Perhaps it is not that big of a topic to talk about, but distribution media has more in it than just a vehicle for games to be acquired by all. There are numerous issues to consider like compatibility, uniformity, piracy, and so on. A lot of things are still going wrong with each company’s decisions in regards to their distribution media. To save readers from hair-splitting, here are a few things to consider with today’s platforms and whatever they have to offer in terms of their media.
For example, the Sony PSP first came out with the introduction of a new distribution medium, which is the Universal Media Disk. Well, it wasn’t as universal as most would think as only Sony, with its usual snobbish business policies, created a new and more useless version of the Memory Stick. The only difference is that the Memory Stick is still being used and the UMD is not as the new PSP Go has gotten rid of it altogether. PSP homebrews have made sure that UMD’s piled up in their warehouses like dust on a college physics textbook. They have now opted for paid downloads to distribute their games, which only has the word “piracy” resonating throughout the scene.
The Nintendo DS features another distribution medium that seems out of place. The game card may seem small enough, but have enough of these in your collection and it would seem like you’re digging through your drawers for that game that you suddenly had the itch to play. At least it is better than the UMD since it actually holds your savegame. Quite an upgrade from GameBoy Advance cartridges since they don’t need a lithium battery to maintain their volatile memory, which has been punctuated with the release of the DSi, which has eliminated the cartridge slot altogether.
When Toshiba threw in the towel with their HD-DVD in absolute surrender to Sony’s Blu-ray Disc back in March 2007, it was the end of an era where you had the difficult task of deciding whether to buy the Xbox 360 or the PS3. Well, it is arguable that the PS3 is the best Blu-ray player you can buy in terms of both quality and value. As for the Xbox 360, all you can do is play games with it. Recently, Microsoft has addressed the issue of adding Blu-ray support in the Xbox 360, standing firm in their decision in not helping their competition by adapting their medium. Whether this is a good decision or not, only the future can tell.
The only gaming platform to have stayed consistent with its use of distribution media is the PC. Of course, the PC has always been open season in terms of new technologies, excluding the operating system. No matter what, it is either CD, DVD, or download. It is so simple that even a child can remember it. Of course, blank CD’s and DVD’s are so cheap that the piracy problem persists like herpes. However, it can be said that a balance had came to be during this see-saw effect.
These are some of the things that have come to pass in recent years with distribution media for games. A lot has happened and we have been constantly confused by it. Keeping a closer eye on it is surely helpful in our choices and methods in acquiring these games that we just can’t seem to get out of our system.
Article from Gamersyndrome.com
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Not a Naruto fan 
haha Microsoft is trying to be funny again I cant see it as a downfall to adapt to the format we all knew was going to win anyhow.
Digital distribution is the next wave so to speak, but I still want to own a copy of a game, not a license to play the game. With having only a DD style of release it does lower the cost to the studios and publishers, but it also causes other issues. Look at the XBOX 360 Arcade and title license transfers, it’s insane to think that you don’t legally own the copy of the game on your hard drive, only the rights to play it. Within any medium that makes money, piracy will occur, as wrong as it is, but having insane Digtial Rights Management systems isn’t fair to the legit consumer. I think we need to address the real reason why piracy occurs and have safeguards that work, not punish the gamer. Spore was an extremely good example of this… Gamers were mad as hornets when they realized what the EULA and DRM software was doing to the ability to play the game. I have heard that some new EA titles will require a constant internet connection to play and I find that wrong, especially if your not going to play it online. But this is unfortunately the nature of the beast when it comes to publishers wanting to make money. I know that the DS games are extremely easy to pirate, and I find it sad that Nintendo didn’t think of that before releasing the games on the format they did because it hurt them in the long run in profits. Pirates say that they do it because they shouldn’t have to pay for sub par games, and the fact that they think it should be free is a glaringly obvious point that most games are not worth the $30 to $60 price tag… But whether its just a shovelware title or a game that could have been better if more time was spent on it does not make piracy right. With the rights of consumers being pushed and stretched like this, I will not be surprised if you will have to renew the license to own the game once a year in a decade or so, because profits must be made and pirates must be stopped…
True, but many game makers are going the route of Digital downloads and Licenses vs distribution media, for example probably one of the bigger releases this year Shattered Horizon is a digitally distributed game only. Game companies saving money? or way of the future? that’s the question.. I personally have always wanted a physical copy of something I pay for but the trend is digital download.. movies and music are and have also gone the route of digital download.