What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

[MrBenis]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Older-OMO, people complain about the EA Downloader because it was and maybe still is a very buggy program. There are still people who paid for it online but can't download it because the installer doesn't work properly on their system. They're delivery system just isn't as reliable as other companies.

When you download something you can easily burn it and put it in a dman box if you like that sort of thing.

Copy_of_Blah, you need XP to play BF2 so needing XP to install the Downloader kind of makes sense to me.

I run WINDOWS 2000 PRO.. HAH! Shame on your anus.

ill be kinda screwed though if the installer requires xp.. that'd be a bummer :\

[ptegan]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Yeah. I forgot about Visa gift card, great answer !

KCoastie8206 could you enetr a fake address and still use your CC number?

[BigBadBob]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Yeah. I forgot about Visa gift card, great answer !

KCoastie8206 could you enetr a fake address and still use your CC number?

IF you use a fake email address, you won't get the confirmation email that you bought it. Then if something goes wrong and they ask for proof that you bought it (as in, forward us the email you recieved) you are SCREWED.

[Horatio_Bloom]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

This makes me a bit sad... I remember the time when I was a kid and games came in beautiful big boxes, huge and well-made manuals and other extras( maps, misc. books and other stuff). Then came the age of the lame plastic packs with no extra stuff except the manuals, which are in 5 languages, but inaccurate and they only contain the dry basics, and ugly looks. And some years after we won't have anything physical, just some files on the harddrive

[<DV8>mrbucket]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Forgive me if I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone mention the fact that you cannot save these "expansions" and "booster-packs" to a back-up disc. For most people this probably isn't a problem, except for the diehard gamers who reformat their HD often. What about the people that have hard drive failure?

Ea is smart in doing this for the "boosters" for 2 reasons that was briefly touched on by the thread starter. #1- The download is available on the day of release (depending on where you are) for everyone. No one needs to go to the store, they can simply go about their business and wait till it's done. #2- After they pay the programmers, etc.(which is nothing to begin with) and pay for the server (which is their's), and clear thier overhead for the "booster", it is pure profit for EA.

The problem with this is that the Downloader is so friggen slow that I can drive 10 min. to EBGames or Gamestop and get dinner with the family, and go home and install the "booster", and I still will be ahead of the extremely slow Downloader.

[Tiamet]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

I don't care if the downloader is the quickest way of getting the booster pack. I dont have a credit card so I cant pay for it anyway, and if I do pay for something I want something tangable for my money, such as a cd. Its the same reason I wont download music. I want to actually own a copy of what I just paid for. If the boosters were released in the shops, I would be there on release day with my money, even if it cost a little more.
I dont do paypal either so dont say it.
Please EA, dont punish those people who choose not to have debt-creating, high-interest-charging credit card. Release the Boosters in the shops! LONG LIVE CASH PURCHASES!

[F-1]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads?

Again responding to all of the complaints about the Booster Pack downloads. This is a glimpse into the future of software distribution. It is the most efficient and fastest way to get software to you. Is it ready for everyone? No, not everyone has the bandwidth, but anyone playing BF2 should. Does everyone have a credit card? No, but you probably can figure out a way to make it work (Paypal, pre-paid credit cards, etc). If you have a EA downloader account, you can always retrieve/re-download the software that you have purchased. It's hard to believe people with expensive rigs, stupid number of hours of time online, all sorts of other downloaded content are so resistent to buying and receiving a $10 piece of software online.

Think about the normal distribution costs. The costs to deliver boxed software are not insignificant:
- Design, edit, finalize and produce packaging
- Printing documentation
- CD art and reproduction costs
- Shipping costs to distributors, who in turn have to ship to their retail partners
- Potential stocking fees
- In store marketing (signs, posters, end caps etc)
- Margin to each layer of the distribution channel

This doesn't even include the development costs.

By the time it ends up in the store, it has been marked up 1-2 times. At the end of the day, noone is going to make much money at $10 per box. More important it also isn't going to make it to your hard drive as fast.

The alternative is they add more content to justify charging enough money to make an acceptable profit. More content means more complexity and potentially more problems. It means a longer wait for content and a higher price to you.

EA have said the SF download helped convince them that online sales and distribution was a viable alternative to exisiting traditional methods for add-on content. Think about it, they have eliminated or reduced packaging, distribution and marketing costs. They can charge $10 and still make a reasonable profit.

Electronic distribution's time is coming. It costs less, gets to you faster and allows them to make money. Everybody wins?

You are right in everything you said. Although electronic distributions will cause some inconvenience for me and many others, but it has many advantages. The most important one is keeping the price as low as possible.

[sleazell]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Forgive me if I missed it, but I haven't seen anyone mention the fact that you cannot save these "expansions" and "booster-packs" to a back-up disc. For most people this probably isn't a problem, except for the diehard gamers who reformat their HD often. What about the people that have hard drive failure?

Ea is smart in doing this for the "boosters" for 2 reasons that was briefly touched on by the thread starter. #1- The download is available on the day of release (depending on where you are) for everyone. No one needs to go to the store, they can simply go about their business and wait till it's done. #2- After they pay the programmers, etc.(which is nothing to begin with) and pay for the server (which is their's), and clear thier overhead for the "booster", it is pure profit for EA.

The problem with this is that the Downloader is so friggen slow that I can drive 10 min. to EBGames or Gamestop and get dinner with the family, and go home and install the "booster", and I still will be ahead of the extremely slow Downloader.

Well actually you can burn the content to disc. I had to reformat my HDD the other day and did not want to waste my time off work downloading SF again. All the EA Downloader content is in the 'Electronic Art' folder under program files. I can remember the path after that but the setup and installation files are in there. So all I did was burn that directory and once I install BF2 and the downloader I copy that stuff back on over. I was able to install fine.

[ConscriptVirus]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

they should run it like steam

[jdrou]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

Another minor detail is that some people actually play BF2 with no internet connection (either SP or LAN co-op). I guess they're SOL. If there's an OS check for XP that's very annoying since despite Win2k being "unsupported" it actually runs the game fine.

[Tiamet]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads?

People seem to downloading the thing with quicker installed. It took me 32 mins to go to the shop, buy SF, go home again, and install it. Downloading is no way quicker. And that cost the same to download as it did to buy. I got a nice box and an actual disc for my money, faster than any download was ever going to be.
And that doesn't change the fact that of the 8 people where I work who play BF2, only 1 can get the Booster as only 1 has a credit card. And he won't get it because he doesn't ever use it online.

[Rambo]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

who wants steam on there computer (spyware)
people who condone this sale will be saying ok to a new era and goodbye to buying a box anymore u realize

and why do they delete my post here like nazi`s:evil: what u guna arrest me because im not a EA/dice zombie(brainwashed)or sponsored

[glaucoma]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

First of all I just want a physical copy of the software I own, because that leaves me atleast with the shred of a guarantee that my software will be available to me when I want, where I want.
Secondly, a DRM-infested "solution" such as Steam™ would make me not even remotely consider only so much as trying the game.

[ColonGlock]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

I think they should be putting more effort into the next battlefield game instead of dribbling these packs out. It will create a underclass of people who dont buy into it. I just hate the fact that they allow people who buy the expansions to play with people who have not bought them.

[Curtis12]

Re: What's Wrong with Electronic Downloads

can you buy the booster packs in stores or do you have to get them online?