Two weeks ago I went into 2 shops to buy a copy of Mass Effect 3 but were told neither of them (Game nor Gamestation) were stocking it due to a dispute with EA. Infact no EA games were on the shelves. A week later 'Game', the biggest UK high st games retailers went into administration. Actually the company owned 'Gamestation' too (the second largest retailer).

The reason became apparent that Game were extended to the tune of approx. £80 million worth of debt. EA were scared that they would not get their money as Game could not operate carrying that amount of debt. The sales would disappeared to service the debt and they would be left waiting for whatever money IF/when the company went bust.

Point is though 'without the high st the gamers dont have over the counter contact. Playing, trading, browsing, talking, meeting with other gamers fuels the gaming industry. The ppl over the counter are gamers too and tell u stuff youre not aware of - its a service. Sure you can pay less at Amazon (theyre struggling too arent they?) but its not the same service, you simply click and buy.

My question is simple - are we moving onto a direct service where there are no retailers at all? And would this work for you? Sony or Microsoft would provide the hype and support and infrastructure for playing games online/offline and the developers simply allow you to download the version of the game you wish to purchase.