0D0 said:
Shadow1980 said:
"The ability to re-download purchased content will also stop at some point; we will announce specific details as that time approaches." — Nintendo
It hasn't happened yet, but it will, and when it does we'll be at two platforms that have abandoned their digital stores entirely. First was the original Xbox. Now it's the DSi. The 360, Wii, and PS3 will probably follow suit within the next five years. No platform will be supported forever.
This is exactly the thing I was talking about in other threads in regards to digital on consoles. If anything happens to your digital downloads once the platform is no longer supported, that's it. They're gone forever. That happened to me after the MS dropped support for XBL for the original Xbox. Fortunately it was only $21 of DLC, and there was still a physical option. But I shudder to think about the possibility of an entire library of games at risk of being lost forever.
At least with physical there's a second-hand market, and all those copies that were sold can still, at least in principle, be found and bought (some especially rare games may be tough to find and quite expensive). There's still a vibrant second-hand market with older consoles that have long since been abandoned by their parent company. That wouldn't be possible with a digital-only console. If consoles ever do go digital-only, then I'm done supporting the game industry. I'll stick with my older systems. To me, the very real benefits of having a physical copy that you own outweigh the supposed benefits of digital, and that's important enough to me to where my support of the industry is 100% contingent on physical media being available. |
But even older systems will stop working someday.
|
With a little bit of electrical know-how, you can restore any console from the past, easily. With advanced knowledge, you can build your own replacement parts. You won't be able to bring an entire digital storefront back online though, under any reasonable circumstance
