Are gaming retailers going to go bust - Downloadable games/ cloud

I just read that gamestation in the UK have closed twelve of their stores and game has closed six stores and all their stores that were within Debenhams superstores across the UK.
Gamestation is part of Game group which around the UK provide the illusion of choice on the high street even though both stores are owned by the same company. Even though from what I read Game group have stated that it is part of an efficiency inititive as they have multiple stores in some areas which they feel is not neccessary, it has been stated that this statement was released by game just so the shareholders don't run a mile.
 
The rise of Digitally downloadable games over the Xbox live and PSN networks allow for publishers to essentially cut out these retail middlemen and they can achieve more competitve prices and more profit for their development teams efforts which sounds good. But I think about the amount of jobs that this is going to terminate on the high street as digitial download is really taking off.
 
People argue that you can't download the hardware so the retailers will still have a purpose within the next 5 years but with the advent of cloud computing, Onlive becoming available this summer. Will hardware sales also eventually become obsolete rendering retailers irrelevant to the gaming industry? 
 
Looking at the latest revenue generation statement from Xbox live it is clear to see that more people are becoming more comfortable with downloading games and Downloadable content, It is clear that Microsoft are expanding on this frontier and also Sony.
 
If I was a shareholder in these retailers I would seriously consider pulling the plug on my investment sooner rather than later, even though these retailers are in denial about what is happening every download of a game or Downloadable content which historically would of been sold through a retailer as an expansion will take it's toll.

this is probably the future but so far I am not impressed.  some of these prices on xbox live are ridiculous, $30 for a game I can get for $20 at a store, I can't let my friends borrow it, and there is some resale value with a box and disc.  with download only the competition is gone on consoles anyway.

As game companies go DD, it's inevitable that game stores go the way of the dinosaur.  It'll be terrible for consumers, but that's what is happening.

" this is probably the future but so far I am not impressed.  some of these prices on xbox live are ridiculous, $30 for a game I can get for $20 at a store, I can't let my friends borrow it, and there is some resale value with a box and disc.  with download only the competition is gone on consoles anyway. "

maybe. For me I  will never use onlive or services like it because owning my games is important to me. Do I use steam a lot more frequently yes.

We're not nearly at the point yet. But we are getting there and more and more digital distribution is becoming more and more prevalent. But the same could be said about pretty much any medium nowadays.

Just imagine all the games in future we'll lose when all the networks go down in the nuclear apocalypse or world war 3. I guess we'll have bigger things to worry about. In all honesty though we won't go fully digital until bandwith is cheaper and readily available. The tech has to catch up first.