You forget, people do still actually buy from shops

As for myself, I don't think i've bought a game from an actual game store since...uh...WARhammer Online was released

Aye I know, my point was: if those cheap shops can sell a game for €40 and still make a profit (most of them do quite well actually) why do the big shops price them at €50? The only reason I can think of is just to max out their profit, which is their right ofcourse, but I think they are ripping off average consumers that don't look around before they buy (which ofcourse is largely their own fault).

So, if the cheap shops can sell games for €40, then other shops that complain about digital downloads being too cheap actually have no solid reason as far as I can tell. The only reasoon those shops complain is because they see their cash cow in danger.

Fair enough, you make a good point. The 'funny' thing is, I wouldn't be so focussed on DD prices if store prices would be a bit more normal (read: closer to US prices).

Man I remember the first year of Steam. It was the worst thing I had ever put on my computer. But years later when I got the episodes for Half-Life 2 I found that it had improved enourmously. Although, it still seems to take up too much power or at least time for starting up compared to Impulse.

Overall I view them as pretty equal performance and functionality wise.