Or am I restricted to second hand?
It's not available digitally anywhere. As Daemonic mentioned, keep an eye on Gog.com. It'll probably show up there before anywhere else.
In the meantime, it's VERY findable on Ebay.
Edit: As mentioned by LessPop_MoreFizz, as of today (9/28/10) you can get Planescape: Torment from GoG. Buy it now!
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I personally do not like to purchase games digitally. There's just something magical about going to the store, picking up a boxed game, staring at the amazing box art, bringing the game home and putting the disc in the drive.
That being said, I know that several game distribution companies are leaning more toward digital distribution, with Steam holding a large chunk of that market. Is it possible to buy a retail boxed copy of a game, but still get the benefits of Steam (e.g., automatic updates, install on multiple computers, etc.)?
It depends on what game it is. Obviously Valve's own games are possible to register on Steam. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 also comes to mind since that one has to be played via Steam.
Here is a list of all retail games that can be activated on Steam: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601
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Are any of the original Gold Box engine based games (i.e. Pool of Radiance, Champions of Krynn, etc.) available via digital distribution?
GoodOldGames and Steam don't seem to have them in their catalogues.
Original boxes are pretty rare (especially for further installments of the series) and thus quite expensive. Sometimes they also come on 5.25" floppies, which are tough to use on any modern PC.
If they are not available via DD, are there any rumors or plans connected with their release?
SSI, if they even exist anymore, no longer has a D&D license. I haven't seen them available for any platform in about a decade.
However, it's not hopeless. Prior to the end of the last century, the Gold Box games (except Unlimited Adventures) were compiled on various CD-ROM collections, making them more accessible for a modern PC. (Though you may still need to use DOSBox to get them working, and they don't have print copies of the cool journals and such -- it's all PDF.) I myself have one of these collections. You might check eBay, though a quick check at this moment in time revealed only floppy-disk versions. Other auction sites, or second-hand software resellers may also have them available.
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Is Battlefield 3 available as a digital purchase for PC?
Where can I purchase it online?
Yes, you can use EA's Origin store/application to purchase and download Battlefield 3 here.
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