A very interesting point, It will be interesting to see how Battlefield Heroes fairs as its business model seems pretty close to the one you are suggesting. Feel free to correct me on this, I may be wrong, It happens a lot.

The whole digital distribution model renders old business models obsolete, something the Gaming and the Music business are still struggling to deal with. I found it interesting that Coldplay (i think) sold an album online for "whatever you think it's worth" and made money from it than they would have done had it been sold through normal channels. If I were a share holder in a Music company atm I would be very worried. Their days are numbered.