Recently, Microsoft executive Phil Harrison made the statement that the future of gaming will be performed on the cloud. This means that physical games are nearing the end of their decades-long journey, at least, that’s how Harrison sees it.
I feel like these visionaries don’t truly weigh the pros and cons of their theories before they present them to the world. Sure, Phil Harrison might be right, and technology is certainly progressing towards a completely digitalized era of gaming, but did anyone ever stop to think that the end of physical games might be a devastating blow to the gaming community?
There are a few specific areas of games that would take a hard hit if developers decided to call it quits on the retail development of games and simply moved them to direct download on the cloud. Without the right tweaks and security measures, gamers would no longer be able to lend each other titles and certainly couldn’t bring a game with them to play at a friend’s house (at least, not without lugging their entire system with them.)
How do companies plan to remedy this? Can you redownload a game you’ve already purchased at another location using your signin information? Sure, that might work, if you ignore the variables of privacy, security, and Internet download speed. People don’t want their information collected on a variety of systems, and not everyone has the Internet speed to download a massive game in minutes. I foresee many gaming parties cut short as individuals sit and wait for hours just to redownload a game they already own.
Let’s not forget the impact that this move would have on retail stores either. These outlets would become as obsolete as movie rental stores. With no physical productions of games, these businesses would have no stock, and it’s not like they can fill their shelves with digital manifestations of games. Why would we waste our time to head down to the local game store when we can (and have to) digitally download a release directly to our devices?
The sale of games in brick and mortar locations is a massive chunk of gaming a revenue, since some people don’t even have Internet and are simply purchasing single-player titles to play in their free time. What happens to those individuals when these stores close? Isn’t that like telling people “you have to have a fast Internet connection or you can’t play games at all?” Isn’t that a little forceful, and unfair?
What about the pricing changes? If games go completely digital there won’t be such a thing as a “used game” anymore. Consumers will be forced to pay the full price for a game, always. Think about how much business the average GameStop sees in Trade-Ins. Most people can’t afford the buy a game whenever they want, so they simply end up trading in older titles they have beaten to receive discounts on newer games. This isn’t going to happen in Harrison’s future. With game retailers obsolete, there is no place to trade in used games, and with the release of all digital content, there will be no such thing as a used game.
I feel like technology is moving towards this all digital era and I for one don’t like it. I’ve been playing games since their invention and there is just something special about owning a physical manifestation of your favorite title. More importantly, we need to think about the economical impact that this move will have on the world. Think about all the jobs lost, all the businesses crushed, and all the dreams dashed. I hope we don’t see Harrison’s vision any time in the near future.
What do all of you think? Is a digital era of games something we need and are you comfortable with physical manifestations and the state of gaming as it currently stands? Let us know in the comments section below!
Photo Credit: Phil Harrison
