StingingVelvet: I started a thread about Dead Rising 2 but now it's spreading.
In addition to that game Lost Planet 2 has been confirmed as being download-only in the United States for PC. On top of that, Ubisoft seems to be going all download-only for all their titles, with R.U.S.E. suddenly canceled in a box and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood showing a download-only status as well... both were removed from amazon.com.
I am not doubting you in the least, but would you mind providing a link regarding Lost Planet 2 being download only in the US? I only ask so that I can share it with some friends, as well as begin some rants of my own. I tried doing some Google searches, but getting all kinds of unrelated results instead.
Overall though, I find this type of behavior to be very disheartening. Companies are no longer providing consumers with a choice, but forcing them to give up quite a bit of freedom instead. I have no desire to give up ownership to a third party service, who controls my access to games as well as how they are handled (patching when I may not want to yet). For decades I have managed my games fine on my own, and I would like to continue doing so. People often praise Steam due to the perks provided, but I honestly could care less, as to me it is still an incredibly restrictive form of DRM with the inability to manage my own games.
What concerns me more so is that digital distribution via Steam and other popular services is giving a great deal of control to publishers. Steam has already demonstrated its ability to restrict activation of retail copies by region. Copies of Half Life 2 purchased in Russia could not be activated elsewhere, and Japanese gamers often struggle with importing Steamworks titles, as many will not work.
The last point is especially important to myself, as I have recently moved from buying copies in the US, where I live, to importing games from the UK. I actually pre-ordered Lost Planet 2 a few months ago through Zavvi, as it was roughly half the price new games cost here, even with international shipping. I would really hate to lose this ability.
I am beginning to rant though I believe. To answer the OP, I care a great deal as to whether a game will be available through retail, and whether it will force me to use an online service I would rather avoid. I will always opt for boxed retail copies, due to having control of the game as well as for collecting purposes. If there is no boxed copy, I likely will not touch it. I have already bypassed quite a few games that were Steamworks infused. A handful of indies are the only exception, but even then, I try to purchase through their personal site before I touch Steam.
As a side note, the above excludes GOG. Obviously, this service differs from others a great deal, as many here are already aware. So long as GOG continues to offer amazing older games without DRM, they will have my business.
