I just dont see it being a big thing in the near future at all. I mean, there is no way that many people in non US countries will be on an ISP that has a plan that would allow them to download more than one major thing a month (lots of plans either have fast speed, but pathaticly low download caps that have their tinyness glossed over in advertisment, or reasonable caps with crappy download speeds), and that is if you dont use the internet for other stuff.

Heck, even some companies in the US are starting to introduce download caps (though it seems that these ones will terminate your contract for going over instead of just capping your download speed to 56k like the ISP I am with does if you go over your monthly cap).

Not to mention liscencing issues (many games already dont come to europe and australia, and the companies could easily use international line usage as a reason not to offer a game, or to jack up the price immencly) and the fact that you no longer have a physical copy of the game.

To the people that say that they would like the brick and motar companies to go away because they are evil, I tell you now that they are nowhere near as bad in nations with consumor protection laws (which, by a stroke of luck, wont be as much of a problem with companies based in the US, as only a few laws will actualy apply to them if they do distribute internationaly).

So, basicly, please tell me why people are saying DD is they way of the future, when the international market is either ill equiped to handle it, or will not even get access to it (such as downloading shows, as many companies just love to delay their releases in other countries, and love jacking up the price internationaly, sometimes making it cheaper to buy things from overseas even with postage included).

Even small caps aren't that much a deterrent. Comcast is instituting a 250GB cap, which is pretty high (that's like a full DL DVD every day).

Internationally it might not make sense at this point in time, but as the infrastructure grows and expands, it will. Steam, XBox Live Marketplace, iTunes/Zune Marketplace, all of these are great examples of how digital distribution is already taking off and becoming very successful.

It's not so much that brick and motar stores are evil, it's because people are LAZY. They want their content, they want it now, they want it CHEAP, and they want to do it without ever leaving the house.

It is the way of the future. Saying it's no good for other countries now isn't much of an argument

I remember reading that iTunes is currently being sued by Norway for violating various consumer trade laws, with regards to the DRM limiting the usage of iTunes-purchased products to only Apple products. Naturally, I fully support Norway in this venture, I hold this bizarre and archaic idea that when I buy something, I own it and I can do whatever I want with it. Whenever I buy anything from iTunes, I always convert it to mp3 purely so I can plug my iPod to my Xbox and play my songs. I have no intention of sharing my stuff with anyone else, so I'm not at all worried.

I think digital distribution is indeed the way of the future, certainly for music. The sheer ease and accessibility is awesome; I can listen a song on the radio (online, of course), google some lyrics to find the title, check it out on myspace to make sure it's the same artist I'm listening to, then buy it on iTunes. This whole process takes less time than it does for the song to finish, and that is awesome. The only thing hindering the development of digital distribution systems is DRM. Its only purpose is to hinder the progress of technology, and that simply never works. Sure, they need to protect their assets, but they cannot do so by punishing their customers and I'm very glad that Norway (and France, I think) consider this illegal.

exactly, policies like that are a major thing that will make companies either not go into the market, or use the lesser restrictions as an excuse to raise prices.

that's like saying "I don't see the big deal in transistors" in the 60s.

just ****ing short sighted and ignorant.

well, having dealt with production and distribution of physical cd's as well as digital distribution, i would have to say digital distribution makes more sense. it costs us a little over 1000 to press a 1000 copies of one of our cd's. distributing it digitally... zero dollars. granted a major record label wont be spending a dollar to produce every cd, but you still cant beat 0 dollars.
as far as accessibility in other countries... that probably wont really deter labels from going digital.

When everything's said and done, it's still nice to feel your hard work pay off when you hold a copy of a game and smell the instruction booklet.

except for the fact that you dont need to liscence the basic concept of the transistor to sell it in other countries, and have a single point of production with slower transport than the rest of the world, and then pay more for buying localy than you would by importing your own from overseas, except that the ones from overseas are designed to not work without modification in the local electronic devices dispite rulings that things purchased legaly are supposed to work if there is no technological differance (which the fact that a simple modification can overcome the differance, prooves that the differance is meaningless).

>.> <.<

oh wait, I just described how the entertainment industry treats us.


basicly, the problem is partly a lack of ability to get the distribution (would be the equiviant of having only a few vehicles that can transport said transistors, and they can only travel at 60kph even on the highways of 110 kph limit) distributed with ease, and the lack interest of the company that manages the infrastructure to do upgrades, coupled with lisencing issues and pricing issues are what will make DD take a long time to pick up outside the US (which, dispite what you may think, is a larger market than the US, as the EU and Australia tend to be lumped together as a single entity by most media companies when it comes to releases), which will mean that there will be less money in it than there will be in physical copies.

Except physical copies costs them more money to make period, so there goes your entire argument there.

Everything you've said so far is merely an excuse for why it isn't already the de-facto standard, not for why it will never be so. These licensing issues WILL be worked out, it's in the businesses' best interest to do so. They will go where the profit is, and that profit is in digital distribution. It's only a matter of time.

First, because your internet service sucks in Australia that isn't grounds to say digital distribution is not going to be important in the future. It just boils down to the fact that your internet company is a pile of **** and maybe you should switch ISPs. If not, find alternative means to get on the internet. And if that doesn't work, move out of Australia or wait for the company to not fail any longer.

My cable ISP doesn't have download caps. Even terrible companies such as Comcast, which do have caps, don't grind people's connection to 56k proportions.

Honestly, I hope people who doubt digital distribution is a significant concept aren't the same people who thought movie rentals stores were here to stay forever. In the 90s, video rental stores, such as Blockbuster, were frolicking in the consumer public fields with fair amount of success, no? It made sense: go in, pick a movie, go out, return with movie to pick another one up, repeat. Seems like financial security if consumers did that over and over? Movies were always coming out, no? Well guess what, it's 2008 and movie rental stores are dying, diseased shells of their former self. Blockbuster has been hemorrhaging money, and stores have been closing. People realized how easy it is to get DVDs in the mail. Order online and there you go. And you want to know what the next step is going to be? Digital distribution. Why? Because it's a matter of convenience. Hell, why go to the mailbox when you can click and get the movie right to your desktop or TV?

Because Australia doesn't get the goods right away doesn't mean digital distribution isn't the next step up. If anything, we will do without Australia. What kind of cynical world do you live in if you think because the future isn't arriving directly at your doorstep today, it isn't going to happen? Rights and copyright problems may accompany digital distribution content, but that doesn't stop how convenient iTunes is to the regular person. Want a song on your iPod? Here, 99 cents and there you go. I can't even get a decent bag of potato chips anymore for 99 cents, and even if I did, its enjoyment will only last for 5 minutes.

And secondly, there will always be competitors, and thanks to the internet, it won't be location based. Obviously content-based, but if you don't like how EA does online stores, there is Steam.

Apropos, are there any good digital distribution sites for movies already yet? I know you can get them illegally from a whole host of various streaming sites, but the quality is often terrible, it's cut up into parts, and it's often impossible to find older movies. I'd happily pay a subscription fee to get a similar service but with assured quality. I've seen one or two such subscription-based sites, but they don't let me see the list of movies they have without actually subscribing (which would suck if they didn't have any movies I'm looking for).

40GB Download and 20GB Upload bandwidth cap here.

I got billed a fine of 30$ last month for going WAYYYYYYYYYYY above cap.

Stupid *** torents (WAIT WHAT WHO SAID THAT?) and Age of Conan's broken patcher.

digital distribution is great for certain things but for some things physical media is superior

consoles right now have found a good balance of physical media and digital distribution

Yeah, I love Xbox Arcade. I think that system does wonders for indie developers.

X-Box 360 actually has a really good service for this, and many of the movies are in HD. Not subscription, but still. They are teaming up with Netflix though, I don't know the details about that though.

With Zune's built-in radio you can tag any song and then Zune will automatically download that song when it's synced or in a hotspot.

I understand why it's apparently a big deal, I just think having it replace everything is a horrible idea.

The main problem is that you can't just switch ISPs, in the UK most will tie you in to at least a 12 month contract, if not 18.

Do any britISPs have download limits anyway?

Most of them?

I pay for unlimited broadband, but i'm still throttled to 50kb/sec from 6:30pm -> 11pm because I apparantly download too much.

Weird, but I swear all of them that I've seen claim unlimited.

Go Virgin?

wow seriously? Cox doesn't have bandwidth caps or or throttles or anything.

Is there an app I can get to measure how much bandwidth I'm using?

im sure if it became a reality it would be a small matter for a media corperation to cut a deal with any isp to 'ease' downloading restrictions.

first, it is kinda hard to switch to a better isp when THE isp I am on is considdered one of the best, and the owner of the infrastructure pretty much has the monopoly on giving out the bandwidth in some places.

Also, do you realy think that your communication companies wont make more restrictions as digital distribution becomes more commonplace, especialy those that have their own competeing services?

Also, video rental stores in other countries are not dieing out, heck, even blockbuster has recently opened a store down here, so brick and motar rental stores are not dieing out everywhere. Though, speaking of brick and motar stores, it is the brick and motar game and dvd stores that are a major block to DD, as they quite often make deals to ensure that DD versions will cost a whole lots of money (which makes sense, because if you knew that you had to charge prices that made importing or even buying online via DD more attractive, you would want to make sure that the company that you have liscensed the release from would do their bit to protect your investment).

Also, Australia is for some reason included with europe by many companies, meaning that a MUCH larger market is also having the same problems. Universal is a company that STILL treats places outside the US like crap (they released the little rascals movie as bare bones with multiple languages instead, and encoded it to regions 2, 4 and FREAKING REGION 5).

Also, about the Ipod thing, as someone has said already, they got into trouble for makeing you only able to play iTunes songs on an iPod, which broke fair trade laws that ensure that a person who purchases something legaly should be able to use said item without unfair restrictions, and it is those laws that make Europe and Australia unatractive, as giving fairer treatment to another region could make consumers in the US demand better treatment, or do things such as use something like a VPN to make it look like they are in europe, or even worse (for the company involved), go to another service.

Also, you say to go to steam, but I remind you that valve has no control over how other companies price their games. I bring up the issue of the Australian pricing of COD4 via steam in Australia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(content_delivery)#Regional_restrictions_and_pricing

http://www.cnet.com.au/broadband/0,239036008,339288255,00.htm (for those who say "OMG its wikipedia so it must be wrong")

Heck, I have only ever used EAs digital distribution system for one thing, the spore creature creator full version, and even then I had to get it from the new zealand store because EA made a deal to give away the full version through newspapers and decided that it would be a good idea not to tell anyone.

So, basicly my point is that many companies don't seem to be all that enthusiatic about doing their DD outside the US, which no matter what you may think, is a larger market than the US. (especial given the price gouging that goes on with physical products)

Proof that it happens elsewhere, and that it is not just games. http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23945533-5014108,00.html

it is unlimited, with some of them, you can download all you like, it is just that if you download a certian amount in a month, you will be throttled down to dialup speeds until the next billing period.

So in other words, Australia has problems with digital distribution.

I'm talking about the future, not your country's current problems. You are essentially saying that digital distribution is not going to play an even more significant role in media sharing in the coming years ahead because you are currently getting rolled over by prices and Australia is always getting the short end of the stick.

How about something like broadband internet. A person who is in an isolated area or technologically subpar region who cannot obtain anything higher than a dial-up internet access will most likely be an individual who has doubts over the advancement of high-speed connections. After all, you need to set up the costly infrastructure for broadband, and not only that, you have to deal with troubles with an ISP who probably will abuse your location to jack up prices. Thus, this person will not think so highly of what broadband internet can offer to coming generations of computer users when trivial things such as getting a damn line out or working with an unpleasant provider can effortlessly bar him from experiencing the impact of faster internet.

You are not seeing the bigger picture here.

you do know that I am saying that there is also the problem of the content providers being reluctant to offer their products outside the US, which if DD is to become a major player (i.e. is actualy competing with physical media on a significant level), it needs to get into the world market, which currently, it is not.

It does not matter how well it catches on in the US, because if the physical media companies see that they are making more money outside the US, they will continue whatever practices it is that is giving them that advantage. This will also mean that these companies will be able to continue to release physical media INSIDE the US as well. This will mean that for many people, it will be easier to go down to a shop and buy a movie on a disc rather than wait hours downloading it at the same quality.

The fact that i am mentioning that Australia is being screwed over is to show that the way companies are treating us hasnt changed in decades, and if they havent made any significant changes in the way they treat us by now (and they treat europe the same as Australia), then it will take quite a while for the companies to make those changes.



But, in the end, the fact remains that a great many people simply prefer to have a physical copy of the item they purchase, and many people have probably had bad experiances with companies not letting them have physical backups of things they have downloaded. Basicly, it all comes down to ease of use. People will ask themselves;

"which is easier, signing up to the particular DD service that the movie or tv show I am after is being distributed through and then spend hours downloading it, or go to my nearest store and just pick it up there?"

and quite often, the answer will be to go down to the store and pick it up there.

You get internet in Australia? That's certainly easy for a prison colony.

Baconbocofish:

Sky are about to be the first UK ISP to offer a FULL UNLIMITED broadband with no throttling and no data caps. It'll cost you, but it's coming.

But it's ADSL.

Quite often maybe if your country has terrible internet. I can start watching an HD movie almost instantly on my x-box and it'll download as I watch it.

As for the United States, Blockbuster is actually doing terribly. But nothing you have said regarding international handling is any different than many other products, even non-software. Hell, computer HARDWARE is more expensive across the world than it is here. But people still buy it.

Digital Distribution will happen internationally, because in the end, it is the cheaper, faster, more profitable way of doing things, and no matter how many excuses about pricing or laws or unfair business practices you give, these facts will not change. It is only a matter of time.

Considering a lot of people don't have internet connections I'm going to guess "quite often" everywhere, if not everywhere apart from the US.

"Currently". I'm talking about the road ahead.



Because there is a demand of "physical copies" doesn't mean digital distribution isn't any less of a significant concept. You realize there is still demand for VHS tapes, right? And VCRs? Does that mean DVDs aren't the next step up? I'm willing to bet some countries don't have the demographic that could afford DVDs and DVD players/recorders.

And yes, Blockbuster is doing poorly in America. Maybe they found some relief in Australia. You can have the greedy bastards.



Then let's move on without Australia. Seems like Australia gets last in everything anyway, especially with games and game consoles.

It may take awhile. But changes are changes. If Americans get to enjoy the benefits of digital distribution more than the rest of the world, it doesn't mark down what it has to offer when it comes to new, easy and popular ways to purchase media.



In the end, the fact remains you aren't getting my point. Who are these "great many people"? And would these people have the same opinion if they actually experienced digital distribution after acquiring competent internet access. Of course some people will still want physical copies of media. I'm not arguing against that. But that doesn't outweigh in any real way the potential, the benefits and the impact digital distribution will have in the near future.



Yeah, whatever.

Oh, and what happens if the product you want isn't in stock. Sorry.

Whenever I've bought things digitally, like the Orange Box or some music, I never get the feeling that I actually own it. I often forget that I have HL2 and Portal for example, i've never played my copy of TF2.

TF2 rocks you're missing out dude.

Seriously. I never bought a physical copy and I'm actually pretty glad I haven't. Much easier to just keep the data files or redownload as needed, and no CD keys.

TF2 is amazing.

Yeah, really. Digital music sales have outstripped CDs, which are fast going the way of the 8-track.

more creative control of the artists, for lack of distribution control (ie piracy) can always be good long term.

except the competition just got up a notch now that there's no need for a major labor to reach thousands of people. except it's all about copyrights issues, and people not wanting to have their bought product controlled by DRM. very fine balance between legality and piracy in that business model unfortunately.

I don't download much stuff. But I've only ever copied to Mini-disc using Sony SonicStage or using Bluetooth to my mobile. Intresting debate though :).