It’s no secret that digital distribution has become a big deal in the games industry, but according to those market research chaps at NPD, the rise of Steam has led to gamers embracing the method more and more. That’s an embrace of 29%, to be more exact.
According to the survey, 47% of digital consumers used online services such as Steam to get their games, 42% bought mobile games, while 30% used console stores like Xbox Live Arcade.
Retail isn’t going away, but digital has become a big part of the future. I like it in theory, but I just hope publishers get drunk with the power of having more direct control over their market. Hopefully Steam, with its frequent sales and competitive market, is the future.
Rather that than the console, “We charge what we want because think we can” mentality.
