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Leading UK retailers insist there remains a demand for PC games on the High Street.
Their comments follow the news that Warner Bros’ upcoming Batman Arkham Knight would be digital-only on PC in the UK, and Sega’s reveal that 81 per cent of Total War: Attilla week one sales came from digital outlets.
PC gaming is a growing market and the physical side of it shouldn’t be ignored,” The Hut Group’s senior buyer Mike Fethers told MCV. There are still plenty of people who want to play games from day one of launch but don’t have the bandwidth or speed to download a full 40 to 50GB game.”
GAME UK retail MD Charlotte Knight added: There is a significant market for PC boxed games. For the week ending March 28th alone the UK market sold over 6,000 units.
We are committed to supporting the PC market, in both physical and digital formats and continue to work with our partners to ensure content is as accessible as possible for all our customers.”
Games Centre MD Robert Lindsay believes that the decision to release Arkham Knight digital-only on PC is part of a wider strategy.
Warner Bros delayed the physical version of Dying Light while the digital version was available from its original release date, now this,” he says. The company seems to be testing consumer appetite for digital over physical.
This could well be the future model for all PC titles, excluding the handful of triple-A products.”
