My Newest Vendetta

Since it would appear that my personal vendetta against some 3D gaming is over (see here), I have decided to take up a new cause: I am now against companies offering downloadable content only, vs purchasable hard copies.

I understand the draw for the company: we can’t resell it.  This sucks!  First off, I am totally cheap.  I buy almost all my games used at Gamestop because that way I feel like I can play everything I want without blowing a giant wad of money every time I turn around.  Granted, this means I have to wait until I can get my hands on a used copy, but my list of games to play is so long that that’s alright with me.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly… We can’t loan the games to our friends.  I am a huge proponent of this.  For example, I currently have Debbie’s copy of Mass Effect, and if she hadn’t loaned it to me I would’ve been missing out on this totally fun game.  Granted, again, it means that Bioware didn’t make a buck off of me…but that isn’t to say that I won’t buy my own copy when I return hers.  Loaning games to friends gives them a chance to really try before they buy, in a much more honest setting than the downloadable trial versions (which are sometimes not to be trusted.)

In all honesty, this particular blog and grudge is against Magic the Gathering (MtG).  I downloaded the XBLA game and played it once.  Then the first Duels of the Plainswalker expansion came out and my original MtG never worked again.  It told me I needed the downloaded content.  I was like….”What?!  Who ever heard of a required expansion??”  So I shelved it.  Then a few months passed and my MtG itch really came back in full force, so I started looking into the issue.  I went on forums.  Asked if the expansion was required.  No one else was having the same issues as me, so I did some deleting, some re-downloading.. And now it tells me not that I need the expansion, but that it needs an update that it can’t find on the server.  GARRHHHHHGG.   The error window says to visit xboxlive.com/support but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  It’s back on the shelf and, quite frankly, it’s getting a giant middle finger from me.  And the worst part is that there’s a new Duels of the Plainswalker expansion and it sounds super fun, but I just don’t trust the game enough to pay $10 and download it.

You have hurt me before, MtG.  Why should I trust you this time!?

And this is what brings it full circle: I don’t have a hard copy of it.  I can’t hold it in my hand.  I can’t stick a disc in the machine and play.   And that is what I’m pointing the finger at for why it’s never worked right for me.  In this trend of downloadable only content, I feel like slight glitches block you out of your gameplay experience, and quite frankly, I don’t trust it.