Video game streaming has yet to take off in quite the same way it has with television and music, but that hasn’t stopped Ubisoft from investing heavily in the technology. With Ubisoft+, the company has made its library accessible to users for $17.99 per month. That service has apparently been a success for Ubisoft, but there’s a lot of room for growth. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft’s director of subscription Philippe Tremblay talked about what it’s going to take for more gamers to embrace the streaming model.
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“One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That’s a transformation that’s been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don’t lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That’s not been deleted. You don’t lose what you’ve built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game,” Tremblay told GamesIndustry.biz.
Why Gamers Want to Own
A big part of the hesitation that surrounds abandoning physical media is that a lot of gamers enjoy revisiting titles that mean a lot to them. There are countless video games that remain stranded on their original platforms, and many others that have simply disappeared as a result of digital storefronts shutting down. An all-digital future makes it even more likely that games will be lost. That might not happen with franchises that are wholly-owned by companies like Ubisoft, but licensed games like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora could be a different story. That’s a fact that Tremblay conveniently avoids.
“As people embrace that [streaming] model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you’ll be able to access them when you feel like. That’s reassuring,” said Tremblay.
The Death of Physical Media?
While concerns over the future of physical media are a major discussion surrounding video games, many are similarly concerned about movies and TV, as well. The reality is, streaming platforms just don’t have everything people want to watch, and with retailers like Best Buy moving away from selling physical media, it seems like companies are boxing people into a future where the only option to watch a movie or play a video game is by paying for a monthly subscription service. It remains to be seen whether that future will come to pass, but it’s easy to see why companies like Ubisoft are so desperate to make it happen.
Do you still buy physical media? Are you concerned about physical games going away? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: Nintendo Life]
