Remember the days when you had shelf after shelf of new games. Well, for some of us we’re still there, but as the gaming industry moves toward many more full game digital downloads, will we miss the cases and shelf art, or welcome the extra space in our gaming rooms?
It’s true, Gamers really like to show off their goods. Whether it’s their ultimate high score on the arcade cabinet at the comic shop, their gamerscore, or their wall scrolls and toys paying homage to their favorite characters, it’s all a form of showing off. But, are those green Xbox 360 cases, and Blu-ray style slick PS3 cases really so important to our collection?
Many would answer that yes, these cases, case art, and even booklets (that many don’t even look at anymore) are part of the gaming experience. My sister and I actually love our booklets, going through all the little tricks and quirky background stories that developers drop in them because they too know many don’t bother with them.
Others look to save space, especially as online co-op becomes more necessary. Several couples I know that co-op will use their separate Xboxes or PS3’s to play games online in the same house, either because it’s necessary with a lack of local co-op, or because they like their own screens. Then, they have multiple copies of a game on their shelves, taking up twice the space they normally would.
These friends cherish the digital download, storing their extra games on their hard drives instead of the bookshelf. Now when I visit, the extra shelf space is used to display some phenomenal toys instead of simple cases.
As we can easily argue, the digital download isn’t for everyone, but we need to know how the co-op community stands for the digital distribution. Is it a plus in your life, having all your games in one place on a hard drive, ready to be played at your leisure? Or, is something lost from our bookshelves and gaming experience by not having a hard copy available to us.
You decide.