Paid downloads

In the 2000s, services such as iTunes, Steam, and PlayStation Network made it possible to buy movies and video games and have them delivered over the Internet. Some people believe that such paid downloads have made distribution of entertainment works on DVD or BD media obsolete. I disagree because even as of 2012, home Internet access still isn't fast enough. True, even a 1 Mbps connection allows downloading the 25 GB of a 1-layer Blu-ray Disc overnight. But several DSL and cable ISPs have imposed transfer caps of 100 GB per month or less on home customers that must be shared with other uses of your Internet connection, making it hard to stock up on movies or games for everyone in a household. In rural areas, satellite or cellular Internet with a cap closer to 5 GB per month is often the only choice, and it'd take several months to transfer even a single BD's worth of information over such a connection.

Others have suggested that people might carry phones, tablets, or portable hard drives to a brick-and-mortar retail store and buy media that way. But if stores aren't even willing to set up kiosks with a USB port to plug in your digital audio player and buy music, why would they be willing to set up kiosks to buy movies or video games?