PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Distributor and PC game publisher Contact Sales is eyeing the PC indie store sector with its new ‘Keys on Demand’ game download offering.
The system allows PC stores, etailers and resellers to sell PC games digitally by selling codes – either emailed to the customer or printed on receipts – and promises to offer a healthier margin compared to boxed game sales.
Contact Sales charges £100 per annum per store for the service, and is promising indies a 36 per cent discount on the boxed RRP. The firm also says that indies will ‘pay only for what they sell’.
The company’s Excalibur Publishing arm publishes titles including Train Simulator 2015, Euro Truck Simulator 2, European Ship Simulator and more.
“We currently have about 25 game indies on board, but have really only just put everything together within the last week, so its early days," Contact Sales MD Robert Stallibrass told PCR.
"We will specifically target the reseller market, where there are opportunities for them to add value every time they sell a PC, a peripheral, an upgrade, a head set, ink… or any time a consumer buys anything from them.
“Our Keys on Demand Service allows indies to enter the digital arena with little financial commitment. We have over 50 Excalibur titles available, and with in-store dummies, product trailers and posters, retail can either sell our products off the shelf, or keys via their consumer site.
"We have already run trials with some stores and know that the back end is fully functional and works well.
At the moment this service will only offer the trade our own Excalibur titles, but in time we will hope to add additional publishers.”
