View Full Version : ugg why do game companys still release there games on 700mb cds?
overclucker
12-02-05, 08:10 PM
why do game companys still release there games on 700mb cds? sometimes i get 7 or more cds. if they used dvds then they could fit them on 1 or 2 maybe 3 at most dvds instead of 5 or 6 or 7 cds. it takes up soo much room in my cases
and dont say some people dont have dvd readers. anyone that dosnt have one probely dosnt play video games in the first place
Well it was quoted by one game publisher, Activision I think, that the cost of releasing them on DVD's costs a good deal more. On that I call BS. Also the game has to be pretty much repacked, installation and content wise to put on a DVD, so most of these companies just dont want pay the extra 5 cents a disc and start doing it all on bolth platforms.
And I agree, there is now a fast amount of PC users that have DVD-rom drives, enough to definatly warrent games to always come out with a DVD version, and a still have a CD version for the optical drive challenged.
DaWiper
12-02-05, 08:24 PM
It really doesn't make sense. Game makers have no problem releasing a game that most people doesn't have the required hardware to play(gpu). They still use cd media to release games even though cd-roms are almost hard to buy new...
Its because the majority of the population does not have DVD Drives.
It will come with time. They would loose more money making them in DVD Form as people would not be able to read them, then saving money with less disks.
dicecca112
12-02-05, 08:30 PM
all computers have some type of gpu, whether integrated or not. Not all computers have a DVD Player, most have CD Player, at least those that wish to play games. The small percentage that don't, won't be playing.
Well it was quoted by one game publisher, Activision I think, that the cost of releasing them on DVD's costs a good deal more. On that I call BS
You are exactly right, I read that its actually cheaper to do a game on a DVD than multiple CDs
pejsaboy
12-02-05, 08:43 PM
There are actually games that are released on dvd, just not *all* games. a lot of the collectors edition sets are on dvd. a buddy of mine that plays WoW said he installed from a dvd collectors edition, and i believe i've seen the halflife 2 in a dvd collectors edition.
Archer36
12-02-05, 09:24 PM
and dont say some people dont have dvd readers. anyone that dosnt have one probely dosnt play video games in the first place Eh? I just got my first DVD burner in my desktop a few days ago...
i just got a dvd burner about 4 months ago
FlakMonkey
12-02-05, 09:53 PM
I dont have a dvd player/burner.
superdaveviii
12-02-05, 09:59 PM
and dont say some people dont have dvd readers. anyone that dosnt have one probely dosnt play video games in the first place
Your average "gamer" isn't someone from these boards, or who is even technically savvy. Your "average gamer" is Joe "Dell" Sixpack, as most statistics would show. Even if only 25% of your player base owns only CD-ROM drives, 25% is a lot of sales to cut out of the equation.
In my computer I have 2, a CDRW/DVD combo, and a DVD burner, had the combo drive for over a year now. But I just think that at least the big name games are always released with a DVD version to accompany the CD version.
SolidxSnake
12-02-05, 10:05 PM
i thought i was behind on technology?
I've had a dvd reader ever since they were released 1998/1999
tenchi86
12-02-05, 10:41 PM
My friend I know, owns only a CD burner. That being said though, he of course does not have a great PC anyway. So most new games that come on CD probably won't even run on his PC. Anyway I see why they do it, though I like DVDs more since I have one, some don't and I still think they should be able to test the games out if they like. (just like me being on 56k, though a large majority of people are on broadband, there are still a few of us left. So it is nice when websites try to factor that into their layout.)
Captain Newbie
12-02-05, 11:55 PM
A good deal of midrange OEM systems have come standard with a DVD and CD-RW combo now since about 2001 or 2002. The game industry is a bit behind, and having to change discs is a pain.
And sales of DVD drives would go up, so everyone would win :D
I really dont get it either. I mean, even the most low end box being sold by HP or Compaq has at least a dvd combo drive built into it. And if they are holding back because of the percentage of people who are still on a PII, well those computers wont even run any of the new games that are being released nowdays anyways. And frankly, if people can afford to pay $50 for a new game, why cant they pay $30 for a freaking DVD drive? I get freaking mad every time I get home excited about the new game that I just bought, only to find out that I have to spend a freaking hour installing the game, not because the install takes all that long, but because I have to sit next to my computer and wait for it to ask me to change discs. And I have dual DVD drives, one a burner and one a reader that I have had for years. I dont get it either. At least give me the option of buying it on DVD. Usually I end up paying for the collectors or Gold edition when available so that I can get the DVD version, not because I want the T-shirt or figuring, but because I want the DVD so that I dont have to mess with 7 freaking CD's. CD's where cool in the 90's, but this is 05 and DVD's are it now.
And dont tell me that it cost more to produce the game on DVD's either, because the extra packageing for the X's 3 amount of CD's to DVD's offsets any costs.
mdameron
12-03-05, 01:51 AM
<--- CD drives still... soon to switch to DVD. I hate reading about firmware updates, +'s, -'s, incompatibility, brands of disks not working.... CD's have never let me down. I'm lazy, but I'll hang myself if I'm ever too lazy to swap CD's.
Nexus Realized
12-03-05, 01:52 AM
By the time game makers start making DVD's the "normal" thing to distribute there will be something newer and they will fall behind again.
<--- CD drives still... soon to switch to DVD. I hate reading about firmware updates, +'s, -'s, incompatibility, brands of disks not working.... CD's have never let me down. I'm lazy, but I'll hang myself if I'm ever too lazy to swap CD's.
There is absolutely no worry about firmware updates and incompatibility with factory pressed DVD-ROMs and a DVD-reader.
PingSpike
12-03-05, 08:17 AM
I still haven't bothered to buy a DVD reader or writer. I've been thinking about picking up a writer because they are so cheap and I could use the backup capacity. The reason I haven't bought one is I don't NEED one. If games came out on DVDs I'd just pick one up, but everything still comes on CDs so I never bothered. I have no desire to watch DVDs on my computer, never did.
the reason is as much a matter of economics as it is intertia, or what we pretentious social science types refer to as "path dependence." once a particular technology is adopted, the costs of deviating from that technology rise at a faster rate than the benefits of switching to new tech such that it becomes locked in place. some examples of this "lock in" effect are the universal adoption of the qwerty keyboard or VHS.
so, anyone else remember the days of buying games that came on 15 floppy disks? :bang head
tom10167
12-03-05, 11:44 AM
I still haven't bothered to buy a DVD reader or writer. I've been thinking about picking up a writer because they are so cheap and I could use the backup capacity. The reason I haven't bought one is I don't NEED one. If games came out on DVDs I'd just pick one up, but everything still comes on CDs so I never bothered. I have no desire to watch DVDs on my computer, never did.
They're so awesome, I love having a DVD burner, and I use it ALL THE TIME.
You know what's a real hoot? Taking your 6 disc UT2004 game and putting the whole thing on to one disc.
Or putting Hitman 2, Hitman 3(two discs), Max Payne 2(two discs) on one disc, and then putting GTR, NFS Underground, Underground 2, and Most Wanted ALL on to ONE disc. Hell make a second copy, a blank DVD is what, 30 cents?
Captain Newbie
12-03-05, 12:22 PM
all computers have some type of gpu, whether integrated or not. Not all computers have a DVD Player, most have CD Player, at least those that wish to play games. The small percentage that don't, won't be playing.
Eh, sort of.
It's still possible to have CPU-driven graphics through memory-mapped input-output. But it's slow cumbersome and takes up CPU time that is better spent doing things like figuring out where your player is and what he's doing, etc.
(The use of the masculine here includes the feminine, for the three women who play computer games.)
DVD-Rs are good to back up to, at least.
threeme2189
12-03-05, 01:24 PM
You are exactly right, I read that its actually cheaper to do a game on a DVD than multiple CDs
thats exactly what i thought.
a dvd costs more but you are going to use one dvd instead of 4 cd's. so releasing games on dvd is cheaper.
overclucker
12-03-05, 09:05 PM
for the people that are saying a small percentage of people dont have dvd-roms, ya know also a small percentage of people dont even have cd-roms or floppy drives. but that hasnt stopped the game makers from relasing games on 300 floppy disks for a game.
Larry Quinn
12-03-05, 11:31 PM
None of my systems have DVD...
No Compelling reason to own one...YET!
Heck....I don't even burn that many CD's....If I had to guess..last time I made a CD was.....Hmmm...I'd guess this last spring..April..May.Maybe.
If software was on DVD..I'd own one..or two..or.. 15..
Larry
Blackmage
12-04-05, 06:56 AM
look, it's beacause people don't have DVD drives. if you think about the market, they will lose out on people who haven't got DVD's Rom Drives. loss of bussines = loss of profit
tom10167
12-04-05, 08:05 AM
for the people that are saying a small percentage of people dont have dvd-roms, ya know also a small percentage of people dont even have cd-roms or floppy drives. but that hasnt stopped the game makers from relasing games on 300 floppy disks for a game.
What games come on 300 floppys?
;) I know what ya meant.
In any case, the fact that a LARGE percentage of us enthusiasts don't have DVD drives(this is pretty surprising to me) should make it fairly obvious.
It doesn't matter to me, everything I get is reworked and chopped and shoved on to a single disc with a .txt of all the keys I need.
mdameron
12-04-05, 12:05 PM
Wasn't there a poll asking what drives you had? I'll see if i can find it...
EDIT
here it is: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=418276
overclucker
12-04-05, 12:15 PM
see? alot of people do have em, all of my 3 out of my 3 systems have dvd readers and 2 outta the 3 have dvd-r with cd-r 2 of them so u can dub discs
tom10167
12-04-05, 01:33 PM
Wasn't there a poll asking what drives you had? I'll see if i can find it...
EDIT
here it is: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=418276
How many people that replied wanted to say "Hell yeah I have a DVD Burner!"
Look here, a lot of people DON'T have them.
And even if 'a lot' do, that's not 'just about everybody' so it's not worth it.
Lowest common denominator.
deRusett
12-04-05, 04:31 PM
Its simple if you want games on DVD's ONLY buy the DVD games, if you can't get the game you want on DVD wait for it to come as a collectors edition on DVD,
Since people my self included will buy what ever we can get our hands on one opening day the publishers say, Well We sell both DVD and CD, and more of the CD games sell then DVD so it must be fine.
IF we want publisher to release games on DVD's primarally we need to do 3 things
Pre Order DVD games, from stores,
Ask Publishers of up coming games to release the game on DVD and CD
When a Copy of a game you want in the store is out of DVD versions, ask them to order you one and wait till it arrives, if people do this, publishers will see the trend of DVD demand growing and put more titles on DVD, AND release more DVDs for titles already being released.
GQBalla
12-04-05, 04:41 PM
lol i juss got a dvd reader/ burner a couple months ago when i upgraded my comp
Its simple if you want games on DVD's ONLY buy the DVD games, if you can't get the game you want on DVD wait for it to come as a collectors edition on DVD,
Since people my self included will buy what ever we can get our hands on one opening day the publishers say, Well We sell both DVD and CD, and more of the CD games sell then DVD so it must be fine.
IF we want publisher to release games on DVD's primarally we need to do 3 things
Pre Order DVD games, from stores,
Ask Publishers of up coming games to release the game on DVD and CD
When a Copy of a game you want in the store is out of DVD versions, ask them to order you one and wait till it arrives, if people do this, publishers will see the trend of DVD demand growing and put more titles on DVD, AND release more DVDs for titles already being released.
Amen! My last purchase was a DVD game. If enough of us voice our opinions, the publishers will change their habits.
Dan0512
12-04-05, 04:54 PM
The PC that I found at the recycling center has a DVD drive, original from 1998 (wonder how much they cost back then)..
My pII 400 mhz, DVD-check (1998) :)
Then our p4 1.6ghz, DVD-check (2001)!
And my 3000+ Venice, DVD-check (2005)!
Geeze it's like 2006, everyone should have his/her DVD drive... they're like 7 years old.. :p not nesceseraly a burner, just a drive....
As to companies releasing them on CDs, don't know.... sometimes it seems they just like to make life harder for us ;)
dan
I don't like having multiple cd's either. And it's really annoying that the companies wait like a month or more to release a DVD version of the game.
perfectturmoil
12-04-05, 06:51 PM
...And frankly, if people can afford to pay $50 for a new game, why cant they pay $30 for a freaking DVD drive?... And dont tell me that it cost more to produce the game on DVD's either
Well, for the second thing, I think their point is that it costs a bunch more to do BOTH so its not worth it. Because yes, they would save by just having DVD's, but they would loose by loosing the 10% of sales that go to people who only have cd drives.. thats pretty big.. So they would HAVE to make a cd version too.. and then, its not really worth it to make DVD too.. they don't see any gain.. just loss..
And the first thing.. Have you looked at prices? Most of these people won't be shopping newegg. They won't know how to upgrade things in their computer. They will probably be too afraid to open it - not to mention actually start taking things apart.
So.. that 30 dollars at the egg becomes at least 45 (for the cheap one) or 60 (for the sony) at best buy. Now, geek squad charges 40 bucks for drive instalation AT best buy. So.. 85 to 100 dollars.. For something that they themselves probably don't need.. Thats the price of two or three new games.. Would you trade 3 of your games for something rather unneccesary that you could just as easily "just get when you get your next computer?"
Redstone
12-05-05, 10:30 AM
I have a DVD drive sitting in a closet somewhere. Pulled it out of the computer early 2004 when I bought a CDRW drive. The DVD writers were expensive then. In the three years I used it, I might have put one or two DVD's into the drive just to see if it was still working. If the need changes for games, I'll get one.
tom10167
12-05-05, 11:32 AM
See I use my computers to watch movies all of the time so not having a DVD drive would be devastating, but I'm guessing I'm a minority.
lordkosc
12-05-05, 11:59 AM
See I use my computers to watch movies all of the time so not having a DVD drive would be devastating, but I'm guessing I'm a minority.
My pc is a media hub, so it is always being used to watch movies! DVD is a must!
Falcon-K
12-05-05, 02:02 PM
Its because the majority of the population does not have DVD Drives.
It will come with time. They would loose more money making them in DVD Form as people would not be able to read them, then saving money with less disks.
I would wager more pcs are without Windows XP then DVD drives, who doesnt have one? Every dell, gateway ect all come with them. Battlefield 2 requires Windows XP, but how many relatives, friends ect are still using ME, 2000, 98?
I cant honestly think of a friend who doesnt have a DVD drive.... if they make people upgrade gpus, cpus, ram, os, ect they can make people use bloody DVDs. A dvd drive is around 20+$. If all games started coming out on DVD they wouldnt lose any sales because people would just upgrade.
Call of Duty is 1 DVD or 6 cds.... its pathetic. I want at least the option for games to get either a DVD or a CD. EA has been really good about it and a few others but more need to do this.
Edit: wow there are lot of people without DVD rom drives...I dont know anyone who doesnt have one... including non games, my grandma ect. /shrug
Wiggles
12-05-05, 03:48 PM
What games come on 300 floppys?
;) I know what ya meant.
In any case, the fact that a LARGE percentage of us enthusiasts don't have DVD drives(this is pretty surprising to me) should make it fairly obvious.
It doesn't matter to me, everything I get is reworked and chopped and shoved on to a single disc with a .txt of all the keys I need.
I remember back in the day when they started using more than one 3.5 floppy for a game. I think Wolfenstein 3d came on 3 disks. When I first opened up the game, I was like woah! So many disks.
I myself do prefer dvd versions of games. Not so much because I don't have to worry about switching cd's to install a game, but it's just that much easier to only have to worry about 1/2 dvd's instead of 7/8 cd's.
Redstone
12-05-05, 06:02 PM
See I use my computers to watch movies all of the time so not having a DVD drive would be devastating, but I'm guessing I'm a minority.
That's valid reason to have one. I watch movies on my overpriced DVD player in my overpriced HT set up.
Falcon-K
12-05-05, 09:59 PM
That's valid reason to have one. I watch movies on my overpriced DVD player in my overpriced HT set up.
DVD players are cheap? Newegg has them for 21$ shipped, less than 30$ shipped for a sony dvd rom drive. :shrug:
Redstone
12-05-05, 10:39 PM
DVD players are cheap? Newegg has them for 21$ shipped, less than 30$ shipped for a sony dvd rom drive. :shrug:
Umm..like I said my computer DVD drive is in a closet somewhere. I was talking about my Sony DVP-S9000ES (http://www.laaudiofile.com/dvps9000es.html) DVD/CD player. It's 4 years old but still kicks arse and even though its a dvd player it's still considered one of the best audio cd players Sony ever built. Would I buy it today? No. The video quality in low end DVD players has jumped light years in the last 4 years and is as good as this high end model. But today's Sony models sound still doesnt touch it.
SpliT71
12-06-05, 10:58 AM
Well it was quoted by one game publisher, Activision I think, that the cost of releasing them on DVD's costs a good deal more. On that I call BS. Also the game has to be pretty much repacked, installation and content wise to put on a DVD, so most of these companies just dont want pay the extra 5 cents a disc and start doing it all on bolth platforms.
And I agree, there is now a fast amount of PC users that have DVD-rom drives, enough to definatly warrent games to always come out with a DVD version, and a still have a CD version for the optical drive challenged.
As true as this may be, i still don't have a DVD-rom. I used to but on this machines i didn't opt for one when i built it. Although that may be a consideration in the future, whether that be a dvd-rw or just a rom.
PingSpike
12-06-05, 11:26 AM
The PC that I found at the recycling center has a DVD drive, original from 1998 (wonder how much they cost back then)..
My pII 400 mhz, DVD-check (1998) :)
Then our p4 1.6ghz, DVD-check (2001)!
And my 3000+ Venice, DVD-check (2005)!
Geeze it's like 2006, everyone should have his/her DVD drive... they're like 7 years old.. :p not nesceseraly a burner, just a drive....
As to companies releasing them on CDs, don't know.... sometimes it seems they just like to make life harder for us ;)
dan
The standalone cdrom drive that is a companion to my cd burner I pulled out of a junked PC at a job I had back in 1999. It still has the original company price tag on top, it was either $179 or $279...a 24x cdrom, not burner, just reader.
snyper1982
12-06-05, 11:27 AM
Check this out:
http://www.fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=64871
Shows you how to back up all your multi-cd games to one dvd. It is not that big of a deal to me.
i am slightly confuse if we go with the logic that developers keep in mind that people might be without dvdrom than why do they presume that consumers will have latest gpu if not latest than the second best, no i am not talking about minimum specifications posted on the box we all know thats a big joke they play on us
i have a silly theory atleast its according to our company, around an year back when dvdr's were relatively expensive we bought in bulk CDR's and than within few months time dvdr prices dropped down, now we were in fix, since we had 3-4 boxes of cdr's which were lying there, we opted to write cd's and when the stock finished we bought dvdr's in bulk
it might not be true in this case but hey its just a thought :)
tom10167
12-08-05, 04:03 AM
Check this out:
http://www.fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=64871
Shows you how to back up all your multi-cd games to one dvd. It is not that big of a deal to me.
You certainly don't need a website.
Copy/paste the contents on to one big cd. Anything it wants you to rewrite, just say no.
snyper1982
12-08-05, 09:11 AM
You certainly don't need a website.
Copy/paste the contents on to one big cd. Anything it wants you to rewrite, just say no.
On some games the insatll file(.msi) needs to be edited to point at the new disk. As far as I know anyways... I could be wrong, but it seems logical to me, that when the install file is pointing at disk_3 for pak 3,4,and5(totally hypothetical), and there is no disk_3, it will be asking for it. I hav never tried any other way though, so I could be way off here.
tom10167
12-08-05, 09:35 AM
Oh ok. You're probably right, I've just never run in to that is all.
Horay for the website then! :D
deathman20
12-08-05, 01:59 PM
Last time I tried getting a game that had both. I was ****ed because there was only CD version left. All the local stores sold out of the DVD version of the game. Theres more people then we think that have DVD drives. All your dell's and hp's and such all come with dvd's stock at least anymore.
Truely though all the main audience does have dvd drives. Its the ones that upgrade computers and take left over parts from old computers to use in the new ones to reduce cost I see as the main people left with older CD drives, or there last upgrade the DVD drivers where still a decent cost and they didn't need them.
i've always bought games that come on dvd disks. Collectors editions, but sometimes that means paying up to 59.99 retail for a game that may retal at only 49.99 on regular cds.
the video store that i manage, we have as a company have completely gotten rid of all VHS tapes from any of the stores. There are still a few of them that are on sale for like .99 cents. Majority of the population now days owns DVD players. The whole industry of entartainment is moving towards only releasing dvds. Alot of movies like star wars episode 3 only came on dvd and widescreen. So if game companies would release games on DVD drives, then people would be forced to upgrade to dvd drives. other wise they would not play thier game on their dell dimension joe six pack machine w/ budweiser
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