The Nintendo Life article isn't quite accurate when it says this is a problem we've yet to face. We've already faced this issue before with the BS Satellite and the Sega Dreamcast. Many of the BS versions of games vanished, and some of the download-only games from the Dreamcast era (such as Rockman World) suffered the same fate. It's inevitable that sooner or later digital games will stop being offered on a current service, but depending on the licensing and popularity they may be offered again in the future.

In the case of online games such as Monster Hunter Tri, people need to understand that when they buy a game solely to play online, it will eventually become useless to them when the servers go down. It happened before with the original Xbox Live and Phantasy Star Online. As long as people keep that in mind before they plunk down 59.99$ on a game, there should be no issue. It's also one of the reasons why I usually stick to offline gaming, though in the case of the Monster Hunter series I don't mind because when the servers shut down you still have your awesome Deviljho armor or whatever to play with offline. This is something I've had to explain to some of my Halo and Call of Duty addicted friends and their usual response is something along the lines of "Well by then there'll be a new Halo/Call of Duty so who cares?".

Of course I don't think anyone is going to deny that collecting original copies is ideal, but as others have pointed out some games (Such as Shank, State of Decay, Mega Man 9, etc. ) just aren't available any other way. Fishbowling yourself as a "real gamer" and sticking to only physical copies is a needless limitation and certainly doesn't make someone anymore of a "real gamer" than anyone else. Downloading digital copies can sometimes be a better alternative as well, since some games (such as Ogre Battle 64) can easily run for 60 and 70 dollars online just for a loose cart. Hardcore collectors like myself may be fine with spending that kind of money, but not everyone is, and in that case digital content can be more appealing. It's also worth pointing out that some people travel and it's generally much easier to carry one console loaded down with 100+ games that is to carry the physical copies around. Finally, sometimes it can be a matter of shelf space or because some games have been remade with HD in mind. For example, I own over 600 physical games in a single room with over a dozen consoles as well. Because of this, sometimes I will opt for a digital copy so I don't take up even more space or because it's more convenient than hooking up a system to play one or two games. As if that isn't enough, there's the issue of imports. Some games were only released in Japan and in recent years these games have been getting digital releases here in the US, sometimes complete with translations. Importing physical copies can be expensive due to shipping, not to mention that you need a means to run these games. Things get muddier if you take into account that some of the original hardware isn't ideal. Take the NES for example. Excellent library of games, but the "box" model that everyone is most familiar with wasn't made all that well. The main issue being the fact it loads games from the front, causing the 72 pin connector to wear out. The Top Loader model fixed this, but it's more expensive. The Game Gear is another prime example of the original hardware being problematic. The Game Gear was notorious for it's battery usage, but it also has an issue with caps leaking all over the motherboard. Doesn't help that the Game Gear picture quality was never all that great to begin with and the only alternative is a Majesco model Game Gear which aren't that easy to find right now. There's also the rare case of a digital version of a game being completely superior to the original in addition to being cheaper and more convenient. I need look no further than the XBLA release of Guardian Heroes, which completely stomps the original version in almost every possible way, and that's coming from someone who owns the original disc for the Saturn and not just some joker who downloaded the ISO and ran it in an emulator. What about games breaking, being misplaced, or having their save batteries die? None of these issues are present with digital copies. The worst thing that can happen with a digital release is that you miss out on it and it's removed for some reason or another, or the server shut down before you can buy it. In most cases, once you buy a game you can download it as many times as you want and provided nothing happens to the system or storage device housing them, they will last pretty much for as long as you need.

There are a lot of variables involved here and it's important to keep in mind that because staying physical only works for you, it doesn't mean it's the only way to enjoy games nor does it mean it's the way everyone else should. More importantly, it's been suggested that at some point gaming will become entirely digital which serves as further reason not to fishbowl yourself with physical games. Of course, anytime someone opens a statement with "real gamer" anything they say should be taken with a grain of salt anyway.

There is of course an issue with games that require you to be online to play and in that case we certainly do have a problem and it's the reason people often refuse to buy games that function that way.

FInally, what Mayhem said about piracy is actually pretty accurate. People often put piracy in a negative light, but think back to the 70's and 80's where people would copy things to a floppy and share them with friends. They didn't do it because they wanted to hurt the company, they did it because they loved the games and wanted to share them. It's the same thing now and as much as people like to trash talk piracy, in the end piracy may be the ultimate method of preserving these games.