Can you buy Dominions 3 online for download?

[AstralWanderer]

Originally Posted by SlipperyJim

In all fairness, there is another reason for digital downloads: CDs can be lost. For example, I have lost my Dom3 CD.

However with CDs, their longevity is something under your control (i.e. if you lose it, you can justifiably kick yourself).

With the current crop of online services (Steam, Impulse, GamersGate, etc) that require online activation, you can lose software due to events completely outside your control, like the publisher going bankrupt. Even worse, the terms and conditions can change at the publisher's whim - e.g. they can charge for re-activation or even impose a monthly/yearly fee to keep accounts open.

So online availability is only safe if done via normal (HTTP/FTP) download with a "once only, ever" registration system as used by most shareware.