: IMO, I don't see why -- and this goes for ebooks as well -- when you buy a
: physical copy you get the digital version as well, or at least the
: 'license' to the digital version if you desire it. If you only buy
: digital, then you're not looking for a physical copy which is good because
: it would be a nightmare trying to figure out how someone who buys digital
: can attain a physical copy with it; but if you buy physical, why on earth
: can that not include the ability for attaining digital?

: The primary reason I haven't gone all out digital is that you don't actually
: own anything physical; that is, if the place you get the digital copy goes
: away, and you no longer have your own copy (because of course the benefit
: of deleting to gain disk space, and redownloading later if you want) -
: then you're SOL. Buying digital only is like pseudo-renting. You own the
: right to the digital content, buy you can only get it as long as the
: license distributor has a way to verify and send you a copy. Anything in
: that chain breaks and you're toast.

: *shrug* It's a trade off. Some benefits for some drawbacks. But it has helped
: drop the price for games when non-physical, and you gain the 'cloud'
: concept for storage (you may 'own' 50 games but only have 2 on your local
: system, eg)

: But anyway. To each his own :)

That mostly comes down to the market not giving slack to give away 'free' content :)

But yeah, it's some interesting tradeoffs. I ended up just recently recycling all the old 360 and game boxes I had and sticking them into a CD binder to save space, and I think my increasing desire to not have physical clutter. Ultimately, it's a piece of plastic which is not really integral to my experience—I'm still pushing pixels around on a screen, so there's far less of an issue with going digital on games versus existing analog forms like books where I just like the handy feel and page-turning (even there, though, I'm going digital for Halo books since I'll read them faster, they're easier to consult for FUD and checking info, and for space).

Plus, I realized it was weird going to my brother's and having to hunt down the MCC disc, or going to an old game to finish up some achievements and having to hunt for it. I've definitely been spoiled by digital via GwG.

The threat of losing your games is certainly one I consider, but considering I always keep the games I like downloaded it's not a major issue for me to be wary of. At this point the conveniences are far stronger pulls, especially as preloading your games becomes a bigger thing.