The link to the Atari store doesn't seem to be working.

It is an interesting trend, though, to see how more and more content is going to online distribution. We've had widespread bandwidth to handle it for a few years now, but it took some brave companies to plant a flag in AAA download territory. Now a few more seem to be timidly creeping in that direction.
 

It's kinda sad that all those middlemen being cut out doesn't lower the price at all.

I wonder how the copy protection on the download version will work. It's my biggest problem with the current state of downloadable games. (Both mainstream and indie.)
 

@John: Fixed the link. Should be all better now.

@Jesse: The problem that they are facing is that they haven't completely cut out the middleman. They've simply made it an option. But so long as they have a deal with distributors, they CANNOT undercut their distributors by offering the game at a discount. This has been true even when you could buy a game directly from the publisher via slow mail-order... they couldn't offer a discount without torquing off the distributors.

As far as copy protection: What's your problem with the copy protection for downloadable games? I've had pretty much near zero problems with it for indie titles... they tend to be pretty relaxed as far as requirements go. I've had a couple of exceptions where the license gets tied to a single computer... but even in those cases, a single email resolved the issue.
 

My biggest whine is that the games I'm buying will eventually be unplayable.

Just like you I've got a big pile of old games (okay, it's a smaller pile than yours) that I sometimes dig through for something to play. I finally finished Fallout 2 last year, and last night Baldur's Gate 2 was trying to keep me from reactivating my World of Warcraft account. (And neither let me get any work done.)

But nearly all of the games I'm buying now require connecting to a server to reinstall, and many of them only allow you a few reinstalls before you'd have to purchase them again. This means that in 10 years, unless Cas still has his validation server running, there'll be no Titan Attacks for me. And that's a really, really sad thought.

I've been thinking about writing an article on my site or at least a forum post about this topic, but I don't have any solutions, just a whine.
 

That last post was me (Jesse) again.

No idea how it grabbed the name Blackhand. (That was the server I played on in WoW. I had something setup for my guild once upon a time.)
 

I optimistically assume that in ten years someone will have properly cracked all the indie software and put them into circulation on abandonware sites, so I won't have to worry about losing them. Which is why I don't get too twisted up about small, polite amounts of piracy.

I am generally resistant to paying for huge AAA style downloads with locking/protection, though, because I can see myself needing to uninstall the game to get the space back and then having difficulty making the game work six months later when I want to play it again. To some extent this would be true even without copy protection, though - something BIG that I'll need to uninstall/reinstall, I'd like to have on a stable disc. Small games I only have to worry about restoring registration when my hard drives fail / my OS changes, and at that point it blends into a mass of other annoyances.



... after about the fifth time re-registering Alien Flux I could no longer find my registration data, and I don't feel like bugging him to get it back, so I just gave up... :)
 

... not that it matters, since that atari link says MY country isn't ALLOWED to buy their product... :)
 

@Jesse: I understand. I certainly would HOPE that if / when that day occurs, the company would (as others have done for other software products) provide some kind of solution on the way out. However, that's putting faith in a company that may get sold and bought and change hands a half-dozen times over the next decade, and there are no guarantees.

As a dedicated retrogamer who enjoys playing games long out of style, I definitely feel your concern. (I am enjoying Fallout I right now...)

Most of the products I've purchased have had no such restriction, however.
 

... not that it matters, since that atari link says MY country isn't ALLOWED to buy their product... :)
I don't understand that. I'll cut them some slack as they are a big company with more government / legal scrutiny in multiple countries, not to mention all kinds of different distribution partners in different countries with whom they must remain on good terms. But still... why can't / won't they sell it in other countries?!?!? Localization? Come on... if someone wants to buy the U.S. version as a download, why not let them?

Hey Atari! Might I recommend Plimus or BMT Micro? Both work really well, automagically handle VAT and stuff, and will take a smaller cut than most distributors and retailers... :)
 

Old games becoming unplayable when companies like Steam go out of business is an issue, but I suspect the market has a way around that. How about services similar to Rhapsody, only instead of letting you play songs they let you reinstall and reregister old games?

As long as the rights to handle the online part of the registration process remain in circulation, maybe it won't matter if the original companies go out of business...