I am going to indulge in living in the past here, so get ready for your Luddite barbs.

A world without physical objects is a world devoid of soul.

Unlike some eastern religions and philosophies, I don't believe we are better when we rid ourselves of all worldly possessions. I believe some of those possessions define us and make us what we want to be. The photo above is an art piece I spent some time pondering over last year. I don't remember what it is called. What struck me was what it meant, without asking the artist. I like art to mean something to the individual. In this case we are confronted with a library of blank books.

What does this mean? My friend had a differing view to me. She felt it represented the modern age of digital and the death of the book and library. For purposes of this blog, books and games mean the same thing (to me). I, on the other hand, took a view that it was meant to be us, our minds. We start with nothing and now we spend a lifetime filling it.

Either way, this brings me to why I believe in the physical object. When we go digtal, this is what we have - an empty room. We have nothing to show for what we find important in our lives. I have a large library of games, over 1100. I also have a large library of books. I also have a large collection of vinyl records. I don't play all of them, I don't read all of them and I don't listen to all of them. Hell, I have Tolstoy in Russian and I can't read Russian. I like to feel, I like to smell. I like to immerse myself in what I do. I am a collector.

When we go digital, we lose a part of ourselves, a part of who we are. Sure, digital is convenient. Sometimes it is cheaper. It is better for the environment. But it is cold and sterile. It also puts people out of work. It is a completely unhuman way to live. It keeps you in your home and it avoids human contact and interaction. It is not the future I want to see.

I may be living in a quaint world and be out of touch, but it is what I want and I fear for the future many of you are racing enthusiastically towards. Support retail games. Support paper books. Support vinyl records. You will be a better you for it.

Go easy on me, clearly I live in the past. Come and join me. I am the Contrarian.