Posted on 06/13/2013 at 09:29 AM
| Filed Under Feature
I agree, Julian, this probably is the future, but I don't think it has to be. Similar to how the music industry still supports CDs and even Vinyl, I don't see why gaming companies can't continue to offer physical products (at a premium) to those of us who'd rather own something than purchase a license.
Seems like they're all too eager to take our ownership rights away and smash the retail market. I mean, maybe that will pay off for them in the long run, but I think they're losing a pretty vital partner when they do that. Gamestop may seem like the devil, but they're pimping games every single day and acting as a salesman for a very small cut of the profits. Shelf space at big box retailers is no doubt expensive, but it's also a valuable marketing tool to reach the market who isn't into gaming as rabidly as we are.
As a collector, this topic hits very close to home. While a move to digital seems like it's going to come up as all roses in these content providers' minds, I don't think it's going to be as fruitful as they perceive it to be.
I won't even get into the planned obsolescence issue that consoles have with digital purchases, but in the end I think that consumers are going to have to sacrifice a lot more than they're willing to in the name of "convenience."