Digital Distibution Only

I love the idea of a digital distribution exclusive gaming society.
It would be so cool and progressive.....and....and..you know what?

Maybe I don't like the idea as much as I thought.
Theirs something about it I just cant get around.



You've got things like OnLive, Which to my understanding is pretty much a console with no game disc tray, because you use the service to (download?) play all the games.

I'd like to say I'm completely fine with the idea of that.
In fact I was that guy who used to say “I've had an xbox360 for 2 months and I don't even own a retail game yet, and XBL makes me not even care!”

But I cant say I'd drop a dime of my money on OnLive yet as a consumer. Something about is just off putting. And as a developer, I wouldn't develop for if it was my decision alone.
In fact as a developer it wasn't my choice alone, when OnLive was first unveiled and made all kinda headlines, the company I was working for initially agreed to target it it as a platform.
However, my stance was... “I'm not sure this is a lasting platform, (or one even rooted in reality at the time) but if being a leader on it will get us a little bit of recognition....I guess we'll support it.”

OnLive had this magical effect on me. It seemed like anytime the leaders of the project spoke on it, I tended to go... “They don't know what the hell they're talking about.” Then I tended to think... “Its probably me, they wouldn't be this enthusiastic about something that wouldn't work, would they?” eventually I'd go with the first reaction, but the process would start all over again anytime Onlive was discussed.

I still don't know what to think about it, but it seems the service/platform is moving ahead.
Still...despite weather it can work or not, Its like I can't bring myself to trust it.

So then theirs the PSPGO...
I think I was actually disgusted when I found it out was download only platform.
Not that I had made the investment that most PSP gamers made and actually had a large library of games that this thing was going to nullify. I was more put off that their was nothing in it for me to trust.

I still haven't even bought a game on my cell phone yet.
I've purchased a few apps. But not a single game.
See the apps usually increase the worth of the phone, where a game by comparison is more of a separate thing all together...not to mention silly casual game.

I have actually purchased a few games via XBL, but every time I do make a purchase, I first go through this long contemplation stage that sometimes lasts for 3 days or more, and then when I finally do decide to buy a game, my thumb hangs over the purchase button for a while.
It just always feels like I'm taking a risk. Back-flipping off a balcony blindfolded, while someone I've never met and have never even seen, promises me that their will be a soft cushion of awesome there to break my fall.

Man... That's almost the 70 virgins deal.
Of course the greatest thing about XBL is that it has demos, so you get to at least make-out with 5 of the girls first....yeah.

Anyway, trust is the issue. For as long as I can remember, that trust came in the forms of something tangible that you could actually feel or look at. The undeniable proof that had to follow the laws of physics because it existed in the same reality that I existed in.

I come from an age of collectors.
We collected comics, games, cards, limited edition soda cans, etc...
we had to hunt them down, figure out how to acquire them, and then make them ours.

The item itself then became the trophy that could be hoisted over your head and leave your peers in awe over your finding. It became something that had a value beyond the retail price.

Theirs no hunt with digital distribution.
And no trophy at the end either.
Its almost like theirs nothing there at all.

So what do I trust? A service?
A service in an reality not my own, run by people who wanna make a buck off me?

Seriously, I want a digital distribution exclusive gaming society. That thing that proves that we have evolved into something great. I want this...but you may have to drag me into it kicking and screaming.