naznatips said:
No, Microsoft won't. No console will. It's unfortunately not even an option for consoles. Retailers make no money on console hardware, and the only reason they stock them is that they know people will buy games as well. If a console ever tried to go pure digital distribution, it would lose retail support. Especially from Gamestop, who thrives off used game sales. Something they wouldn't get from a digital distribution console. This is what separates consoles from PCs in the future. The method of sales. PC gaming is an internet community at its heart, and that's why something like Steam works. It doesn't hurt the PC industry for things to go mostly digital. Even the most internet connected console (the 360) has a miniscule online player-base compared to the PC. While consoles may advance to full games on digital distribution, they will never be digital focused or have all games on such a service. Hard copies of games are a necessity for consoles. |
True, I never thought about that.
I'm thinking that possibly another company may try this however as it eliminates a lot of the cost in the shipping, raw materials, storage and store profit margins. Maybe a Dell like approach where they ship you the console directly from their website and provide you with access to their network for games... Could be a cheaper way to get in to the console industry. Maybe Sega could... :)
