Digital Distribution Comes Home

When Microsoft launched Live Arcade on the Xbox 360, it was initially a bit of a mystery. Cheap, downloadable games that could be stored on your hard drive certainly seemed nice and convenient, and the service boasted a mix of retro remakes and new, innovative titles. Hours could be wasted playing simple puzzle games you could pick up for a fiver. Had old-school gaming reached the renaissance it so dearly needed?

Soon enough, the Wii hit the scene with its Virtual Console, giving gamers access to loads of classic titles, without having to scour the depths of eBay. The PS3 arrived late to the party, eventually giving us the awesome Playstation Store.

All three services proved to be fun and reliable, with secure credit card options and points systems (except Playstation Store, which uses real money) that meant anyone could buy a game from the comfort of their armchair with relative ease. Yes, they were nice and convenient, but the hype died down quickly when sales of stellar releases ground down to a mere trickle.

Recently, we've seen a turnaround, and the focus is again on original content. All of the services now offer download services for new games. Nintendo added WiiWare as a 'ying' to Virtual Console's 'yang', offering 'original and exclusive' titles. The selection at present is comparatively small, but the potential of the service can be clearly seen in top-quality games like Frontier's Lost Winds, a classic two-dimensional platformer that lets you control the wind, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (whack name no?), a brilliant town-building game from Square Enix that looks as good as any title available in a game store.

Microsoft is now well-versed in their Live Arcade service, following their superb 'Summer of Arcade' promotion, which featured one top quality title a week during the month of August. These include Geometry Wars 2, Braid, Castle Crashers, Galaga Legions and Bionic Commando: Rearmed (click on one to see our in-depth review). Each of these games were highly impressive, injecting life into what some critics regarded as a failing format, naysayers be damned!

The Playstation Network is building up a great catalogue of games too. Perhaps most notable are the offerings from developer Pixeljunk, who constantly releases insanely addictive and sensibly-priced games for your pleasure. Sony has gone a step further, however, continually releasing full next-generation titles for download. Recently, they have even begun releasing episodic games, with new chapters coming out each week in the form of new levels. Each installment is cheap, and keeps the thrill-level high.

Through digital distribution, developers have finally found the perfect method of keeping retro games accessible. The Wii's Virtual Console boasts over two hundred games from eight platforms, including Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Commodore 64 and even the Japan and US-only Neo Geo console. Sony and Microsoft have jumped on this idea too;  in addition to retro titles, they offer games from Playstation, Playstation 2 and the original Xbox at rock-bottom prices.

Something interesting is happening in today's market.  Suddenly, what was once old is fresh and interesting again, as young and veteran gamers alike have fun playing these once tired or forgotten relics.

It's not just consoles either, as the number of digital distribution services available on PCs continues to grow. Perhaps most notable is Valve's Steam service, which offers everything from simple puzzle games to full-blown retail releases.

It was originally hoped that the lower production and reasonable, but still not cheap, distribution fees of these games would bring about a return of the bedroom coder days of the 80s. In this golden age, talented people made great games from home, and sold to their mates or anyone else willing to pay. For the moment, that dream world remains stuck in the past. The only releases at present tend to be from smaller teams within big developers.

At the very least, the path seems set for greater variety and creativity in the games available.  As developers come round to the reality that these services are low-investment, low-risk opportunities to pursue more creative options, rest assured that we'll see more challenging, off-the-wall and innovative games soon.