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Sales of digital downloads grow, but retail shouldn't worry just yet

by rawmeatcowboy
20 September 2010
GN Version 3.1

The following information and commentary comes from an Interpretations report…

- only 20% of gamers buy titles digitally
- of those 20%, these people also purchase more games at retail than their non-downloading counterparts
- the 20% end up purchasing 2.7 games, on average, every 6 months at retail locations
- “anxieties over the potential of digital distribution to rapidly disrupt the retail ecosystem may be unfounded.”
- sales data measured from Q1 2009 through Q1 2010 shows that digital distribution “grew moderately on both ‘core’ PC platforms (e.g. Valve’s Steam, Direct2Drive, publisher websites) and consoles (Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network Store, WiiWare), while simultaneously decreasing significantly on ‘casual’ PC platforms (major casual game portal sites) as casual gamers abandoned those destinations in favor of social (Facebook) and mobile (iPhone OS) gaming.”
- “It is critical that both the publishing and retail sides of the game industry avoid overreacting to a vision of rapid transition to digital distribution that fails to reflect reality. Whether or not all game sales are digital in ten years, right now the virtues of the retail environment, including convenience, trained sales staff, and the opportunity to encourage impulse buys, are as important as ever.” - Brenton Lyle, Managing Strategist, Interpret LLC

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