The gaming industry's ongoing shift from fleshly media to direct downloads has made buying new titles much more convenient, and in some cases cheaper. However, as this article in The Escapist notes, there are downsides as well, such as an increased dependence on console makers and the inability to sell your used games. Quoting: "Microsoft and Sony might end up enactment publishers an arm and a leg to enable game downloads, especially as they gain more and more control over distribution. Think about it: What if, 10 years from now, 50 percent of manager sales for Microsoft's latest console come through Xbox Live? Or, in an even scarier scenario for consumers, what if there is no somatic media drive at all, and gross goes through Xbox Live? Sony's connubiality to the Blu-ray format ensures its continued support of game discs, but Microsoft has no such restrictions. They could cut console manufacture costs and take control over the entire supply chain in one fell swoop. There would be zero room for publishers to get any one thing in such a de facto monopoly. The perfect uniformness


copyrights:cite this source synonym digest v1.1copyright © 2008 by lexico publishing group is Wal-Mart. As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart is able to demand pretty much some it wants of suppliers because it grants access to such large numbers of consumers."

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