Playstation 4: a Digital Distribution Dilemma

In my effort to nip an issue of mine in the bud, I kicked off this blog's school debut with talk about Blazblue, but failed to take into account that news moves at the speed of light, and have since been woefully behind on "current" news. Yesterday Sony revealed more information about their recently unveiled Playstation 4, so I figure that there's no better time than the present to put a well-developed post on the back burner so I can make an up to date point in an attempt to bait and switch readers into reading about the state of the adventure genre next week instead of my opinion on how David Cage made more of a fool of himself than he did the week before.

Actual footage from David Cage's Fahrenheit.

 What I'd like to talk about is Sony's stance on digital distribution.  Sony announced on February 26th that every game released for the upcoming PS4 would be available for digital download.  I think this is great especially considering how much Sony emphasized that the Playstation 4 would streamline game downloads, allowing customers to play games as they download without having to wait or download in the background.

However, Sony announced alongside this that they would also release some games in physical copies.  As a person who prefers physical copies of thing - as I mentioned in my very first post, I own the soundtrack for Machinaruim on vinyl, and much prefer it to MP3 files - what would you think if games that you wanted weren't available in physical form?  Additionally, lending and borrowing between close friends would become convoluted and inconvenient, assuming there wouldn't be some way to share non-physical copies between games.

Speaking of physical, do you know what else is a physical thing that can be held in one's hand?  Money.  It seems monetarily inefficient for the industry to release physical copies at greater cost alongside non-physical copies that don't need to be boxed, print an instruction manual, and a disc.  How would this impact the consumer in an environment that is already rife with outrageous downloadable content practices?

Additionally, think about how this would impact game retailers.  Used games are already under fire from the industry, with rumors that games for the new XBox will come with a one-time use code that must be entered to play that game to prevent used games from being played.  On one hand you've got the dilemma of fewer used games making their way to retailers such as Gamestop, and on the other hand Gamestop is losing customers because people who want niche games on the cheap won't get them because high-profile games or ones guaranteed to sell will probably be the only games to get physical copies.

Finally, I'd like to draw a direct comparison to Steam, Valve's digital distribution platform.  Steam is incredibly convenient and streamlined, and even has sales on a regular basis, with special sales that users can vote on in summer and winter. Sure, you might not have physical copies, but with the implementation of a Cloud system, you can download the game on a different computer and then sync the cloud files to pick up where you left off on a different machine.  Even if it's not the Playstation 4's super-swift downloads, it's fairly convenient to be able to pick up and play when you're not on your PC of choice.

And now as a counter-balance here is a strange image and the phrase "Half-Life 3."

Carrying over from the last point, Sony has already announced that downloaded Playstation 3 titles won't carry over to the Playstation 4, AND it's not backwards compatible, essentially meaning that you should hold onto your cash on PSN games if you want to save up for a PS4 (no price has been announced at this time).  I've found hints about a system called "Gaikai" which will apparently stream information from other PS3 consoles to let you play those games on your PS4.  As of no it sounds pretty vague, so I have no clue what to make of it.  Additionally, saved games won't carry over onto other Playstation 4 consoles, assuming that you want to buy more than one, or use your account on a friend's console.  It's the inverse of Steam's slow but steady Cloud supplemented distribution platform.

What are the opinions of the readers?  Do you prefer physical copies of games or digital copies?  Do you think the PS4's download benefits outweigh the negatives?  Or do you think there's not enough information yet?

Playstation 4 downloadable game details
Gaikai information
Playstation 4 and backwards compatibility