What’s the best way to buy a game, physical or digital? According to Maximum Entertainment CEO Christina Seelye, the two can help each other equally.
Talking to Game Developer at Gamescom, she explained that selling physical versions of a game can help get more eyes on a title, particularly online. Amazon and in-person stores like GameStop go a long way, and that attention can spread to digital stores like Steam and PlayStation Network.
Seelye noted Maximum itself has shown this “time and time again…there is no cannibalization.” Citing the choice to release a physical collection of the Five Nights at Freddy’s games, she claimed doing so helped digital sales for those individual games go “up and up and up.”
Physical games? What is it good for?
Despite the ease of buying games digitally, Seelye believes people who see a game at the store remain a “different audience” worth courting. Discs and cartridges can also give publishers a chance to engage with that audience in a different, more tactile way.
Essentially, there’s a reason deluxe editions remain so prevalent. The collector angle works, since it offers “little special moments” for a game’s community that furthers interest in a title.
That said, Seelye acknowledged that Maximum is in a position other publishers might not be. Even with potential partners like Limited Run, a physical release is not always viable, and it can be further complicated by a game’s genre, platforms, etc.
Even with that, the physical games will remain an essential part of the industry. Much of that will be determined through opporunity, and advised it’d be smart for able publishers to stick with the tried-and-true format.
“You’re still making money,” Seelye assured. “Not as much margin as you’re going to sell digitally, but you’re still making money, plus all of these other benefits.”