"Digital distribution is the future." Various individuals in the gaming industry have talked about this, with the belief that physical copies of video games might soon become obsolete. Although I know that digital distribution will only continue to gain in popularity, it worries me to hear companies like Electronic Arts considering the idea of going "100% digital." With that said, I believe that digital distribution should remain only as an option for consumers, and not be forced down anyone's throat.

When digital distribution first started gaining momentum, I was quite skeptical of this method of obtaining games. Why should I download this game when I can go to a nearby store and pick up a nice hard copy? I'm the type of gamer who likes to look at his/her own collection of games and keeps the boxes nice and organized on a shelf for everyone to see. Not only do I appreciate the nice boxart, I love flipping through the pages of the game manuals in between my gaming sessions. If I had the choice, I had believed that I would never buy a digital copy of a video game.

This changed when Origin released a sale which shaved off more than half the retail price of many EA games, including TS3 expansion packs that I had wanted to buy. However, there was a catch, the sale was restricted to the digital versions only. I haven't purchased any of the expansion packs up to that point because I believed they weren't worth the $40 original price tag, but now I could own them for only a small fraction of the price. For many people, the cheap price is enough for them to take out their wallets, but to others who are stubborn in their beliefs like me, having a physical copy is just as important. I was conflicted, but in the end, the price was just too difficult to ignore. Steam's holiday and summer sales also help prove the point that cheaper prices can be a benefit to going digital. By going digital, many publishers eliminate the cost of making hard copies as well as the distribution costs. From a consumer standpoint, gamers who shop online can stop paying shipping and handling.

This brings me to my next point, another advantage of digital distribution is it's convenience. For gamers who are lazy, or simply too far from any video game/electronic stores, you can just purchase the game from the comfort of your own home, without the need to wait a few days for the delivery. Going digital is definitely convenient for publishers, as this system makes distributing video games easier than ever. However, what's most notable about digital distribution is that it can be an invaluable resource for many game developers, which then leaves a positive impact on the gaming community in general. For up and coming independent game developers, or indie game developers, digital distribution is the only viable method of spreading their games. With a small budget and possibly no track record, they're most likely not going to get much support from publishers until their first hit. Game distribution platforms such as Steam, Xbox Live, PSN, and WiiWare give small developers a chance to showcase their work and possibly get some money in return. Minecraft is a great example of a download only indie game that reached astounding success.

In today's gaming world, the released game might not be the finished product. It is quite common for updates and DLC to be released, and digital distribution makes updating games easy and simple. One of my favorite games, Team Fortress 2, is a perfect example of why updates are so important. Updates mean new content, fixed bugs, and a reason for gamers to return and play. For TF2, whenever a new update comes out, all I have to do is login to Steam and it automatically does the rest. If you played TF2 when it first came out and compared it to a fully updated TF2 now, you would see a huge difference in gameplay.

Even though I've now listed so many good things about digital distribution, I still believe in the importance of physical copies. In addition to those who simply love the boxes, there are some gamers who like to sell their games when they've completed them, or even let friends borrow them for a few days. If gaming became "100% digital," these things will no longer be possible, which brings into question whether or not you truly own the game that you bought. Different people like different things, so I believe that no matter how successful digital distribution becomes, gamers should always have the option of buying their games in the form of a disc in a box.