The almost inevitable prospect of a download-only future has become a somewhat contentious issue amongst gamers. Many see it as the unavoidable downfall of their hobby, and it's easy to see why.

For a start, having games exclusively available as downloads puts control of distribution solely in the hands of publishers, sidestepping traditional high street retail outlets, thus leaving pricing decisions directly up to them. As a result, prices will undoubtedly rise and, with the obvious inability to trade in pre-owned titles, gaming will become more expensive than it has ever been.

In a sense, the process has already begun, with the recent release of the PSP Go!, effectively the world's first download-only console, available (staggeringly) for just less than the PS3 slim, and the introduction of Games on Demand to the Xbox Live Marketplace, in which full Xbox 360 titles are available to download for almost twice as much as they would be to purchase physically. Couple this with the ever increasing popularity of digital distributors such as Steam, and it seems more and more likely that this is to become the norm.

However, there is one market that will undoubtedly benefit from a download-only future, a market which has been strangely ignored thus far.

The increasing prevalence of downloads has effectively given birth to a new boom of indie developers - genuine game fans creating low budget, yet truly great, titles purely out of love.

One cursory glance at the Indie Games section of the Xbox Live Marketplace reveals a veritable cavalcade of cheap, fun, creative titles that, despite having no connection to any major publishers whatsoever, still manage to innovate and excite.

Take, for example, the delightfully mad I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 (Yes, that is spelt correctly), a game arguably more inventive, imaginative, and off the wall than most major releases this year. Ostensibly a twin-stick shoot ‘em up, in which you are pitted against a seemingly unending mob of various enemies, including the titular zombies, it soon becomes clear that it is so much more than that.

I MAED A GAM3... is a game in which every single element - the music, the gameplay, the pacing, etc - is completely intertwined, making for a strangely immersive experience for such a deliberately ridiculous game.

The music (the theme from the first stage won't leave your head for days!) changes with the introduction of each new opponent, whilst, from the generous selection of weaponry available, you will soon discover that each of your adversaries has one specifically tailored to it.

And all for less than a pound!

Before the introduction of downloadable gaming, titles such as I MAED A GAM3 would almost certainly not have been able to reach as wide an audience as they now can. In the past, such inherently daft escapades would probably only have gained a few clicks on a ‘bored at work'Flash site or, at worst, been left languishing on the developer's hard drive, never to see the light of day.

A download-only future, although perhaps bad for us gamers, will give the wannabe Peter Molyneuxs of this world a chance to push their product to as many people as possible, completely on their own terms, maybe ultimately leading to bigger and better things.