Indie game developer Amanita, makers of the popular adventure puzzler Machinarium, has extended its pirate amnesty sale due to a jump in sales of the game. According to the game's blog, the amnesty sale helped move 17,000 copies in one week. That's pretty impressive for an indie developer.

The sale offers even deeper discounts on the game; now it will sell for $5 and will come with the soundtrack for free. The Czech developer also revealed stats indicating the percentage of orders by country, with the United States taking the lead with 39.4 percent. The UK came in second with a paltry 11.5 percent, followed by Germany with 7.2 percent, Spain at 5.5 percent and Canada at 5.3 percent.

Source: machinarium.net

In Episode 2 of Game Industry TV's video game show, Game Theory with Scott Steinberg, the topic of lessons learned is front and center. The overarching theme of the show is "has the game industry learned its lesson?"

There's no denying that the game industry is struggling in the midst of a sour economy, declining sales, cutbacks to staff and studio closures and competition from social networks. The show explores whether developers and publishers like Activision, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts are adapting fast enough to survive in the face of growing competition from social networks, downloadable titles and free online games.

One excerpt of particular interest is with Will Wright, creator of The Sims and Spore, who says that the industry needs an evolution not unlike what transformed the human race from primordial ooze to its present state of existence: Read More

According to internal figures Runic Games' popular action RPG Torchlight has managed to move an estimated 600,000 units - and most of that movement occurred via digital sales. The company, which was bought by MMO publisher Perfect World earlier this year, was so impressed with sales of the game that it decided that a sequel was a necessary and logical next step. Runic Games is also working on a Torchlight MMO, but the company stresses that the sequel to Torchlight will have a separate design team dedicated to bringing a new game with new character classes, a new story and cooperative play.

CEO Max Schaefer told Gamasutra in a recent interview that he was surprised at the number of digital downloads the game had sold when compared to retail sales: Read More

Paradox Entertainment CEO Fredrik Wester talks GamersGate, Paradox, and digital rights management in a decent interview with Game, Set, Watch. First and foremost, Wester emphasizes that he is no longer involved in the day to day operations of GamersGate, the spin-off digital distribution portal he founded. He does, however have a 20 percent stake in the company, but his main focus is on building and growing Paradox Interactive.

More importantly Wester talks about the future of digital distribution, which he says is even now being shaped for the future in a variety of ways. Speaking about consolidation of digital distribution portals he said the following: Read More

Will the independent spirit of Kongregate be crushed now that GameStop owns them? I certainly hope not, but it's a distinct possibility. Video game retailer GameStop announced this morning that it has acquired the popular indie gaming and community site for an undisclosed amount of money. GameStop probably sees this as "getting ahead of the curve" when it comes to digital distribution and Kongregate certainly has a micro-transaction system and enough community features to make it worth buying.

But many Kongregate users go there because the bulk of the gaming nirvana that it supplies is independent in nature. Still, if you watch this video you can't help but be optimistic.. Jim and Emily Greer, Kongregate co-founders and brother and sister super duo, will retain creative control over the site - which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of GameStop. The Kongregate offices in San Francisco will remain open. Read More

Speaking to Shacknews in response to yesterday's report from the NPD Group that digital sales of games have caught up to retail sales, Stardock CEO threw some cold water on the numbers. Conspicuously absent from NPD's rankings were Stardock's popular game portal Impulse. In his response, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell said that NPD's numbers are not rooted in reality mainly because it is based on survey data rather than actual sales numbers. Read More

According to data gathered by research firm NPD Group, digital sales of PC games have shifted so much that they are nearly even with retail box sales. NPD Group said that full-game PC digital download purchases reached 21.3 million in the U.S. during 2009, slightly fewer than 23.5 million in retail box sales during the same period. Still, this is a dramatic shift for those companies that deal in the sale of digital content. These numbers put PC digital downloads at 48 percent of unit sales for PC games last year, and accounted for 36 percent of dollar sales, according to NPD Group estimates.

A shift in one direction means that traditional retail sales had to decline in 2009. Retail sales of PC games took a 23 percent tumble in the U.S. to $538 million in 2009, according to what NPD reported in January this year. Read More

Namco Bandai’s VP of sales, marketing and publishing Olivier Comte, has a lot to say about the game industry - particularly the crisis the industry faces in transitioning from disc-based games sales to digital distribution and the consumers appetite for Nintendo Wii and DS games due to crappy games. A "flood of bad games" and the effects of piracy are key factors, says Comte, in the decline of interest in both platforms:

"It’s a tough market," he told MCV in an exclusive interview. "We had a lot of product, and the average quality of a game on DS and Wii is very, very bad. So in the mind of the consumer today, to buy a DS or Wii game is to buy a game that isn’t very good." He also mentions, as anecdotal evidence, that piracy and R4 chip usage is rampant - especially among children: "DS is the most successful platform ever, but all my kids’ friends at school have a DS with an R4. They have 100 games for no money. So yes, the market has collapsed for the DS and Wii." Read More

A pretty dramatic statement for sure, but GAMESbrief (a games business blog with a decent reputation by most accounts) lays out the case against Steam for what "it might do" in the future if it becomes a monopoly in the PC games digital distribution space. The author prefaces his points by noting that Steam is not currently a monopoly and that it has done a good job of helping to keep the PC games market alive.

The points made in the story "Five reasons why Steam will destroy the PC games industry" are a response to feedback received from the book "How to Publish a Game," when it was suggested that "it made sense for a developer making PC games to work hard to get on all the distribution platforms (not just Steam, but GamersGate, Metaboli, Direct2Drive and so on)." Read More

Direct2Drive, IGN's digital distribution platform, is now selling "free to play" online games with starter packs. While that in and of itself is interesting, one thing the company is planning on doing might confuse consumers; it is putting these online games - bundled with extra digital content called "starter packs" - in among other non-free games and selling them for various prices (based on that starter pack content).

The potential problem is that consumers may think that games like Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Saga Online require a monthly fee when they don't. With games that do require a fee, Direct2Drive clearly labels those requirements on each game page; but with a game like Dungeons and Dragons Online (as an example), there is no clarity on the matter - consumers who may not follow the MMO space much won't have any idea of what they are buying. Read More

One analyst’s check into the hiring ads of online retailer Amazon leads him to believe that the company is preparing its own digital delivery service for games.

Via MCVUK we hear from Lazard Capital Analyst Colin Sebastian, who wrote, “Our periodic checks of job postings uncovered a search by Amazon in the video game category to help implement a new digital distribution platform.”

The analyst said that Amazon has about 1,250 open positions, with 511 of those centering on software development.

Sebastion continued:

As in other segments of digital media, we expect Amazon to pursue new opportunities as an aggregator of online games, similar to Steam (PC), BigPoint (browser) and others.

Since the company already has the infrastructure to deliver digital content, we believe that increased selection and a focus on the user experience will be key factors in gaining further market share. Read More

The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) has issued a few bullet point statistics from research into the status of the worldwide PC gaming market.

The group’s Horizon Report stated that the global sales of PC gaming software rose 3.0 percent from 2008 to 2009, totaling $13.1 billion last year. The industry has taken a remarkable turn towards digital distribution, which is reflected in the report—less than 20.0 percent of all revenues in the category were derived from the sale of retail boxed copies.

The report, authored by DFC Intelligence, claimed that the “high-end subscription” game market suffered from a lack of new releases and a declining number of users of older products. Additionally, free-to-play and social networking games caused PC game revenue to “decline in some markets.”
Read More

Green Man Gaming is prepping its brand new digital distribution service for games that will feature a fresh twist—users will be able to trade-in previously purchased and downloaded games for credit.

The London-based firm is expecting to launch its service sometime in the first quarter of this year with some 400 available titles. More than 2,000 games should be available by years-end. Green Man Gaming also promises to “pay significant royalties to the publisher each time the game is traded in perpetuity.”

COO Gian Luzio added:

Previously the minute you had paid and downloaded your game it had no resale value. This is extremely expensive for the gamer and does not encourage the consumer to try new genres or franchises. Our leading edge technology gives downloaded games a value that gamers can trade-in at any time.

GP: Details are scarce and the website is still under construction, but popular conjecture is that the service will offer a user credits once a game is deleted off their PC, which wouldn’t make it exactly a trade-in service. Still, if this is how it works, it’s at least a little improvement over what is offered now by other digital delivery systems. We have a couple questions in to the company for further details and will update this story if they respond.

Update: That’s why they call it conjecture. A Green Man Gaming rep emailed us back to confirm that traded-in games will be resold as “used” games.

In an acknowledgement of the growing popularity of digital distribution, GameStop has announced that it will begin offering digital downloads at its stores starting in early 2010.

According to a Reuters news story, the downloads will focus on online console games using Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. GameStop cutstomers would be able to purchases available levels for their favorite games at the store and have them available when they got home.

Speaking at the BMO Capital Management Digital Entertainment Conference, GameStop COO Paul Raines said he doesn't see the market for full-game downloads as fully viable yet, but that "the add-on download market will grow."

The Reuters story speculated that these type of downloads will help publishers through this recession:

These additional payments may be a key driver of revenue for publishers and retailers in the video-game industry, which has seen slow overall growth amid the tough economy. The idea is that consumers are more likely to pay to enhance beloved games than they are to experiment with unknown new games.

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo said he expects the company to have a strong business next year because of the impending release of some high-profile titles.

The forced integration of the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with Valve’s Steamworks platform has turned off other digital game distribution services.

IGN-owned Direct2Drive has opted not to offer MW2 on its service reports Gamasutra, calling the forced use of Steam a “Trojan Horse.” The company will offer $5 off other Activision games as compensation. From a statement on Direct2Drive’s website:

At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased.

Meanwhile, VoodooExtreme received confirmation from both Stardock and GamersGate that neither of those two services will sell MW2 either. Stardock elaborated to VE on the reasoning for not selling MW2 through their Impulse service:

We share some of the same concerns as Direct2Drive over the bundling of the Steam client with the game. The most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game.

Our issues with the game are solely with the Steamworks bundling. We enjoy a great relationship with Activision and would love to sell the title, but not with Steam.

GP: A commenter on the Gamasutra story noted that Direct2Drive offers other games that require a Steam install, such as Zeno Clash. Of course that game will not move nearly the amount of copies MW2 will, so it appears in this case that IGN/Direct2Drive is just being selective in its stand against Steam.

As part of a plan to bolster its digital distribution offerings, GameStop may look to acquire or invest in an established company or service already involved in the sector.

At a recent analyst meeting, the videogame retailer outlined three ways to accelerate its digital distribution plans reports IndustryGamers: Increase in-store sales of online point cards, expand GameStop’s current digital distribution platform and make a strategic investment in or acquire a current provider of online games.

In an opinion piece in its newsletter, GamesIndustry speculates which companies/services make sense for GameStop to acquire. Metaboli, which purchased GameTap last year, might be one logical answer, as the French-based company would provide double the pay off for GameStop, offering a way into the European market in addition to its digital catalog of games.

The other acquisition possibility? GamesIndustry writes:

Unconfirmed industry scuttlebutt suggests that Zenimax - the parent company of Bethesda, which made headlines back in June when it acquired legendary PC studio id Software - is still on the acquisition trail, and has been making eyes at Half-Life creators Valve across the bar. Whether Bethesda, a hybrid developer / publisher itself, would want to keep Steam on board, or spin it out to a third party, is unclear - as are many other aspects of a potential deal…

Developer 2dboy’s “Pay-What-You-Want” anniversary sale for its World of Goo videogame has been deemed a “huge success.”

Normally sold for $20 on the 2dboy website, and also offered through other services like Steam and WiiWare, the World of Goo sale resulted in some 57,000 people purchasing the game. The ability for consumers to pay what they wanted to for the title also generated an enormous amount of publicity, further benefiting sales.

2dboy’s Ron Carmel took to the company website to share a wealth of data from the special offer. The average price paid for the game was $2.03, while almost 17,000 people chose to pay a single cent and another 21,000 plus paid between 2 cents and $1.99. The next largest category was the $5.00 to $5.99 range, with over 7,300 customers. At the other end of the spectrum, 4 people chose to pay $50.00 for the game.

Sales of World of Goo also rose 40% on Steam, though the increase on the WiiWare side wasn’t as dramatic, with a 9% increase.

Once the sale was underway, 2dboy added a survey (results can be viewed here) to the checkout procedure in order to try and get a handle on why people chose to pay a certain amount. The top answer to that question was "I Like the Pay-What-You-Want Model and Wanted to Support It" with 24%. Runner up, with 21.4%, was "That’s All I Can Afford Right Now."

2dboy has extended the sale to run through Sunday, October 25.

|Via Gamasutra|

EA Sports President Peter Moore has labeled the videogame industry’s current reliance on disc-based media as a “burning platform.”

Speaking at the PLAY Digital Media Conference, Moore also thinks Microsoft will be the first console manufacturer to go all digital, reports IGN, even though such a move is years away. Speaking on digital distribution he stated:

As a concept, do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death, so you start moving towards a hybrid model of digital distribution.

While Moore added that it could take up to a decade for physical media to disappear, he asked:

The important question is, what does the next console look like? Does it actually have a disc drive?

Broadpoint AmTech Analyst Ben Schachter doesn’t question the fact that digital distribution of games is increasing, but he doesn’t see it having an effect on GameStop’s business until 2017.

Limited hard drive space (he estimates 70% of current-gen consoles have no hard drives), bandwidth limitations and an extended console cycle (which Schachter sees continuing through 2014) are among the factors that will allow brick and mortar retailers to fend off their digital counterparts reports IndustryGamers.

Physical media still holds sway over gamers as well, notes Schachter:

…consumers attribute a value to having a hard/physical product that can be sold, traded, and is portable. GME's own study put the residual value of physical game disc at approximately $10-20 dollars vs. a download-only version of a game.

He also points to the “relative failure” of downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV:

The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise is among the most well-known and successful brands ever created in the video game industry, yet having digital-only distribution of a product tied to GTA's most recent console title led to very disappointing sales. The bottom line is that retail still matters.

In these trying economic times, as our sister-site GameCulture reports, more and more gamers are resorting to digital downloads for mobile devices because of the attractive price points.

Maximum PC has an interview up today with Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, in which he discusses Borderlands (natch), DRM, digital delivery and Valve’s Steam platform.

While noting that he personally trusts Valve, Pitchford stated, “As a guy in this industry though, I don’t trust Valve.” What does he think of Valve’s dual role as a game developer and proprietor of Steam? “There’s so much conflict of interest there that it’s horrid.”

When asked if Valve should spin off Steam into a separate entity, Pitchford replied:

It would be much better if Steam was its own business. I love Valve games, and I do business with the company. But, I’m just saying, Steam isn’t the answer. Steam helps us as customers, but it’s also a money grab, and Valve is exploiting a lot of people in a way that’s not totally fair. Valve is taking a larger share than it should for the service its providing.

Pitchford on DRM:

…False negatives are a disaster for everyone. I’d much rather have a false positive, and allow thieves to play, than prevent a paying customer from playing my game. The industry has destroyed a lot of good will with DRM problems.

A set-top box-based home videogame system in the works from TransGaming, has landed seed money from Intel Capital, the investment arm of the chip manufacturer.

GameTree.tv is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2010. Units are powered by Intel’s new Atom CE4100 processors (codenamed Sodaville), which promise to run “rich media applications such as 3-D graphics.”

One definite plus for the system is the ability to run Flash-based games. The developer also notes that users don’t always want or need a keyboard and mouse in the living room, so part of what they are building includes the integration of gaming controllers.

PCMag recently had some hands on time with the device, trying out Peggle and World of Goo.

Certainly this service/device is aimed mostly at casual gamers. Hardcore types out there, is this something you would consider checking out?

As noted by Joystiq, the ESRB is currently listing the upcoming PC version of Manhunt 2 with an Adults Only (AO) rating.

GamePolitics readers will likely recall that the console versions of Manhunt 2 generated a major controversy in the summer of 2007 when the game was banned in Britain and tagged with an AO here in the States. Rockstar subsequently released a toned-down version that earned an M (17+) rating for the U.S. market.

That was a critical milestone, because the Big Three console makers won't license AO-rated games for their systems, which makes it tough for a publisher to earn a return on its investment. That's why you don't see any AO-rated console games. While the open architecture of the PC negates licensing concerns, an AO-rated Manhunt 2 would still get thumbs-down from major retailers like GameStop and Wal-Mart.

That means that Rockstar is either planning a digital distribution campaign for Manhunt 2 or that it will edit the PC version - as it did with the console editions - to earn an M from the ESRB. Of course, there is a third scenario: Rockstar could ship an M-rated version to retailers while distributing an AO-rated version online.

We wonder how Valve might react to handling an AO game if its Steam service, which currently distributes Rockstar's GTA IV online, is under consideration as a potential digital distribution source for Manhunt 2.

Last week was a busy one for Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin.

On Wednesday Hal was in Seattle to serve as a panelist on the Federal Trade Commission's much-anticipated town hall meeting on digital rights management (DRM). From Seattle it was down to San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference. At GDC Hal was interviewed by - among others - Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica and spoke at length about the needs of the game consumer in relation to the game industry's desire for DRM and those pesky End User License Agreements (EULA):

We suggested a few things to the FTC, one of which was we'd like to see DRM disclosed. So when people go to the store and buy the packaged good, the PC game, they'll see something on the front of the box saying there is DRM inside, and to what degree it will be invasive.

The second thing that we recommended was that EULAs get standardized, so again, rather than have 30 or 40 types of agreements, there would be one standard one for all different types of computer games. People go into the store, buy the game, open it, and they can no longer return it... by standardizing the EULA, consumers will have the confidence to know what it is they're agreeing to before they buy the product.

That didn't go over so well. There was a room of attorneys that kind of gasped when we suggested standardization. One panelist commented that the EULA really were there as consumer information, and that was the one and only time that the FTC jumped in and said 'wait a second, this has nothing to do with consumer information, this is purely IP protection...'

Hal also spoke about the coming shift to digital distribution and how this will affect the game consumer:

The transition from disc-based media to digital media... it's essentially going to remove the "purchase to own" out of the equation, replacing it with purchasing a license. That's how PC games are now... That paradigm shift, it's very important for us to get out ahead of it, so with DRM and EULAs, so we can say these are what consumer's rights are, and have an easy way to identify that in the purchasing process...

One of the reasons it's important to get EULAs standardized and DRM disclosed is that when you talk about different [delivery] systems like Steam... there are still controls in place. While it's not SecuROM, it's another form of DRM, it's just in a different way. Consumers need to understand that...

 

Some [game] publishers... feel that the vocal minority of consumers who spoke up about Mass Effect and Spore represent the 'pirates' and in doing so fanned the flames for a much larger percentage of consumers who now feel like they're not being listened to. A dismissive attitude from the industry probably came back to haunt them in sales...

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.
 

Gamers who live in the state of New York are already experiencing a benefit from President Obama's recently-passed stimulus package.

CNN reports that New York has scrapped a plan to tax digital downloads such as iTunes music and video game DLC.

Instead, Gov. David Paterson and New York legislators will utilize $1.3 billion in stimulus money to help balance the state budget.

If you live in Wisconsin, that Xbox 360 DLC you've got your eye on is about to get 5% pricier. Ditto for that PC game you're considering downloading from Steam.

The Spectator reports that Gov. Jim Doyle (D, left) has signed into law a measure that will impose a 5% sales tax on digital goods. In addition to game content, things such as music, movies, digital books and ringtones will be affected.

State Rep. Scott Suder, a Republican, was among those who opposed the new tax:

It's basically taxing students to fill in the Doyle budget shortfall, and I think that's unfair.

Wisconsin officials estimate that the levy will raise approximately $10.9 million between 2009 and 2011.

 

As states try to plug their budget gaps, some are preparing to levy taxes on digital downloads.

Such action will have a direct impact on gamers who use digital distribution to purchase games and DLC. Music and other digital content will also be affected.

On behalf of game consumers, the Entertainment Consumers Association has launched action campaigns against such initiatives in Washington, New York and Mississippi. ECA President Hal Halpin explained the move in the letter below to Washington state members yesterday:

The Washington state legislature is currently proposing a bill which would impose a tax on digitally distributed products, known as House Bill 2075.  The timing could not be worse. This bill would harm Washington consumers - including you - by raising prices at exactly the time that so many are feeling the repercussions of the economic fallout.

Speak up now and tell the Washington state legislature "no" to HB 2075.

One result of this legislation will be to suppress consumption, which will cause layoffs at effected businesses, including the video game industry, which employs many Washington residents.

Tell your representative to vote "no" on HB 2075.

In the midst of a financial crisis, bills such as this are precisely what consumers don't need. Please take the time to write your state representative, and also help spread the word by telling your friends in Washington State.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.