Buying Video Games: Should You Get a Physical Copy or Download a Digital Version

In a time before the Internet as we now know it even existed, video games were mainly bought from brick and motor stores just like everything else. I was a boy who was introduced to video games via the PC, arcades,  and the third and fourth generation consoles around that time. It was also in those days that my older brother who, with support from our father, would buy and install games the PC and rent Sega Genesis games from a nearby Blockbuster rental store before I even understood the fundamentals of shopping. Now that I'm a more active gamer, I would occasionally order games via Amazon (if I find the price right) and purchase them via the PlayStation Network Store, Xbox Live, and the Wii Shop Channel as downloadable titles on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii in addition to shopping at a local Gamestop. Since I keep an eye out for games of the best quality and have a limited budget, I make a mental list as to which games to buy based on their reputation since their original release, the uniqueness of the game mechanics, and, of course, the asking price. Sometimes I ask myself: do I go for a physical copy or a digital copy?

How Retro Games are Still Crucial to the Gaming Market

A video game-themed window blinded designed by the UK-based Direct Blinds featuring controllers and handhelds of all shapes and sizes in the shape of Pac Man.

When a video game gets critical acclaim and player praise or a brand new console is released, there are usually two-fold expectations: (1) a sequel gets made that would expand on certain aspects of the original and (2) a new game that is released on a next generation console, be it a sequel, a prequel, a remake of that original game, or even one that would reboot a franchise, takes advantages of the console's more advanced hardware to make refined gameplay, better graphics, a new soundtrack, better storytelling, . By that logic, new games are supposed to be better than old ones. Throughout video game history, there have been games that meet, and sometimes even surpass, those expectations. The first sequel to Street Fighter not only surpassed the original, it also founded the fighting game genre. The first Resident Evil, originally released on the Sony Playstation in 1996, received a technical and graphical makeover on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, making it one of the most atmospheric horror titles of all time. When Metroid Prime, a first-person action adventure title for Nintendo's Metroid franchise, was first announced, there was much skepticism as to whether or not the Western developed title (that developer being Texas based Retro Studios) would be true to the franchise. When it was released in 2002 on the GameCube, Metroid Prime had literally blown away expectations, garnering enough positive reviews and sales to become a critically acclaimed trilogy. At this year's recent San Diego Comic Con event, there have been announcements of remakes for two underrated classic games that are most memorable as classic ports for the Sega Genesis: Delphine International Software's Flashback (an IP now currently held by Ubisoft and which has just been released for the Xbox Live Arcade) and Capcom's Strider. From the gameplay footage I have watched so far, these two remakes seem to promise to stick to the roots of what made the original games great while incorporating new gameplay mechanics that enchance the experiences.