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Consumer Habits Changing As PC Game Download Sales Surge


Bad News For High Street Shops As PC Game Download Sales Surge

by SoftwareGuru


If you buy a CD, DVD, BluRay, or PC game from the high street in the next six months you may be part of a new minority.

It has been widely reported this week that PC game downloads in America measured a record 11.2 million, compared with 8.2. million physical units purchased in stores during Jan-June 2010.

Irish trends are likely to follow a similar pattern.

I wonder what the piracy figures for the same products would be?

This means retail stores are selling less physical goods and in some cases earn less profit on the same digital product from their online stores.

Whatever way you look at, digital goods are generally cheaper and traditional high street business models are feeling the pressure.

This change in behaviour has already decimated the recorded music industry with many record shops closing down and UK ISPs being made to pay 25% of the cost of policing file-sharers.

In Ireland there has already been much controversy surrounding the 3 strikes rule and file sharing.

Value for money is what drives us to buy goods and services. Retailers must meet this challenge or customers will look elsewhere.













What Would Don Draper Do?

When you hear the name Software4Students you probably associate it with software and education.

Feedback on our Facebook profile tells us how pleased parents and students are now that value for money software downloads are available.

Our focus has always been on education and maintaining strong links with teachers, parents, schools, colleges and universities.

Software4Students Ireland has also been incredibly particular about the software catalogue we provide.

Some retailers aim to have the most comprehensive software stock imaginable.

At Software4Students Ireland we prefer to focus on core products that offer the greatest value to our customers.

It's important for parents to grasp the concept that computers is no longer a subject at school. It should in fact be the method by which all subjects are taught to pupils.

Computers, the Internet and technology such as interactive whiteboards are combining now to provide a learning platform unimaginable to older parents whose own school days may have been very different.

So whenever someone asks, "Hey, how come you guys don't sell computer games?" it's because our focus has and always been on education.

We have stocked Microsoft published PC games in the past and titles such as Halo and Fable may have been purchased by some of our early customers.

If you have bought Windows 7 Pro from us and are wondering where is a good place to buy PC game downloads online, you could always check out GAME's online store.

Digital Retailers

Installing Windows 7 and a new graphics card in a PC always puts me in the mood for buying a new computer game to test the rig out on.

Anyone else feel like that?

With PC game download sales surging ahead of boxed games, let's take a look at the top digital retailers:

1. Steamgames.com
2. Direct2Drive.com
3. EA.com
4. Worldofwarcraft.com
5. Blizzard.com

I can honestly say that I have not used any of those sites yet although I have browsed Direct2Drive a few times. 

Then again I don't play World of Warcraft which is probably keeping half of the world's PC users busy these days!

The fact that PC Game download sales are increasing so fast makes me wonder if the Sony Blu-Ray format will have much of a shelf life.

It's already starting to look like it won't last as long as DVDs and with European legislation on the horizon to ensure fast broadband is rolled out to all homes, the argument that file sizes are too big may not hold up much longer.

Let's face it, if PC gamers are already downloading new titles such as Batman Arkham Asylum at around 8GB,  it's not that much of a jump to the original BluRay capacity of 25GB.

Finally, if the popularity of our Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate Upgrade is anything to go by, students are already used to getting the best value for money possible.

Have you seen how much is charged these days for a brand new BluRay movie...?

If this downloading trend continues, 2011 is going to see more companies like Blockbuster looking for a new business model. 


Buy Windows 7 download today for only €45.45 - limited time offer!




 






















Consumer Habits Changing As PC Game Download Sales Surge