Great discussion everyone. I cannot sum up all the arguments for/against digital distribution, but here are the main points I have read:
For:
1. DRM, Production and Distribution costs. Games via DD will be less expensive because they will not carry the costs associated with having to produce and distribute them physically. Likewise, digital distribution is the next logical evolutionary step in digital rights management for the content providers under the auspices of cutting down on privacy along with lower costs for the individual consumer.
2. Steam, Xbox Live, and PSN are here, popular and will not go away anytime soon.
3. Physical copies are not permanent especially with DRM built-in the disc itself
4. Space. There is only so much space one can reserve for their collections
5. Back-up. If you break a physical copy, you are screwed; there is no breaking a DD version.
6. Convience. Like Netflix or Gamefly, with digital distribution there will be no lines, fewer waiting periods, and one more reason to stay at home and gain weight.
Against:
1. Price. If DD is the future, then that future needs to reflect the cut in costs down to the individual consumer level with price drops from $10-20 for all games including AAA titles.
2. Control. You don't own the DD version; you are merely renting the right to it.
3. Permanence. With disc burners, you can recreate copies prolonging the life span of a 10-20 year old game indefinitely.
4. World-wide Connection Rates. Not every possible gamer has high speed internet, many only have access to lower speeds making DD unfeasible for those in emerging and less wealthy markets.
5. No re-sell or gift value. You cannot see your little sibling or child's eyes light up when you buy them the latest Halo for their birthday, instead they will be like "wow (uncomfortable silence)...I got a 6 month gift card to GameCentral. Thanks Dad." Likewise, younger gamers or poorer gamers will not be able to save up money for a new game by re-selling their old ones.
6. Status and Bragging. Individuals no matter what country they live love to have their hobbies on a shelf to admire after work, but they absolutely love to have a hobby shelf or hobby room where they can show guests and brag about their "limited editions," "collector's editions," and the like.
Did I miss any key points that were made? If so, then feel free to reply and I will update the list in a later post.
