Jayson Young: As long as Internet service providers are allowed to create monthly data limits, I actually don't mind driving out to Best Buy and coming home with a differently numbered NBA 2K disc every year.

Patches for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games are already starting to exceed 10 GB, and those file sizes will keep increasing as sports games continue to improve their graphics and build out new features.

Downloading year-round content updates sounds like a consumer-friendly concept, until you consider how much extra money it could potentially cost people in ISP overage fees.

I really enjoyed the time I spent this summer with Splash Damage's free-to-play first-person shooter, Dirty Bomb, for example, but one of the reasons I ultimately uninstalled the game was its steady barrage of mandatory title updates bleeding out my monthly data allotment.

Millennium: Since we are now in the age of Ultimate Team/MyTeam, there is no better way to expand upon the digital revenue than to make sports games a subscription service. Many users would gladly pay a yearly fee (much like that of EA Access) in order to solely play Ultimate Team modes with possible digital-content bonuses and bypass offline content. The subscription service would also give developers the ability to avoid alienating offline users by offering "Franchise/Dynasty" packages as a separate service.

What PES is doing this year by offering a free-to-play version of its game with MyClub (their version of Ultimate Team) content is the first drop in the bucket of sports games converting their distribution model. While I am the chief supporter of the "buy retail and trade-in" system, the subscription service for sports games is the future of the genre, and that future is coming soon.

Caley Roark: I agree with what both of my colleagues have said; I also think it's time publishers of sports games get a little creative with the titles they provide.

Series like The Show and NBA 2K have already blurred the annual purchase line, with features like continually updating rosters, "live" matchup data, and year-to-year saves. Would I be interested in subscribing to those games and their services in lieu of purchasing annual titles? Probably, but only if the subscription would include patched-in enhancements and new features, not just roster updates.

Also, I think the success of "platforms" like Disney Infinity and the Amiibo series would work for certain sports games. While not exactly consumer friendly, I can see a future where a racing game requires you to buy a $5-10 collectible car for each racing type/event you'd like to play. This might also work for golf, Olympic sports, wrestling, etc. Again, I'm not necessarily advocating for this type of release -- my wallet can't handle much beyond my daughter's Disney Infinity collection -- but the idea of a sports platform with continually updating parts is intriguing.

Kevin Groves: While I am intrigued by the possibility of what developers could do given less restrictive deadlines, I am pessimistic about the idea of more micro-transactions/downloadable content becoming the industry norm. Patches aside, a two-year cycle through some sort of subscription could be worth it for us long-time gamers, but if the initial price point is higher (which it most likely would be), developers could risk scaring off those gamers who do not buy games like NBA 2K and Madden on a yearly basis.

I would consider myself a very casual baseball fan, but this past year I purchased The Show based off the strong reputation for $60. At a higher price, say $100 for two years, I would not have taken that chance. So while established fans would probably be more inclined to make the two-year commitment, those who aren't yearly consumers would likely pass, which could result in some gaming companies missing out on potential sales.