My solution for those who fear digital distribution takeover.

The companies who make the games should forever continue to make hardcopies of all of their games for sale at retailers that come with in a fold open box, nice cover art, and manual, exactly the way the always have and continue to do so today. They can still make digital distribution the main facet of revenue, but continue to sell the hardcopies in less quantities then they do today, making them even more desirable for all of you collectors out there who hate the idea of not having a physical medium to show your games off to friends. I would compare this to how the music industry still sells vinyls of new albums. 

The companies who make the games should forever continue to make hardcopies of all of their games for sale at retailers that come with in a fold open box, nice cover art, and manual, exactly the way the always have and continue to do so today. They can still make digital distribution the main facet of revenue, but continue to sell the hardcopies in less quantities then they do today, making them even more desirable for all of you collectors out there who hate the idea of not having a physical medium to show your games off to friends. I would compare this to how the music industry still sells vinyls of new albums. 

My problem with digital distribution is the problem it causes with re-sale value. I like knowing I can get 2/3 of my money back sometime down the line if I need to. That solution, while not horribly original, would probably work.

"My problem with digital distribution is the problem it causes with re-sale value. I like knowing I can get 2/3 of my money back sometime down the line if I need to. That solution, while not horribly original, would probably work. "

No doubtTwoOneFive said:

don't sell it to gamestop, put that on ebay or something. "

To me, nothing beats the feeling of opening the box and taking and actual disk or cartridge out of it. Then putting the game in the system. I'm not going to have that same feeling with this "takover". That sense of ownership will be gone. With stuff like Braid and other downloadable games I don't feel the same attachment that I do with the ones on the other side of the spectrum.  Your first idea woundn't be enough for me, but the second one will most likely be the way I do buy my games if and when this digital distrubution takeover comes. I just hope this option does happen.  

Materialism at it's finest! Thanks for showing your desire to use up resources and space, and giving the rest of the world more garbage in the long run! I hope your collection does compensate for you, otherwise I'd probably die laughing.

To be honest, cheaper packaging should be used anyway. As long as I have license to re download after a reformat etc. I'm more than happy to download my games digitally.

didgital distribution will never be the norm simply because not everybody has your 1337 fiber optics internet connection

The beauty of open markets is they are facilitators of choice.

People like me who value the experience of playing the game, and not the game's case's spine on my shelf will have more options to purchase more games directly from the producers, and old-fashioned retail supporters will continue to be able to support: the wholesalers of games, the shipping companies, the advertising companies that market these outlets to the masses, and the retailers themselves. That's fine by me.

I just hope that one day the direct nature of the digital transaction leads to a cost-savings for the consumer.

Also, SmilingDude, what is being expressed in this thread has little to do with Materialism, it's not as though people who are willing to buy video games over the internet are adhering to some sort of Platonic model of the universe in doing so.

Learn the meaning of words before you attempt to use them, please.

"Materialism at it's finest! Thanks for showing your desire to use up resources and space, and giving the rest of the world more garbage in the long run! I hope your collection does compensate for you, otherwise I'd probably die laughing."

"crunchUK said:

"didgital distribution will never be the norm simply because not everybody has your 1337 fiber optics internet connection"

People with shit connections shouldn't be on the net, lagging the crap out of multiplayer games."

"Materialism at it's finest! Thanks for showing your desire to use up resources and space, and giving the rest of the world more garbage in the long run! I hope your collection does compensate for you, otherwise I'd probably die laughing."

"TheSmilingDude said:

"Materialism at it's finest! Thanks for showing your desire to use up resources and space, and giving the rest of the world more garbage in the long run! I hope your collection does compensate for you, otherwise I'd probably die laughing."

Is this guy for real? Like, really? Shouldn't he be preaching to the plastic cup industry? Maybe the egg carton industry? The condom industry? Or any of the billion other things that actually produce a lot of garbage? What a dipshit."