Downloading additional content for games for your consoles is a multi million pound business. From small arcade titles to map packs and older games with backwards compatibility. This multi million pound business is here to stay and will only grow. But what about downloading full games? Sony and Microsoft are of course aiming to get everybody to download games and in the future we will no longer have a physical disc to play them on. They hate the rental market and the second hand trade in market – it costs them sales but that sort of business model requires the support of both the consumer and the retailers – retailers who have supported them for years by selling their consoles and games, are the console makers really ready to bite the hand that feeds them?

It is not just retailers who would die but other sectors aswell. Rental companies like Swap Game or Gamesfrenzy would die, disc manufacturers and disc pressing companies would lose millions and the retailers like Game or Gamestation would shut up shop because there is no point in stocking just consoles. Could they live with themselves for making all those millions of people jobless? Money matters more than morals so maybe that point is dead too.

Having a physical disc is also a reminder that you own the copy of the game. I have countless games downloaded on my PS3 and Xbox 360 that I have never finished. I never finished them because within all the tabs of the interface they got lost and I forgot that I actually bought them.

Top 5 reasons why discs should never die

1) Most customers want a physical disc which shows they have something for their money.

2) Rental markets and second hand markets would fail. Consumers will not accept the lack of right to sell their games on when they have finished with them.

3) With no retailers to sell the games they would have no retailers to sell the consoles. Instant kill.

4) People want to be able to take a game to a friends house to play, they won’t want to lug their consoles around.

5) If I want to buy a game for someone as a present there is no way I am going to buy them a download voucher.

I started out making a top 10 but couldn’t think of any more reasons, if anyone wishes to add some reasons please feel free