Relevant, as Download-Only Needlemouse Hints Remain
With now two hints that the next Sonic, dubbed Project Needlemouse, may be limited to XBOX Live and the Playstation Network, here’s something Sega may want to think about: Physical discs are still king of the gaming industry.
That’s according to a recent quarterly report by the NPD Group, its findings published in a Wednesday Gamasutra report. The report states that in Q3 2009, 90 percent of all console games sold, new and used, were physical copies. That means digital downloads only accounted for 10 percent of the pie.
The download share is a bit bigger when talking about computers, mobile phones, and portable devices. There, NPD reports 79 percent of games sold for the various platforms were physical.
In all, NPD reports 2009 was a down year f0r the gaming indstry, which raked in $19.66 billion. That is an eight percent decline, but not as bad as some thought it would be.
As it all relates to the next Sonic, if the download only market is so small, and the hints of a download only Project Needlemouse pan out, its chances of mass success become limited. That sentiment is affirmed with a recent TSSZ News @Issue poll, which showed 61 percent of respondents don’t want Project Needlemouse to be limited to XBOX Live or PSN.
With so little known about the game since its September announcement, it will be critical to see how this component of the next Sonic pans out, especially so much evidence to support a release far and wise.
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Just because it starts as DLC doesn’t mean it stays that way. Rachet and Clank: Quest for Booty is an example. Released as DLC, and later on a disc for a cheap price.
Can go the same way really here too.
Pleeeaassse SEGA! Not for Xbox Live or PSN! It will probably not sell as well ad if it’s an a disc and so on. And I don’t like to go and buy points and then It can not be any problems with the network and so on. BWAH!
I hope there is a physical copy. Really want one.
The article does not factor video game piracy or the relative cost is takes to produce ‘hard copies’. The target audience for nedlemouse is such, that there is no need for a hard release due to the fact that most of the classic fans of old that were calling for this have either PSN or XBox live available. The reduced cost is also somethin to consider and the fact that ‘hard sonic releases’ on the PS3/XBOX aren’t doing well anyway.
Nice find, Tristan. I agree. SEGA would benefit from a more wide distribution, even if only for download.
Still, we don’t really know how big this game will be other than it’ll be “relatively small”. Many think that doesn’t necessitate a disc, as nice as it might be.
Anyways, SEGA may be testing the waters with this game for all we know.
why not do both? More money
There’s no other feeling than opening a brand new game box and sniffing its contents.
Mmmmm fully colored manuals….
@SEGAMew
I thought I was the only weirdo who liked ‘New Game Smell’. I suppose I should’ve figured otherwise, lol.