A new report claims that while most gamers recognize digital downloads are the future of games sales, it's going to be a while before digital trumps physical sales on consoles.

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In a study called “The Democracy of Downloading: What Gamers Expect (and Want) from Digital Distribution”, entertainment marketing firm MarketCast interviewed 1,000 gamers on both PC and console to determine what customers want and expect from digital products.The study found about 85 percent of gamers interviewed agreed that the transition to digital would make games more democratic by giving them a better chance to vote with their wallets, and level the playing field for smaller studios.Just under 20% of console game purchases were digital, according to MarketCast. However, people buying digital console games did so in addition to the standard number of physical game purchases. This jibes with the quarterly reports of major publishers like Activision and EA, who get most of their growing digital revenues from DLC and subscription services rather than full game sales.100 PC gamers, all users of the Steam distribution platform, were interviewed to provide contrast to the experience of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network users. Steam's PC audience reported higher satisfaction with their digital experience than console gamers.The study shows console gamers like the convenience of digital downloads, but are concerned with what happens after purchase, and miss the feeling of ownership that comes with an actual disc. While a physical game can be resold if a user doesn't like it, that's not so easy at the moment if the game is digital and activated by a product key.So what will trigger the digital revolution on consoles? The MarketCast report argues that it won't come until streaming services as reliable as Netflix are available to gamers, digital retailers begin offering easy-to-use resale options for unwanted old games, or the cost of digital games are lowered to below $60.Those interviewed were twice as likely to want a streaming service for games on an all digital console in the future, though they admitted the technology might not be ready quite yet.With that in mind, services like PlayStation Now, OnLive, and Nvidia Grid look pretty timely even if they are in their infancy. IGN took a look at Nvidia's Grid streaming service and found that it was already twice as fast as PlayStation Now.

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