In an age where games are as digital as ever, going so far as to forgo the traditional selling through boxes, there are those who cling to the old ways. And thus would rather have a game “in their hands” rather than a digital version they can’t fully see.
That being said, there are developers who wish to only do digital when they start out, but as the game gets closer to finishing, the question of a retail version comes into focus. For Jonathan Blow, the creator of the highly anticipated puzzle game The Witness, this question was at the forefront of a recent blog post about the game.
“We’ve had some people asking us whether there will be a physical retail release of The Witness. It’s seeming likely, as we have been in talks with a couple of parties for a while about that possibility. *However*, it looks like if there is a retail release, it won’t happen until a little bit after the digital release. The reason is just that we need all the time we can get up until the release date in order to get all the finishing touches into the game; but because of the lead-time involved in physical manufacturing and distribution, we would have to freeze the game right about now in order to have it on store shelves for the release date. *Or* we could delay the digital release date in order to wait for the physical. But I don’t see a good reason to do either of those things. I would rather just focus our energy on making the game as good as we can make it, and a retail version can lag behind by a little bit.”
The final fate of The Witness may be undecided, but we likely will find out more about it’s likeliness, as the game is slated to arrive in January.
