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So the format wars are over and Blu-Ray disks are now the medium of choice or so we thought, as literally seconds after the announcement of HD-DVD, Toshiba and Microsoft hailed digital distribution. Now I’m all for Downloadable Content as long as it isn’t horse armor but would you seriously like to see the digital distribution model used instead of a physical copy.

First off it has to be said that broadband speeds aren’t fast enough to support a relatively pleasing digital distribution model. Content providers like Steam, Xbox Live & Playstation Network all do a good job of getting the content to the users at fairly good speeds but if you want a game you can’t just play it straight away unlike buying a physical copy. If you want a game you want it there and then, waiting hours for it to download to your hard drive is just too far fetched an idea for your average user.

Then you have to think about hard drive capacity. The mark up that Microsoft put on the storage solutions for the Xbox 360 is ridiculous but by not giving gamers another choice they have to spend pocket fulls of cash on a relatively small quota of space. Is this not Microsoft stopping their own plans for digital distribution because without a price drop your average user won’t want to spend loads on the larger size of drive.

The critically acclaimed, Steam works as a great content distribution model

The alternative point is that all your files will be kept on a server, essentially removing the use of a local storage solution, where Sony or Microsoft could store your saves and game files at their end and then you just download them to a temporary space at your end. Sounds good? Well I for one is excited about the prospect of having your saves anywhere but I’m not excited for the server bugs and errors that will happen with this type of technology. Remember the end of last year when Xbox Live was down? Well what happens when it goes down in the future under this model? You won’t even be able to play offline if all your content is on the same server. Then eventually they will have to turn the servers off meaning that if you want to go back for a quick nostalgia trip down the road, you’ll have to start again without your content and saves.

Unless I hear of a flawless solution to a physical disk I’m going to be against Digital Distribution. Personally I love having a physical copy in my hand. Whats the point of having a grand games collection if its not even stored at your house? On the plus side DD would get rid of the need for crazy ‘Limited Editions’ & ‘Pre-Order Incentives’ but on the negative side you wouldn’t have much to show for your pounds worth of investment.

Downloading all your games would also be a great idea if you could just stick any random amount into your account. Download services like Steam work because you don’t need to put money into your account, you see a game, it has a real life currency assigned to it, you buy it. With Xbox Live you have to buy 2100 points and then work out how much money each point is worth. The idea behind this is that you don’t really know how much each point is worth. Meaning that you will just buy anything that’s is cheap, do you really want Microsoft conning you out of your money by tricking you into buying games that you wouldn’t normally play?

Xbox Live Marketplace is full of hit and miss content

Also think about all the smaller games that are worth way to much compared to their original retail price. Games like Chrono Trigger, that recently was sold on eBay for over $1,000, simply won’t exist any more as everything will be easily accessible. This sounds good but it will get rid of those rare gems that make game collectors proud.

Not to say that Digital Distribution is a terrible idea but its just not the only idea. The way the industry analysts have been talking recently, is that DD is the only way forward. Really you can’t argue with the success that Steam has had with smaller indie games like Audiosurf.

Really where I’m trying to go with this article is that physical disks have there problems but there is a distinctive value in owning something in hand over downloading something. At this point in time the Digital Distribution model is way to young for it to be the only way forward and your ‘Average Joe’ from the street might not have a fast enough internet connection, or they might not even have one, to support the DD idea. Maybe in the future where servers are fool proof and internet speeds are ridiculously fast we can see this model be implemented but as Xbox Live proved at the end of last year, the service that we have now doesn’t work 100% never mind an incredibly more advanced one.

Let us know what you guys think about Digital Distribution and the future of the format on the forums.

The Hot Topic is a new feature on Nidzumi.com and is written by Sam Morris. If you would like to suggest what he should ramble on about next send him a quick email at sam@nidzumi.com . Check out previous Hot Topic’s by clicking here. Thanks for reading.