"Neat, wow, cool" is insignificant compared to the advantages of digital distribution. Done right (see: valve, humble bundle, even xbox live to some extent) it enables you to slash incremental delivery overhead for each copy of a game, which means that the purchase price can become almost entirely profit margin. Which further means that you can cut prices down to levels that will massively increase the volume of sales and increase your total profits, especially on older titles.

Higher profit margins, lower operating costs, and the ability to massively extend the profitability window of a given game (from only a few months to a year to more than a decade) make digital distribution extremely advantageous for anyone who can take advantage of it properly.