Hey guys, I really appreciate all the input. I don't just work with Vita games, but it is the platform with the highest digital adoption rate of game consoles. Obviously it doesn't reach things like smartphones or Steam, since those are 100% digital.

We've all seen the growth of digital distribution, and it's the method of choice for small companies and indies who don't want to or can't deal with physical distribution. There are a lot of costs involved in physical distribution, such as manufacturing, shipping and fuel, warehousing and other storage costs, commission and cuts for buyers, mass dealers, retailers, etc. Sometimes you get projects that wouldn't be profitable, or would be too risky, taking a physical route.

There are a lot of great people localizing games, but they wouldn't have jobs for long if they work on projects that don't make money. If it were possible, every game would be localized, but the industry often deals with shortage of quality workers, and again some projects are too risky. Risk in small projects is much easier to take a gamble on than larger projects, though, which is why you see some quirky games get localized. And that's also why the question of digital only distribution comes into play, to cut out the costs of dealing with physical products. It's not always about a company trying to maximize their profit, it's about trying to MAKE a profit so the project can go forward.

Anyway, I'm not saying all releases are going to be switching to digital or anything like that. It's just a question that can come into play when pushing or prioritizing certain projects. It seems like a lot of Vita owners are more open to digital distribution than PS3. And yes, I'm aware that physical products on shelves can help push hardware sales, and the Vita could really use that push outside Japan.

If they're smaller projects, I have no problem with digital btw. Games like Guacamelee for instance, don't really make sense as a full retail package now. However they also have the price tag that reflects that.

That said, it would be really cool to get a few physical compilations with these indie/smaller games on.

I won't generally pay more than £15-20 as a top end for a digital title, whilst I'll happily put down £40 for a physical release.

I would have bought that Miku Diva game already if SEGA had put a cartridge out of it.

There's basically nothing I can add to that. It's exactly what I'm thinking.

Things like the Famicom Remix 1+2 package, for example, make me jealous. I love getting stuff like that to add it to my physical collection. That's one of the reasons I bought an Xbox 360, actually, because there's a lot of physical compilations with some XBLA titles on it. Love that stuff.

I don't feel like dropping 60+ on a 32gb memory card. Can I get multiple 4 or 8gb cards instead? Or is it one memory card per account?

Alternatively, where can I get cheap memory cards.

You can use as many memory cards as you want. But I would recommend one big card instead of several smaller cards, even if they are a bit cheaper in the sum.

You shouldn't hot-swap the cards. So you have to turn off the Vita, change the card, reboot and let the Vita check the file system.

Also, optimization of the space of the small cards can be a hassle. For example: you have 10 games with 2.5 - 3.0 GB each. They would fit on a 32GB-card (10 x 3 = 30 GB), but four 8GB-cards would not be enough, you need five (2 games on each card).

And you have to remember, which games are on which card.

That doesn't seem like the responsibility of the kind of publishers you're talking about, really.

Interesting post though, thanks Baldr.  

Alright then, thanks.

The PRO of the Digital, is that a lot of small games have been published thanks to that.. because probably a lot of project didn't make it to retaiil on  last generations... because there wasn't a cheap publishing way.

i'm not enterely sure if Digital is the future, but will definitively dominate the ratio.

I'm actually going by the previews :)  Saw a little bit of a video and it was good, but the two previews I read were kinda bad.

Ok, this game is going to be nuts! The gameplay seems to be a lot of fun!

Freedom Wars reminds me of Attack on Titan with that Harpoon/Grappling Hook thingy. Which is good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_EPfiQka98