DigiDistro Musings

I was actually working on a Metal Gear Solid 4 review post for August but just couldn't finish it in a way I was satisfied with. Sorry about that dudes. It truly is an awesome game and I really want to review it so I'll do that after I do this one and two more on Space for Hiroes. Because its so awesome and groundbreaking, I just can't think of a good way to do it yet but it'll be soon!

Recently Digital Distribution has been getting popular lately and I can see why. The convenience of not having to go down to the store, find the game whether its there or not and wait in line just to get home to play. With Digital Distribution, you can just sit at the comfort of your home, enter your credit card or paypal details and ya off waiting for it to download!

Also concept and convenient and I can see why so many turn to it. Recently developers and publishers have been releasing their games as standard retail boxes and also online. And thats cool as there are many benefits from cutting the middle man out, everyone who wants a copy gets one and for convenience sake. I don't have a problem about this but why am I typing up a blog entry about it? Cause I think this is gonna be a worrying trend in the near future if publishers decides to release all games as Digital Distro only.

With the recent announcement D3 Publisher are removing their PSP UMD games to become download-only really worries me that others will follow. While others find it the best way to get games off Steam, XBLA, PSN etc instead of their physical-copies, I prefer to go out and shop for the best bargains of the same game. It may take me a few weeks to get a game I really want, at least I would've paid a price that was much less than what online offers (in their official AUD RRP). Another point that deters me from buying a digital copy is that, the publishers controls the price as its the only source to get it from and will never have a sale unless the game is selling like nothing. Whereas at the shops, they compete with eachother and have sales and bundles etc.

Having a physical copy to display on shelf is also another great satisfaction of my accomplishment that I was able to get it for a great price. I have many friends come to my house and always awe at my collection of games whereas having the games I have downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel on my Wii does not have the same effect. Ren and I constantly look inside second-hand shops for the good rare games at bargain prices and its a great feeling when you do find a gem underneath many normal games.

I know many gamers aren't as hardcore and economical as me when it comes to buying games but the feeling that you actually own it and not just stored on your harddrive is such a much better feeling. There are some instances I do buy a digital copy when there is no other option for a classic game to be played as the Wii's Virtual Console games are. Especially the rare games like Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario that weren't even released in PAL and released in public in Australia respectively. Thats acceptable and most of the classic games that just aren't available anymore or wasn't at all that are on sale on PSN, XBL and VC.

If the world thinks like ex-Xbox boss Peter Moore then it would be a sad one when every game will need to be bought and downloaded online. Its also sad that some of the great games are already digital only like Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness and Audiosurf but for the majority of games, they are still available in physical and digital so thats relieve... for now.

I really hope it continues to have both options and not just digital only. My collection would die, eBay will suck for games and just.... would be boring to shop for a game-geek like me. Also I don't want the publishers to handle the prices and never have sales or reasonable prices especially in Australia where everything is double the price of what America pays.... gay. More games in retail the better, more competition and cheaper prices as well as knowing you own a physical copy... all worth it.