Their job was to saw ice blocks from frozen lakes during winter, store it with straw and then deliver it to their customers so they could keep their fridges cold.

Turns out it was a very innovative business: they even had a subscription model!

Then the electric refridgerator was invented and gained popularity, and the ice men went out of business very quickly.

I feel that publishers are the modern-day ice men, and with high-speed broadband becoming more widespread, they will rapidly lose their relevance.

And I agree completely with the old view of “game = disc” that doesn’t have any real relevance today.