Welcome, welcome to the 6th installment of Blog Banter, the monthly blogging extravaganza headed by bs angel (hey, that’s me!). Blog Banter involves our cozy community of enthusiastic gaming bloggers, a common topic, and a week to post articles pertaining to said topic. The results are quite entertaining and can range from deep insight to ROFLMAO. Any questions about Blog Banter should be directed here. Check out other Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
Think about an upcoming title that looks so amazingly awesome that there is not a sliver of doubt in your mind that you will be purchasing it right upon its release. Now picture two copies, identical in every significant way, directly in front of you. One is digital (which I suppose you couldn’t actually see but this is pretend world anyways so just go with it!) and the other is the hard copy. Which would you choose and why?
When the Xbox 360 was initially released back in late 2005, my answer would have been digital. When I first unpacked that beautifully sleek and modern console, the Xbox Live Arcade was one of the first things that drew me in. The casual nature of that particular genre has always appealed to me, and I watched my XBLA library grow at an alarmingly rapid rate. Purchasing a game digitally with a few simply pushes of a button was and still is wonderfully and addictively convenient.
Then the dreaded Red Ring of Death struck, and several weeks later I was the not so proud owner of a newly refurbished console. It was at that moment that I discovered the nightmare of DRM issues. Since I was then attempting to play my Arcade games on a different console than what they were purchased on, the games were no longer playable beyond the trial versions. Despite time spent on the phone with Xbox support and despite attempting to research and employ various suggested solutions, that first batch of Arcade games I bought upon the console’s release were no longer accessible. To this day, almost three years later, I still cannot play those games. The games I paid for, the games I thought were rightfully mine apparently are actually not.
Since then I have continued to purchase games on the Arcade but at a much slower rate. I’m simply not interested in spending money on products that may not be mine in the near future. Besides that reason, there are lots of other small reasons why I prefer the hard copies as well. First, I am a collector. I love my constantly growing stack of video games that adorn the shelves next to my consoles. I like being able to hold the manual when I read the instructions. I enjoy being able to pack up a few games before heading over to a friend’s house for an afternoon of gaming. I simply like my games to be tangible, because then I know for sure they are mine.
If given the choice, I will always choose the hard copy over the digital version. The digital distribution system hasn’t worked out well enough for me to feel confident in those purchases unfortunately. I still buy things digitally, but I always think twice and many times decide not to considering the risk. What about you? Has digital distribution worked out well enough for you to utilize it on a regular basis, or do you too think twice before making those purchases?
Check out these other Blog Banter articles! Living Epic, Silvercublogger, Mahogany Finish, Video Game Sandwich, thoughts and rants, weblog.probablynot.com, XboxOZ360, Zath!, Delayed Responsibility, Gamer Unit, Triage Effect, Game Couch
Posted by Zath on June 21, 2008 at 11:37 am
I used to like to have a physical box in my hand having bought a game, I used to enjoy reading through a huge manual as I rode home on the bus, I used to like displaying my games collection on shelves – but these days I just want to play the game on release day without fear of missing out and without added clutter into my home.
As long as there is some way of backing your digital purchases up should you want to, then I think digital downloads are the way forward.
Posted by Socket29 on June 21, 2008 at 11:47 am
Recently, I bought Portal for PC. They had me install “Steam”. Now I can play the game without the disc in the tray. I can go to any computer, login to my Steam account and play it.
It’s an interesting approach to letti gyou play the game…but now i have this case and cd sitting around that have no purpose.
In fact, the only thing i bought was an activation code, and the installation software…I think that’s an ok approach if you’re being it online, but if ( like me) who wants a physical copy, thye might as well have let you use the CD, as you normally would.
But that’s something else… All in all I would much rather have a physical copy.
Posted by bs angel on June 21, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Interesting story about Portal. If you go the digital distribution route, having a silly cd and case that you don’t use makes little sense. I would definitely classify that as clutter!
Posted by Tortacular on June 21, 2008 at 1:03 pm
You could salve the wounds left by the arcade by…. PLAYING BIOSHOCK!
Posted by Rhamsey on June 21, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I have a job that I only have to do stuff it something breaks, so I love bringing in my 360 and playing games, and since there is no internet there, mostly arcade games. However, once my 360 got the dreaded 3 red lights of doom, and sent in my 360 to MS, that hobby of mine changed. Since MS thought it would be better to give me a new 360 I can’t play my arcade games without being online now, unless I purchase them on the counsel I’m using. Since then, I hardly play the games I bought (since I only got them for playing by myself while I was at work) and I only purchased one arcade game. If only I had the chance to get a hard copy of these games I love (even though most are overpriced) I wouldn’t have this problem. So screw digital distribution of games, and I wish I could delete them from my counsel and have MS send me hard copies of the games instead.
Posted by Scotty on June 21, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I love the fact that all my games are sitting right there to be shown off and held! I still don’t buy any games from the arcade! I prefer to go to the store and ask the guys with keys and then go home reading the manual and thinking of how much fun it will be! Anticipation is a huge factor!
Posted by silvercube on June 21, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I hope the DRM issues will be resolved in the future – that is a huge reason why I am reluctant about buying arcade games too.
I will always prefer the hard copy though, there’s just something more magical about it. :)
Posted by Qix on June 21, 2008 at 7:40 pm
(I’ll admit its a pretty big IF, but) If not for the DRM issues, i would prefer all my games digital. I love not needing to put a cd/dvd into the tray, PC or 360. But the drm issue is still there. I don’t think microsoft understands how much they lose with this kind of practice. Not only on Live games, but even their hard drives, etc. I am perfectly willing to buy a 360 elite right now since I now have an HDTV. But there is no way in hell im going to do that, knowing what a pain in the ass getting the games i paid for to the new system. Even with their transfer cable, i’ll never be able to play my live games again without being logged in and online. Screw that.
The only digital game I have bought is the Spore Creature Creator, and thats ONLY because I dont care if i cant use it in 6 months (asuming Spore actually comes out by then).
Posted by Socket29 on June 21, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Heh, I’m going to buy Marble Blast Ultra once i get that 1600 point card for my B-day. Wish me luck…lol.
Oh, and I forgot, I also believe physical copies are better, for the following reason:
When I was a videogaming noob (and I probably still am), I owned the original xbox. Since I was only 10 or so, xbox live was very expensive to me, and I couldn’t afford it.
Then I got Halo 2.
I still didn’t have xbox live, but I desperately wanted those “new” maps that came out. What did I do?
I bought the actual “Multiplayer Map Pack” disc.
I think, eventhough “Digital Copies” may be cheaper and easier to distribute, they should still offer *solid* copies of (at least) the popular titles.
Yes, “Silver” is free, but (as in my case) I wouldn’t have gotten even IT a couple years ago.
Posted by bs angel on June 21, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I actually purchased the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack on the disc as well Socket29, and I had Xbox Live at the time. That is how much I prefer the hard copies.
And Qix, the Spore Creature Creator is another sore point with me. I got it the first day it came out, and I still don’t have access to it. Unfortunately it has not shown up in my Download Manager. I filed a support ticket and they responded but with a generic email that didn’t resolve the issue. Four days later and I can’t play that game either. I’ve about written it off at this point.
Posted by ronbo on June 21, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Isn’t there a way to re-download the games to a replacement console using your download history? I thought that’s what the Major and E said specifically about this type of problem on one of their podcasts. The arcade games are linked to both your Gamertag and your console and redownloading them to your replacement was supposed to reset that link to your console, restoring the previously purchased version at no charge to you.
Posted by jason on June 21, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Unfortunately, you can fix all the DRM issues on a 360 when they “repair” (replace) one for you, but they don’t publish it well… you have to dig for it. Within X days (they don’t say if its 30 or 60 or 90 or what, but it definitely is a set period) if you redownload (go to the item in the Account History and choose Download Again) anything you previously purchased, it will redo the DRM to the new replacement console. If you wait too long, however, it won’t work.
I have no idea if this works for “upgrade” machines.
Posted by bs angel on June 21, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I wonder if that was a fix back when my first box red ringed jason. I don’t know, but I do know they never told me that.
And Ronbo, they do say you can go into your download history and redownload the games which sometimes solves the problem, but that has not worked for any of my games. The games that are only accessible while online are still only accessible while online, and the games that reverted back to trial versions are still just trial versions. I actually tried that again today as I just discovered yet another game I lost during a RRoD incident. No dice.
Posted by Rhamsey on June 21, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Jason, I dont believe that works, because when i got my new 360, I brought it to work and couldnt figure out why i couldnt play the games, so i deleted them, and redownloaded them, but nothing happened, even for the ones got right before my 360 died. so thats like, 3 weeks and i still have to be online to play.
Posted by jason on June 22, 2008 at 11:14 am
Luckily, the one and only time my 360 has red ringed, the only game I had bought through the arcade was Catan. When I got my replacement back, it worked fine for me when online, but it was a trial when my wife played on her account, online or not… I redownloaded the game and it fixed it. *shrug*
Posted by Drem on June 23, 2008 at 6:00 am
You need to get support to migrate the DRM from the old box to the new box before the redownload thing will work. This is an automatic step now for RROD, but back when yours died, it wasn’t necessarily done. You should still be able to have them do it, since your RROD should be in your service history, so give them a call.
Posted by Dan on June 23, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I agree, just being able to look at my game cases, seeing them stack up on the wall, and reading through some of the manuals when I get bored or to see my friends names in the credits… I’d much prefer being able to handle a physical disk, because like you said I know it’s mine… a physical object compared to some digital data… I’ll choose discs please.
Posted by Jim 028 on June 26, 2008 at 12:52 pm
bs angel Speaks!
Microsoft obeys!
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/
Posted by snorkle256 on June 26, 2008 at 12:57 pm
The DRM Issue is Solved!
Just in from my other favorite site, Unscripted360.com
http://www.unscripted360.com/2008/06/26/drm-tool-fix-for-content-licensing/
Posted by snorkle256 on June 26, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Ha look at that, while I was getting my post together Jim beat me to the punchline (Cuz we all know what a joke the DRM issue was!)
Posted by bs angel on June 26, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I will be trying that in a few minutes. I hope it works! *fingers crossed
Posted by Rhamsey on June 27, 2008 at 11:10 am
hey, i just noticed this too!! thats awesome, yet they also lied, it does not automatically transfer the DRM to a new 360 if they sent you a new one… well, at least not for me, however now it is working, yeah, great job transferring it MS.