There is seriously nothing anyone could do to prevent a digital platform from happening.
The entire DRM reversal on the Xbox One says otherwise. There is clearly resistance to adoption of a digital future if it isn't on the consumer's terms.
The idea that you are shipping a 2 cent piece of plastic half way around the world, so you can walk to your TV and put it in a tray is absurd. Games are the last place this transition is happening and it's long overdue. I think when you see the instantaneous nature of PS4 and Xbone it will be incredibly jarring to walk to your television to put a disk in the console.
You can pass it off as trivial, but it's absolutely not. For many people it's been years since they have touched physical media. Between smartphone app stores, Roku streamers, smart TVs, iTunes, Pandora... Disks are dead. I can't tell you when the last time I've seen physical media in someones possession and data will back this up.
You're getting too caught up in your own personal experience to see the bigger picture. You think physical media is already dead. That a number of outlets for all sorts of physical media still exist, not just games mind you, says otherwise for the public at large.
Again, not saying that a largely digital future for games isn't coming, but to say it's inevitable, and that we'll accept whatever is thrown at us is naive. We already have precedent that says otherwise.
EDIT: More food for thought: If the Steam of today was exactly like it was when it was introduced, PC gamers would not have adopted it as the default platform for PC gaming. Valve worked on improving the platform in order to make it more appealing to consumers, then they came to accept the transition to it. Neither MS nor any other console manufacturer will get away with slapping DRM all over their system and enforcing a digital ecosystem without providing consumer-friendly benefits in the process.