The idea, which is nothing new, seems to be a popular topic these days as more online distributors rise up and vie for your gaming and entertainment dollar. While companies like Netflix and Gamefly have been around since the late 90’s and the early turn of the century (Netflix was founded in ‘97 while the latter in ‘02) many more companies and even publishers have begun to toss their hat into the digital distribution arena. This means that, while we lose physical media, we have a faster and more readily available resource for our gaming purchases. But what does that mean for us, the consumers, as physical, real life competition begins to drop and soon all we’re left with is a computer screen and a “buy it now!” button?  But to what extent will it affect us? Will the industry be buffeted by it or will it collapse in on itself?

Let’s look at a few major concerns that have cropped up around the industry:

1) Pricing/Competition: With fewer competitors who are selling you that shiny new copy of  “Modern Warfare 2″ or “Final Fantasy XIII” it would be a wise choice to be worried about the future of pricing. With lack of competition comes a lack of price cuts, of specials, and of waiting for a used copy to hit the shelf because there really is no reason to cut prices when no other companies are around to do it as well. But digital distribution companies like Steam, Impulse, and a slew of developers on the iPhone have shown that the idea of the “sale” will not go away.  Almost every weekend and usually right before a new game comes out both Steam and Impulse will either throw in free games with purchase/reservation or drastically drop prices in an attempt to keep you interested in their services. Impulse even goes the extra mile and with some games allows you to purchase (for an additional fee) an actual hard copy and box of the game. Even when physical video game stores do crumble there will always be competition for your entertainment dollars. One good thing about publishers getting involved with allowing you to directly purchase your games from them would be that with no middle man to pay off to sell their games it is possible that companies, in an attempt to sell more copies, could easily drop the prices much lower than your local Game Stop or Best Buy can since they lack the overhead that physical stores would have. Competition and pricing is something that you certainly should not worry about as they’re both always going to be around.

2) Actual downloads/ connection speeds: This is one that could cause some problems in the future unless things are changed by the time digital distribution does become a mainstream thing. One of the benefits of being able to get in your car, drive to a store, and buy a game is that you don’t have to rely on much (except your income and a car) in order to get it. In many rural country areas internet speeds are still struggling with dialup connections so even if you did want to download that shiny new copy of Gears of War 2 it would take a few seconds short of forever. Even those with cable or DSL connections could be facing some bad times as, in an attempt to stop pirating, many ISPs have started to enact download caps, which means once you’ve downloaded this amount (usually anywhere from 3 – 10 GB’s) your company will actually start to throttle and slow your speed down. If we become a nation reliant on downloading our entertainment, and most games run anywhere from 2 – 12 gigs, it would seem that unless something changes and the throttling stops becoming a popular prevention method, and if the expansion of DSL and Cable connections don’t begin to spread out into more country areas that many people will be limited in their purchases or may not be able to purchase games at all. This problem could be the achilles heel of digital distribution and may end up being the reason why stores like Game Stop will remain open indefinitely in order to service those who have been neglected by service providers.

3) Rentals: This is one of the major things happening right now. Companies like Hollywood video and Blockbuster are bleeding money as they attempt to find a way to compete with companies like Netflix and Gamefly. The truth is that their demise, unless they find some way to adapt, is almost a certainty. Blockbuster has tried with having its own Netflix-like service that allows you to return them through the mail or in the store but the stores seem to have been neglected by the corporation these days. I know personally that when I try and rent something from Blockbuster, be it a game or a movie, I can almost never find what I am looking for or very little of anything else: this makes returning it in the store in order to rent a new game essentially useless. Keeping one or two copies, while saving them money, means there are less people who are renting the games at one time. They seem to have a rein on this with the movies, especially since they give a guarantee that if its not in stock you get to rent something for free if its a new release, but it still means that you have to wait for someone to actually bring the movie back before you can check it out, free or not. While this does happen with Netflix its not near as often as with blockbuster and turn around time (depending on where you are) is usually a day or two. Unless these companies begin to evolve into a more modern and affordable business plan they’ve really got no chance at competing with online distributors or even the “RedBox” business plan that allows for one dollar a night rentals at kiosks in front of popular locations such as Target, Walmart, and many grocery stores where you’ll be anyway which means that if you get there and there’s nothing to rent, it isn’t as big of a deal as making a special trip to Blockbuster only to find nothing and have wasted your time.

4) Collectibles: Collector’s editions that have been coming out, with a few exceptions, have been horrible. Spending an extra 10 – 30 dollars to get a tin case instead of a plastic one to me just isn’t worth the money. A few games have put additional things that could be worth it or have made the case extremely nice and packed in enough goodies to warrant the cost (Fallout 3’s collector’s edition, which came in a cool lunch box, also came with a bobblehead and an art book for only $10 more). These collector’s editions will most likely never go away and will hopefully become better deals than just the aesthetics that they usually are. Steam, when a sequel comes out or a new game by an older developer is about to be released, will actually give you the first in a series or will give you another game by that same developer if you order the game early. Keep in mind that you aren’t even paying extra but getting it completely free which, in my opinion, is better than a tin clamshell any day. As far as those who do love that you can keep a physical collection, hopefully Microsoft and Sony with their new ideas (the PSP Go which is an all digital system and Microsoft’s new Downloadable games service which is coming soon) will still allow you the option, either in store or like impulse does online, of getting a physical copy. This could also allow gaming stores to keep their doors open as it is another crowd it could cater to. There will always be those people who buy two copies of a game: one to play and one to keep and if they take the ability for them to do that away you may just lose a lifelong customer who used to spend double the amount most people do on the same games.

5) Hard Drives / Data Backup: With Microsoft charging an arm and a leg for its hard-drives and the possible chance of corruption and loss of data, digitally downloading those hard earned $60 worth of game becomes kind of a crap shot but one that can be easily fixed. We already see it with the major consoles, if you purchase something and end up deleting it later on you can re-download it at no extra charge. The problem with this is who wants to sit there and re-download for an hour or so to play a game again? While Sony allows you a massive hard drive in comparison to Nintendo and Microsoft you can also switch it out with any 3.5″ hard drive without any type of repercussions, with the other two companies it takes modifying the systems which is something that casual gamers really don’t know how to do and also voids your warranty as well as having the ability (on the 360) to allow you not to play online. This presents a problem for the casual gaming crowd as it becomes a chore to play older games that you have a craving to play again if you’ve already deleted them off of your 360 or your Wii.

The bottom line is that, while Game stop and other places will be hurting, they will most likely never go out of business and even if they do it won’t be for a long time. Until we can get fast, uninhibited internet access for everyone the idea of gaming going completely digital won’t ever happen and even then, you’ll still have droves of people who would rather a physical copy over a downloaded one.

I figured today I might step down from this soapbox and actually take a look at what I and many others attempt to do within this world: critique things. There are many of us who wear this hat: movie buffs, book critics, political pundits, even the lowly video game journalist sits among them.

But why do we feel that we are privileged enough that our opinion should matter to those who do not take up the mantle and put their thoughts and writing skill on the line? What even makes us think that you care about our opinion in the first place? In a world where opinions on whether someone likes or hates something and why are a dime a dozen these days. This especially comes with the ease and anonymity the internet gives us that anyone now can be John Q. Reviewer and start standing up for what they believe to be…L33t. (I think that God kills a puppy every time that word is used)

What it seems to boil down to is little more than 3 things: articulation, experience, and popularity. Today we’re going to break these down and why they actually matter in hopes of shedding some light on how exactly this industry seems to garner such popularity and such hatred at the same time while also managing to stay profitable enough to keep people employed within it.

The first point is an interesting one and is quite a relative term. The style in which someone writes, as long as it follows the general rules of grammar, of punctuation, and of spelling can be molded and enjoyed by different people in different ways. This point builds on to the popularity section as well since those who enjoy how you write will want to read more. How you write though, as long as it follows those standard guidelines, will not make your opinion any more or less valid than another but may mean that you cater more to specific crowds. I won’t critique my own writing and say “well I cater to those people and everyone else” because I most likely don’t. A twelve-year-old will probably find my reviews boring whereas an older teen to adult might be able to settle in a bit more with the language, ideas, and references I make. Going higher up the age ladder most older readers would most likely find the topics I discuss here shallow and immature and really not holding any relevance to the world at hand. These are three very different groups of people that will never all be pleased at one time and all that I or any other writer can hope to do is at least make the topics informative and interesting enough to grab one of those demographics and maybe a little bit from the other two. So in that aspect writing and articulation, while helpful at becoming a successful writer in the long run because you can adapt to certain crowds and environments, will not make you a successful or even popular “opinion-slinger”.

Experience, our second point, is one that I think falls into that all-important “have to have it” section. While anyone can write, not just anyone can write about video games in a way that makes them sound like they know what they are talking about. A lot of “famous” (and I use that term very loosely) writers in the industry have years upon years of being in the middle of it all. Contacts with developers, all-access passes to early releases of a game and to a slew of other perks can make someone seem like their opinion should be the end-all be-all when it comes to gaming but how does that matter on a game-by-game basis or even to those who only care to know about a game and not about the industry itself? Also, with gaming experience can come biases and an overall hatred of certain development companies, publishers, even consoles and game franchises themselves. I wouldn’t expect someone who gives nines and tens to Final Fantasy games to also be reviewing Madden 2010 and take him seriously when he gives it a four because it “just doesn’t have enough depth to the game”. This brings up the question: “if you’ve beaten the game why wouldn’t your opinion be just as valid as someone else who beat it as well?” That does boil down to the experience factor: those who have been not only playing games for a long time but have been playing them specifically to find something wrong with them will be able to look for if a game is good or not with better accuracy than those who are new to the business or those who just play games for enjoyment. This can be a double-edged sword as those who are so used to picking out little flaws and mistakes can become entirely too picky or forget that gaming is a hobby that is supposed to be fun more than a serious sport (although don’t tell anyone that in South Korea where gaming is their unofficial  national sport). The good of that can be that they know how the industry and its fans works and can appeal to them more with their reviews: they know what people like and know what to look for in games that appeal to the crowd. They understand the trends and know to an extent what will be considered a “good game” at the time. Experience, if handled right, can be a valuable tool to the video game journalist but can also be a person’s biggest albatross.

The third and final point that we’ll talk about is one that wraps the other two points together: Popularity. Reviewing and critiquing games (and anything else) boils down to appeal and sounding like you know what you’re talking about whether involved within the industry or not. Many people would venture that reviewers are unnecessary weights upon the industry and that people should form their own opinions without someone else influencing them. This, in all honesty, is true but those who have advanced access to games, get to play them for free, and can deliver you news that you care about is a great resource because let’s face it: it sucks to drop 60 dollars on a game that you were hoping is good and then turns out to be one of the biggest piles you’ve ever played (we’ve all been there). Finding a reviewer who your tastes meld with and who seems to like the same things that you like is a very great help to making those tough gaming decisions. Chances are that if you both like the same things and he hates this new game you will probably hate it too. This means that as a reviewer biases will be made and should be slightly adhered to: if you review a game that is completely out of left field for you and that you have no experience in you may find yourself quickly losing the audience you’ve worked so hard to gain. While there are some people who can keep their ideas and opinions in a strictly professional manner those are few and far between in the gaming industry.

To sum it all up, anyone can give their opinion on video games, but the fact that reviewers such as myself and a myriad of others are willing to put themselves and their skills on the line (and not hide behind anonymity on a forum page) is what makes us who and what we are within the industry. This does not and should not make us famous but instead should make us humble servants of the industry and its consumers. We work for both the suits and the public in order to get the good games out and rolling and also to let people know they can’t release a bad game without some repercussions or someone noticing. So next time you agree with a reviewer, next time you see a magazine that you like don’t shun it but instead pick it up and use the tools that are given to help make your gaming experience the best one possible. This does not mean you have to agree with everything we say (and you should let us know when you don’t and why) nor does it make our opinions any more important than yours but the fact that we are doing this because we enjoy it and because we want to help you enjoy it as much as we always have means that you should take advantage of it before you too become an old salt of the gaming industry and start to go numb from the bad games that will always be released. Becoming popular, even when you can consider yourself a great writer who is experienced with playing games or who is involved within the industry is still more than anything a lucky break. It takes being noticed by the crowd you’re pandering to and even then falls to nothing more than pure, absolute luck. This should not be a deterrent to people who are attempting to get into the industry but is definitely one hurdle that they should be aware of.

Alright, I’m climbing back up on my box.