You are right. I have the feeling that more and more games are not even in retail anymore. Of course it also has a few adventages like saving shelf space :D But I miss the physical extras.

Yep most games are also like that here. But in the german speaking part of Swiss and in Germany you can still get a lot of adventure games which are not bound to steam yet. But sadly this is also slowly changing. A few more years and there is no reason anymore to buy boxed games except for collectors editions with tons of great extras.

Great extras and much larger price tags, unfortunately.

I must be getting old. -laughs-
I can see the appeal on both sides, but I'm definitely not a fan of not getting the choice.

True. Prices are normally quite high. But sometimes it is worth it. But only sometimes ;-) From all my games just 4 are collectors editions :D
And yes, having more choices would be really nice.

I don't think I have anything like that. An X-Box version of a collector's edition is typically a box where the discs have the DLC for the game included.
Not exactly exciting, interesting stuff there.

Closest thing would be the special editions done here on GOG, but those tend to get pricy for nothing more than a few digital extras.
And if you're really unfortunate, you can shell out the money for a digital special edition, then have the price drop in a month, making you feel really dumb. -laughs-

Yeah ok, that is not very exciting. The ones I have included for example artworks, a printed map, a huge flag, an amulet and stuff like this. And of course some "digital" stuff like soundtracks and making off videos etc.

Indeed it isn't. I don't exactly spend a lot of money on X-Box games anymore either. ;)

What you just mentioned, on the other hand, actually does sound appealing.
One of the biggest problems with the games industry, in my opinion - the general willingness to grind good ideas of the past to dust in the name of bigger, better, faster, more convenient.

Really, it's not unlike Hollywood these days. Sequels are easier sales than original ideas. And I think, for the most part, it works for them. Halo fans run out to buy the latest Halo, regardless of how much shit flavoured steam is rising from the box. They buy it because it's Halo, good and bad don't even factor in.

I'll admit I'm a bit like that with certain franchises.

I do really hate the multiple tiny DLC business model. Give me a substantial expansion pack. If the game was any good, I'll gladly give you reasonable dollars for the expansion. If I have to pay $2 so I can use a shotgun in the game ... I'm not going to buy the game. As a result, I don't buy a lot of AAA games these days.

Right. Everything is a large enough expenditure due to the systems being so full of bloat, virtually every item has to be as blandly similar to what's come before and been successful as possible.

Remarkably enough? I think I played Halo 1 for maybe 15 minutes I can't even remember how many years ago, got bored and quit.

Not only do I hate the tiny DLC model, I hate the "let's break our own game's difficulty since people will basically pay us for cheat codes" model as well.

Just Cause 2 comes to mind. I rented the whole thing, but I go to play the game and there's a ton of stuff that would snap the difficulty in half if I used it.
What the hell's the point of even trying to make a balanced game when you'll throw it all under a bus to get another 100 thousand people to pay you a couple dollars to break it?

I've never played any Halo. My son calls our XBox the "Hockey Machine", because that's pretty much the only game it plays. I'm not too current on my EA NHL either, I think I'm still playing 2012. It might be 2013 though, whichever year had the return of the Jets. I had to buy it just to have the Jets again.

Couldn't tell you when it comes to hockey games.

Honestly, I haven't really played any sports games in a long, long time.
Well, unless Punch Out counts. -laughs-

Yes, you having to buy another version of a game to get a team you wanted sounds about EA's speed. Anything they can do to get people coming back and buying virtually identical games year after year.

Assholes.

Surprisingly enough, this wasn't EA's fault. The Jet's didn't exist in the NHL for ~15 years. The only way they could have added them to older versions was as a DLC, and I'd rather pay $40 for a whole new game including the Jets, than $2 to download the Jets into my shitty old game. Luckily, EA never gave us the option. It was $40, or no Jets.

Fair enough. It's good that you ended up with a purchase you feel comfortable about. =)

I am way more used to commentary on how EA's trying to rip their customers off left and right.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike EA as much as the next guy, but when it comes to Hockey games, they are pretty much the only game in town.

In the end, I love hockey more than I hate EA.