EA Sports to abandon PC disks

[Generic Oval]

Prominent games publisher looks to online future as 'disks are not working'

Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, has said the firm needs to find new business models for its PC games, claiming physical disks are no longer viable.

In an interview with Edge, the games industry veteran said: "We've got to find the right business model for us going forward. We really want to keep sports an important part of the portfolio that's available to PC gamers, but the business model right now, shipping a physical disc for the PC, simply isn't working for us."

Moore went on to allude that a download based distribution service for PC games was in the pipeline, much like Steam.

He also said that licensing issues are a problem in the creation of sports games, since partners – presumably meaning organisations like the FA – are reluctant to approve anything that involves things like players disputes or arrests, reducing the realism of titles.

Source: pcretailmag.com

Please, 2K Sports make a footy game and deliver us...

 

[ForZ.FCK]

whats wrong with that?

 

[davidmende]

That certainly won´t stop piracy.

 

[Outsider 87]

I hope this will mean a decrease of the game cost... No dvd and packages = -10€

 

[ForZ.FCK]

That certainly won´t stop piracy.

well steam is a big succes and you really can't play those games pirated as far as i know

the whole idea of discs are getting old fasioned really and its mutch more flexible really to have the game bound to your own account

 

[sebazve]

this kinda sucks if there is no way to backup the game once you have downloaded it...image to download the whole game if you want to reinstall it or play it on another computer, what a pain!!!

 

[ForZ.FCK]

like it takes 3 sec to install the game as it is now with patches and all..

i have no idea how ea will make their stuff but i know steam have a backup function and really i think some of you atleast are just scared you actually have to buy the next fifa

the only thing at all i would think was bad if there were something making editing very difficult or even impossible... that would be BAAAD!

 

[Styphelus]

"ell steam is a big succes and you really can't play those games pirated as far as i know"

Yes, as far as you know, which means you really don't know much.

 

[davidmende]

well steam is a big succes and you really can't play those games pirated as far as i know

the whole idea of discs are getting old fasioned really and its mutch more flexible really to have the game bound to your own account

Well i did play Half Life 2 Episodes 1 and 2 with an ilegal copy... just tell me something that the Game Industry has done to stop piracy for good... i´m telling you this isn´t.

 

[sebazve]

all the steam games are cracked...you can't play on official servers but there are dozens of cracked servers from most popular games.

 

[ForZ.FCK]

"ell steam is a big succes and you really can't play those games pirated as far as i know"

Yes, as far as you know, which means you really don't know much.

im just making input here cause i really think its a good idea to skip the discs and there is no reason to talk in that tone

anyway i do know from the gamers i know that ppl don't even bother trying to crack steam games and just buy them cause its nice to just have them and still what fun is it to not just be able to go online and play whatever game you want with your friends?

if the game were cheaper cause of the lesser expences making and shipping discs and more ppl then bought it it would really be a win win situation

 

[farmboy]

im just making input here cause i really think its a good idea to skip the discs and there is no reason to talk in that tone

anyway i do know from the gamers i know that ppl don't even bother trying to crack steam games and just buy them cause its nice to just have them and still what fun is it to not just be able to go online and play whatever game you want with your friends?

if the game were cheaper cause of the lesser expences making and shipping discs and more ppl then bought it it would really be a win win situation

If you think that EA will pass on development savings to their consumers, you really are blind to the corporate world. If anything, it'll make it impossible for cheapskates like myself to walk in and buy last year's version on closeout for $20 two weeks before they release the new version (also lets me see the community reaction, so I know if its actually worth buying).

 

[C0starulz]

steam is alright but what if you install a bad patch and it stuffs the game then what uninstall and pay again?

 

[farmboy]

Valve is famous for encouraging modding/patching. That won't be a problem.
Edit: misunderstood your question. Steam keeps a list of all the games you've purchased, so you can download them at any time (on as many computers as you want!) and play, you just need to be logged in. So if you screw your game up with patches, all you have to do is uninstall/delete the game and redownload. Problem solved.