Sure, I would buy a game like MAD for 1.99 at a retail outlet, but to be honest, if it was offered at that same price with the same amount of exposure (screens and info only) I probably wouldn’t buy it online, even with free shipping.
I think its mostly because I am addicted to instant gratification.
Hmmm, I get that rush when a package arrives at my door too. (And not just the plain brown paper wrapped packages.) I think ever since my mom bought me my first magazine subscriptions there’s always been something magical about home delivery. Beats dealing with stores, in my opinion.
You talkin’ my language there. I like to stop at a café on the way home, order a coffee, and pop that sucker open so I can read the manual. It’s a whole ritual.
Ah yes, fond memories of summer afternoons sitting on the doorstep waiting for the UPS man to deliver this or that C64 game…
Come to think of it, what the hell was I doing on a summer afternoon waiting for a video game to arrive? I should have been hitting a ball around or something…
I do the same thing when I get a new title, but what really gets to me is the smell of the box and packaging inside. I love the smell of a new game when I get it home and opened up. Sometimes it does seem all down hill after that. The anticipation is gone. You know what the game is and the surprise of opening that baby up and skimming the manual as it installs is long gone.
I am beginning to think I have a box fetish. My wife thinks I should throw them all away as many are empty and taking up much in demand bookshelf space. I cannot bear to part with them.
I do not, however, go back and smell them later so maybe I am not a weirdo after all.
this is the argument i use for both games and music (for the question as to why electronic distribution will never replace physical distribution.)
i LOVE the box, the manuals, the liner notes, the extra goodies they sometimes give you. i have argued with many people in the music industry that the way to beat napster and such isn’t killing napster, it’s making the media and medium richer. i have bought a ton of CDs b/c they give you CD-ROM enhanced discs, sing-a-long liner notes, etc.