The fist of a new year is always a time of reflection for me. I've been gaming a very long time. I'm closer to forty than I am to thirty. Today I started thinking about the experience of buying software at a young age and how it's changed over the years.
I used to LOVE to go to my local software store (Think Egghead). It was just a very cool atmosphere. The people working were always fun and interesting to chat with. They had a passion for the hobby that I just don't see anymore. It was almost like being a Pen and Paper/Miniature gamer and walking into a hobby store. They would not try to sell you magazines or even the latest game. They'd find out what you enjoyed playing and go from there. I remember swapping hints for games we were working on and what BBS's were fun to visit. I really do miss those days.
We all know the age of the physical store is coming to a close. We'll be digital faster than we know it. While I understand that's the price of progress, I can't help but lament what the software store used to be.
i am not a video-game-head usually prefer pnp games besides, the last video game i bought is no longer available (age)....Master of Magic!!! yes, i bought it online (GoG) for $2.99, but i don't see a store carrying something of this game's vintage...
I have mixed emotions. Mostly no, though, because I worked for a Gamestop off and on during holiday seasons for the better part of 4 years and the way my final stop with them happened, I hope that place suffers a painful death.
But, specialty stores for nerds are always fun places. What I don't get is why they JUST sell video games. I've said it for years, but physical game store locations would do a lot better if they 1) offered a place for people to play games before they buy them, 2) sold video game related paraphanalia (and not just one off things like GameStop occasionally does, but made it so it was a fully functional section of the store), 3) didn't hire total douchenozzles to manage the locations.
I know a ton of people who love video game related swag. In particular, I've personally encountered three or four people in my life time with this hoodie:
Make a clothing section IN the store. If gamers know that the one-stop-shop for all things in their favorite hobby is located at your store, they're more likely to pop in. The more traffic you get, the more stuff you sell.
It wouldn't be a bad way to merge video game outlets and video arcades. Make it a venue where people can rent space for a LAN party, or just a place to play Rock Band for a bit.
Also, it would be really smart for game stores to sell unlock keys for DLCs and online purchases. Or sell custom USB Sticks that can be loaded up with two or three games per visit, to allow for digital purchases made in-store.
Yes and for one reason only. The barrier of full game, and full game with additional content will be blurred even more drastically as companies move to digital only downloads.
No. I don't buy as many games as I used to and I nearly always order online because it's cheaper. I'm not big on PC gaming so the digital/physical thing doesn't really come into it.
In days of olde when knights were bold, perusing the spectrum of games meant traversing the ENTIRE mall as well as outlying territories to find different niches because each outlet seemed to specialize in the sort of games they offered.
You went to the big retailers like Sears and Montgomery Ward to find the best selection of mainstream console games. A must stop was the Wizards Lair that carried all of your pen and paper games as well as a few hard to find computer utilities and games. If TRS or Tandy was your flavor, then Radio Shack was a waypoint. Then it was on to Walden Books software section that was the only game in town as far as Infocom Games were concerned. (and also to grab a quick look at that Ravenloft Module that someone had unwrapped and hidden on the bottom-back shelf...making sure to dutifully return it to its hiding place for the next adventurer.)
Shopping for games was an adventure in and of itself.
Considering my crippling misanthropy, I would not miss our local games vendors. At the same time, however, I do not appreciate the new-fangled notion that one does not own the game they have purchased, which seems to be the big thing with the digital age.
@Aosaw: Not even anymore. XBox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network are quite large. I own way more on my XB360 digitally than I do when it comes to hard copies of games.
If it's not totally dead by next gen, it will be the generation after.
Biggest and maybe only argument for me: Germany Our fancy' software laws are somewhat restricted to certain games, and while I do enjoy shopping edigital, that comes often at a big disadvantage, or in this case Steam. We often have some products specifically designed for our country, and it's not only the lack of blood and alike - NO since friggin' ages they cut of even a hell of content. A good example is Borderlands, Fallout 3+, Shogun 2 - Total War. I think Borderlands was the worst example, missing content, no or green blood reduced weapon effects. Fallout roughly the same...though I never understood why the FA3:GOTY was uncut. Else I would have been downloaded the "pirated" version and replaced it otherwise..as I was buying that shit I can humbly demand the full product and not only a piece of garbage. Shogun 2 restricts me to not being able to buy the blood-mod (no big deal..cause that one is stupid anyway)..using proxy is often a no-go as steam goes haywire or stalls completely, else you are paying for a proxy service, but that comes with additional costs. Else the alternative is to have a friend in the UK/US/similar, who does buy you the game as a present....
In my older times, I just went into my local store and could either buy or at least order US/UK versions of nearly any game. I still can order games, but mostly in austria, cause it's the cheapest solution in case hardboxed games are still being delivered - but it's often applies only to special editions.
And my very saddest moment in my life: getting the 'localized' Resident Evil 2 limited version for my ps (t-shirt+pin ^^)..beat that shitty game within 3hours and 45 minutes without saving/using herbs/spray (or was it 1h45? can't remember) to unlock that fucking gatling gun..only to realize after the phone-call..the 2 bonus weapons got removed!
Currently, some Germanized-steam-versions pisses me off, but I think my own laziness is at fault as well Have it like 5minutes per bike to my gamestop ^^ (buying that game and getting the pirated version for replacement takes that long as well...)
No offense, but my country just promotes piracy with their stupid software laws, or in some ways. I don't consider myself a user of pirated software if I own the copy legitimate but am forced to get the real copy by other means necessary...
@Valky: That's actually a good point and it's unfortunately swallowed up in the media that covers video games. European and Australian gamers are often forgotten. The places that cover gaming news tend to be very US or Japan-centric, and therefore seems to be lost as an important thing by developers and more importantly, politicians.
There are some bizarre digital rights laws in a lot of European countries. It drives the prices of getting legitimate copies through the roof, and therefore increases piracy.
But, at least you guys have way more participation in less "mainstream" hobbies. Tabletop wargaming is super niche here but it's fairly vibrant in the UK and Germany, at least so I've been lead to believe.
There are some bizarre digital rights laws in a lot of European countries. It drives the prices of getting legitimate copies through the roof, and therefore increases piracy.
That, good Sir, is an _understatement_ :P
And the tabletop community (or the one I know of) sadly breaks apart as well. They were meant to be playing shadowrun 'til death seperates them...but one got a new GF, the other one hell of a job and so on. I started playing 2nd ed rules, and was merely firm with 2.5..but to be honest, all that DM/player 'war' (disputes) pissed me off. So I 'switched' (yay am a switcher ^^) to battletech..also 3025 up to 3050 rules..pretty cool. Then some ppl demanded, that we might need to change to the newer rules, so we started 3056+. Trueborns suddenly became garbage (literally spoken), cause IS warriors were on par with equipment, so the whole shitty disputes started again. everyone was only looking at their own advantage, whatever it takes..or they were reciting hours of mindless rules instead of playing.
'oh, why is my hatchet not hitting you, cause I charged you thru the woods with speed XX while you were standing still' - 'haha..cause I was standing still, I get some omnipotent stupid bonus..and there are woods ..haha, so your roll is -2' you can read it in blablalbal book2, shittyshittybook 3 and so on...and then the mighty DM comes in as well.
Instead of: 'My Atlas feels lucky today..oh..boy, my mechanics did do a good job at polishing even my 'balls' ..hayhay...they did. Let's check how well it does perform...*wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush* (AC-20)
I still managed at least once, to got decapitated with a fresh 95 ton mech after receiving a stupid ER-PPC from a shitty claner. I rolled the uttermost garbage ever..I confirmed his head-hit, and got a critical *erm* death* awesome moment, luckily we were playing only a lance-war.... Oh, those good old times....
@valky: All personal groups end up falling apart at some point. I just mean in general, hobbies outside of video gaming are in a much healthier place in Europe than they are in the States. Finding a group around here even on a college campus to play D&D is super hard. A new tabletop gaming store (CCGs, board games, miniatures, etc.) and we've flocked to it to play Warhammer 40k, but even so there's maybe 12 guys in the entirety of my city with armies who can actually play.
They keep getting on my case about not playing, actually. What can I say, I don't want to field an army that isn't fully painted and I take my time. Here is my latest project. Half finished. 5 more dudes to go with this squad.
Then another squad of 10 guys. Then another squad of 6 chosen marines. Then my 5 possessed, 10 CSM, 3 bikes, 1 chaos lord, 1 helbrute and 1 oldschool metal Sorcerer. Not to mention the possessed squad, CSMs, bikes and sorc all still need to be assembled. IT'S NEVER FINISHED.
Warhammer is nice up to the word "40k"...i hate it. I do love Warhammer FANTASY though...sadly i never have played it on the board (only PC games). personal feelings- no offense
holy moly @ the artwork! [one of my other hobbies I laid down...painting&modelling..my very best model is still my a-10 tankkiller^^ or was till my uncle needed to take a look at it....baaah broke the glasses off...hate it HATE IT ..it's ART....it's suppossed to be THERE just to look at it...
maybe you understand my flaws..... Your figurines are truly awesome! and I mean it!
@Valky: Go read that whole post. I was making a point. :P
I actually don't really mind people handling my models. As long as they don't break it in a way I can't repair, I'm actually pretty eager to hand over my models so people can give them a once over. My favorite bit of detail is I made it so my APC Tank still opens and I painted up the insides, command console and all. No one would ever notice I spent the time to do that if they didn't go open up my dude. Little things like that makes me feel all sorts of giddy inside.
hmm, models are not always models for me..they are art..I did 1:72/1:32 and 1:8 mostly 2nd world war..combat models, 1:32 remedied aircrafts and alike. and am very picky and I hate it if someone touches them. guess am girlish when it comes to this ^^ it takes a shitload of work to build/spray them..then suddenly someone shows up and might touch them...never notived that the glass of the a-10 is intentended to be up that way....tried to fix it with a shitload of glue..
Perhaps it comes out of the fact Warhammer guys are smaller and typically not as brittle as a lot of the realistic stuff? Unless you're running with the fine resin models or added a bunch of crap to each guy yourself, they tend to hold up pretty good with just super glue or plastics glue.
This guy has had both of his arms fall off and I've reattached them with little effort. I'd be pretty upset if my guy split in two and it wasn't on one of the seems, I guess.
Being an old school person, i want my bloody disc(s) so that if anything happens to the parent company or when the support for a game drops off the map, i can always install and play my games. So buying games online does not interest me in the least unless i have a guarantee that i will ALWAYS be able to d-load, install and play my game. Many folks un-install their games in order to make room on their hd's which i used to do as well. Although now that i have 2 super-puters to play games on i split my games between them and i never un-install them and keep all patches in a sepcial folder.
The model that blizzard is using for diablo 3 is pure crap and is not unique and probably the trend of the future for all games eventually. They force you into playing online and their excuse is that it is to prevent pirating or hacking of their game...BS. I didn't buy diablo 3 because of that. I don't care for multiplayer or achievements. I play a single player game so that i can just load up, play a few hrs and go do something else. I've heard people complaining that they can't do that as unless you reach a certain place(checkpoint?). If you stop playing before you reach one, you have to restart the quest from w/e your alst checkpoint was. Anyways i derailed the topics and i apologize.
I voted that i'll miss my EB games store and if the recent article i just read is any indication, that will be the death of EB games and others like them who deal a lot with used games for consoles. Sony's has recently applied for a patent that would prevent used games from being played on their console(s) similar to the trend of late of attaching games to accounts( similar to what blizzard does with diablo and starcraft2 and other comapnies who've done it). There was no mention of any retroactivity as far as old games, pre-patent having to be registered to an account as well. That one makes me cringe considering sony's security history as far as accounts being hacked because of an intrusion of their database. Sorry for the length.
If it WAS a digital vs physical poll, I would go physical, since I like having the discs and box. Especially those ginourmous CEs of games. But since this is about going to the store, I'll say no. I have the internet and shipping services for that.
I was never a big fan of going to game stores in the first place. Sure, when I was a little kid, going to the game store was awesome, but going to Toys R Us was equally awesome - and they also sold video games. Generally, I tend to avoid shopping and the general public whenever I can, so I am a big fan of buying things online. I think the digital age of game purchasing is just much more efficient and practical. You don't need to leave your house, you don't need to stand in line for midnight releases, and many times you are even permitted to pre-load the game before it launches, so you don't have to waste time downloading after it launches, and can start playing immediately. The only concern I have, is how does 'ownership' (not really the right word?) work.
With the absence of physical medium, like a DVD, will companies make it easy for consumers to play their games years and years later? If you can simply save the game to a USB or burn it to a disk, that is fine, but what if you pay for a title, and you many years later you lose the download? Are companies going to keep records or have services available for player to re-download their games?
I proposed the idea of game kiosk a couple years back, but people didn't seem to like the idea. Basically, it would be a kiosk where you can browse titles from all developers and purchase them. This would include indie titles as well as AAA titles. You could browse by genre, developer, top rated, coming soon, etc. and when you found a title you wanted, you would log into your account - this could be either a separate account for the kiosk software, or a dev account, like Blizzard or EA (depending on the game,) pay for the title (this could setup to accept cards and cash,) insert your USB or whatever proprietary device it called for, and download the game. The device could then be inserted into a PC or game console, and the game could be transferred or played directly from the device. The kiosk itself could be placed in any business, from department and grocery stores to airports.
It is a very basic and crude outline of how it would work, and the big conflict I can see where it may not seem too practical to implement, is how everything is online now. I mean, why have a kiosk, when I could just get an app for my phone and do it that way? If that was the case, then that could work as well.
Gamestop?? They can roll over and die as far as I'm concerned. Back stabbing store. Back in the day they used to have wall to wall of PC games and even hardware like high end video cards. Now they have none of that. Its console this, console that.
Gamestop?? They can roll over and die as far as I'm concerned. Back stabbing store. Back in the day they used to have wall to wall of PC games and even hardware like high end video cards. Now they have none of that. Its console this, console that.
A couple years ago, I walked into a Gamestop looking at what PC games they had. Needless to say, I saw very few, so I asked the guy, "where are all your PC games?" and he replied, "they are all right here," pointing at a single A-frame. I looked at him and said, "you are a video game store and these are all your PC games?" and he looked at me like, "yeah...duh.." I just walked out laughing after that.
I won't miss going to the store because the last one near me closed a while ago, and it would be at least 30 minutes by car to get to the next one. I can perfectly do without spending on gas and parking when buying a game.
I do strongly prefer physical copies of things I buy though, but that has little to do with the way to purchase them. I can order discs from Amazon and the like without going to a store and that always beats driving 30 mins or more.
I calmly open my garage door in anticipation. "Is this the day?" I say to myself quietly. I try to not be too hopeful. There is still many calculations to be made, and much work to be done. With sweat dripping from my brow, I hook up the device to the tow hitch of my truck. With Gamestop just over a mile away, it is important that I am prepared. I hop in my pick-up and pull out slowly, exiting my driveway to enter the large untilled field across the way. I come here once a week, to this same field, to relive this same failure. "I miss Gamestop." I exclaim. Nobody is around to hear me.
It is calm here. The birds chirping, sun shining brightly, and the leaves rustling in the distant trees from a gusty wind at my back. Staring out into the distance a sign glows faintly. It taunts me. It is time.
I turn on the generator to pressurize the tanks. As the designer of the system, explosion of the tanks from the amazing pressure they must withstand is always on my mind. I excitedly nudge the pumpkin down the barrel, being careful not to damage it in the process. It must remain whole to maintain its proper trajectory.
I tilt the cannon barrel to exactly 49 degrees. With fingers trembling, I press the button.
*POW* .............. *SPLAT*
"DAMN IT ALL!" I scream. I hit MovieStop, and missed GameStop....again.
Not a bit. I had been trying to move full physical copies to my HD ever since the 90s, I used cracks and iso. Now that it moved to digital and with cloud save game sync, it's dream come true.
Comments
I used to LOVE to go to my local software store (Think Egghead). It was just a very cool atmosphere. The people working were always fun and interesting to chat with. They had a passion for the hobby that I just don't see anymore. It was almost like being a Pen and Paper/Miniature gamer and walking into a hobby store. They would not try to sell you magazines or even the latest game. They'd find out what you enjoyed playing and go from there. I remember swapping hints for games we were working on and what BBS's were fun to visit. I really do miss those days.
We all know the age of the physical store is coming to a close. We'll be digital faster than we know it. While I understand that's the price of progress, I can't help but lament what the software store used to be.
usually prefer pnp games
besides, the last video game i bought is no longer available (age)....Master of Magic!!!
yes, i bought it online (GoG) for $2.99, but i don't see a store carrying something of this game's vintage...
But, specialty stores for nerds are always fun places. What I don't get is why they JUST sell video games. I've said it for years, but physical game store locations would do a lot better if they 1) offered a place for people to play games before they buy them, 2) sold video game related paraphanalia (and not just one off things like GameStop occasionally does, but made it so it was a fully functional section of the store), 3) didn't hire total douchenozzles to manage the locations.
I know a ton of people who love video game related swag. In particular, I've personally encountered three or four people in my life time with this hoodie:
Make a clothing section IN the store. If gamers know that the one-stop-shop for all things in their favorite hobby is located at your store, they're more likely to pop in. The more traffic you get, the more stuff you sell.
Also, it would be really smart for game stores to sell unlock keys for DLCs and online purchases. Or sell custom USB Sticks that can be loaded up with two or three games per visit, to allow for digital purchases made in-store.
Angry Joe has a good rant on it here
It is also noted that EA and Bioware did this as well with ME3 and their first day dlc.
You went to the big retailers like Sears and Montgomery Ward to find the best selection of mainstream console games. A must stop was the Wizards Lair that carried all of your pen and paper games as well as a few hard to find computer utilities and games. If TRS or Tandy was your flavor, then Radio Shack was a waypoint. Then it was on to Walden Books software section that was the only game in town as far as Infocom Games were concerned. (and also to grab a quick look at that Ravenloft Module that someone had unwrapped and hidden on the bottom-back shelf...making sure to dutifully return it to its hiding place for the next adventurer.)
Shopping for games was an adventure in and of itself.
*PC digital age.
Console games are still pretty much owned by the consumer.
If it's not totally dead by next gen, it will be the generation after.
That's a shame. I'm still kind of holding out hope for cartridges to make a comeback (by way of USB stick).
Our fancy' software laws are somewhat restricted to certain games, and while I do enjoy shopping edigital, that comes often at a big disadvantage, or in this case Steam.
We often have some products specifically designed for our country, and it's not only the lack of blood and alike - NO since friggin' ages they cut of even a hell of content. A good example is Borderlands, Fallout 3+, Shogun 2 - Total War.
I think Borderlands was the worst example, missing content, no or green blood reduced weapon effects. Fallout roughly the same...though I never understood why the FA3:GOTY was uncut. Else I would have been downloaded the "pirated" version and replaced it otherwise..as I was buying that shit I can humbly demand the full product and not only a piece of garbage.
Shogun 2 restricts me to not being able to buy the blood-mod (no big deal..cause that one is stupid anyway)..using proxy is often a no-go as steam goes haywire or stalls completely, else you are paying for a proxy service, but that comes with additional costs.
Else the alternative is to have a friend in the UK/US/similar, who does buy you the game as a present....
In my older times, I just went into my local store and could either buy or at least order US/UK versions of nearly any game. I still can order games, but mostly in austria, cause it's the cheapest solution in case hardboxed games are still being delivered - but it's often applies only to special editions.
And my very saddest moment in my life: getting the 'localized' Resident Evil 2 limited version for my ps (t-shirt+pin ^^)..beat that shitty game within 3hours and 45 minutes without saving/using herbs/spray (or was it 1h45? can't remember) to unlock that fucking gatling gun..only to realize after the phone-call..the 2 bonus weapons got removed!
Currently, some Germanized-steam-versions pisses me off, but I think my own laziness is at fault as well
No offense, but my country just promotes piracy with their stupid software laws, or in some ways. I don't consider myself a user of pirated software if I own the copy legitimate but am forced to get the real copy by other means necessary...
There are some bizarre digital rights laws in a lot of European countries. It drives the prices of getting legitimate copies through the roof, and therefore increases piracy.
But, at least you guys have way more participation in less "mainstream" hobbies. Tabletop wargaming is super niche here but it's fairly vibrant in the UK and Germany, at least so I've been lead to believe.
And the tabletop community (or the one I know of) sadly breaks apart as well. They were meant to be playing shadowrun 'til death seperates them...but one got a new GF, the other one hell of a job and so on.
I started playing 2nd ed rules, and was merely firm with 2.5..but to be honest, all that DM/player 'war' (disputes) pissed me off. So I 'switched' (yay am a switcher ^^) to battletech..also 3025 up to 3050 rules..pretty cool. Then some ppl demanded, that we might need to change to the newer rules, so we started 3056+. Trueborns suddenly became garbage (literally spoken), cause IS warriors were on par with equipment, so the whole shitty disputes started again. everyone was only looking at their own advantage, whatever it takes..or they were reciting hours of mindless rules instead of playing.
'oh, why is my hatchet not hitting you, cause I charged you thru the woods with speed XX while you were standing still' - 'haha..cause I was standing still, I get some omnipotent stupid bonus..and there are woods ..haha, so your roll is -2' you can read it in blablalbal book2, shittyshittybook 3 and so on...and then the mighty DM comes in as well.
Instead of:
'My Atlas feels lucky today..oh..boy, my mechanics did do a good job at polishing even my 'balls' ..hayhay...they did. Let's check how well it does perform...*wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush* (AC-20)
I still managed at least once, to got decapitated with a fresh 95 ton mech after receiving a stupid ER-PPC from a shitty claner. I rolled the uttermost garbage ever..I confirmed his head-hit, and got a critical *erm* death*
Oh, those good old times....
kinda :P
They keep getting on my case about not playing, actually. What can I say, I don't want to field an army that isn't fully painted and I take my time. Here is my latest project. Half finished. 5 more dudes to go with this squad.
Then another squad of 10 guys. Then another squad of 6 chosen marines. Then my 5 possessed, 10 CSM, 3 bikes, 1 chaos lord, 1 helbrute and 1 oldschool metal Sorcerer. Not to mention the possessed squad, CSMs, bikes and sorc all still need to be assembled. IT'S NEVER FINISHED.
holy moly @ the artwork! [one of my other hobbies I laid down...painting&modelling..my very best model is still my a-10 tankkiller^^ or was till my uncle needed to take a look at it....baaah broke the glasses off...hate it HATE IT ..it's ART....it's suppossed to be THERE just to look at it...
maybe you understand my flaws.....
Your figurines are truly awesome! and I mean it!
[I fucking hate you! *uhm*]
I actually don't really mind people handling my models. As long as they don't break it in a way I can't repair, I'm actually pretty eager to hand over my models so people can give them a once over. My favorite bit of detail is I made it so my APC Tank still opens and I painted up the insides, command console and all. No one would ever notice I spent the time to do that if they didn't go open up my dude. Little things like that makes me feel all sorts of giddy inside.
whatever
This guy has had both of his arms fall off and I've reattached them with little effort. I'd be pretty upset if my guy split in two and it wasn't on one of the seems, I guess.
The model that blizzard is using for diablo 3 is pure crap and is not unique and probably the trend of the future for all games eventually. They force you into playing online and their excuse is that it is to prevent pirating or hacking of their game...BS. I didn't buy diablo 3 because of that. I don't care for multiplayer or achievements. I play a single player game so that i can just load up, play a few hrs and go do something else. I've heard people complaining that they can't do that as unless you reach a certain place(checkpoint?). If you stop playing before you reach one, you have to restart the quest from w/e your alst checkpoint was. Anyways i derailed the topics and i apologize.
I voted that i'll miss my EB games store and if the recent article i just read is any indication, that will be the death of EB games and others like them who deal a lot with used games for consoles. Sony's has recently applied for a patent that would prevent used games from being played on their console(s) similar to the trend of late of attaching games to accounts( similar to what blizzard does with diablo and starcraft2 and other comapnies who've done it). There was no mention of any retroactivity as far as old games, pre-patent having to be registered to an account as well. That one makes me cringe considering sony's security history as far as accounts being hacked because of an intrusion of their database. Sorry for the length.
With the absence of physical medium, like a DVD, will companies make it easy for consumers to play their games years and years later? If you can simply save the game to a USB or burn it to a disk, that is fine, but what if you pay for a title, and you many years later you lose the download? Are companies going to keep records or have services available for player to re-download their games?
I proposed the idea of game kiosk a couple years back, but people didn't seem to like the idea. Basically, it would be a kiosk where you can browse titles from all developers and purchase them. This would include indie titles as well as AAA titles. You could browse by genre, developer, top rated, coming soon, etc. and when you found a title you wanted, you would log into your account - this could be either a separate account for the kiosk software, or a dev account, like Blizzard or EA (depending on the game,) pay for the title (this could setup to accept cards and cash,) insert your USB or whatever proprietary device it called for, and download the game. The device could then be inserted into a PC or game console, and the game could be transferred or played directly from the device. The kiosk itself could be placed in any business, from department and grocery stores to airports.
It is a very basic and crude outline of how it would work, and the big conflict I can see where it may not seem too practical to implement, is how everything is online now. I mean, why have a kiosk, when I could just get an app for my phone and do it that way? If that was the case, then that could work as well.
I'll do my shopping at Best Buy or get it online.
I like to refer this video when speaking about Gamestop:
I do strongly prefer physical copies of things I buy though, but that has little to do with the way to purchase them. I can order discs from Amazon and the like without going to a store and that always beats driving 30 mins or more.
It is calm here. The birds chirping, sun shining brightly, and the leaves rustling in the distant trees from a gusty wind at my back. Staring out into the distance a sign glows faintly. It taunts me. It is time.
I turn on the generator to pressurize the tanks. As the designer of the system, explosion of the tanks from the amazing pressure they must withstand is always on my mind. I excitedly nudge the pumpkin down the barrel, being careful not to damage it in the process. It must remain whole to maintain its proper trajectory.
I tilt the cannon barrel to exactly 49 degrees. With fingers trembling, I press the button.
*POW* .............. *SPLAT*
"DAMN IT ALL!" I scream. I hit MovieStop, and missed GameStop....again.