I’m back! After moving to a new apartment, and waiting for the ridiculously slow installation of Internet, I am once again part of the blogosphere. So what have you missed? Well, aside from the obligatory VC vs. XBLA entries, not much has happened in the videogames world. We are all patiently awaiting the deluge of announcements this year’s E3 will bring us. But that’s not until July 11^th.

So what do bloggers do when the news is dry? We rant. And today, I’ve got a doozy of a rant. Today, I want to talk about digital distribution. Basically digital distribution is purchasing and downloading a game through the internet. No store, no retailer, no shipping, no fuss, no muss. Its advantages are clear, and some are already touting it as the unequivocal future of game distribtuion. However, there are a lot of subtle disadvantages as well. Let’s take a look.

First of all, purchasing your games this way means it’s got DRM. And while I won’t play the part of the idealistic open-source fan-boy, and say that all DRM is bad; it’s important to realize that DRM will never be good for the consumer. DRM means you won’t be able to purchase that VC title and play it at your friend’s house. Granted, Xbox Live tracks their licensing both by your console, and Gamertag, so you can technically login to XBL and play your XBLA games at a friend’s house. But it’s still never your game. It is simply a game you have purchased a license to play under a distributor’s terms. On the other hand, a quick trip to the store nets you a physical copy of a game to use, play, and even re-sell at your own leisure.

Secondly, digital distribution claims to bring a lower price to the consumer, because of saved expenses on production, shipment, and retail. However, the problem lies in the fact that the prices are set by one distributer, and are almost invariably inflexible. The XBLA titles that were $10 at launch are still $10. You don’t get a price break, there are no sales. For example, the new Oblivion Expansion pack was made available on Xbox Live for $30, the same exact price as the physical release of the PC version. No price break was given to the consumer, and mere weeks later, the PC version was on sale at Circuit City for $17.99. Still a solid $30 on XBL, it will be $30 years later. About the only thing a smart consumer can do, is find deals on obtaining Microsoft and Wii points, but those are few and far between.

Finally, there is no used game market with digital distribution. This is one of the primary reasons why you will see software companies pushing the digi-distro model. Used game sales mean nothing to publishers, but they are a great way to recoup some of your gaming expenses. Also, great trading sites like Goozex can’t exist. Essentially digital distribution allows no re-distribution, thereby limiting the versatility of the market.

Now, don’t misunderstand. I am not unequivocally against digital distribution. They make great sense on getting small $5-10 games on VC and XBLA and even episodic content, but I know that those games aren’t really mine. But we can’t allow publishers to push complete titles exclusively this way.