The trend with PC games, lately, seems to be all towards digital purchase and download. That's fine and dandy for people who either like steam/origin/etc. or have the connection speed to download the amount of data it takes to install a game like this - I dont personally enjoy locking up my internet for 3 or 4 days straight to download a game when a hard copy should be available. Call me old fashioned, but I like having the game disc and case in my possession.

So, will we be able to get the PC version of ESO through local gamestores like gamestop/ebgames/walmart? Or are we going to be forced into digital purchase?

Most games do still get hard-copy releases, but you'll just have to wait until they start pre-orders to be sure.

That said, you're still going to be doing a lot of downloading, and last time I was there, San Antonio had broadband.

Oh they have broadband, I just cant really afford it after rent, car payments, insurance, and family expenses =P

I have a 1mb/s down rate, which is pretty slow all things considered. It's no dialup, but can still take hours to download major patches and days to get full games. I think it took me 2 days to download DC universe online, and that game isnt even particularly large.

I hope they have both, im the exact opposite, I prefer downloads because it reduces clutter =P.

I don't see why not, almost every single MMO or PC game has come out with a hard copy.

You can preorder a hardcopy now on Amazon if you wish... And Amazon rocks when it comes to shipping. You select "Two-Day Shipping" and they guarantee release day delivery. Which is better than Gamestop will do.