The Games as Services research project (Pelit palveluiksi) studies the impact of online distribution and publication to game industry, game design and player experiences. Recently some new results were published, pointing out how online gaming and game playing in general has become more acceptable among wider audiences. On the other hand, one finding of the study was that many (60 %) of the respondents still preferred to have a physical product of the game at hand. Link to more information (in Finnish): http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/infim/tutkimuskeskus/ajankohtaista.html?id=39949.
frans goes blog 
There has been media attention also towards this piece of research, including Tietokone-magazine: http://www.tietokone.fi/uutiset/pelit_halutaan_paketissa_ei_ladattuna