If you’re a gamer, then you know the thrill of buying a new game. Tearing off the plastic, taking in that new manual smell, flipping through the pages on your way home to play it…it’s easy to make an event out of it. That post-purchase rush home is actually one of my favorite parts of gaming. Trailers and reviews be damned, nothing can damper my excitement for my first face time with a game. But how long will this patience-testing gauntlet be around?
With the rise of digital distribution, it might not be for much longer.

