Video Gaming Blog

Submitted from Mr. Michael Vass, a contributing author.

I came across an interesting article by Mr. Phillip Levine today, on the subject of digitally downloaded games. We have all heard of this, and I’m sure more than a few of us have used the process to buy, this game or that one. It’s a trend that is definitely growing and may soon overtake actual store purchases. Gamespot, EB Games and the others be warned, you could become as hard to find as record stores (I mean vinyl not CD’s).

There were several thoughts given both for and against the idea of digital downloading. It’s actually a pretty comprehensive list, if a bit heavy on the pro side. Some of the arguments are:

“Pro: You Don’t Have to Wait in Line
GameStop, Best Buy, EB Games, Circuit City, Wal-Mart – it doesn’t matter. They all look for and hire employees that are the slowest at ringing up purchases possible. What’s more, even if you luck out and get a clerk who knows what he or she is doing, it doesn’t matter – the world is overpopulated, and every underground message board monger will be in line with you, waiting to get his or her hands on whatever game it is that they simply have to have. Digital distribution doesn’t involve standing in line. You just have to sit on your couch and press “go.”

Con: No Physical Copies
Some people enjoy having a collection of every game they’ve played and being able to show that collection off to friends. Digital distribution would mean no more game boxes, printed instruction manuals and, more importantly, your copy would be completely virtual. You, yourself, would not “own” anything. Game purchases would likely be tied to your account, and you wouldn’t have the freedom to loan your games out to friends.

Pro: Open for Game Buying 24/7
Gamers keep weird hours – hours that the rest of society doesn’t exactly understand or agree with. When we need to buy a game at 3AM, we need to buy a game at 3AM. That’s just the way it is, and with digital distribution, we can do it. Retailers aren’t open 24/7, but the Internet is.

Con: No Returns/Refunds
Although return policies at stores like GameStop are becoming more and more stringent, digital distribution would usher in an age where you probably wouldn’t be able to return or exchange your games if you didn’t like them, period. Exchanges might be possible, but it would be surprising if companies allowed complete returns and refunds – at least not without consumers putting up a fight.”

I would add a Con though. Since there is no actual copy of the game, any error created from the download cannot be fixed unless you go through the entire process again. That takes time, possibly a lot of time. Nothing is more annoying that having to download something you already downloaded. And if you lost or destroyed the purchase key, you have to buy it again.

Another Con that really bugs me is the fact that since there is no physical copy, if you upgrade your computer, or next-gen console system, you may not be able to transfer your favorite games from one system to another. Tell me that isn’t something that would frustrate the crap out of you.

What other Pros and Cons do you think were missed?