QOTW: Where do you buy your games?

by Parm Mann on 30 March 2012, 17:00

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Sony (NYSE:SNE), Nintendo (TYO:7974)

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It appears to be game over for one of the UK's biggest computer game retailers, but GAME's misfortunes don't tell the whole story.

According to the Electronic Retailers Association, the gaming industry took home an incredible £1.93 billion in 2011, making gaming the UK's highest-grossing entertainment sector. In comparison, sales of DVDs, Blu-rays and other video formats totalled £1.8 billion, while the music industry raked in a paltry £1.07 billion.

High-street woes aside, the gaming industry is flourishing at record levels, and these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. According to a recent study from customer research giant Nielsen, more than half of all US households now own an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii games console.

And there's no stopping some of the industry's blockbuster hits - Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 grossed a staggering £490m in its first five days on sale, while Blizzard's World of Warcraft enjoys more than 10 million subscribers.

The numbers make Hollywood pale in comparison, but they also pose an interesting question. If high-street retailers are struggling and games are selling at record levels, where are today's gamers making their purchases?

We're putting the question to you, dear readers, so let us know, do you still buy your games from high-street stores? Are supermarket sales your first port of call? Do you prefer to buy online? Is digital distribution the way forward? And will GAME going into administration affect your decision?

Let us know in the comments below; where do you buy your games?



HEXUS Forums :: 78 Comments

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For me I use Amazon for boxed games, GOG for the classics as I have been replacing the disc versions of my old games with working digital copies and then everything else I use Steam.
I've not really bought games when they were released apart from with FFXIII and FFXIII-2 (which I learnt was a mistake). Not much time for gaming so I just wait till I see a good bargain.
Steam / Amazon for me.
Steam as first choice or if it's a bit expensive on Steam, order from wherever is cheapest online. I think I used Green Man Gaming once for something too.
Pretty much what Ferral said.

I do own 4 Humble Bundles and have contributed to 3 Kick Starter campaigns: Double Fine Adventure, Wasteland 2, The Banner Saga. Not really interested in the Andriod Humble Bundle that is currently being promoted and the last two Kick Starter campaigns I mentioned are still open if anyone would like to contribute.

The next few years could be very interesting if more DRM free/Pay What You Want/Fan Funded games become successful. I eagerly await the results of the Kick Starter campaigns I've backed and really hope Brian Fargo's idea, Kicking it Forward, catches on.