We have a statement from Warner Bros:
“Batman: Arkham Knight will be available as both a physical and digital release for PS4, Xbox One and PC. In the UK, PC will be available as a digital release only.”
Take this with a great big grain of salt for now, but according to some people on the internet, the heavily anticipated Batman: Arkham Knight won’t be getting a physical release on PC – at least in the UK. That’s the word from prolific, and prolifically cheap UK e-tailer ShopTo, who’s said that they’ve been told by their suppliers that the game will only be sold digitally.
Arkham Knight is no longer being released on PC on Disc. Digital only.
— Joe Anderson (@_wotta) March 24, 2015
While this – if it’s true, of course – wouldn’t really affect many PC gamers who’ve become rather accustomed to getting their games digitally, those who still reply on the physical media to prevent having to download gigabytes upon gigabytes of data will be left in the cold. With our local internet infrastructure still not quite up to scratch, I’d imagine there are a great many local PC gamers who’d be peeved to find their game boxes stuffed with little more than a digital download code.
We’ve contacted Warner Bros for clarification to see if this affects us here in South Africa, and will let you know of the validity of all of this as soon as we can.
Developer Rocksteady recently revealed that the game would be hit with another delay, this time 3 weeks, meaning we’ll be getting it on June 23 now as opposed to June 2. It was also rumoured that Rocksteady was remastering the first two Arkham Games for the new consoles, while completely ignoring the fact that Arkham Origins – developed by another studio – even exists.
Last Updated: March 25, 2015
Viking Of Science
March 25, 2015 at 07:34
A boxed copy will be available here. 3rd World countries still get boxed copies of PC games.
Hell. You can walk into a BT games, And I swear to Odin this is true, buy a BOXED COPY of GOAT SIMULATOR!
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 25, 2015 at 07:37
Well they sell boxed copies of Angry Birds, so I’d believe that.
Wheatbix
March 25, 2015 at 13:02
Not always hey, look at the new Dragonball Xenoverse which for PC is only Digital Download.
Viking Of Science
March 25, 2015 at 14:39
Really? but what’s the market like for 3D Anime themed fighters on PC. (probably quite small) also isn’t Xenoverse the first DBZ fighting game on PC?
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 07:47
I had a feeling the delay was a shipping issues.
Anyway. PC games has DRM meaning they are extensions of Steam, Origin, Uplay and so forth. Retail PC game products has become an install disc for digital sources than an actual product.
Not having the PC version of Batman at retail means that those same people can still go out and buy the game at Steam. Every single person who would have bought the retail version can buy it on Steam. It just means they have to buy more internet data.
Now if Batman PC retail product didn’t have DRM it would mean that non internet users could have bought the game. Excluding the retail game then would mean a lot of people could not have bought the game.
So a DRM product not being in retail doesn’t really make a difference because all those people can still get the game off Steam. Where would that retail Batman game have gone, Steam. So no real difference.
The Witcher 3 will not have DRM and that means that non internet users can also buy the game at retail. The Witcher 3 is a real retail product, it doesn’t get locked on Steam or gog.com. If The Witcher 3 with NO-DRM didn’t make it to retail, that means whole lot of people wouldn’t have access to buy the game.
Don’t Support DRM. The Witcher 3 is coming to retail.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 08:52
This is just not good enough. I have a PS1 I wanted to try play witcher on and lo and behold, the bastards aren’t releasing it on CD! Only DVD/Digital. Don’t support games that don’t have CDs.
Greylingad
March 25, 2015 at 09:11
It is completely unacceptable, here I was waiting for my copy to arrive in floppy disks so that I could install it on my brand new 486 DX2, what a load of crap this is…What is this internet thing everyone is on about?
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 09:15
And it had to be you replying to my shit with shit.
The requirement argument. You are now requirement to get internet to play games. So don’t bitch when you don’t meet the requirement.
Oh this pompous, elitist attitude.
When I buy a video game does it come with internet. When I buy a console does it come with internet. When I buy a house does it come with internet. When I buy a car does it come with internet.
Fuck it. It’s too early for this shit. Not going to go into it. The millions of non internet users don’t exist and they don’t play PC video games. Or is it that they can’t. Fuck it, they don’t exist. At least CD Projekt RED sees them.
Greylingad
March 25, 2015 at 09:22
My Great Grandfather cannot wait to play the Witcher 3 without a prerequisite intLANconnectiondongle….
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 09:25
get him a controller for his arthritis.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 09:58
Just get him new prescription glasses that are actually a bit out and then get him Skyrim 🙂 Nothing wrong with an arrow to the knee.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 09:56
Please excuse my sarcastic form of humour. I really couldn’t care if they released W3 on 100 floppy disks. I just like to reply to you considering you comment WITCHER NO DRM on almost every article about a game.
Actually you’re on to something. Why don’t our cars come with internet??? We’re being screwed here man. We should riot.
Personally. I never want to buy a disc again. I want to embrace DLC and maybe even hats. I shun most forms of DRM but any company dishing out intellectual property with commercial value deserves the right to protect it. Some just go too far.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 10:21
I thought I was free to make comments of my own. Let me look. You have only replied to people in this section. And you like to follow my comments with shit. Trying to be funny. Sorry I meant to say humour.
Do onto others as you want done to yourself. I guess that means nothing anymore.
Let’s see. Cars. DRM the cars. Can only drive cars with internet. Not all cars come with internet. So not all cars can be driven.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 10:55
You are free to make comments of your own. So am I. So there’s really no problem with me spamming anything when you spam NODRM on every game. The ball is in your court to ignore me, respond to me or react to me.
Well our transport is currently ‘DRM’ed. I can buy a car, fill it with fuel and drive it. But there’s some places I can’t drive unless I pay a toll. Real world DRM. Don’t support it, support real world witcher. (Wait this sounds like an AR commercial)
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:04
I’m just wondering, Do i spam your comments that you make? Do I go around looking for your comments to spam?
So my comments which doesn’t speak to you directly, you feel the need to spam because it affects you for some reason. I don’t get it.
And the example you used is DLC roads not DRM roads.
Roads. DRM the roads. Only people with internet can use the roads. Roads don’t come with internet. So everyone can not use the roads.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 11:36
Considering you can (mostly) get to those same roads on alternate routes without any extra charge. I would call this DRM not DLC. It’s restricting my ability to get to a place, not adding the ability to get to new places. SANRAL are our DRM, don’t support SANRAL.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:44
You just detract with shit. PC games and console games at retail shouldn’t have DRM. It’s as simple as that. Trying to compare shit with shit will still leave you with shit. So go shit yourself somewhere else.
Talking about fucking roads and cars and shit. I don’t have time for this shit, over and over again.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 09:21
And too your point. If in 2015 all computers that are sold come with cd-rom drives and the witcher 3 came out on dvd. then you might have a point. But for the last, god i don’t know how many years, computers have been sold with dvd-rom drives even today. So the standard for all computer users is not internet because it doesn’t come with internet. That is why internet is not a requirement for The Witcher 3.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 10:06
That wasn’t really the point. My point was shrouded in sarcasm.
You can afford decent internet at a low cost of R300-400 per month. Anyone with a job/parents can make a plan (it is far better value then DSTV etc.) and you get a huge amount of games for free (legitimately or otherwise).
My 2014 laptop didn’t come with any optical drive. I haven’t even missed it (not even for Windows installs etc).
Just out of interest, what other SP games do you know of that require internet to play (I’m talking aside from installation). I know SimCity got a lot of flak for always on auth (but then again it was trying to go MP as well, not an excuse but a consideration). Any others?
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 10:14
The thing is that just because you can afford internet doesn’t mean that you can get internet installed to your house. Didn’t I mention pompous and elitist.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 10:31
Didn’t I mention sarcasm? I often travel to places without internet. It’s not that hard to make a plan if you’re going to be there for a length of time.
I’m talking in general anyways. Most people in this country have the capability to get internet (aside from whether they can afford it). Heck I do business with people in townships with 4MB lines. It’s not being elitist, it’s being realist. And anyway as I have said before there are many workarounds as in going to friends houses, lan cafes etc. I even had a job that allowed me to stay after hours to use their internet. Just because one way doesn’t work, doesn’t mean it can’t be solved.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 10:34
Or they could just not use DRM on PC games. Oh God such a simple idea.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 11:01
DRM and requiring internet are not synonymous although many current forms of DRM rely on internet.
I have no problem with anyone shipping a game with a CD key even though it’s DRM. It also doesn’t require internet (for the most cases). I’m happy for DRM to exist, but it mustn’t be obtrusive or detrimental to my game experience.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:06
Most if not all PC games comes with keys that needs to be entered through the internet. So everyone can not use the PC game if they have the PC.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 11:13
Hmm. Well I always remember with Half-life the CD key was offline. Do you remember the trick with the fake CD key of ‘1-13’? Even my Windows 7 needed a cdkey but never went online. Lol, remember the days when you had memorised a win XP cdkey.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:25
Are we playing remember the old days now. I remember The Witcher 3 being released with no fucking DRM at retail in 2015. The good old days.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 11:32
Cities: Skylines 2015. No DRM.
You know I might even buy you The Witcher 3 with a happy meal too. But then I’ll send it to you as a Steam game 😛 (mwahahaha so evil)
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:40
The reason Cities Skyline doesn’t have DRM is become you pirated the game. Other than that, IDK what you talking about.
Are you the same troll following me around or are you a different one. God we at the unreal point now. I had enough. I’m not going to entertain this shit anymore.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 11:43
No I have the digitally bought version now. Still no DRM. There were a whole bunch of updates. But those can’t be considered DRM since you don’t need them.
Probably a different one. Like I said the ball is in your court. You may choose to ignore/react/respond.
Ryanza
March 25, 2015 at 11:46
Then it’s locked to Steam. Fucking semantics.
Cedric Mamo
March 26, 2015 at 00:08
Yes. *One* AAA game got (not yet) released without DRM this year. Whoopee.
It’s a calculated risk by the publisher. Calculated yes, but still a risk. Why would you assume all publishers would want to take the same risk?
Ryanza
March 26, 2015 at 07:24
It starts with one and with support from consumers… hence my…
Risk lol. Almost like all DRM games are not cracked and pirated. So risk, lol.
Cedric Mamo
March 26, 2015 at 08:49
As I said in another comment, they know it’s gonna get cracked eventually. They really oly want to delay the crack for the first couple of months, where they make the bulk of sales on a new product.
So yeah, it’s a risk
Cedric Mamo
March 25, 2015 at 23:59
The “standard” for games (in terms of capacity at least) is not DVD anymore. It’s blu ray. 4.7GB is just not enough anymore. But blu ray drives do *not* come as standard on the vast majority of PCs today.
Why is that not an issue for you (you know… you have to *buy* a blu-ray drive if you need to play a game that came on a blu-ray disc) when having something else as a requirement instead (an internet connection) is such a big deal to you?
Ryanza
March 26, 2015 at 07:34
Again with the requirement argument. You people love this argument. So let’s see. The standard for console games is now at blu ray discs. New consoles are sold with blu ray drives. Computers are still mainly sold with dvd drives. Yes even today in 2015. The Witcher 3 will be released on dvd for the PC because most computers comes with dvd drives and are still mainly sold with dvd drives.
So let’s say The Witcher 3 will be released on blu ray for PC. Every single person on this planet can go to retail and buy a blu ray drive upgrade or choose to buy a computer with a blu ray drive.
PC games has the requirement of internet before you can play the fucking game. The thing is that every single person on this planet doesn’t get access to cheap internet installed to the house. So if the whole world doesn’t get access to internet, it means that the PC games market is segregated, meaning that not all PC users can buy PC games.
So your requirement argument doesn’t really work. The same way that DRM doesn’t really work.
Cedric Mamo
March 26, 2015 at 09:32
DRM works. For the third fucking time: It’s not intended to stop piracy. Only to delay it for a couple of months after release. Because, again, that’s when they make most of the sales.
If you know drm doesn’t stop piracy, they know it too. They’re not idiots. But you keep missing the point of it.
Cedric Mamo
March 26, 2015 at 00:05
oh and BTW, DRM means “Digital Rights Management”. It’s some tool or something that manages the rights to use a piece of software/content. It does *not* say how that can be accomplished.
You’re against always-online DRM and that’s fine. Heck I actually agree with you on that. But then you also make the assumption that that is the only kind there is, and going balls out against *all* forms of DRM.
Sure some DRM schemes might be inconvenient, but hey I understand their need as well. And before making the argument that “games are always cracked anyway” keep in mind that it’s not really a company’s aim to completely stop people pirating their games. They know it’s impossible. They just want to make it difficult enough to crack that it takes a couple of months after release (which is when they make the majority of the profits on the game).
So yeah it’s inconvenient, but I sure can understand the need
Ryanza
March 26, 2015 at 07:50
oh you big baby that you need Steam to manage the rights. Does Gabe wipe and powder that ass too.
DRM doesn’t stop pirates. The fight against pirates has segregated gamers. There are millions of people who can’t buy PC games because they don’t have access to internet. And then they want to blame the pirates for loss in sales. Ya…
You mentioned pirates. Studies have found that consumers who part take in pirated games, buys more games than consumers not using pirated games.
So the loss in sales comes from the millions of offline PC gamers who can’t buy games and not from the small number of pirates who ends up buying more games.
But we need more DRM. DRM, DLC, day 1 patch fixes, has created something much more evil to games, than fighting pirates. It’s weird that people don’t pick up on it. They don’t see the millions of gamers who wants to buy games but can’t. They accept the lies, DRM vs pirates, look at the gaming industry and see the effects of DRM, DLC, day 1 patch fixes, multiplayer only games. But it doesn’t register. It’s weird.
But people can only judge the world from their own boots.
Cedric Mamo
March 26, 2015 at 09:28
DRM does not stop pirates. I know! They know! As I’ve already written twice: the aim is to try to delay the release of a crack for the first couple of months after release.
Ryanza
March 26, 2015 at 17:36
DRM is not about stopping pirates. Nor delaying pirates. This is a Batman article and this Batman game will most likely be up on the pirate scene long before you go and buy the game. So when you say games are delayed for months on the pirate scene, yes 2 or 3 games, but don’t act like it’s all games.
Where is the money? Then you will find your answer about DRM. Steam gets the money. Take away DRM at retail and Steam gets nothing. Origin and Uplay was about keeping that money and not giving it to Steam.
They used pirates + loss of sales to implement DRM. They tried to use second-hand sales + loss of sales and look what happened to Microsoft. So that failed. But they not done. They want full control and they want all the fucking money.
And then you get people like you who believes in the lie that was feed to you.
The Witcher 3 is coming. It doesn’t have DRM at retail. You will buy The Witcher 3 at retail for the PC, to not Support DRM.
Hammersteyn
March 25, 2015 at 08:28
PC needs catch up and make blu-rays standard. Consoles are laughing at them
*RUNS
Mark Treloar
March 25, 2015 at 08:52
Might as well stop running. With all the free downloads from Gold and PSN its just a matter of time before consoles go purely digital. In fact Xbone probably would have been there already if not for all the people complaining about offlne play.
Hammersteyn
March 25, 2015 at 08:54
Very true, I find I’m too lazy to swap discs. Will need a bigger HD then
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 08:53
USB/Digital. I don’t have a DVD drive in my laptop anymore since they’re practically obsolete.
Lord Chaos
March 25, 2015 at 08:55
They should just sell games on locked SD cards.
Sir Faulty
March 25, 2015 at 09:52
Welcome to the digital age – those lot still buying disc versions need to get with the times. Physical media is on its way out whether you support that or not! You will eventually be driven to accept it else forgo the things you want.
z1n
March 25, 2015 at 10:11
Steam has had a huge part to play in the extinction of physical media with regards to games. I just wish they would update the interface a bit (especially their in-game overlay).
Wheatbix
March 25, 2015 at 13:06
My main gripe is that the limited/special editions are also not making there way to PC as often as previous years, and can be annoying as a PC gamer to not be able to get extra content when its a franchise you want to support/have those items.
Sir Faulty
March 25, 2015 at 13:16
They do digital collectors editions but I hear you. In the past collectors editions gave out tangible little items like say the Diablo III collectors edition which apart from the soundtrack, making off DVD’s, and high gloss booklet (which is all easy enough to provide digitally) it was the USB drive in the shape of Diablos head that you can not replicate digitally. Its those kind of items I miss but then truth be told I would have most of that shit lying about for a month or two before moving it somewhere into a box or drawer and then forgetting about it so I don’t mind so much not having all the clutter anymore! It means nothing in my life anyway.
Sir Faulty
March 25, 2015 at 13:18
Anyway this will be the last console generation that uses physical disc media. I can guarantee you next iteration on console will be digital only.