This generation of consoles is the first to have easy access to downloadable content as standard across the board. Whether its through Xbox Live, PSN or Steam we are in the lucky position where we can download a new game or new content at the click of a button.

All the major publishers are in favour of downloading as this allows them to sell directly to their customers cutting out their supply chain and potentially increasing their profit margins. Digital copies also mean there is nothing to trade-in, cutting out another section of the market that publishers don’t make any money from.

With all these points in its favour could we conceivably go down the route of digital only console gaming route in the near future?

Digital Downloads – Good and Bad Examples

In order for a company to successfully transition over to a download only strategy, the first objective would be to position the hardware correctly. If this is done well then customers are more likely to be accepting of the new direction the console is moving in.

The iphone/ipad has been phenomenally successful and is a great example of how a platform can operate using a download only model. Creating the price point of 59 pence as an entry point was genius as it allowed the developers to create short yet fun games which people would happily hand over money for. This was a refreshing change from the days where it would cost you a fiver to put Tetris or Snake onto your Nokia hand-set. It has also given us the review quote of “Well its only 59p isn’t it?” to justify the purchase of a new game.

Of course with every successful platform there the abject failures. In this case the prize has to go to the PSP Go. Presumably based on the success of the iphone, Sony put together the latest version of the PSP as a download only handheld. Despite being a superior piece of kit to the earlier PSP models, it sold poorly. Current users were put off upgrading as there was no way transfer your UMD based games to the new system. Customers were also put off by the limited number of games available on PSN compared to those available on UMD. Finally the prices charged on PSN were little different to the price of the games in the shops, giving little reason to switch to a download only platform.

More like PSP Gone!

So the moral of the story here is that if you want your platform to work you need to make sure you have the set-up to support it in terms of both supply and pricing.

Digital versus physical copies

So why should you stick to buying games in shops rather than downloading them?

Although it may be considered old fashioned, buying a physical copy of a game has a number of advantages. Firstly you have the ability to sell/trade a game in once you have completed it (or before if you’ve unintentionally bought a piece of rubbish). This gives you the chance to reinvest the money into new games and potentially allows you to play more games than if you were to only buy brand new games.

Another good reason is the price disparity between the two mediums. Take Infamous 2 for example, on the week of its release it was being sold at £35 at Amazon compared £49.99 for the downloadable version on PSN. Even a quick look in GAME showed it on sale there for £40. With this much price difference I cannot see any compelling reason to buy this digitally.

Physical items also depreciate in value as retailers and distributors try to sell old stock in order to free up space for new releases. Mass Effect 2 on PS3 recently dropped below the £25 mark (Amazon) whereas the digital copy is still retailing at £47.99.

One final reason is that people like to have collections of games and like to be able to lend their copies to friends. Having a massive collection of games is much more appealing to hoarders such as myself, compared to having a digital screen or virtual shelf to browse through.

Large collections, such as this one, may soon be a think of the past

Digital downloads do have their own advantages though, the first being that you can fit your entire games collection on a hard drive or device. For those readers that remember PC games that came packaged in something the size of a shoebox, can you imagine if all your games purchases came in these size boxes nowadays?

Digital platforms have also given us the opportunity to play games that would not be suitable for a full price release in the modern age such as Braid or the PixelJunk series. It has also allowed us to experience short but fun mobile games such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja.

If you had a digital only system you would not be limited on availability of a new release. Want that rare J-RPG that only has a couple of thousand copies being released in the UK? Well now that’s no longer a problem. For people living in remote areas or are unable to get to the shops due to a disability then a downloaded game can be instantly available.

Conclusion

Although downloads continue to grow in importance within the games industry, they  are unlikely to overtake physical purchases anytime soon. Although digital versions have several advantages, the clincher has got to be the price.

Until the price of triple-A titles such as Infamous 2 or Mass Effect 2 is significantly lower than their retail counterparts, I see no reason for purchasing them digitally. That said I will continue to buy smaller less expensive games over PSN, Steam and iTunes.

The positives are that digital downloads provide us a medium in which to expand our gaming experience through DLC packs as well as giving smaller developers the chance to publish games that would otherwise not get to market. However the collector in me doesn’t plan to switch over just yet.

- Dan Gurney

Deatils of the promotion are here:

http://uk.playstation.com/psn/support/psp/detail/item247583/PSPgo-game-offer-(selected-titles-only)/

Be sure to read the legal bumph that goes with it though as there are conditions associated with the deal, for example, if you  download the theme with Media Go, you will NOT qualify for a redemption code.  One thing I noticed about the terms is that they state that the offer will only run while “stocks last”.  Stocks of a digital download?  Hmmm.  Still, it’s worth a shot, especially if you’re planning on taking advantage of the deal HMV currently have with the PSP Go selling for £150 for a limited time!