Legal Niches

THQ's Ian Curran on DRM, the Future of the $60 Game

By james_fudge

In an interview with Computer and Video Games, THQ's Global publishing executive VP, Ian Curran, gave his opinions on DRM and the possible future of the $60 retail game.

Speaking about the cost of retail games, Curran said that the industry may move towards a micro-transactional market where the whole game isn't necessarily in the retail box. Citing the free-to-play MMO market as an example, users play the game and then buy additional content they want.

The problem with such an example is that most free-to-play MMO games can be played without ever buying extra content, whereas big publishers will probably charge for features that players consider essential like multiplayer. Of course, with a lower price, consumers might find paying extra for multiplayer more acceptable. Here's a bit from the interview: Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on July 22, 2010 (boomark / email).