One of the time honored traditions of the music, video, and game world is that of a street date. Your product that has to come out at the exact moment and exact day for the marketing blitz. As someone who has worked (and has a love for) the independent retailer realm, the other time honored tradition is NOT sticking to that date.
You know what? If you are one little neighborhood store competing against a hundred Best Buy’s, Gamestop’s, and every other chain known to man (even the local 7-11), I don’t begrudge anyone who begins to sell a game the moment the distributor is stupid enough to send it to them. Maybe I’m jaded and cutthroat anymore, but if the distributor is stupid enough to send the game early, and the retailer is stupid enough (if you feel that way) to offer it early, I am stupid enough to buy it!
I got a great kick out of what Rock Band 2 put in their game, a message on the Main Manu congratulating the player on scoring the game early. This of course would fit the spirit of a game about Rock & Roll, and is really refreshing. Hey, it’s a sale, and to them, getting that game in your hands and getting you to buy some DLC is the end goal. Who cares if you got it three days early? Go you!
This however sets up where the new street date will commence, and you can’t do anything about this one: digital content. No one is going to be able to get that download until the company posts it for you (and if you’re getting it early, it isn’t because you bought it early, it is because you pirated it early). With more and more stuff going DLC, even companies are changing their entire offerings from hard media to DLC (D3 Publishing this week for the PSP). The day everything goes digital is not a day I look forward to. While I enjoy the variation of having some stuff live on real media, and its extendability with DLC, I do not look forward to the day that everything is digital and the independent stores I love so much lose that feel. Thank goodness for older used systems to help it live on!
So, have you ever bought a game pre-street? I have a couple of times (not a ton since I try and avoid the new price anyways), but I have certainly done so. Post your thoughts in the comments.
One Response to The end (and beginning) of Street Dates.
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I managed to get a game pre-street a while back, but the difference was by a day.
Last week I got a call from our friendly neighbordhood store telling me that my copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was in pre-street and that I should come pick it up. I then got a second call the next day from the store saying that LucasArts had called them and threatened them with a cease and desist notice for selling pre-street. Turns out someone bought the 360 version and got it pre-street, and went online. Microsoft flagged it, lock out the user from their live account and then contacted then to find out who sold it. They then passed the name onto Lucasarts’ legal team who contacted the store. The store was given a warning, and would be fined the next time. Mind you, I’ve got the Wii version in bound, so I’ll be picking it up on Tuesday.
Although I understand the idea behind street dates (unified launch, retail control, review control), I think it’s a bit crazy to see it enforced the way it is. I’m not sure of the contract language between distributors and retailers and whether there’s anything in the contract that stipulates honoring street dates. If there is, then there’s legal ground for controlling street dates, but if not… It’s the same deal with books and movies I guess.
Like yourself I’m not used to buying new anyway, as you know, but I had trade-in credit and wanted to use it to get some newer games.