New Digital Distribution Service GetGames Emerges

New UK-based digital download service GetGames emerged this week, a joint venture between Eurogamer Network's managing director Rupert Loman and Mastertronic's chairman Andy Payne, according to a GamesIndustry.biz report. The site launched with Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter, a Croteam-developed game produced with Devolver Digital, the new Austin, Tex. company created by former Gamecock heads Mike Wilson, Harry Miller, and UK-based Graeme Struthers. While Loman is involved in the joint venture, his company, Eurogamer Network, is a separate entity that will have its own dedicated staff. Loman said GetGames will be able to tap into a Eurogamer Network audience consisting of 6 million users. The service will eventually become home to a range of new, indie, and classic titles. "We've already signed most of the major publishers, alongside some independent developers too. And they are particularly excited that we have a network of websites in 10 European languages and will be taking Get Games across the continent very soon," Loman said. With Valve's Steam digital distribution service dominating the market, GetGames looks relatively small. But Loman said Steam's success is just proof that the digital model works for gaming. "The most exciting thing for me is to see console content starting to be purchased via the web - which is still a more intuitive place to buy content than places like PlayStation Network," he added. Devolver's Wilson told Gamasutra, "Retail [distribution] is still a huge part of the market, especially as far as consoles go." Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is coming to PC as a boxed product via publisher CDV, but it will also hit digital platforms such as GetGames, Steam, and Xbox Live. "With the success of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network and all the other digital services, it's really going to be hard to go back to put hard discs in boxes into the channel," he added. "It's a broken model in a lot of ways."