So today starts yet another lockdown in the UK. So in response, I'm going to do another guide to things that people may be looking to use during this time. In the original lockdown I did a guide to different streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. Today for all you gamers out there, I'll be looking at the many digital storefronts that are available across a wide range of devices. Like the other guide, all these storefronts I'm looking at are available worldwide and I have either used or have heard from others about them. So let's get to it:
PlayStation Store
So first up is a console specific storefront. The PlayStation consoles have this as their main storefront and has been their main one since the PS3. It offers games, DLC, films, TV shows, apps, avatar pictures, themes and possibly a lot of other things too. For those that have a PlayStation Plus subscription, there are discounts on products that can be anything from a low price to completely free. PlayStation also has its "All Access" service where for a monthly fee, players can enjoy a wide selection of games streamed from the PlayStation servers without having to pay a single penny for them aside from the monthly access fee. So you can get this on PS3, PS4, PSP, PS Vita and the upcoming PS5 though the older the console gets, the store becomes less functional. You see there used to be this MMO called PlayStation Home where players all over the world could meet others, explore different pads and all sorts. But it was never able to escape the PS3 and the servers ultimately phased out. So that's the main downside, but the store is accessible on PC as well where from there, you can make purchases and said purchases will be ready to go as soon as you boot up your console. For the main store on PlayStation consoles, it's decent and offers lots to all players especially those who have a subscription going.
Microsoft Store
The Microsoft Store exists as a result of Microsoft merging a number of digital storefronts that they had going as a means to have a more unified shopping experience across all platforms. In the case of Microsoft, you get this on any PC that has Windows 8 or later installed, Xbox consoles from the Xbox One onwards and Windows 10 mobiles. Its pretty much almost the same as the PlayStation store in that it has the same offerings with some exclusives. But what makes it stand out is that its not just things you can get on Xbox but also on mobile devices where Windows 10 is installed and any PC with Windows 8 or later. So you can get PC games, Xbox One games, selected Xbox Original and 360 games, Xbox Series S/X games, apps, games and some digital videos. Like PlayStation, players can get a similar service from Microsoft that can be just for PC or Xbox or both. But the main difference here is that the games available can be downloaded as well as streamed and all newly released games are available from the service on launch day. Because PC already has many storefronts, most games bought from this store will connect to your Microsoft account for achievements. And just like the PlayStation store, all things bought on a device that it's not compatible with will be made available on the device that it can work on. So Microsoft have the edge of having a better subscription service that offers alternatives to those who are not able to stream all that well along with some other great things too. But unlike PlayStation where most online features are free, there is a fee to do online gameplay on Xbox consoles. So overall a good storefront, but there are lots of better choices out there for the PC gamer.
Nintendo eShop
When the seventh generation started, no one would realize how big online things could get and Nintendo were perhaps not ready enough compared to their competitors. It was for perhaps this reason why the digital storefronts for Wii and DSi were both panned for having too many limitations to what game developers can do with indie games while still being great for virtual console. Then the eighth generation came along and with it came Nintendo's solution to their digital storefront mess; Nintendo eShop. This shop continued what they tried to do with Wii and DSi which with those, they screwed up with limitations and the mess that is friend codes to add friends on their online services. With eShop and their new way of online play, things were easier. Indie developers had more freedom, the virtual console market saw new consoles be added and they followed suit with Microsoft and PlayStation in offering up apps and games you would also be able to buy physically. The eShop is available on all known 3DS, Wii U and Switch consoles with 3DS and Switch being more about the games and online incentives whereas the Wii U has games and apps. Also joining suit with Microsoft and PlayStation, Nintendo offered their own subscription service albeit more to do with access to online gameplay and some other incentives such as free access to a few online only Switch exclusive games and a library that can stream NES and SNES games with possibly lots of other things to come. Nintendo seems to know what they are doing with this moving forward and with their online service being quite cheap in comparison to its main competitors, you get a lot out of it. the eShop is certainly one storefront that knows what it wants to give to its players and that's good.
App Store (Apple)
Unlike Microsoft where they have a more unified store that has everything for their devices and systems, Apple is sort of different in that iTunes is their main storefront where you can buy music, TV shows, films and podcasts. Then they have a storefront for digital books, newspapers and magazines and one for apps. It's a tricky one because on PC, everything is all there in one place. But I guess if it was on an Apple device, its debateable on whether the stuff is all together or not. Apple's offerings is pretty much as expected for a storefront for their many entertainment devices with most games being mobile and having intergration with social networks which helps with syncing to devices that Apple do not make. Apple themselves have a few subscription services themselves. One known as Apple TV+ which is basically their take on streaming films and TV with most of their stuff featuring some big named people. The other is a gaming service called Apple Arcade which aims to allow players to enjoy many games that you would normally install on their devices for a monthly fee. They also have a music streaming service too which I haven't used personally and I think there is a way to unify them all under one umbrella Apple are of course one of the big names you hear in the technology business and their many services sound good and all integrate with their ecosystem that has been established in their pretty but expensive products.
Google Play
Yep even the ever so popular search engine that is Google has since expanded and in a big way. Smart devices, their own dedicated Linux based OS, and they even own YouTube and Blogger too. Unlike Apple's services that can mostly only be accessed on their own devices, Google Play is available on any or most devices that run Android which includes the Samsung Galaxy series, the Nvidia Shield series and even their own Pixel phones. Depending on hardware, they offer up nearly everything that Apple has, but in the later half of the 2010s they had the advantage of being the preferred service for digital TV and film libraries after UltraViolet ceased to exist. Perhaps this is because of Google's services like YouTube being available on many devices and not restricted to just one. They have a few subscription services like YouTube Premium which removes ads on YouTube for a fee, Stadia which is their attempt at streaming major titles across their own devices and software for a monthly fee and Google Play Pass which is the Apple Arcade of Google, but also extends to selected apps. There's probably a few others they have too, but that is basically what Google can offer to the gamer as well as general people who crave entertainment above all else which is desperately needed in the world today.
Steam
Moving onto PC now and we start with the one that started digital storefronts on PC in the first place (or at least made it a popular and lucrative market). Steam have been around for over a decade and much like the other PC storefronts we're looking at today, it was created by Valve who at the time were only known for making the Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead games and multiplayer games like Team Fortress 2. It has more games than anywhere else (as well as some films too) which includes triple A titles, indie games and any games that Steam Greenlight... well greenlight. However despite the seemingly superior selection of games they have to offer, they are also known as the Newgrounds of PC digial storefronts. You see while Newgrounds has a lot of flash animations and games, most public places would block the website due to adult content that is on their site. Steam has adult content too, but does make it clear that they will not stand for anything that full on pornography or is too unsettling for them to sell even going as far as to offer players a filtered system if they don't want to see said content. They are also known to take a large profit from games that the storefront sells, but recently changed that so that the percentage they take would gradually go down if certain conditions are met. They don't have that many subscription services as most of what they offer in that area is free to all users. They also have a big thing for community stuff with many games offering up trading cards that players can trade with their friends and create badges. They also recently added the Points Store where any game that's bought, players will get some points that they can purchase emojis and fancy things to add to their public profile with. Also due to Steam's reputation, most PC players feel comfortable using Valve's platform over others and they have some devices too such as a streaming device, a dedicated controller and even a dedicated operating system for their consoles which are known as Steam Machines. Steam does have its flaws, but its very clear that they care for their players and offer up lots of incentives to a service that is free to use with no monthly fees. Plus their sales are legendary. There is a reason why you get so many people arming themselves with Steam gift cards and have a religion that sees Gabe Newell as the Messiah.
GOG.com
Lots of people hear in the news about how DRM is bad for gaming and yeah it is. I tend to not think about it much because some of us have the paitence to put up with it, but it is a known annoyance to people. So now we have GOG.com who are also known as Good Old Games. This is also on PC and was created by CD Projekt who made the Witcher games and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077. The service aims to offer up games without the DRM stuff with its selection having newly released games, but more focused on old classics that you would otherwise not get anywhere else such as the original Rayman games. They like Steam offer games not just for PC but also Mac and Linux computers too. They also have a intergration system which allows players to unify their digital game libraries so they can be accessed in one place. But its not a perfect system with many libraries being in experimental phases. All old games are patched up so that they can operate on newer machines. While they don't offer as much as Steam, GOG.com is a good service for those wanting their retro fixes that wouldn't be otherwise offered on Steam or other services like it.
Epic Games Store
For the past couple of years, Epic Games Store has been Steam's main competitor which has largely been due to the success of Fortnite. They created Rocket League and that other game before doing this in response to the profit that Steam gain from any purchase that is made. They offer up a nearly identical selection of games, but focusing more on quality and exclusiveity. Unlike Steam, they take a lower percentage of any games that are bought by players which has resulted in many developers and publishers moving from Steam as a result. However, what they managed to do in a short space of time compared to Steam's decade long work, isn't perfect. There isn't much of a community aspect compared to Steam and upon launch, it lacked several features. Most PC gamers still prefer Steam over them and are furious by their aggressive way of getting exclusives that would've been on Steam or got onto Steam later on. Its not perfect and still needs a lot of work, but free games every week to help build up that library is pretty good. I personally would still stick to Steam as my main platform and only use Epic Games Store for games that Steam doesn't have and will unlikely have for the forseeable future. So overall not perfect, but would be second best as far as PC gaming is concerned.
Origin
Yep even the worst gaming company to work for (though they are getting better) has their own storefront. This one really only has games that EA develop and/or publish with a few additional games that they may have had a stake in the making. While you would get the back catalog of Star Wars games on GOG.com and Steam, the newer games you would for a while only find on Origin. They also created most of those sport games that lots of people play and publish the Mass Effect, Sims and Plants VS Zombies games among possibly many other games. Origin is not perfect and most people tend to avoid it which I guess is a reason why EA nowadays are offering up all their games on Steam again. They have their own streaming service which gamers can subscribe to and unsurprisingly its all EA games. But its offered up on both Origin and Steam so there is that. Honestly if you really like EA games but don't really want to use Origin, they are all there on Steam and a few are even on Epic Games Store. Either way, the games will need Origin to work, but at least you won't have to use it apart from launching the game and having it attached to your EA account if you have one. So yeah one service that isn't perfect, but then again this is EA who are known to not be the best gaming company out there.
Ubisoft Connect
Previously known as UPlay, this is Ubisoft's version of Origin. All the games offered are ones that have been developed and/or published by Ubisoft themselves (minus any old games like EA), but again you don't need to use this if all you want to do is launch the game. A large about of their games are avaliable on Steam, but if you want any newly released games, Epic Games Store will have them. This is because Ubisoft's take on the PC gaming market is that they believe Steam's way of doing things is not the way forward as far as doing buisness is concerned. But they do offer some incentives in the games they have using a points system where gamers are awarded points when they do something in the games (they even have their own achievements system too). The points can then be spent on in game items and things like soundtracks and backgrounds for your computer. Also like Origin, they have their own subscription service where for a monthly fee, gamers can access games they create and immediate access to new games and games going in beta mode. Again like Origin, you're probably better off just buying the games on Steam or Epic Games Store and only use this to launch the game. Having said that, it does have a community element which while not as lucritive as Steam, its still pretty good.
Battle.Net
Unlike EA and Ubisioft, Blizzard have never released games on Steam or Epic Games Store apart from games coming from their sister brand Activison (the people behind the Call of Duty games and the current owners of the Spyro and Crash Bandicoot IPs). Instead their games have been offered up on Battle.net which serves as the main software to help launch the game and update it when needed. It's games can be bought either digitally or physically. But the benefit of buying it digitally also allows gamers to choose their subscription option because these guys are the people responsible for the Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft games as well as Overwatch which were all originally regular games before being turned into MMO franchises (apart from Overwatch which has always been an MMO right from the start). So if MMOs are your thing, you will be able to access the most well known and beloved ones right here. But if you are after say Star Wars: The Old Republic or DC Universe Online, you won't find them here as they are not Blizzard games (even though they did make two DC games in the past).
Humble Bundle
While there are loads of them out there, I'm ending this list by looking at the digital storefront that actually does some good. Humble Bundle don't have their own software compared to all the other places on this list (well except for a mobile app), but what they offer is good. As the name implies, they are known for giving gamers a bundle of games for a reasonable price that would otherwise be more expensive if bought seperatly. Every month, they offer up different bundles which are mainly game, book and software bundles (sometimes together in a mixed bundle) and for every bundle purchased, some of the money goes to good causes. So in other words, gamers get something and charties get something in a win win situation. In addition to those bundles, Humble Bundle also have a subscription service where every month, gamers get a bundle of games for a monthly fee and more recently, gave gamers the option to choose which games they want. They also have their own store of games and also offer up DRM free games too. The games in each bundle are mainly Steam games, though they also offer up PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Epic Games Store games too. Humble Bundle is great if gamers don't have a lot of money to spend on games and want more than one game per purchase. Plus the incentive of giving money to charity makes this a worthwhile storefront to use.
And that's it. While there are so many more out there, these are the most well known ones that people use for gaming. None of them are perfect and would probably be tailored to a specific kind of gamer in the long run. But if you got money and not enough room for physical things, these are the way to go. Feel free to comment on your preffered choices as well as any that I may have missed. And happy gaming to you all during this new lockdown.
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