Aggregators of gaming wisdom, sales data and dizzying statistics, the NPD Group, have discovered that Stateside gamers still prefer boxed games to downloads. Gosh, who knew, etc.

The figures, while not entirely surprising, must make grim reading for Softcos trumpeting the digital distribution revolution and looking forward to a more lucrative future when they can wave goodbye to the high street middleman and the inconveniences of, y’know, having to physically manufacture their products.

To the figures, then, and a full 58% of those surveyed admitted that they have never downloaded a game, while 75% reported that they still favoured a tangible boxed copy over the rather more nebulous (and un-resellable) digital equivalent. On top of all that, the mighty GameStop empire reckons that digital distribution won’t become the dominant retail model for another 10-15 years.

It’s not all bad news for the yay-sayers, though. 77% of those who have downloaded games felt that the software was just as good as the boxed option and - perhaps most telling - 65% of all respondents said that they would consider downloadable games if they were at least 10% cheaper.

Hard cash - that’s what it’s all comes down to. The market has spoken, fingers crossed the publishers can respond appropriately...