I know people that print out their email so they have a copy of it. Don't you think that is a little "old school"? Delivering content electronically is the future - like it or not.
I also like to have a physical disc, but thre is no denying that there are definite benefits to going the download route.
1) You don't have to put the CD in the drive to play
2) You don't have to worry about the CD getting scratched, damaged or lost. If any of these happen you would usually have to buy the game again.
3) You can buy the game from the convenience of your home.
I haven't used Steam since I finished HL2, but I have heard good things from those that use it. With the BF2 expansion and booster packs, after the download it extracts the installation files to a directory. You can then copy the installation files to a CD/DVD. So you get the best of both worlds.
The biggest downside to a download purchase is if the game or company become unavailable in the future. You would not be able to play the game you purchased. But, that doesn't affect these games anyway since the account servers would be gone as well and you can't play without logging in.
Now, as for the claim that the games should cost less because the production costs are reduced. That poster has no understanding of economics. The price of a product is determined by what the market will bear, it is not directly related to the cost of production. Have you ever looked at the price of a game and said "That $50 game is only worth $30 to me, but hey I get $20 worth of printed materials and packaging so I'll buy it"? Do you consider the cost of what it took to ship the product to the store? No, you decide wether you will buy the game if the game itself is worth the price to you.
The main reason prices aren't reduced is that games are unique products. Another company cannot put out BF2. yes there are similar games, but they are still unique. So, there is not the same type of competition that you have in other industries.
Here's a simple solution. If the game is not worth the price they are selling it at, don't buy it. If a game is selling at $50 and it is worth that to me I buy it. I don't care how much the box (or lack of) cost them to produce.