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Video Game Delivery

March 19, 2022 by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory tags: Games Analysis

Video Games have been around since 1962 and I got thinking about the myriad ways they’ve been delivered to players. The list below is a comprehensive collection based on my research and is shared as a repository that others may find interesting.

There are three broad categories of delivery: location, format, and style.

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Delivery via location (physical to digital):

University Labs
Coin up / Arcades
Retail / Consumer purchase (computers and consoles)
BBS / Dial-in Service
Shareware/Freeware mail-order
Online / Digital download

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Delivery Format (physical to digital):

Server repository (computers)
Cabinet (arcade)
Printed code that you input (computers)
Cartridge (consoles)
Diskettes/CD/DVD (consoles, computers)
Digital download (consoles, computers, smart-phones)

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Delivery Style (continuation & content):

Session-limited
Save games
Save codes
Save points
Persistence / MMO
Demo/Full version
Episodic
Downloaded Content
In-App Purchase

About The Author: Chris Billows

Chris Billows is a knowledge seeker who believes in social responsibility, a health care professional, and a business dabbler. The Journals of Doc Surge is his personal blog. Doc Surge (a cool synonym for Billows) is inspired by Doc Brass from the Planetary Comic series who in turn was inspired by the 1930s pulp hero Doc Savage.
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