Is your console online?

The advent of online downloads and web-based games is a return to those days.

It’s proven a hugely tempting prospect for mainstream developers too, with the likes of God Of War’s David Jaffe giving up on big budget games to make smaller downlodable titles like Calling All Cars.

With the PS3 already lining up both independent games and cult titles like ex-PSP game GripShift the future looks bright for indie gaming.

Even Nintendo have made vague promises about original downloadable games, to shore up their online shop when they finally run out of retro games to sell.

There’s much to fear from downloadable content and publishers have already been remarkably adapt at perverting its use for their own ends.

But at the same time if it manages to once again democratise the world of video games developers, so that almost anyone can get their game published if it’s good enough, it won’t just benefit big business but will help out the little guy just as much.