Kotaku ran an interesting article recently that has EA wondering how even though only 1.5 copies of Dead Space were sold, over 3 million 360 and PS3 unique users have played the game. Considering the very small dent that piracy plays on the 360 and PS3, this number is pretty staggering.
But at the same time, it’s perhaps not so surprising that it’s not a game that people would hold onto for a long time due to what I’m surmising as the following:
1. 10 hour length
2. Horror game
3. No multiplayer
I remember about a month after BioShock was out, my local Gamestop was flooded with used copies of the game, and while BioShock is more of a 20-25 hour game, it also lacked any sort of multiplayer to keep gamers from holding onto the game.
What surprises me about this article is not Dead Space’s numbers specifically (I’m guessing other single player games like BioShock see similar numbers), but the apparently huge outlets that allows for the same number of people to play the game without buying it as those that actually do buy it.
The fact that I have connections to game developers makes it tough since I hope their games sell so they can continue making more games, but at the same time, I’m partaking in used game purchases myself because I can’t help saving money. Why can’t the digital medium for gaming come sooner? Then this will all go away and I’ll no longer have a conflict of interest…
