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Interesting. (Found this completely by blind chance via Wil Wheaton on Google+ since A) I almost never actually use Google+ lately and B) I don't have Mr. Wheaton in any of my circles on Google+ [yet] and his post was in one of the "promoted" things.)
Not sure I agree with absolutely everything in the article (for instance, the video game industry still loudly whines about piracy of games despite the existence of Steam since, you know, game piracy still exists despite Steam, and so a hypothetical equivalent to Steam for movies would do little to stop the movie industry from continuing to loudly whine about piracy of movies), but on the whole it's a pretty good article.
Also, whether I like it or not, I have to agree that physical media is probably going to be all but completely non-existent within 5-20 years or so. I'm increasingly up in the air about whether I consider this a good or bad thing. On the whole, while I'd prefer the option of buying a physical copy of a game, the reality is that I find myself buying more and more games through Steam or GOG lately, rather than actually ordering a physical disc from Amazon or wherever (though I do still prefer to do that for "big" PC purchases, like Skyrim or whatever, as well as for most console purchases). Therefore I'd ultimately probably not miss it all that much if physical copies did eventually go away entirely. My choices are to simply accept and adapt (something that I and many others accuse the various industries of not doing) or to just do without altogether. It remains to be seen whether I'm willing to go the latter route, but I'm going to call it now and say that I probably won't be.
On the one hand, getting rid of physical media would put an end to used game sales once and for all (which, aside from the mere principle of the thing and all the ranting I do about it, honestly isn't that much a downside for me, given that I very rarely buy used games anymore). On the other hand, if they continue doing the super cheap sales on Steam and such, it wouldn't matter as much since it would still be way cheaper than buying "used" games at Gamestop or whatever. (Though![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
owsf2000 has predicted that, once the used game market is gone via the death of physical media, all of these crazy 75% off sales on Steam and such will mysteriously start drying up. I hope he's wrong, but since lately I'm becoming just as cynical and jaded as he is, I can easily see it coming to pass. It wouldn't be the first such prediction of his that has come true, after all. And there are also issues such as this that need to be addressed and fixed when looking forward into the digital-only future.)
And then there's this: "Venture capital firms are actually now actively looking to fund companies with the aim of dismantling the [film] industry, as the current model of movie making seems outdated." That's a very interesting statement, right there. Wish someone would do that for the video game industry as well.
Not sure I agree with absolutely everything in the article (for instance, the video game industry still loudly whines about piracy of games despite the existence of Steam since, you know, game piracy still exists despite Steam, and so a hypothetical equivalent to Steam for movies would do little to stop the movie industry from continuing to loudly whine about piracy of movies), but on the whole it's a pretty good article.
Also, whether I like it or not, I have to agree that physical media is probably going to be all but completely non-existent within 5-20 years or so. I'm increasingly up in the air about whether I consider this a good or bad thing. On the whole, while I'd prefer the option of buying a physical copy of a game, the reality is that I find myself buying more and more games through Steam or GOG lately, rather than actually ordering a physical disc from Amazon or wherever (though I do still prefer to do that for "big" PC purchases, like Skyrim or whatever, as well as for most console purchases). Therefore I'd ultimately probably not miss it all that much if physical copies did eventually go away entirely. My choices are to simply accept and adapt (something that I and many others accuse the various industries of not doing) or to just do without altogether. It remains to be seen whether I'm willing to go the latter route, but I'm going to call it now and say that I probably won't be.
On the one hand, getting rid of physical media would put an end to used game sales once and for all (which, aside from the mere principle of the thing and all the ranting I do about it, honestly isn't that much a downside for me, given that I very rarely buy used games anymore). On the other hand, if they continue doing the super cheap sales on Steam and such, it wouldn't matter as much since it would still be way cheaper than buying "used" games at Gamestop or whatever. (Though
owsf2000 has predicted that, once the used game market is gone via the death of physical media, all of these crazy 75% off sales on Steam and such will mysteriously start drying up. I hope he's wrong, but since lately I'm becoming just as cynical and jaded as he is, I can easily see it coming to pass. It wouldn't be the first such prediction of his that has come true, after all. And there are also issues such as this that need to be addressed and fixed when looking forward into the digital-only future.)And then there's this: "Venture capital firms are actually now actively looking to fund companies with the aim of dismantling the [film] industry, as the current model of movie making seems outdated." That's a very interesting statement, right there. Wish someone would do that for the video game industry as well.
