A recent development in online gaming is that you can play games over the Internet that were formerly only available on CD. Rather than pay the full price for the box set, you pay a small subscription or rental fee that often gives you access to several games.
The digital distribution of games has really come of age in the last few years, and it now seems inevitable that disks and boxes are on their way out and downloads are the way of the future. Not everyone is happy about it, because a lot of people still expect to get a physical object when they buy a game, but a growing number of game sales are taking place through online services. Here's a quick …
The variety of game software and services that are available directly over the Internet is constantly growing, and it can save you a trip to the store if you are pressed for a last minute gift. Quite a few games can now be downloaded rather than installed from CD, and there are online subscription services to fit almost every gamer's needs.
FilePlanet has a service that allows you to purchase and download a variety of popular PC games directly from their Web site. A few of the many titles available are Beyond Good & Evil, PlanetSide, Rainbow Six 3, EverQuest Trilogy, AO: Alien Invasion, and Eve Online.
Gamefly sells and rents console games by mail. You play the games of your choice for as long as you want and then send them back in exchange for new games when you're finished.
Steam is Valve Software's content delivery system. This free program makes it possible to buy Half-Life 2 or a number of other titles and download them on a high-speed Net connection.
Rent and play a wide variety of games over the Internet. Titles include Civilization III, Grand Theft Auto 2, and MechWarrior 3. Requires a broadband Internet connection.
