If only LIFE had an edit button…..)
It is a very interesting topic tho. If the thread is still active, it would be interesting to hear what you guys think of the following questions:
1) If you are against DD content, what is it that most turns you off? A) nothing tangible to hold, B) the thechnical DL process, C) concern about recovering lost/corrupted content, D) inability to resell the game, or E) other?
2) Do you download other content available on PSN — add-ons, wallpapers, videos, etc?
3) Would you purchase a box and manual, even if the content were still digital download? (Ie. the box contains a download code, along with a manual or other incentive?) Would you pay more for this?
Really interesting stuff, guys!
I buy digital content on PSN all the time, but I do have to say that longevity bothers me somewhat.
I still have a working Atari 2600 and an Intellivision, a working NES that I have been periodically repairing myself, two broken SNES and one working, one broken PS1 and a PSOne that still works, a PS2 v2 which works, and my PS3 and PSP.
I’m concerned that the increasing failure rate of consoles due to their increasing complexity means that in 20-25 years, I may not be able to play Bionic Commando Rearmed or Unbound Saga, even though at that time my Legend of Zelda cartridge and my Adventure cartridge will still be working just fine.
The games I have that were made in 1979 and 1980 are frequently made by companies which don’t really exist anymore. My old PC games made in the 1980s are impossible to replace should I lose my backups of them, as the companies that once owned them don’t have copies anymore.
My chief fear about digital downloads is essentially that DRM is preventing us from ever resurrecting this content in lieu of any official channel for playing them (emulation, backups, etc).
NB I know this isn’t actually your problem, but it might help explain some of the reticence to discard physical media in favor of digital download. With digital download, you’re only ever really leasing the software.
Personally I like the DD. The only thing that I find frustrating is when the DD has the same price than the DD, meaning no box, no instructions, no UMD, it supposed to be cheaper right? Either way I think Unbound Saga has a reasonable price.
“when the DD has the same price than the DD”
hahaha my bad I mean “physical nedia”
For me, I like DD just for the convenience, taking up less space and being able to carry around a chunk of my library at all times without having to lug UMDs as well. As an avid gamer who has been in the hobby for a while, having the opportunity to get more games without consuming more physical space is pretty appealing.
My main problem is on the PS3, even after swapping in a 500 GB drive, with all the games and video content I’ve downloaded, it’s almost full. Hopefully, the 1 TB USB external drive I have arriving today will let me offload and alleviate some of that pressure, at least until 1 TB+ SATA drives are available for the PS3 :)
1) If you are against DD content, what is it that most turns you off? A) nothing tangible to hold, B) the thechnical DL process, C) concern about recovering lost/corrupted content, D) inability to resell the game, or E) other?
Nothing intangible to hold onto and the concern of recovering lost/corrupted content. Even with utility bills, cell phone bills and credit card bills, you never know when your bank servers might go down. It’s always nice to have physical copies of your personal data in which this case is a physical copy of the game. I always make hard copies of my bills even if I do e-banking for records sake.
Why do double amount of the work when you don’t have to? Buy a physical copy of your game in the first place then you won’t have to backup your game. If you go digital, you fear the loss of your game either by frying your HDD or the PSN server going down, it doesn’t matter if Sony tells us in advance. It’s still double the work and a waste of time.
Is there away for the blog to post a PDF file for the games manuals that are only downloadable? I love disc and I love downloads but sometimes I just like to read a move list. I should have to find a game site that someone made to figure out the controls of a game. So can Sony at least make printable manuals for the games that we can download and print?
Hey Drdre – I believe there is (should have been?) a digital manual included with Unbound Saga that lists all of the controls and moves.
If you\’re curious or wondering about those.
:)
I believe it is accessible from the Triangle menu when you have the game selected on the XMB.