If you look at the world we live in today, you will find that it is much different than it was about, say, ten years ago, or even twenty years ago. A lot of brick and mortar stores are slowly disappearing. While there are some that are thriving more than ever, it's online storefronts like Amazon that add a convenience factor unlike we've ever had before. Buying goods online and having it sent to your house within a day? Sometimes even within the hour? That's absolutely incredible. Thinking about how we used to buy goods back when I was a kid is sometimes mind boggling. I mean, just think about it. Store out of stock on a particular item? Try again in a week when a new shipment comes in. Oh, and get there when they open because it's first come first serve. No, we're not holding it for you. Special ordered an item? Sometimes it would take weeks to receive it at the distribution warehouse. Want that special item on Black Friday? How about you camp outside the store for weeks until they open their doors at around five in the morning. I mean, that's totally normal, right? If you tell that story to kids these days, they'd probably think you were joking, or, downright insane. But how we shopped and what systems that were in place that gave us options to shop was very different than what it is today.
Before the internet, many stores had layaway options, rainchecks, and departments dedicated to special order sales for items not generally carried in stores. We even had catalogues mailed to our houses from a variety of stores like Sears and JC Penney. Then the internet happened and everything changed. Just within the last decade alone, online shopping has changed the way we, as consumers, shop. Gone are the days of rainchecks and layaway. Mailing catalogues no longer need to be printed and mailed when you can view an endless selection of goods online within seconds. With this ease of online convenience, many stores have closed permanently or have been absorbed by other companies due to the demands needed to run their businesses on the internet. Some companies haven't been able to keep up with the online demand while others just couldn't compete with businesses like Amazon. Because of that, so many stores have already disappeared while others are slowly fading away. When it comes to competition, we are losing the amount and variety of choices we used to have.
If we look at the world of video games, you start to notice a change in the landscape here as well. More and more each year, we're reaching an all new digital age where physical media is starting to become a thing of the past. A lot of companies like Best Buy and Wal-Mart are starting to discontinue carrying physical media in their stores. And if you do happen to buy a physical copy of a video game these days, it's almost a complete waste. In many cases, all the physical disc does is install the game on your hard drive instead of reading it off of the disc like it used to. There are even some cases where there is no disc or cartridge in the packaging at all. It just comes with a digital download code instead. Kind of a funny way to force consumers to buy digital products, wouldn't you say?
And then there's all these crazy sales found on these major video game storefronts.
Video game storefronts like the Nintendo eShop, the Playstation Store, Steam, and more, run sales on digital titles on a consistent basis. Weekly and monthly sales pop up often, with many top AAA titles being sold at incredibly cheap prices. Buying a game digitally with these consistent sales really make it even more enticing to buy digital more than ever before. These kinds of sales were made popular by Steam with its frequent seasonal sales. While it was blazing a trial in that digital space, other companies started to follow suit. And why wouldn't they? Steam’s top 10 games captured over 60% of revenue in 2023. That's huge! But it doesn't just stop there. Gaming, how we buy and how we play, is still evolving into interesting territory. Enter the subscription service models like Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass. Subscription models are also changing how we play games where we don't even need to technically buy games anymore. Just pay for the subscription and get access to a catalog of games and play them anytime you want. It's a very interesting concept. When you look at the way things are going, it really feels like there’s no stopping this digital train. It's evolving in some form, but it's here to stay.
That being said, there's a part of me that is a bit sad as I watch this shopping landscape change. There was something special about walking into physical stores as they all brought with it a variety of fun and unique customer experiences. Some experiences were good, some were bad. But overall, shopping used to be an event, a social activity. It's one of the reasons why malls became so big. Malls were practically a community center filled with stores, food courts, arcades, movie theaters, and more. It was a place where people could meet up with each other, hang out together, shop together, look for the latest releases, or see what was on crazy sales. If you wanted something, you had to go out and get it. The hunt for what you want, or discovering something you didn't know you wanted, was all a part of the thrill. It was an experience. In a word, it was just 'fun'.
Now, malls still exist today. But those that are still around aren't what they used to be. Especially with so many stores that have come and gone over time. I've been in malls where half the building was empty due to so many stores being permanently closed. And while there are some malls that still thrive in certain areas, there are many have closed completely.
Now, I know there's a lot of variables involved when it comes to mall and store closures. Online shopping isn't the only reason why a lot of physical stores are closing. But it definitely is a factor. There are other variables too look at like the economy, inflation, labor, turnover, supply shortages, etc. But one of the biggest proponents to closures that I believe is a huge factor in why a lot of these stores go under, comes right down to the overall customer experience and customer satisfaction. Bad experiences and bad interactions leave a lasting impact on whether or not you want to shop anywhere ever again. Too many stores and companies also go under as a consequence to their own actions. And if you factor in the general shopping woes we all have experienced one way or another, it makes online shopping that much more enticing. No more waiting in long lines during the checkout process, no more risks of experiencing terrible in-person customer service, or not being able to find anyone for help. No more finding out the item you wanted on the shelf is out of stock. No more being interrogated by an employee when trying to return a product. Oh, and my personal favorite, no more having a hard time to find a place to park. Seriously, why go through all of that hassle when you can just stay at home, find what you want, order it, and move on with your life?
When I used to work for Best Buy, our biggest competitor, like most other companies, was Amazon. Back then, you would find what I felt like was a tug of war between in-store shopping and online shopping. You started to see customers do their own research a lot more, both online and in-store. Some would walk in with printouts or take notes and then leave. Others would walk in, take a picture of an item on their phone, and then leave. Many would blatantly bypass a sales associate for their knowledge or their assistance while others would humor us sales associates and ask questions on products as part of their research. I mean, if you're doing research, why wouldn't you want to pick an associate's brain on an item? We theoretically were the experts in our fields. I know I took pride in my knowledge and experiences with a lot of things we sold, including video games. Heck, Best Buy even took training a step further, utilizing a variety of in-house and online product training modules. That being said, like any retail company I've ever worked for, employees were also trained on "how to sell to customers". And I use quotation marks here sarcastically as I've witnessed a lot of aggressive sales tactics in my days of working retail. So, "how to sell to customers" really means "how to get the customer to not only buy something, but to buy today". The expectations Best Buy had on its employees to hit their individual goals, departmental goals, and store goals, brought with it a lot of fear of losing their jobs if they didn't meet their quotas. It wasn't fun for the employees and, in turn, it didn't make it a great experience for the customers.
So what you started seeing was what the internet was calling "Amazon's showroom floor". Basically, go see it at Best Buy and then go purchase it on Amazon. My thoughts on it all? I felt it was kind of genius on the customer's part. It was easier for them to bypass all the bullshit to find what they needed or wanted. No manipulation, no sales tactics, no bad in-person experience. Just be done with it and order online. It puts the power back in the customer's hands and I am so here for it. Personally, I feel that after a decades worth of retail experiences, of people being treated poorly, or getting ripped off, plus all the sales tactics, and manipulation in trying to get a customer's bottom dollar, it's our fault. We, as human beings, created this environment. We created this type of behavior, this type of customer. I'll be honest, as someone who's worked in the retail industry for over twelve years, I didn't like how we were taught to be aggressive and have this "always be closing sales" mentality. Neither did the customers, ironically. And overall, I'm a people person. I just like helping people. It's a part of my nature and how I connect with people. So my approach to my customers was just to strike up conversations, see what they needed, and figure out how I could help them get what they needed. With no hassles, while providing my customers with a better in-person experience with honest conversations, I had a lot of repeat business. I loved it. I found a lot of success with this approach and I made a lot of meaningful connections through these type of interactions. What I also found helpful was this was also during that time where Best Buy started to implement 'price matching'.
"Amazon has it on sale? Why wait? We'll match the price and you can walk out with what you want today!" I'm sure the marketing helped the company stay competitive in that regard. But honestly, in the end, it's not really about the price. At least, not all the time. Sure, it helps. But price is really only part of the puzzle. I say this because I will personally spend more money on the same item somewhere else if I get a better experience out of it. I've had customers tell me the same exact thing. Why? Because it's in those experiences and interactions that adds value to my overall purchases. That being said, there's also tremendous value in saving time and energy. There's value in not having to deal with aggressive sales tactics and jumping through hoops to get what you want. Because of that, this is why I believe online storefronts have become more popular and are here to stay.
But there is still work to be done. If this really is our future, it is my hope that these digital storefronts evolve into something better than what a lot of them are now. Video game companies used to rely on other stores to sell their products. Stores like Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., Electronics Boutique, and Toys R' Us, they all used to be havens for all your gaming needs. Each store brought with it its own charm, flair, and shopping culture. Many were filled with a variety of gaming kiosks, TVs with game trailers, playable demos, cardboard cut-outs, in-store rewards, you name it. With a lot of these stores gone, plus the stores that are left who are getting rid of their physical media stock, video game companies now have to sell their own products themselves. And in doing so, unfortunately, what we find is that a lot of these gaming companies put little-to-no effort in their online stores. Not all of them. But a lot lack in what these brick and mortar stores used to bring to the customer: an engaging experience. Many are missing character, flavor, and fun. Some are very disorganized, some are mired in an endless amount of video game shovelware, and many are just a bunch of uninspiring, boring experiences. What I miss about going to a real store is the experience and the excitement that it brought when discovering new things. It's one thing to buy a game digitally, but it's another thing to hold the game in your hand, see the artwork, read the synopsis in the back, play a demo at a store kiosk, and share in this experience with your friends and family. Now, I don't think you can replicate those exact experiences digitally. I would certainly like to be proven wrong. But honestly, you could at least try to make some sort of effort to make your stores fun and exciting. Or at the very least, organized. There are some storefronts that succeed in doing just that. However, there are quite a bit that could use some good ol' TLC. This is what I ultimately want to talk about.
Come with me on a journey.
Nintendo eShop
Let's start this off with the Nintendo eShop as it is today. In 2018, I wrote a Paradigm Reflection about the closure of the Virtual Console and how Nintendo wasn't going to bring that program forward to the Nintendo Switch. As sad as that was, I was still hopeful back then. I was hopeful that at some point in the future, Nintendo would make things better. If they are getting rid of something as big as the Virtual Console, something that defined the Wii and the Wii U era, maybe they had something different up their sleeves. Something better, something that would blow people out of the water. I mean, like the 3DS and Wii U before it, the Nintendo Switch still certainly has an eShop. Maybe they'll put more focus into their digital storefront and we'll see something new, fun, and innovative. Well, it pains me to say this, but in the last six years since I wrote that piece, nothing has changed in the Nintendo eShop. Nothing. Nintendo's biggest focus shifted to their Nintendo Online Network Subscription program where you have access to a library of their legacy games from past consoles for only the cost of of a subscription. The Nintendo eShop, while still a hub to purchase digital Nintendo Switch games, still looks exactly as it did when the system launched in 2017. To this day, I am absolutely flabbergasted by this.
Here's what it looked like back in the day
Here's the eShop as it is today
It's a mess. Sure, there are basic categories. But it doesn't matter what you pick. What you get is an endless hodgepodge list of games. The pages themselves also take forever to load as you scroll down making it a pretty unbearable experience. Overall, the Nintendo eShop is a barebones, simple storefront, that lacks any sense of organization. But most importantly, it also lacks any sense of “fun”. Which is kind of ironic when you think about what kind of company Nintendo is. Nintendo is supposed to be one of those companies that exudes "fun". So what happened? It didn't always used to look like this. I mean, just look at their previous consoles. If we look back when they had shops on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS, Nintendo did things a bit differently.
I would argue that the Wii Shop Channel was more fun and organized than the current state of the Nintendo Switch eShop. But things get much better when we look at how they revamped the shop for the Wii U.
It's sad when you look back and see what it used to be, how much fun it used to be. The Nintendo Switch may be an amazing console, sure. But it's missing something that enhanced the overall experience as their past consoles had. Even today, people talk about the Nintendo Switch eShop still being an un-curated mess. It used to be a space that not only sold digital games, but it also was hub of all-things Nintendo. It was a place that would celebrate its legacy of characters and games, filled with a variety of categories, and complete with theme music. It was a digital storefront in the truest sense of the word. Like going into a physical store that brings with it an experience, Nintendo did something special with its online storefronts to make it feel like a place you wanted to hang out, browse titles, read news, watch trailers, and more. It was a Nintendo experience. But now it's gone. What's left is an uninspiring, boring mess of a storefront, with a lot of lag, and a huge lack of fun.
It's because of this that I am finding myself spending more time on other consoles and platforms than my Nintendo Switch. Why? Well, other than the fact that we still don't have Metroid Prime 4, it's honestly because the Switch is not giving me an amazing experience that is blowing me out of the water when others certainly are. Once the novelty of having a hybrid console wore off, you're left with what that console is offering you. And when you look at what others are offering compared to Nintendo, you start asking yourself some interesting questions. Like, "what happened?" and "how did we get here?" How has this system been out for over seven years and we've still yet to see any sort of changes, or upgrades, or new features?
There have been rumors about Nintendo working on a new console or, "The Switch 2", as the internet is calling it. Which, honestly, is pretty exciting. If Nintendo is good at one thing, it's creating fun, innovative experiences through it's affordable hardware designs. Nintendo's focus on fun and affordability in their gaming experiences is something that makes Nintendo stand out from the rest of the competition. It's what I love about Nintendo. It's not always about graphics and power. It's about gaming experiences and having fun. That being said, I feel they really need to step up their game in the digital space, in the eShop, and make it just as fun and innovative as their hardware. I hope that the next Nintendo console improves on this experience.
The Playstation Store
The Playstation store has seen some significant changes over the years. Between the PS3 and PS4, the stores were similar in terms of overall design. Ultimately, it was a hub for games, movies, music, and a variety of other types of media. Which makes sense when you think about it because Playstation is ultimately a Sony product. When you have a platform like Playstation and you also happen to make movies, TV shows, video games, and distribute music, making the Playstation Store a one-stop shop for all things media was a smart move in my opinion. Plus, the simplicity of the store made it really easy to navigate. It was also fun to see all sorts of media, all on one place. My only gripe with the experience was how laggy it was to navigate through everything. Anytime I was in the store, it always felt like there was a delay between controller inputs. Plus, the categories, pages, and games you selected didn't load very fast. It got a bit better with the PS4 but nothing majorly noticeable. Ultimately, I feel it still suffered with similar issues. Honestly, that was really the only thing I didn't like about the overall experience. Anytime I wanted to visit the store I had to prepare myself to be patient and wait for things to load or inputs to register. In the end, the laggy experience deterred me from wanting to spend any time in it.
However, that being said, I feel the Playstation Store experience is lightyears better on the Playstation 5. They've addressed the input lag and the speed in which things load and, honestly, it's an instant, seamless experience. I'm also impressed with the organization and how games are presented. There is a variety to see that will get you excited about what you discover while navigating through all the categories. The Playstation Store and Playstation Plus, while separate apps on the system, both are pretty intertwined with each other. If you have a Playstation Plus membership, you will find a lot of games in the PS Store with the PS Plus logo next to them. This indicates that you get exclusive membership discounts to games purchased in the store as well as games that are free as part of the Plus subscription. That's pretty cool. But the system isn't without its flaws. The biggest thing that stands out to me like a sore thumb is when there are massive sales.
You'll see signs like this one advertising massive discounts. When you see it, your immediate instinct is to click on it and see what's on sale. I mean, it's practically the first thing I do. Well, once you get to the sale page itself, that's where things get a little interesting to me. Like the Nintendo Switch eShop, it presents you with an endless list of games on sale. Generally, I find it's never in alphabetical order, though you can use the filter to organize them from A-Z. You will also find that not only are games listed, but so are various game DLCs, a variety of game add-ons, in-game currencies you can spend real money on, regular/deluxe/ultimate edition versions of games, and more. If you don't want to see the endless add-on content mixed in with the list, you can filter "Full Games" only. But even then, it's just a stack of games, on top of games, on top of games. It's almost endless. On the website, you have to go page by page. On the PS5, you just scroll from top to bottom and keep on scrolling and scrolling. And if the thumbnail of the game doesn't grab you enough to click on it to explore what it's all about, then you get a game that just disappears, overshadowed by a different game.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan. Having filters to narrow things down is useful, sure. But the overall experience just isn't fun. And when you get in to the Playstation Plus territory, it's not that much better. Particularly, in the Playstation Classics catalog. They’ve added a lot of games to the Playstation Plus Premium Program from their older generation of consoles, which is absolutely amazing. I'm glad to see that Sony is taking better steps in providing access to their legacy content to the Playstation community. But what I find mildly irritating is they lump all these games together with no organization. Worst of all, they don’t have any visuals that say what systems these games originated on. Just that you can play them on your PS4 and PS5. It literally is just a mix of PS1, PS2, and PSP games all in one place, and it’s just a mess.
It's like you have to already know that Syphon Filter is a PS1 game
Older games were labeled and organized better on the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita. The PS5 seriously needs to take notes. For example, original Playstation games on these older systems had a universal digital look where they labeled them "PS One Classics". We need something like this for all these older titles on PS5. Heck, I think Playstation needs to lean into their legacy a bit more on the PS5. Have categories that showcase all of the Playstation consoles and embrace what came before. Lumping all these games together like it is currently makes these legacy games look like an afterthought, like they don't care. Even just having a section, or categories, of all the different Playstation consoles, like the mock up I put together below, is light years better than what it is now.
Playstation has a lot to love and a lot to celebrate. The PS5, as a system, is lightyears better than the consoles that proceeded it. I feel they're getting better in the digital space. But overall, there are areas that could use some improvement.
The Microsoft Xbox Store
I honestly don't have anything bad to say about Microsoft's Xbox store, which is ultimately a good thing. Since the days of the Xbox 360, they've always been pretty organized and navigating their storefronts have always been fun and engaging. By the time they released the Xbox One, they streamlined their entire store and integrated it with the Microsoft Store. I think having a unifying platform is probably good for the brand overall. It's pretty organized and seamless on the console, as well as their website. When it comes to categories and making recommendations based on your gameplay activities, it's pretty engaging. And because backwards compatibility has been a focus of Microsoft for a very long time, they proudly showcase their legacy content, including what consoles they originated on. It's pretty cool to see.
My only thing is, I don't really spend a lot of time using my Xbox or its storefront. Most of the games available on Xbox are also available on PC. I kind of jumped off the Xbox train years ago because they were never really convincing me on why I should have an Xbox. If you haven't read about my experiences with the Xbox, you can check it out here. It's a juicy read. And the other thing is, the most that I see Microsoft pushing for these days is Xbox Game Pass. For those who don't know, it's their subscription model that gives you access to a huge library of games, including day one releases. Part of the program that I think is cool, that is also similar to Playstation Plus, you can get discounts in the Microsoft Store for having a Game Pass subscription. But overall, when you get right down to the experience that Microsoft is offering, I feel its Xbox is pretty well organized and has a lot of fun ways to engage with its audience.
Steam
And then there's Steam. Steam is unique compared to all the other major digital storefronts I've talked about. It's a video game digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve Corporation. Yes, the same Valve Corporation who gave us such amazing games like Half-Life and Portal. Crazy, right? Steam started out as a software client in 2003 to provide automatic game updates for Valve's own games. In late 2005 they expanded and began distributing video games from third-party companies. Since then, it's become the go-to place for all things in the PC gaming space. While there are other PC gaming clients out there like Epic, GoG, Battle.net, and UPlay, none have come close to the scale in which Valve has built with Steam. In 2023, the platform reported a 33 million peak of active Steam users worldwide. That is absolutely crazy if you think about it. Kind of makes you wonder, what makes Steam so great? Well, I think it's because it's more than just a digital gaming storefront. It's a behemoth of a gaming experience, offering a variety of fun features outside of just buying games.
Through Steam, there's online multiplayer server matchmaking with Valve Anti-Cheat measures. There's a social networking aspect where you can create your own profile, identify friends, and join together in groups. There's Steam community features where users can text chat and voice chat directly to friends. You can also identify which games your friends and other group members are playing, and join and invite friends to play games together. Users can even participate in forums hosted by Valve to discuss Steam games.
But wait! There's more! Steam's functions include game update automation, cloud storage for game progress, in-game overlay functions, and a virtual collectable marketplace. And the biggest thing of all, the one thing that Steam is most known for, is its seasonal sales. While Steam holds numerous sales throughout the year, the biggest and most popular sales we all look forward to are the Summer and Winter Sales. These particular sales are the biggest as they have more games on sale than any other time in the year, many featuring huge discounts.
There's so much to be said about Steam, why it's amazing, and why everyone uses it. It all comes down to the fact that Steam is basically an experience, and a fun, engaging one at that. Sure, like any other company, they aren't without their own set of issues. But compared to many other companies who have tried and failed in their own gaming clients (i.e. Origin, Bethesda, and more), Steam is a clear vision for good in the gaming landscape and the digital storefront space. Ever since the dark times of Covid-19, I see companies like Nintendo, Playstation, and Xbox emulating the massive discounts on digital games, much like Steam does. But while that's only been been a thing in those storefronts for a few years now, Steam's been doing it since at least 2011. With an engaging storefront and a popular gaming client on top of that, Valve has proven that they are experts in this field as they've been pioneering the digital landscape for over two decades. In the end, they've created what I feel is the ultimate PC and gaming experience.
You remember when I said earlier that "shopping used to be an event, a social activity"? Basically this is why "malls became so big"? Well, the way I see it, Steam is basically the mall for the digital age of gaming. Like malls, it's practically a community center, albeit a digital one, filled with endless amounts of video games, trailers, screenshots, live streams, public profiles, community gatherings, personal steam reviews, developer blogs, and more. It's a place where people can meet up with each other and hang out together, but digitally. And like malls, you can shop together, look for the latest releases, or see what's on some crazy sales. Ultimately, you can game together, all under one roof. It's an experience, and in a word, it's just 'fun'.
Overall, when it comes to the world of video games in this ever evolving digital landscape, there are areas that are good and there are a lot of areas that needs to change. I feel Nintendo really needs to step up, Playstation needs to do better, Xbox needs to give us a reason to shop Xbox, and Steam just needs to continue to be awesome and blaze its own trail. For everyone else with established digital storefronts, well, ultimately, I think everyone needs to ask themselves "How can we make this better? How can we make this fun and engaging for the end user, the customer." Because it all comes back to what we had with the brick and mortar stores of yesterday. Before we started pioneering this digital landscape, it was all about standing out from the competition (Or, at the very least, it was about doing better at the same type of thing as your competition), all while also providing a fun and engaging experience for all customers in your stores. It's in those experiences that stand out to the end user, the customer. It's in those experiences that we remember, get excited about, and ultimately share with others. It's through these experiences that brings a sense of magic, a sense of camaraderie, and ultimately, a sense of fun. Video game storefronts have no middle man to do that for them anymore as most of the brick and mortar stores are either gone, or are discontinuing physical media. It's up to the gaming companies now and because of that, they all need to step up. I have hope for the future. I'm not sure what that future looks like. But there is always hope. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
BlueNile101
As always a good read my dude. One thing steam also has is Remote Play w/ Friends. You can start up a multiplayer game and couch co op with friends across the great distances without them needing the game. Steam is hands down the best platform for gaming. The rest have a lot to work on. Epic is god awful to navigate and find things. PSN is alright. Xbox is alright. The rest are just small and equally as bad as epics storefront.
-Derp :P