Digital Distribution Is The Way Of The Future

Dean Vella of Nizulo writes: "It’s no secret that digital distribution is the future of gaming. For other industries such as the music industry, this is already the norm. Gaming is slowly transitioning into becoming digital-only, but it’s much too early for the industry to completely change, and eliminate physical media. Such was made apparent through Microsoft’s recent failed attempt, and the failure of the digital-only ‘PSP Go’. But will this always be the case? Let’s take a look at how digital distribution can and will affect the gaming industry."

[ZBlacktt]

I'll always be old school and want the physical copy. I have a collection. I like the art behind the game. The collectors edition games, etc. I still buy the good games gaming guides from time to time.

[jc48573]

they are like toys.

[ZBlacktt]

You can always look at them, hold them. Even when the power goes out, lol. Holding and touching always brings back such great memories of when you held the game for the first time.

[jeffgoldwin]

Discs are like having a blow up doll. You can just as easily watch the digital version. Plus, if you happen to ever bring a date home, it's just not going to go well if she sees that stack of 1000+ games or your life sized doll with her photo taped on the face.

[tarbis]

umm... NO. It takes me days to download games that are more than 1g. It'll be easier to go to the store buy the game then come home. It won't even take a quarter of a day.

[Bloomy]

I don't know your area but I'm sure by the time Digital Distribution is mainstream for gaming consoles, your internet will be faster. Mind you, that's an assumption.

Unless you're on a nuclear sub. *I'm kidding*

[tarbis]

I live in a 3rd world country. We pay about $24/mo. for 1Mbps internet connection. I hope that'll give you an idea what kind of internet we have.

[Bloomy]

That's about the same speeds I'm getting here - peaks at 2Mbps. Things seem to download quickly, but then again I know nothing faster. I envy those with ridiculous download speeds.

[jeffgoldwin]

I really don't think the digital world finds 3rd world countries relevant nor are they really concerned with your crappy dial-up. Lol just sayin...

[tarbis]

Of course they don't. Since when do 1st world countries ever care about other countries at all? LOL!

[jeffgoldwin]

Considering majority of 1st world countries donate billions every year to charities for 3rd world countries, your trolling was ignorant. Anyways, I was obviously talking about businesses and selling to paying customers.

[tarbis]

Good job in insulting and blocking me. That only proves that you can't handle a proper conversation. But, it doesn't change the fact that I'm telling the truth. And I'm not gonna be provoked or stoop down to your low level of intellect.

[jeffgoldwin]

Ya I do block obnoxious and ignorant emo kids. not gunna lie.

[ifritAlkhemyst]

It's really amusing. Of course it is the future, it's is just a matter of time for console gamers. I don't honestly understand why they're so obsessed with having a physical copy of their games but you can bet that after this coming generation, more and more console gamers will use the digital services. PC gamers... well, we're already converted.

I give it one more generation after next before consoles are nothing but digital distribution.

[bjmartynhak]

I really enjoy my collection on the shelf.

Moreover, and maybe more importantly, I always check the price for digital and at amazon and shopto. Digital NEVER wins, at least for consoles.

[Hicken]

IF it's the future, it's far-flung. Nothing like the "next few years" people keep wanting to say.

Gradually- VERY gradually- digital will take over. But it won't be this generation, and it may not be next generation. Simply put: the average person even in an internet-connected country like here in the US doesn't have the speeds necessary for all-digital gaming. Downloading the 30+ GB that games will take up could take a week, and in the meantime, the internet is slow for anything else you're trying to do. Streaming would face similar limitations, and the added drawback of crazy amounts of latency. Our infrastructure simply isn't capable of providing a level of service that would make it viable.

And that's not even thinking about places with little to no reliable internet.

Do you think console manufacturers will give up the opportunity to make money in places like Brazil and Afica because folks there don't have the internet to play the games of an all-digital industry?

... well, Microsoft seemed to be willing, so that's something, I guess.

SMART manufacturers, though, would maintain OPTIONS for their consumers, and give themselves more avenues for revenue.

That's why it's no near future.

[Xer0_SiN]

way of the future, not way of the present. nice try though.

[Bloomy]

"Digital Distribution Is The Way Of The Future"

Highlighting: "...WAY OF THE FUTURE"

Here's hoping you're trolling and not retarded. Either way, here's a hug.

[Xer0_SiN]

good one, i almost laughed. however, i do agree with the whole future of distribution. when i referred to "future" i mean distant future, not future as in anytime soon. people in the here and now still want physical copies; still want something tangible to call theirs. i know i do. if i had the choice to pick between physical copy or digital copy, ill pick physical copy every single time.

[jeffgoldwin]

Ive been using the "distance future" for about 4-5 year now with Steam and console downloads being much more convienant, imo, than constantly playing the hokey pokey disc shuffle and turn your self about each time you want a different game.

[jjb1981]

I'm going that way just because its easier to switch between games and its less stress on the drive over time. I will be buying my ps4 games digitally so that I can use remote play with more than one game. Also I never have to worry about losing the disc or it getting stolen. I was always into physical copies but since my Internet is fast I don't mind.

[MikeyDucati1]

Yea it's going to happen, eventually.

[Gamerchik87]

Most are just looking at the negatives :/ and the positives outweigh the negatives by a long shot.

The negative
No physical copy
No lending

The positive
Cheaper games cut distribution
No more scratch disk
U will always own forever
U will never lose
Better dlc to make up for physical special addition games

I give it 2 years and gamestop stocks will get hit hard

If I knew I can get the same game in digital form for cheaper than physical
I would go digital all the way especially if their are people with money problems

[Hicken]

Your "positives" are both redundant and uncertain.

Cheaper games cut distribution: I assume you mean the games get cheaper because there's no physical product? That's not a given. And, in fact, Microsoft had stated that their physical games weren't going up in price, but said nothing about the pricing of their digital games at all; had they been cheaper, that would have been something to brag about, so them not having ANYTHING to say indicates they had no intentions of having lower prices than physical.

No more scratch disc: No, but you WILL have to worry about file corruption, storage space, bandwidth caps, latency, and other issues.

U will always own forever: Not really. In fact, this is more a point in the favor of physical than not. See with digital games, they can shut down whatever servers host the game whenever they please. They can also deactivate whatever copy you have on your machine even if it's not online: all it takes is exactly what Microsoft proposed, which is requiring a periodic connection to the internet to "verify" that you're running is authentic.

U will never lose: See above, pertaining to corrupted files and the company's ability to end your use of the game whenever they see fit.

Better dlc...: Don't know where you're getting that idea from. DLC won't in any way be impacted by whether or not a game is physical or digital.

Your last line sums up about a third of the issue, in that we don't KNOW that prices for games will be cheaper. With Steam as an example, we HOPE other services would follow suit, but we can't know for certain.

The other two thirds are ownership issues and internet infrastructure, both of which are far from being resolved.

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

Yes it is - just like taking a holiday in the Martian colonies, playing crazy crater golf on the moon and taking a quick hyperdrive tour of the cosmos. Just not yet.