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[pen]

i'm thinking about a Gomez plushie with a zip containing the stick with Fez on it

A Pez containing Fez? :D

[handCraftedRadio]

Those things are so hard to load!

I don't think I would ever buy a game on a usb stick for the sake of reusing the usb stick. There isn't really a reason to do that because the game is obviously going to cost the price of the game plus the price of the stick. If I want the game, I'll buy the game. If I want usb, I'll buy that. I don't see any benefits other than, maybe, a cool picture on the stick or something.

[Loren Schmidt]

USB drives are kind of appealing to me because they allow different package shapes than a DVD does. For instance, how awesome would it be if a game shipped in a 4 cm origami cube with a USB drive and mini-manual inside?

[undertech]

You should sell computers preloaded with your games.

[moonmagic]

I was thinking about this because when you are distributing music, you have all sorts of avenues for packaging and neatness. Tapes, cd-rs, 45s, 3inch cds; there are a lot of options for the interaction of the visual art, music, and packaging. I like physical media for that reason; there are ways to communicate with it that go beyond the "product."

I know that I am ritualizing my own consumption, but that's just how I am. I like to hold things in my hands and anticipate them. I also miss the mixtape feeling of 3.5 (or 5 1/4, even) diskettes. Having reusable media goes a little ways back to creating that feeling for me, of having Jill of the Jungle or Scorched Earth or BioMenace on a floppy and being excited to play them.

So, it's totally nostalgia for me, I guess. BUT I AM OK WITH IT.

[Xion]

I would be able to play a game on a USB on computers other than my own without conspicuously carrying around/putting in a CD or installing anything...would installation be required in any case? Because I kind of hate installing things.

Those things are so hard to load!

Really?

[William Broom]

I got the Path on USB stick (I probably wouldn't have bought it that way myself, but it was a gift from my aunt). Anyway one thing you should take into account is that after I loaded the game onto my computer, I felt like I didn't want to delete the data from the USB stick. If I did that, and then my hard drive broke down, I would have lost my copy of the Path. So basically if I was going to use the USB stick, it would be severely hampered by the space taken up by the game itself.

(In the end I got another copy of the Path through the indie games deal on Steam, so now I can do whatever the hell I like with my USB stick.)

[deathtotheweird]

I would say they make good gifts but in general not really a great idea. It depends on the cost. Also, it would be a good gesture to offer digital download included in the package with no extra charge.

But, if you make a 'fancy'-or more gimmicky (depends on how you look at it)-USB stick then it's much more valuable than a boring, generic looking USB stick with a logo on it (ie the path). A wonderful example would be the Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath USB stick

something unique and novel like the design of that usb stick would be more desirable than a boring simple one such as the paths. but that brings up other issues of overhead costs.