Ignoring downloadable games comes at great cost

In Tuesday’s episode of the Digital Ensemble, Keith and I had a brief conversation about downloadable games. Keith is staunchly in favor of retail releases — he likes to own his games on physical media. He is not alone in this — if given the choice between a digital or physical copy, I will always choose the one I can hold in my hands. The problem with Keith’s as-of-now unbending stance is that he is missing out on a ton of great games that will likely never occupy retail space. There are other gamers out there like Keith, who don’t want to deal with buying points or punching in redemption codes. If you’re among them please hear me when I say you’re making a huge mistake by ignoring the downloadable market. Some of this generation’s best titles aren’t available at your favorite brick and mortar location.

If you've never seen this screen, you're doing it wrong

The list of fantastic games available by purchase through “spacebucks” should be more than enough to sway any gamer worth their salt. The Xbox Live Arcade is home to such classics as Castle Crashers, Shadow Complex and critical darling Braid. The PlayStation Network’s stable includes standout titles like Shatter, Super Stardust HD and the game that received the first ever A+ from Extra Guy, Flower. WiiWare also has its fair share of fantastic titles with two LostWinds games, Konami’s Rebirth line and the fantastic Bit.Trip series. These are just a small selection of great games available on these platforms. These are all games that come with high levels of recommendation — it shouldn’t matter that you can’t put their case on your shelf. The PC market has been making great use of downloadable titles for years, one has only to look to Valve’s Steam for a success story. The iPhone is also an example of downloadable gaming done right. Sure, you don’t have another choice on Apple’s device, but there are those who would tell you in many ways it represents the future (don’t tell the PSP Go, that’s another issue altogether).

The virtual marketplace is an absolute haven for the progeny of old-school games. The aforementioned Rebirth line from Konami is a perfect example. Gradius, Contra and Castlevania have all seen their first console releases in their original form in years. TMNT: Turtles in Time Reshelled and Blaster Master Overdrive are titles that got the greenlight as downloadable commodities as well. These kinds of games would flounder at retail today. There’s no conceivable way Gradius would have sold on a disc at $20 by itself, and there’s no chance its current price of $6 would have translated onto store shelves either. Sure, Konami could have bundled all three together as a ‘Rebirth Collection’ but games like that are seen as a risk today, especially since it would have likely commanded a price of $30 (“only $10 a game!” reads the on-case sticker). It’s becoming harder and harder to predict what sells — better to chance it in cyberspace and avoid wasting money on the need to print cases and press discs.

The last one of these came out in 2007

It’s also better for the consumer this way. As I said above, Gradius Rebirth currently costs $6 — a small risk to the player. If you don’t like it, you can just delete it and never think of it again. Of course you can’t sell it back to the store, but what would you get for that? A dollar? Better that you took the chance on the game and experienced it for yourself. You’re also supporting the developer and their probable desire to create more games of its type. You might not have liked this one, but you might like their next effort — would you knowingly deprive the world of a new Contra? If nobody is buying them there might not be a next effort at all.

I understand the concerns of those who would rather buy their games in real life. It’s not just about having a case on your shelf — the games could disappear. What’s to stop the companies from simply yanking them from the platform? What happens if your system breaks — what a headache that would be to try and redownload each and every title, and maybe have to pay for them again as well. The simple truth is that some of these games simply won’t be available any other way. You’re depriving yourself of enjoyment due to hypotheticals. There’s no evidence of companies removing titles from download permanently as of this writing. Nintendo ties every game you download to your profile if you register at ClubNintendo — this allows them to grant you access to everything you’ve purchased should you need a replacement console. Sony and Microsoft also have policies in place to protect the rights of the consumer as well.

If you ignore the downloadable market you’re not hurting anyone but yourself. You’re not sending the message you hope to, that games should always come on physical media. You’re instead saying that these smaller, focused titles don’t have a place in your collection, downloadable or not. If they don’t have a place in your collection, you’re saying there’s no market at all. And if there’s no market, these types of games will simply turn to smoke. Would you rather not see the expansion of the Blaster Master line? Christ, we’re getting an official Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Why anyone would purposely ignore these games is an issue without a justifiable answer.