They supposedly make YOU more money at the consumer's convenience; the trick is, they have begun to realize that you need to make the consumer WANT to use it, rather than force-feed it to them. Steam is one such example, and while it caught flak in the beginning, it has become a very nice addition and tool for cataloguing mods and distributing third-party games. It even allows crazy indy games like defcon! People are skipping adverts with tivos and other P/DVRs, so it is beneficial to make more interesting commercials. Times change, economic models change, etc. it's just a sign of progress.
This is all in retrospect, what about holy grails to come? That would bring some real discussion! I say in several years we will be looking at things like the zelda 64 gold edition cartridge, etc. (though I would acknowledge the difference between cosmetics and limited-release software.)
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They supposedly make YOU more money at the consumer's convenience; the trick is, they have begun to realize that you need to make the consumer WANT to use it, rather than force-feed it to them. Steam is one such example, and while it caught flak in the beginning, it has become a very nice addition and tool for cataloguing mods and distributing third-party games. It even allows crazy indy games like defcon! People are skipping adverts with tivos and other P/DVRs, so it is beneficial to make more interesting commercials. Times change, economic models change, etc. it's just a sign of progress.
This is all in retrospect, what about holy grails to come? That would bring some real discussion! I say in several years we will be looking at things like the zelda 64 gold edition cartridge, etc. (though I would acknowledge the difference between cosmetics and limited-release software.)