Electronic Arts have taken the unusual step in the way it distributes its future triple-A title Titanfall 2. If you purchase the game physically, on PC at least, don’t expect to open the case and see much inside. Instead of printing the game onto a disk, the box will instead contain a download code for use with the digital distributor of your choice.
Whilst this may seem an odd decision, it is one that could become the normal way of doing things. As people’s connection to the internet grows, the more flexible they are with how they decide to buy their media. As with music, books, and movies and television, the ability to download the latest game release enables the consumer to receive a copy straight to their device (internet speed being a major factor), and ensuring their copy will never get damaged by somebody smearing their greasy paws all over the back of your beloved copy of Tomb Raider 2. The market has grown into a lucrative business model, with Steam becoming the go-to place for gaming on PC, and the frequency of special offers on there have ensured that downloadable versions of new releases have sky-rocketed in recent times. Some games release on physical media, but force the player to install a downloadable update on launch which can be as large as the game itself, sometimes to cover the fact the full game simply isn’t available on the disk. The rise of Steam and alternative distributors online has caused a massive decline in the sale of physical media for PC, so this new development is not hard to understand when you step back and look at it.
The lack of a physical copy will certainly be an issue to a certain portion of the market, such as areas which have limited internet access and slow connections. A game such as Titanfall 2 is not going to be a small-sized download, and could take some gamers hours, even days to download their copy of the game, something which is sure to infuriate a great many people. Also, some people just plain prefer physical copies, and with game manuals now a thing of the past, why would they be happy with an empty box and a code?
What is your take on this? Would you have downloaded the game anyway, or would you prefer a physical copy? How would this affect you if this practise became the normal routine? Do you even buy physical copies of games for the PC anymore? Let us know in the comments below.
