Ah, perving. My favorite pastime.

Tell me where you live, where you go at specific times, and implant a tracking device on your person so I can avoid you.

Its a thing of beauty. Or several things if you're lucky

Game-specializing stores around here are in parts of the city only realistically reachable by car, so there's not much of that fresh air and exercise to speak of. They make up for it with gas expenses, parking fees and smog.
But main points still remain, I miss:
- Perving on cute people on the "trip" from the parking lot to the store.
- Perving on cute staff IN the shop.
- Perving on cute people on the "trip" from the store to the parking lot.

other disadvantages to digital distribution?
no impulse buys; no laughing at the fully stocked shelf of madden 04'; no opportunity to show the world around you how bad ass you are in your gasmask and shorts; mostly importantly, you don't get to blow smoke in peoples faces. sure at home you can blow smoke in your own face, but then your eyes get all watery and you can't see.

Perving... on the street? You're buying stuff online. You're on the INTERNET. Are you actually trying to sell me the idea that you can't perv on THE INTERNET!? Geez, what do you waste your time on while waiting for a game to download? :)

What makes it even more confusing is that in quite a few cases you can buy that same game at retail in that restricted area, and sometimes even from Direct2Drive and/or GamersGate as well.

This is just so wrong on many levels. -_-;

I agree. When it's in the store I find the game, possibly locate an employee to remove it from a glass case, bring it to the checkout counter and then take out my cash or card.
When it's online is just a bunch of mouse clicks. Innocent little mouse clicks...

oh but you have to try that new energy drink, or the chocolate the sales person needs to sell, or oh look a $2 flashdrive.

I suppose thats a point, you have a laser focus when buying online since you're unlikely to find a link on impulse to some other site that sells DVDs and a second that does online ordering of food

...then again, that would save your precious little money bits from them sneaky selling strategics of devilish salesmen, not to mention the wasted time :) Doing it online is so positive for such a number of ways (for yourself, your wallet, the environment) that it simply superimposes itself to a phsysical (<sp?) store... except if you really fancy a stroll :)
...on a somewhat related note, some places like Amazon.uk sell physical copies of games, but they often get so cheap with price cuts that you can only but buy there. I am specifically talking about titles that might cost you SIGNIFICANTLY less than digital distribution, so it comes to a matter of taste and/or specific title hunting. That said, i'd bare with having to use the goddamn DVD on the laptop if it was cheaper buying and shipping.
Even more if i have to pay for extra net download Mbs every time i cross over my monthly net plafond.
So, as an example, i could get UT3 from Amazon.uk, cheaper and delivered home (and on another country other than UK!), than getting said game online PLUS download costs of the Gbs of the game :)

Yes, but if you're like me and you go out to buy things other than games, it's convenient to pick up other things that you need.
pickup some tp, new pc game, etc..

that blonde at the checkout...