I predict in a good 10 years all new video games will be offered only digitally. Of course that is just a baseless guess and the true digital age could be much closer or further away, but I think there is a very good chance that the current generation of video games could very well be the last time we see video games take physical form. With things like iPads, Androids, and even the Kickstarter-funded console Ouya, companies have pretty much proven that an all digital format could work for video games. Even in many polls that I've seen regarding the subject the number of people who prefer physical media such as a cartridge or a disc is pretty much equal to those who would rather just download a game to their console, and the number of digitally preferred people will only go up from here. Many people get attached to the physical form of media because that's what they grew up with and that is what they know. You want to play a game? Just pop the cartridge into the slot and you're good to go! No need to download anything! I'm definitely on the side of physical media but I do think both forms have their market and could (and should) co-exist for years to come. For years I loathed the idea of an all-digital future for video games. I'll probably always prefer actual music CDs, movies on DVDs, actual books, and video games on cartridges and discs to completely digital forms. For a while I was completely against digital forms of any of those things, but lately I've been thinking maybe the digital age isn't so bad. Yes I will miss physical media when it's gone (and it will be eventually) but digital games have some advantages physical media doesn't, and vice versa. So without further ado, here are some arguments to be made for both sides.
Cons of an All-Digital Future
1. You're screwed if you have a bad internet connection. Let's face it - not everybody has a good internet connection and you'd be ignorant to think otherwise. There are still plenty of people out there who don't have super fast internet speeds, or even internet all. Yes, this is a first world problem but many people seem to assume that everyone has a computer, everyone has fast internet, and everyone has a smartphone. This is simply not the case. Some people can't afford such commodities. But even some people who have those luxuries have really bad internet (myself included) and if you want to download a game, you're basically at the mercy of the internet. Whereas cartridges and discs can just be put in their respective console and played within seconds, in an all-digital age, if your internet sucks, you could be downloading that game for hours, maybe even days, or even not at all. When I downloaded Child of Light on Wii U it took me almost 3 days to finish downloading. It's not even that big of a game and my internet is so spotty that it didn't even work at all on my PS3, thus having to resort to my Wii U. Imagine if I were to try and download a full AAA game to PS3? I'd probably get to play it in a month if I'm lucky.
2. You're at the mercy of the company who made the console. When you buy a game in physical format - it's yours. You buy it, play it, then put it on your shelf to be played for years to come. Even when a particular game get discontinued and cannot be found in stores, chances are you can still buy it online even if it sometimes comes with a ridiculous price tag. If you rely on a purely digital format, games can be put up and taken down at will according to the company who made the console. So sure you have the option of buying a certain game today but that game could very well be taken off the digital store tomorrow. Then what? You can't simply go online and buy a used copy, now can you? That game is gone forever, or at least until they put it back up for purchase. This brings me to my next point...
3. All-digital means no used games. Buying a game used can be ridiculously cost effective. If you want a deal on a game it usually means you can find it used for less than the price of a new one. And even many games drop in price over time, whereas the price of digital games tend to stagnate. For instance, would you rather buy Grand Theft Auto V on the digital store for $50 or would you rather buy it used on Amazon for $25? To me the answer is very clear. Another thing to consider is, what if you buy a digital game and don't like it? You spent $60 on a new game that you can't return or sell. You just kissed that money goodbye. You can't resell said game for $45 or whatever the game goes for. You can't even let your best friend borrow that digital copy of your game either. If you buy a game digitally for $60, if your friend wants to just borrow your copy, he or she can't. Not unless you lend your entire system out.
4. Limited hard drive space means limited access to games. Hard drives have limited space. Despite hard drives in consoles getting bigger and bigger, games are also getting bigger as well. In an ideal world you can store every game in your lirbary on your hard drive without the need to delete and redownload them. But that's not always the case. If you have 50, or maybe 100 games downloaded, chances are those games that are probably about 10 GB apiece in size will not all fit on that hard drive without the need to delete at least a couple of them. Don't forget updates, DLC, and game saves are stored on the system as well. And if you choose to download music and movies to the console as well, that's still space being used. So my point is, the need to delete and redownload games is a pain. With physical media, if you want to switch games, you just take out the cartridge or disc and put in a different one. With digital, if you have enough space for 20 games and you own 30, and a game you want to play is not currently on the hard drive, you now have to choose which game gets deleted so you can download the one you want.And let's face it - no matter how fast your internet is, downloading a game is not an instantaneous process. It takes time. The files are very large in this day and age and will only get bigger.
5. Digital games have no collectors' value. This is more of a personal reason than any other, but it is something that affects some people, myself included. If you buy a game in physical form, you can look at its wonderful boxart and display the case on your shelf. You can alphabetize them or organize them however you want. Your collection is there in front of you. If you go all-digital, your collection is relegated to a list. You can't show off your collection to your friends and it's not fun to look at. Game manuals have even been making the transition to purely digital form in recent years. Most new games don't come with manuals anymore. You have to view them digitally. Back in the early days of video games, having a manual meant something. It was part of the experience. You read the story about the game, looked at all the controls, viewed some tips, etc. Now everything comes in the form of in-game tutorials and digital text. Sure this is a minor complaint but I really enjoy seeing my games being displayed on my shelf. I can see exactly what I own whenever I want and it looks nice. Of course this won't affect everyone but it is a selling point for me.
Pros of an All-Digital Future
1. No physical media means no clutter. Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone but not everyone is a collector/hoarder. Some people don't like clutter. A fully digital game library means you can free up some much needed space for other things. I won't lie - games can take up a ton of space. I know mine do. I'm not even talking about the consoles themselves. If you collect boxes and cartridges for old games, let's say you have 10 of them, that's easily an entire bookshelf worth of games. To be honest, there are times where I want to just throw all of my games out the window because it feels claustrophobic in my apartment. It's not even that I own that many games but I just don't have the room to store them all. So I absolutely understand the people who don't want their games to take up so much room.
2. No game inflation. As a game collector, it often gets frustrating seeing prices of older games keep going up in price. My favorite game in particular, EarthBound, goes for about $200 for the cartridge alone. If you want the box and guide as well, you're talking $600+. To most people paying that price is absolutely insane, especially when you consider the same exact game can be downloaded for $10 on Wii U's virtual console. $10 vs $200 is a huge difference, and this is only one example. There are plenty of games that have gone way up in price since they were released new. Because of the ridiculous inflation of old games in recent years, I've begun to stick with only my favorites in physical form and to just download the rest. If you don't care about forming a collection and only just want to play the game as cheaply as possible, downloading is a good option.
3. You can download the game at will. Let's pretend a game you're really excited for is coming out tomorrow. It's 11:50 pm and if you want that game as soon as it's available you have to wait to go to the store the next day and get through work or school before you can get home to play it. If you go digital, you can download said game at midnight. Also, even outside of new releases, if you just plain don't feel like going to the store, you can download a game at your convenience. You save time and gas money this way in most cases. No dealing with traffic, no wasting gas, no wondering if the store you go to will even have it - you just select the game in the online store and wait for it to finish downloading. This works especially well for days when you're snowed in or there's a bad hurricane out or any kind of inclement weather outside. You don't even have to get dressed!
4. Physical media is not flawless. Despite my love for physical media, it is not without its share of problems. Old game cartridges in particular suffer from battery saves. This means if you want to save your game on a cartridge based game, that battery that allows you to save will likely die in a decade or two. And while this problem sounds minor and can usually be remedied fairly easily, it's still a pain. If you own 100 cartridge based games all with save batteries, they will all die eventually, and you have the option of either replacing the battery or throwing them away (or selling them). If you buy your game digitally that's one less thing you have to worry about. Another great thing about digital games is they don't get corroded for scratched. Sometimes when I buy a used game I really wonder what the hell people do with their games that causes so many scratches to the disc. A digital game never gets scratched. Even older cartridges can suffer from corrosion from extreme temperatures or high humidity. I'm not saying it's definitely going to happen but it's certainly not out of the question. The metal pins in game cartridges can very well become victim to rust and corrosion over time, rendering the game useless at that point. And likewise, game discs can easily be scratched, rendering those unplayable as well. Again, it's not an issue for everyone but it is one thing to consider.
In The End There Are Markets For Both Formats
So in conclusion you can see there are reasons for both sides of the argument. As time goes on, more and more people will prefer digital content, as the younger generations will not have that attachment to physical media as people my age and older do, since that's what we grew up with. There are plenty of people who see any form of physical media as downright archaic. An all-digital future is definitely on its way here, and we're already halfway there with most games being offered both digitally and physically as well as many smaller games being offered only digitally. It is something that I'm not entirely happy about but I'm not as discontent with it as I used to be. As I grow older I become less about collecting new games and more about just playing them. Of course I will still always collect and play the older ones but as far as brand new games go, sometimes I would rather just not add anymore clutter to my shelf.
