Übersetzung von Deutsch nach Englisch
Column: Steam & Co.
Why do we lose the Download Monopoly
Favorable as the deals never seem to Christmas for online retailers like Steam & Co to be. But are they really?
Daniel Raumer |
Date: 26.11.2010
Share
Around the Thanksgiving weekend in late November (in the U.S. traditionally the prelude to Weihnachstgeschäft) attract portals such as Steam, PlayStation Network or Xbox Marketplace again with discounts on their downloads. It sounds superficially not bad. What we often forget this game buyer: conceal such loss leaders, that the prices to Web sites on average are higher, even in the budget area.
The classic packed game in single-or mail order goes through in his life a price spiral downward, depending on buyer interest, more or less quickly: After a few months, the sale price often halved from 50 to 25 €, and he later drops to 10 € and less . Through the colorful competition in the supply margin trading is flexible, but that traders catch customers or want to get rid of remaining stock, which further depressed prices.
Steam & Co.: Steam attracted to the holiday season with special offers. Steam attracted to Christmas with special offers. Now is not that online platforms such as Steam would not even reduce prices. Steam is actually older titles from the original price after a time down to 30 €. There they can persist long term, even if in the classical trade have long been very different thresholds. Who the one year old Dragon Age: Origins "and" Need for Speed: Shift on Steam instead of buying the online shipping, pay (postage included) are currently on average 25 € for Bioshock 2 is 15th He who seeks finds something even deeper deals. Modern Warfare 2 costs as box currently around 35 €. Steam customers can only dream of such a price: you shell out for as it was 60 € for the shooter, the same as for the successor to Black Ops.
The inexpensive weekend offers and Thanksgiving specials from Steam is great, no doubt bargain. But they are just crumbs, because behind the fast download rates back to the old level. This is usually significantly above the free market.
For download, seems to be the traditional market mechanism of pricing on supply and demand to be overridden. Why? Because the industries create de facto monopolies on technological islands. App Store, PSN and Xbox Marketplace are only apparently competing with each other. As soon as I use the hardware of a manufacturer, I am dependent, at least for downloads at the mercy of the associated digital offering. The disadvantages are reflected in higher average prices. And, although downloads are free of storage space, no postage is obtained, there are no packing charges.
Steam & Co.: Call of Duty 2 is available at online retailers are still only at the original price. Call of Duty 2 is available at online retailers are still only at the original price. On the PC, it just looks superficially better than monopoly on platforms. Here we have players at the moment but next to other providers such as Steam Load Games, Gamers Gate, pulses or other choices, but who for one of them decides to remain faithful to this rule. For bound by additional services such as gaming and friends lists that libraries provide their clients in itself, also has many juggling multiple user accounts to painfully. And should prevail in the near future streaming services like OnLive Gaikai or so would be established on the PC monopoly Islands.
At least for now, everything indicates that the classical disc is on the way out - no downloads or streams are the future. That would not be so problematic if it also were a variety of competition from various providers. De facto, however a few companies dominate the market. You set the price. "You want to play the new Call of Duty? All right, is 90 €. How that is too expensive, you want to wait until it gets cheaper? Good luck, because that will not be cheaper for us! "
The mine in the "brave new world download pay 'with no disk until further our customers. Competition is good here just the business. Sounds corny, but it is probably truer than ever.