Wednesday, July 4th 2012
EA to go 100% Digital, Calls NPD 'Irrelevant'
EA has made a major push into PC digital distribution with Origin, and it seems to be paying off. Analysts have predicted that we're heading toward an all-digital age, and EA intends to speed up the process by actively moving toward that goal itself. "We'll continue to deliver games in whatever media formats make sense and as one ebbs and one starts to flow, we'll go in that direction," EA Games president Frank Gibeau said. "Ultimately Electronic Arts, at some point in the future - much like your question about streaming and cloud - we're going to be a 100% digital company, period. It's going to be there some day. It's inevitable." He also noted the problem that many in the industry have pointed out: our only measure of tracking sales numbers is through NPD, which tracks retail sales but has lagged behind on reporting digital numbers. Part of that is probably that the large digital marketplace Steam is reluctant to share its sales data, but it still creates a definite issue of incomplete data. "I think one of the problems with this industry right now is that people tend to look at it like they're looking at an elephant through a straw," he told GI.biz. "They only see a little parts of it and they're not looking at the total picture, right? Between Facebook, social, mobile, free to play on PC, Asia, consoles... it's a vibrant, growing, huge market. An occasional bad report from NPD, which measures a sliver of what's actually happening in gaming gives people an erroneous impression."
Mr. Gibeau also said, "My point is it's an irrelevant measure on the industry. It's totally irrelevant. We don't even really look at it internally anymore. We're more focused on our services and how we're connected with consumers." This is similar to a previous statement from corporate communications executive Tiffany Steckler, who called NPD's data "a misrepresentation of the entire industry." In a statement to GameSpot, NPD Games president David McQuillan said he was surprised at Gibeau's comments. "Successful companies are looking at how their products are performing within all channels, particularly retail," he said. "For that reason, we were surprised to read the comments by Mr. Gibeau that EA does not look at NPD data internally at all. While we will not comment on the specifics on our long-standing relationship with EA, we can say with confidence that we have daily dealings with all of our major publisher clients. And we know for a fact they're using the data." He also noted that their estimates show 56% of consumer spend is in physical software, and 70% in Q4.
While NPD defends its retail figures as valuable, it seems to understand the changing tide. The company announced last year that it would be moving into digital tracking as well. In the same breath, however, it pointed out that it needs digital retailers to open their doors to the tracking firm to have accurate figures.
Source:
Shacknews
Mr. Gibeau also said, "My point is it's an irrelevant measure on the industry. It's totally irrelevant. We don't even really look at it internally anymore. We're more focused on our services and how we're connected with consumers." This is similar to a previous statement from corporate communications executive Tiffany Steckler, who called NPD's data "a misrepresentation of the entire industry." In a statement to GameSpot, NPD Games president David McQuillan said he was surprised at Gibeau's comments. "Successful companies are looking at how their products are performing within all channels, particularly retail," he said. "For that reason, we were surprised to read the comments by Mr. Gibeau that EA does not look at NPD data internally at all. While we will not comment on the specifics on our long-standing relationship with EA, we can say with confidence that we have daily dealings with all of our major publisher clients. And we know for a fact they're using the data." He also noted that their estimates show 56% of consumer spend is in physical software, and 70% in Q4.
While NPD defends its retail figures as valuable, it seems to understand the changing tide. The company announced last year that it would be moving into digital tracking as well. In the same breath, however, it pointed out that it needs digital retailers to open their doors to the tracking firm to have accurate figures.
123 Comments on EA to go 100% Digital, Calls NPD 'Irrelevant'
I'll continue to use Origin, but I still fire up most of my games through Steam and exclusively use Steam chat since I'm not going to bother with multiple different hotkeys for different overlays.
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Battlefield 2 Patch v1.5 Notes FEATURES: - Additional support for Windows Vista. - Added Highway Tampa as a required map. - Added a new map called Operation Blue Pearl. - Added Euro Force and Armored Fury as free to play content for all B
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Originally Posted by Jurassic1024 View Post
But you're forgetting the people that don't have the luxury of going 100% digital.
People that don't have broadband available where they live.
People that don't have high speed broadband where they live.
People that have very low monthly download limits.
People that don't have a credit card or a bank account to link to PayPal to purchase digital copies.
So see if you can get a VISA Debit Card linked to your bank account,It is more common then you think.I have one and it has worked for Steam and Origin.
Oh yeah. EA and Origin brought some very questionable tactics when it comes to community management and stuff. Weren't they the first to include an anti-class action clause in their EULA? Didn't they also ban any Origin account when they troll in their forums? And I don't mean ban from the forums, but completely lock people out of their Origin accounts and make it so they couldn't even play their single-player games offline?
If they don't sell their games at a shop all that means is they are going to lose customers who don't buy digital, or who cannot download games due to slow internet or not having a large download quota.
EA going purely Digital means to me nothing more than I will not buy their games.
www.forbes.com/sites/danielnyegriffiths/2011/11/10/steam-hacked-newell-watch-your-credit-card/
Origin also won't be doing sales like Steam, the head of Origin said at E3 this year that it damages intellectual properties.
Why do games cost MORE when they are digital downloads and not boxed copies?
Logically there is no way a high street store can sell a boxed copy of a brand new game cheaper than EA themselves from their online store. Think about transport, handling, building overheads, shop employee wages... how on earth did BF3 for PC end up as £40 on Origin but only £29.97 at Game? Surely it should be CHEAPER as EA don't have to worry about all these other costs associated with physical content? I know there is backend server work and the like but if it's coming out more expensive then they are doing it WRONG!
And who are these people paying £40 for a digital edition when they can get it for 3/4 the price? Are they mugs?
EDIT: About internet connectivity: This is an issue they can't really ignore (hopefully). So to me it would make most sense to simply not release physical copies in "developed" (internet-wise) nations, but release them in "developing" nations (such as Australia :p).
:)
If EA go full digital then we have to pay them whatever THEY want. This is terrible news for the consumer! Of course the logical recourse would be to not buy EA, but as I said before there seem to be absolute MUGS who are happy to spend 25% more money for no concievable reason.
As for Origin, it's not a bad client. If you compare to where it is now, to where Steam was during the same period of time, Origin is years ahead of it. Origin will mature as time progresses and I have no doubt it will be a major competitor for Steam.
Don't get me wrong, I love Steam too. But I'm not willing to put all of my eggs in one basket. It's bad for competition and bad for consumers to do such a thing. Competition makes everything better for the customer in the end.
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=387662644616156&set=a.168213893227700.33447.100001172713309&type=3&l=1a78d5e3b7&theater
Origin is fine, it's just very basic, no frills. It's what I expect from EA. They want to make money, not a community..
Is Origin a constant DRM? If not, origin takes my vote.. I don't like crap running in the background when I'm gaming and steam has a tendency to go crazy on memory useage..
All I know is, if prices go up when they should be coming down. I'll just stop buying from the companies who are slimy like that..