Statistics Show Gamers Prefer Hard Copies

MCVUK reports that North American Game analyst the NPD Group has confirmed that gamers still prefer hard copies of titles rather than digitally distributed versions, with the Group asserting that 58% of gamers have never downloaded a game.

According to Edge, NPD Analyst Anita Frazier also stated that 75% of gamers questioned by the firm preferred boxed games to digital versions. However, a high number of gamers who had purchased digital copies of games stated they were pleased with their purchase. 77% of respondents stated that they were just as happy with digital copies as they would have been with boxed copies. Perhaps proving that price remains the main factor, 65% of those polled stated that they would prefer a digital copy of a game if it cost 10% less than a hard copy.

Major video game retailer Gamestop continues to predict that digital distribution won’t become the main business model for another ten to fifteen years, but that hasn’t stopped game publishers from continuing to reach out to digital distributors.

Recently, Edge also reported that Square-Enix had signed a deal with Valve to distribute the PC version of The Last Remnant via Steam. The deal will ensure the game is available for digital distribution through North America and Europe on April 9, a few days after the PC version of the game hits retail.

Steam’s influence shows no signs of slowing. On February 25, Steam officially opened its doors to release Tom Clancy’s EndWar, a RTS from Ubisoft that offers voice-recognition options for controlling units, among other features.