Physical or Digital Games?

[Geosurface]

I've been gaming since the 80's and still have all of my old NES and Atari 2600 cartridges, and I have an extensive collection of old PC games.

I am fond of having a physical medium attached to the purchase and the game. The more physical, the better. I still have a lot of my old PC game boxes, and I always liked having a proper booklet and CD case (as opposed to just a paper sleeve.)

Yet, these days I have about 400 Steam digital only games. I had grave misgivings about Steam when it started, and I still continue to lament the fact that we've moved into this era where you have to depend on all these various authentication servers, sometimes from multiple companies for one game, to remain online and functional.

I like the security of knowing I still have the game that I bought on a disc and can reinstall it indefinitely. I like knowing that if I lose internet for days, I can play my games anyway.

So I am not fond of what it is like now, but I have accepted it because it cannot be really resisted at this point. Nowadays I'll really only pursue the physical copy if it's a special game that I definitely want to have a disc for, and if doing so doesn't disadvantage me in any way.

I'll vote disc because it's what I'd prefer. In this vein I also have a large blu-ray collection even though I know everything's going to streaming in movies... I like having a disc, a booklet, a case, and a proper artwork. I sometimes will buy an ebook and the physical paperback or hardcover too if it's cheap on amazon.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I like both actually...

Physical because you can share the game disc at your
friend's house. And you can also give a physical copy
of the game as a gift....
Physical is also good because down the line when all
the servers are shut down and the console isn't supported anymore
you at least still have a physical copy of the game which
you can still play even if its single player mode only.
You can also just play the game practically anywhere there's
no internet connection.
You also don't have to worry about filling up and using up all your
hard drive or SSD drive space....
Lastly I don't have fiber optic 1Gps+ internet connection so physical copies
of the game is better for this purpose...

Digital is good as well... Because its downloaded from the cloud server
even if you delete the game you can re download the game over and over again. Whereas if you have a physical copy of the game once you get rid of it its gone.
Digital is great for people who like to purchase a lot of games. That way
you don't have to fumble and lose your scratched game discs. which brings me to the point
where ALL game developers that make physical game discs SHOULD give you
a download option IF you buy the physical copy of the game.... Don't
know if you buy it used though... Maybe offer it for a VERY small price if
you want to download it... Not sure...
Lastly, you save on the environment for downloading games....

So in conclusion I like having both digital and physical medias of games....
My 2 cents....

Thanks for making my eyes bleed. What is up with your carriage return and ellipses usage? :twisted:

 

[nageov3t]

all factors being equal, I'd prefer to own the physical copy.

but if the digital version is cheaper or I really don't want to wait for delivery, I won't think twice about getting the download instead.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Console - Physical. It's nice to be able to resell.

PC - Digital (Steam). A majority of games use Steamworks or Origin these days, so you can't resell them anyway. May as well embrace the convenience of digital.

 

[batmang]

Digital downloads all the way. I'm done changing discs and I don't miss hearing the disc be randomly read as I'm playing, that is annoying.
As for people defending physical copies and reselling, I can totally understand that. But honestly, when I buy a game, its my game. I don't trade in games because I only buy games that I know I'm going to play.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Digital downloads all the way. I'm done changing discs and I don't miss hearing the disc be randomly read as I'm playing, that is annoying.
As for people defending physical copies and reselling, I can totally understand that. But honestly, when I buy a game, its my game. I don't trade in games because I only buy games that I know I'm going to play.

I only buy games I'll play too. The point is that after finishing it and it sitting there, I can still get something for it. Also, I never hear the disk spin when I am playing, not since the original 360.

 

[pathos]

I buy physical copies of the game 99% of the time. Unless
the game is available as download only....

Pretty much this. I only have a handful of digital download games, pc or console. Most of them were because it was the only way to get it. A few of them were because it was the most convenient way to get them.

1. I just prefer having a disc. No real reason. Although I'll admit my few digital games do load faster off the drive, than my disc games off their disc.

2. alot of isp's pushing towards download caps, while other companies pushing towards streaming/digital releases really don't go together all that well. My isp has a data cap, unless it's changed while I wasn't paying attention. I've gone over it here every now and then, and they've never actually tried to punish me for it. I'd really rather not make a habit of 5 gig downloads for all the games I play, however.

 

[Doppel]

I only buy games I'll play too. The point is that after finishing it and it sitting there, I can still get something for it. Also, I never hear the disk spin when I am playing, not since the original 360.

Yep. Frankly I can count on one hand, and specifically one finger the number of games in my entire "career" I've ever played more than one from start to end (Diablo II). Otherwise, when the game is done it's just sitting there literally like rotting money. Go onto craigslist now and you'll find people selling lots of games; 10, 20, 30 games and they can't get more than a few bucks per game. If they had sold these back when they weren't Madden 2009 or some other game 4 years old (that they never touched after finishing it), they could have gotten at least half their purchase price back. A massive game collection can in some cases approach the irrationality of hoarding, if you're not the type to play something twice.

 

[batmang]

Sony and Microsoft should create a trade market.

Example: I have Killzone SF and another user has Thief. We could trade our digital copies and pay a PSN trade fee of 15% of both games used market value. Lets say that the total used market value of KZ SF and Thief was $55. With a 15% market value, that's $8.25. That fee split in half is $4.12. So each person involved in the trade pays $4.12 to get the game they traded for.

I would love this.

 

[gothamhunter]

Physical for collector editions or for games I deem "worth it" (mainly rpg or 1st party IP's).

Digital for the rest.

 

[Lil Frier]

Definitely physical. Ideally, you would have something like Steam, where you enter a license code to add the digital version to your account, in case you lose the disc. However, you can use the disc to install/play the game, if your have no Internet connection. Granted, that leads to sharing issues with console games, which is why you see a dead used market for PC games (funny how little folks complain about that, IMO).

I'd still say I want the disc over the download as a whole, though. Downloading a 30-GB game would take hours. While the disc-based install might do the same, it wouldn't eat up Internet bandwidth at the same time.

 

[Zak_]

It's too bad all the digital companies take our $60 and only give us the right to use the game on their terms. Once they get it right and let us sell or give away our digital games, seems like HDD space and bandwidth would be the only reasons to keep physical discs around.

 

[smackababy]

It's too bad all the digital companies take our $60 and only give us the right to use the game on their terms. Once they get it right and let us sell or give away our digital games, seems like HDD space and bandwidth would be the only reasons to keep physical discs around.

What makes you think that will ever happen? Software is treated like music, literature, etc. You pay for a right to use it, you don't own the rights to it.

The only change that is going to come is they will stop offering actual physical versions (more likely, the physical discs will contain the data, but require a license to use). The market will whine about it, and then continue on with buying games. The internet is already full of people "taking the hard line" against everything, and yet still, they cave and buy it. Or, at the very least, enough people buy it the loss of sales doesn't matter.

 

[cmdrdredd]

What makes you think that will ever happen? Software is treated like music, literature, etc. You pay for a right to use it, you don't own the rights to it.

The only change that is going to come is they will stop offering actual physical versions (more likely, the physical discs will contain the data, but require a license to use). The market will whine about it, and then continue on with buying games. The internet is already full of people "taking the hard line" against everything, and yet still, they cave and buy it. Or, at the very least, enough people buy it the loss of sales doesn't matter.

When I download an MP3 I bought it doesn't phone home to check if I'm supposed to play it if I buy the DRM free version.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Definitely physical. Ideally, you would have something like Steam, where you enter a license code to add the digital version to your account, in case you lose the disc. However, you can use the disc to install/play the game, if your have no Internet connection. Granted, that leads to sharing issues with console games, which is why you see a dead used market for PC games (funny how little folks complain about that, IMO).

I'd still say I want the disc over the download as a whole, though. Downloading a 30-GB game would take hours. While the disc-based install might do the same, it wouldn't eat up Internet bandwidth at the same time.

I don't think people complain about it much on PC because of a few reasons.

1) Usually PC gamers are buying games cheaper anyway.
2) People who build a PC already spend a lot of cash. Reselling games doesn't come up as priority.
3) It's been this way for a long time
4) PC gaming is still very niche compared to consoles. I'd bet many people don't have a close circle of local PC gamer friends but could pretty easily have a few people with a console to trade games with.

 

[smackababy]

When I download an MP3 I bought it doesn't phone home to check if I'm supposed to play it if I buy the DRM free version.

But, you are not legally allowed to resell, give away, transfer, or share that MP3. You don't own the rights to the content, merely the medium it is stored on (such as the HDD). Software licenses are treated as essentially the same thing. Granted, their are other types of licenses (floating and such), but still, you get the point.

 

[cmdrdredd]

But, you are not legally allowed to resell, give away, transfer, or share that MP3. You don't own the rights to the content, merely the medium it is stored on (such as the HDD). Software licenses are treated as essentially the same thing. Granted, their are other types of licenses (floating and such), but still, you get the point.

Right but I was talking about a situation where a couple years down the road when there are new consoles out but I have a bunch of digital games on my old one. MS or Sony remove the servers to activate these games and they are unplayable. Had I bought the disk, I could play them if I kept the disk in good condition. There are some games that I do not resell or trade/give away. Some games I do revisit. With a DRM free MP3 it doesn't matter what player I have or which computer I'm on, it'll work because it doesn't rely on keeping a service alive and supported to authorize it's use.

I should have just gave my example I suppose.

 

[smackababy]

I don't think people complain about it much on PC because of a few reasons.

1) Usually PC gamers are buying games cheaper anyway.
2) People who build a PC already spend a lot of cash. Reselling games doesn't come up as priority.
3) It's been this way for a long time
4) PC gaming is still very niche compared to consoles. I'd bet many people don't have a close circle of local PC gamer friends but could pretty easily have a few people with a console to trade games with.

And all those reason boil down to one, really: it is only available via that method. The current leader in that industry also happens to be in the public's good graces, for now, so that helps. Steam Sales, at least as we know them, haven't been around 5 years and people are already complaining they aren't good enough. The first Steam Sale I can remember was in 2009 (and the first I can find any reference searching the internet about). Now, in 2013, people are complaining the sales have jumped the shark. They are no longer "as good". But, that just happens to align with my opinion that most PC gamers are huge whiners.

Right but I was talking about a situation where a couple years down the road when there are new consoles out but I have a bunch of digital games on my old one. MS or Sony remove the servers to activate these games and they are unplayable. Had I bought the disk, I could play them if I kept the disk in good condition. There are some games that I do not resell or trade/give away. Some games I do revisit. With a DRM free MP3 it doesn't matter what player I have or which computer I'm on, it'll work because it doesn't rely on keeping a service alive and supported to authorize it's use.

I should have just gave my example I suppose.

True, but you can't attach that stigma to just Sony or MS. What happens when Valve goes under, or stops supporting Steam? Most of your games are worthless after two weeks, if you even bothered to set up the offline mode (there are some DRM free Steam games that only use it for distro). What happens when MS (or whoever) releases a new OS that doesn't support any x86 instruction set anymore or some new hardware abstraction similar to what happened with DOS?

 

[cmdrdredd]

And all those reason boil down to one, really: it is only available via that method. The current leader in that industry also happens to be in the public's good graces, for now, so that helps. Steam Sales, at least as we know them, haven't been around 5 years and people are already complaining they aren't good enough. The first Steam Sale I can remember was in 2009 (and the first I can find any reference searching the internet about). Now, in 2013, people are complaining the sales have jumped the shark. They are no longer "as good". But, that just happens to align with my opinion that most PC gamers are huge whiners.

Oh I agree with you there. Many threads about PC games revolve around a couple arguments. One guy says "steam = DRM so I don't buy games full price" Other guy says "It'll just go on sale in a couple months and I'll get it for $20" other dude is like "microtransactions have ruined gaming...back in the day we didn't have this malarkey" next guy is like "meh...it'll probably be a bad port".

I'm stereotyping but I've noticed it quite a bit. It's never good enough as you say.

Yet people buying GTA5 happily wait in lines of up to 200people to pay $60 to get the game at or around midnight and play it a little early. They don't need to wait for sales and such. Honestly as a PC gamer myself I'm happy that some games even come to the platform sometimes. It is my preferred method to play many titles.

 

[BoberFett]

What makes you think that will ever happen? Software is treated like music, literature, etc. You pay for a right to use it, you don't own the rights to it.

Oh, so that's why if my CD gets scratched I'm free to legally download a new copy?

No?

Oh, it's because the people you're sticking up for are trying to double dip and get the benefits of repurchases when a physical item wears out, while also hiding behind ridiculous IP laws that keep you from using the thing you claim we have the right to use.

 

[smackababy]

Oh, so that's why if my CD gets scratched I'm free to legally download a new copy?

No?

Oh, it's because the people you're sticking up for are trying to double dip and get the benefits of repurchases when a physical item wears out, while also hiding behind ridiculous IP laws that keep you from using the thing you claim we have the right to use.

You're free to use that CD in any way you see fit, so long as it is you and you're not getting any profit from it. You can even make backup copies (oh my!) so that in the event your copy does become worn, you still have it!

 

[cmdrdredd]

You're free to use that CD in any way you see fit, so long as it is you and you're not getting any profit from it. You can even make backup copies (oh my!) so that in the event your copy does become worn, you still have it!

Make your own digital version in higher quality than is offered heh.

 

[BoberFett]

You're free to use that CD in any way you see fit, so long as it is you and you're not getting any profit from it. You can even make backup copies (oh my!) so that in the event your copy does become worn, you still have it!

Sorry, but thanks for playing!

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html#backup

You are not permitted under section 117 to make a backup copy of other material on a computer's hard drive, such as other copyrighted works that have been downloaded (e.g., music, films).

 

[smackababy]

Sorry, but thanks for playing!

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html#backup

I am sure glad you read that!

Under section 117, you or someone you authorize may make a copy of an original computer program if:

the new copy is being made for archival (i.e., backup) purposes only;
you are the legal owner of the copy; and
any copy made for archival purposes is either destroyed, or transferred with the original copy, once the original copy is sold, given away, or otherwise transferred.

It says when making a backup OF THE SOFTWARE you are not allowed to make a backup of other material on the hard drive. IE: I can't make a back up for my Windows and include all my music. I can, however, make a backup of music that I buy.

 

[gorcorps]

It's harder to make this call on consoles, but I'll side with digital for the most part. When they went on sale, I re-bought some of my Vita games digitally just so I wouldn't have to swap cartridges. If I'm buying a game at full price on release day though, I'd probably still get the physical copy.