Topic: Digital only is the future of gaming?

Would you prefer a future where ALL games are download-only?

I wouldn't. Here are my reason's why.

FILE SIZE:
Most games these days are multiple gigs. With download speeds the way they are (and the caps that many internet providers have), it would be a big hassle to download a large game. I use Steam on my laptop, and the average game takes about 3 hours to download. That would be an inconvenience to many people who have busy lives. Imagine downloading Metal Gear Solid 4... Yikes! The App Store works cause those games are very small (and cheap), and they download in seconds.

PRICE:
Most digital games cost the same as their retail counterparts. Why is this? There is no packaging, disc production, shipping, etc. It's all digital, so it should be available cheaper, right? My guess is the developers keep prices high because they have to pay for the bandwidth needed to host the game on their servers. Is this correct?

NO ACTUAL OWNERSHIP:
When you download a digital game, you don't actually own it, you just own the license to play it. Plus the provider may remove the game from their store at any time, denying you access to repurchase the game if you ever delete it. And what if the company or online service ever goes under?

HARD DRIVE SPACE:
This shouldn't be an issue for people with large-capacity USB hard drives, but many people don't have them. If you download many games, you will fill up your hard drive fast.

Here's what I think. Digital-only should be reserved for small games and handheld games. These games download quickly and have very small file sizes (around 1 gig or less). The bigger games should stay on discs (or whatever comes along in the future). That being said, we should have the option to INSTALL our games to our console hard drives. Microsoft allows this on the Xbox 360, and it greatly cuts down on load times, and it preserves the life of the disc drive. I just wish Sony allowed the same thing.

What do you think? Agree or disagree?

We needed a duplicate thread why?

FILE SIZE:
Most games these days are multiple gigs. With download speeds the way they are (and the caps that many internet providers have), it would be a big hassle to download a large game. I use Steam on my laptop, and the average game takes about 3 hours to download. That would be an inconvenience to many people who have busy lives. Imagine downloading Metal Gear Solid 4... Yikes! The App Store works cause those games are very small (and cheap), and they download in seconds.

Irrelevant. Fast broadband is getting cheaper, with bigger download caps, and covering more land. I can download a 10 GB game in just a few hours. With the beauty of background download, it doesn't affect my time in the slightest. In fact it would take me longer to shower, get dressed, go and find a retail shop that has the game I'm after (a nightmare if it's an obscure title), buy it, and come back home.

It takes a week to find the same game online, pay for it, and have it mailed to me.

PRICE:
Most digital games cost the same as their retail counterparts. Why is this? There is no packaging, disc production, shipping, etc. It's all digital, so it should be available cheaper, right? My guess is the developers keep prices high because they have to pay for the bandwidth needed to host the game on their servers. Is this correct?

The price is now how much a publisher should be making from a game. One of the great challenges retailers and manufacturers have faced in recent times (and I'm talking all retail, not just games retail) is reeducating consumers to stop expecting sales and bargins for everything. The current consumer model is broken - it leads to more failed companies than successful ones. Think about how many talented studios have been shut down in the past few years for having a single underperforming game. That's because consumers refuse to give publishers enough money to turn a profit, even on their favourite games.

Publishers are using digital distribution to help maintain profit margins. There's still sales, but they're controlled in a more reasonable fashion now.

NO ACTUAL OWNERSHIP:
When you download a digital game, you don't actually own it, you just own the license to play it. Plus the provider may remove the game from their store at any time, denying you access to repurchase the game if you ever delete it. And what if the company or online service ever goes under?

Your house can also burn down in the night - better not buy hard copies, either. Nothing is permanent, I don't know why people expects this to change for digital downloads.

HARD DRIVE SPACE:
This shouldn't be an issue for people with large-capacity USB hard drives, but many people don't have them. If you download many games, you will fill up your hard drive fast.

I bought a PS3 250GB model. I've got over 100 games on it, and it's not filled up yet.

Microsoft allows this on the Xbox 360, and it greatly cuts down on load times, and it preserves the life of the disc drive. I just wish Sony allowed the same thing.

They do.

I prefer physical media. The internet and I rarely get along anyway (I would kill to have that download speed Waltz!)

Well I dissagree that you don't own downloadable games.
I paid real money for them and I think you would probably
be legally entitled to a refund if the game was no longer available for download.
There will most likely always be a desire for physical media.
A download only future is something I do not want.

To Waltz

yeah you may have 100 games but your (for the lack of a proper word) bragging the library and not the file size of the individuals in mind

and they dont allow you to install your whole game just partial data thus the disc is still spinning and using the drive unlike the 360

all in all i like all systems and own them all, as to the topic in mind it really depends its a scary thought not owning them physically sense but nothing is forever digital or not, you are not going to live forever so having a collection as much as i like too doesnt bother me much, digital is fine too providing the console or watever lasts my life time till the true death to where it wont matter at least it wont become garbage if everything i bought was digtial and saving the world from polution

god that was too much to write lol

Rules and regulations are quite different on downloadable media. You actually do not own the content, rather the license to use it (don't believe me? Read the fine print).

I disagree with the refund statement because you're not entitled to refunds for physical media if the publisher stops publishing them (assuming there's no recall or some similar situation). I don't think it's right to purchase something, enjoy it, then get a full refund later. That beats the whole purpose of "purchasing" the media in the first place.

I do, however, agree with the last statement

In the end you won't own anything anyway.
Even if you leave your precious games to your relatives you can't keep things forever.
Eventually it all ends up in the garbage.

Have a look here for a discussion on our feelings (prior to it's release) about the 3DS and whether it should go download only.

Eventually, digital only games would be viable for the consumer - but only if they let you own the games.

In about 10 years when Sony get to that level, we can expect the piracy-paranoid Nintendo to follow 5-10 years after that.

You buy something, you expect to be able to use it (especially if it's digital) until the end of your days. I can buy a CD (or a DRM free download), back it up and it's mine forever.

Why do digital downloads have to be different?

You buy something, you expect to be able to use it (especially if it's digital) until the end of your days. I can buy a CD (or a DRM free download), back it up and it's mine forever.

Why do digital downloads have to be different?

Um. You can. Download a PSN game. Back it up (via MediaGO) to your PC. Yours forever, even if Sony decides to take it off the PSN. Same for iOS stuff via iTunes. Same for 3DSWare (I bet there's a bunch of people here who haven't backed up their 3DSWare to PC yet).

I have four copies of all my stuff across multiple hard drives and a home network. For all intents and purposes, it's no different to having a backed up CD.

People just get paranoid about this stuff for no reason whatsoever. As I said, it's entirely possible for you to accidently burn down your house, or drop your CD and scratch it to buggery. Physical copies of stuff are nowhere near as permanent as people like to pretend.

It's so much easier having things digital. The only thing that I guess annoys me is region locking.

Yeah I'm still not sure how they justify region locking with digital downloads. I can sorta understand with physical retail copies, but downloads should play by different rules.

Feel free to take this discussion to this existing recent thread, and keep it civil, please. :3