Digital distribution is a good thing

[kitler53]

Kasz216 said:

haxxiy said:

In theory it all seems nice and good, like pretty much every technology out there, but tell me the last time you saw something escaping the grasp of greedy companies and their antics.

Just some of the possible unfortunate consequences of digital-only distribution:

1 - always online gameplay
2 - limited lifespan for games
3 - paying extras for unlocking content
4 - in-game advertising
5 - account hacking
6 - killswitch in case of mods or cheats
7 - one copy per player is mandatory

Also they could shut down your entire library if they feel you step too much out of the line, like M$ did with some X360s a while ago. And so on.

Outside 7... this all happens to physical media as well.

this exactly -- people are scape goating DD (..7 is also true for physical, it wasn't possible for me to share my WoW discs with a friend due to the always online gameplay part for instance).

i like DD.  i've lost more media to disc scratches, missplacements (i left my entire DS library of games on the amtrak once), friends that never return my stuff, and shifts in technology (BS to any one that says physical is forever 'cause my VHSs don't work anymore) then i ever have to DD.  be it my music, psn, or iOs stuff things have transitioned soo much better since i went digital.

i'm doing DD only on my vita.  mobile gaming is soo much more mobile when you don't have to lug cartridges around.  that was such a huge inconvenience with my DS that i'm soo happy to be rid of with vita.

it's cheaper generally.

plus i'm starting to hate physical for the space.  i buy 30 or so games a year and i refuse to go to a 4 bookshelf just for more pieces of plastic.

 

the only down sides is the time to download (for those with slow internet, not me) and the lack of competition making pricing structures a bit more ridged.  it's awesome that nothing goes "out of print" but picking up games on the cheap is not so frequent outside of steam.