Remember I said many times that PC Gaming is not dying, rather it's evolving? The distribution model will change as physical media begins it's slow death. We're starting to see this happen with PC Games in retail stores, and it will be followed by console and handheld games as well. The fact is, no one wants to go to a retail store to buy the game if they don't have to. If there is an easy way to manage your content online, install it on any PC, and in the event of a crash you want to be able to go to your entire games catalogue and reinstall.
So, where are all the PC Games going? Walk into any EB Store and it's embarrassing. There is a pile of crap in the middle of the store, looks like a bargain basement bin and it holds random PC Games. Where are they then you ask? Steam. Go download Steam from Valve immediately and start using that as your source for PC Games. I've been using it for years, and it works flawlessly. It manages all of my games, easy to buy and activate online, and it never forgets your purchase history.
Most PC Gamers already know about steam, but for those of you that don't - do yourself a favor, it's free, it's fast, and it's simple. By the way, NPD Data does not reflect all online distribution - Valve is a privately held company and as far as I know they aren't sharing their data.
Valve destroys Direct2Drive, I would *never* recommend those guys again after they lost some game history on me. I can safely guess that Valve is probably the most successful, and a likely target for acquisition from one of the major developers. Let's just hope if they get acquired that they stay consistent with their roots...
