Right from the start, Superstars V8 Racing sounds like a risky release. A digitally distributed racing game hitting PSN a month before Gran Turismo 5 launches? O-Games is a publisher with a pair of cajones, this much is for sure.
"To date, we really haven't seen many publishers try to launch a retail-ready console title directly on a digital platform," says Greg Lanz, General Manager at O-Games, "So we look at launching Superstars V8 Racing exclusively on PlayStation Network as a huge opportunity."
Conceptually, Lanz's mission expands on what made Battlefield 1943 such a huge success — this is positioned as a cheap downloadable game with all the retail fixings, complete with online multiplayer and licensed cars.
If your inner skeptic's saying "Wait a minute," you're not alone. I like the idea of V8 Superstars, but I wonder if it can deliver on its bold claims. Lanz clearly realizes this, stating, "We are curious to see how gamers respond to a digital release…Frankly, we're hopeful people will see this as a great way to easily get a premium title for less."
At $20, V8 Racing meets in the middle of “too much for a downloadable game” and “budget-priced because it’s bad.” As I’ve pointed out before, a low price is not indicative of low quality. Lanz also notes, "It's less expensive to launch a game digitally, so we can sell it for less, which is a win-win for everyone."
By putting itself in direct contact with the consumer, the publisher or developer eliminates the need to manufacture discs, cases, and instruction manuals, as well as the need to ship hundreds of thousands of copies across the world. This efficient cost cutting allows teams to allocate these funds elsewhere — ideally, to create better content more frequently.
We've seen hints at this sort of movement on consoles in the past. The PSP Go's functionality revolves around digitally distributed retail titles, most of which release day-and-date alongside the boxed copies.
Patapon 2, which improved and expanded on its retail-only predecessor, released exclusively as a downloadable title. It topped the PSP sales charts during its first week, even beating out God of War: Chains of Olympus.
Section 8 hit the PlayStation Network for a similar price point earlier this year. Unpopulated servers after its initial 2009 release led some to believe the multiplayer shooter failed.
Developer TimeGate recently announced a sequel anyway: Section 8: Prejudice.
Did the digital release and low price point spur enough sales to support a sequel? It sure looks like it.
The problem is that publishers presently rely on retail outlets like GameStop and BestBuy. They need stores to sell the boxes we play games on. If GameStop can't sell games, it can't survive, and consumers can't purchase consoles. It's a cyclical issue, and publishers are still trying to find a loophole to cut out the middle man.
Lanz has goals with V8 Racing. "Short term," he says, "I think it will send a message to a wide variety of publishers, small and large, that they should use this now before the channel gets clogged." He notes that this is a lucrative opportunity because a V8 competitor doesn't really exist on PSN.
Whether or not Superstars V8 Racing is the stepping stone to widespread digital distribution, Lanz sees this sales form as inevitable. "Long term, I think it's a foregone conclusion that everyone from the indie houses to the biggest AAA publishers will release a variety of premium content like Superstars V8 Racing exclusively on digital platforms."
Depending on how you react, the success of V8 Racing could steer the direction of digital distribution on consoles. With Valve's Steam and Stardock's Impulse services proving the PC is a viable market for selling retail games online, this is the next logical stepping stone on the console front.