Physical or Digital Games?

[mmntech]

I prefer physical media. As long as the game is kept in good condition, I know it will work 20 years down the line on it's original hardware. I also have the option to buy physical discs used, sell them, trade them, etc. Can't do that with digital.

On the flip side, I've noticed new console game prices creeping up at GameStop. They're $65 now, where they're still $60 online. I've also gotten used to the digital platform via Steam, though mostly due to their wicked sales.

 

[zerocool84]

I prefer physical media. As long as the game is kept in good condition, I know it will work 20 years down the line on it's original hardware. I also have the option to buy physical discs used, sell them, trade them, etc. Can't do that with digital.

On the flip side, I've noticed new console game prices creeping up at GameStop. They're $65 now, where they're still $60 online. I've also gotten used to the digital platform via Steam, though mostly due to their wicked sales.

$65 for games? That sucks

 

[gorcorps]

I prefer physical media. As long as the game is kept in good condition, I know it will work 20 years down the line on it's original hardware. I also have the option to buy physical discs used, sell them, trade them, etc. Can't do that with digital.

On the flip side, I've noticed new console game prices creeping up at GameStop. They're $65 now, where they're still $60 online. I've also gotten used to the digital platform via Steam, though mostly due to their wicked sales.

What's the point of a game lasting 20 years if the console can't? 20 years down the road and the connectors to the TV aren't even the same anymore.

 

[nageov3t]

What's the point of a game lasting 20 years if the console can't? 20 years down the road and the connectors to the TV aren't even the same anymore.

idk, I could easily connect my NES to the 65" smart TV I just bought a few months ago, without even needing any kind of adapter outside of what shipped with the NES unit originally.

 

[smackababy]

What's the point of a game lasting 20 years if the console can't? 20 years down the road and the connectors to the TV aren't even the same anymore.

The first Coaxial input looks to have been designed around the 1920s, so we still do use the same inputs.

Also, composite was invented in the 1940s and those are still on quite a lot of TVs as well.

Just saying...

 

[exdeath]

idk, I could easily connect my NES to the 65" smart TV I just bought a few months ago, without even needing any kind of adapter outside of what shipped with the NES unit originally.

Not that you'd want to.... Ugh!

 

[mmntech]

$65 for games? That sucks

As soon as that dollar dropped to 90 cents US, GS was salivating all over raising the price. There was a time when we were paying $70 for games, back in the early and mid 2000s. Big part of why I skipped that generation. Couldn't afford it. Unfortunately, as the price goes up, my disposable income still stays the same. Fortunately, the other retailers have held off any increases.

What's the point of a game lasting 20 years if the console can't? 20 years down the road and the connectors to the TV aren't even the same anymore.

Don't tell that to Exdeath.

 

[smackababy]

As soon as that dollar dropped to 90 cents US, GS was salivating all over raising the price. There was a time when we were paying $70 for games, back in the early and mid 2000s. Big part of why I skipped that generation. Couldn't afford it. Unfortunately, as the price goes up, my disposable income still stays the same. Fortunately, the other retailers have held off any increases.

That really sucks. Prices fluctuating in the rest of the world based on the strength of the USD, yet the prices in the US remain the same...

I am wondering the the Canadian branches of GS pay a fixed CAD price for games and not a USD equivalent.

 

[Lil Frier]

As soon as that dollar dropped to 90 cents US, GS was salivating all over raising the price. There was a time when we were paying $70 for games, back in the early and mid 2000s. Big part of why I skipped that generation. Couldn't afford it. Unfortunately, as the price goes up, my disposable income still stays the same. Fortunately, the other retailers have held off any increases.

$80 for Hey You, Pikachu! was probably the worst of them all.

This generation is getting close to untenable prices. The game prices stayed flat, but the hardware is ridiculous. Controllers are $10 more than they were. Mics are $5-10 more. The Play & Charge on the One is $5 more than it was, and you don't have the battery-only option from Microsoft that was there before (for $12 or so, making first-party battery replacements $13 more). LIVE is $60 from the source, $10 more than when it started The One is $100 more than the HDD-based version of the 360. Think about this scenario, where you want to get everything first-party:

1 Console with HDD
3 Extra Controllers
4 Rechargeable Batteries
2 Chargers
1 Xbox LIVE Subscription

When the 360 launched, that would have been $400 for the console, $150 for the controllers, $40 for 2 Play & Charges, $25 for 2 extra battery packs, and $50 for LIVE. The whole thing added up to $665.

When the One launched, that all changed to $500 for the console, $180 for the controllers, $100 for Play & Charges/Batteries (because the batteries aren't sold separately), and $60 for LIVE. That's a total of $840, or almost $200 more than last time.

At least when Hey You, Pikachu! was out, the hardware wasn't AS expensive, nor were there accessories galore and things like LIVE to jack up the overall price of console ownership. Now, we've got in-game transactions like what Forza 5 has. We've got an accessory for anything and everything. We've got a nearly-mandatory online service to pay for. The console includes a non-optional accessory that raises the price $100. We've got standard controllers costing as much as the previous generation's special edition ones.

Oh, and then you get to the DLC and Season Passes. It's moronic.

 

[mmntech]

$80 for Hey You, Pikachu! was probably the worst of them all.

Yep, it has bad. I had very few games for my Genesis and N64 because of that. I rented a lot but now you can't even do that any more.

When the Dollar first went to par in the mid 2000s, it took a very long time for the prices to drop. I remember paying $650 for my 60GB PS3 back in 2007. Then the price dropped like a week later to $550, or something like that. Took it back to Best Buy and they did credit me the difference.

 

[smackababy]

$80 for Hey You, Pikachu! was probably the worst of them all.

This generation is getting close to untenable prices. The game prices stayed flat, but the hardware is ridiculous. Controllers are $10 more than they were. Mics are $5-10 more. The Play & Charge on the One is $5 more than it was, and you don't have the battery-only option from Microsoft that was there before (for $12 or so, making first-party battery replacements $13 more). LIVE is $60 from the source, $10 more than when it started The One is $100 more than the HDD-based version of the 360. Think about this scenario, where you want to get everything first-party:

1 Console with HDD
3 Extra Controllers
4 Rechargeable Batteries
2 Chargers
1 Xbox LIVE Subscription

When the 360 launched, that would have been $400 for the console, $150 for the controllers, $40 for 2 Play & Charges, $25 for 2 extra battery packs, and $50 for LIVE. The whole thing added up to $665.

When the One launched, that all changed to $500 for the console, $180 for the controllers, $100 for Play & Charges/Batteries (because the batteries aren't sold separately), and $60 for LIVE. That's a total of $840, or almost $200 more than last time.

At least when Hey You, Pikachu! was out, the hardware wasn't AS expensive, nor were there accessories galore and things like LIVE to jack up the overall price of console ownership. Now, we've got in-game transactions like what Forza 5 has. We've got an accessory for anything and everything. We've got a nearly-mandatory online service to pay for. The console includes a non-optional accessory that raises the price $100. We've got standard controllers costing as much as the previous generation's special edition ones.

Oh, and then you get to the DLC and Season Passes. It's moronic.

The prices of things rise over time? No way! Who'da thunk it?!?

I bet you're upset you have to pay *gasp* $60 for PC games when you've been paying $50 for the past 20 years!

 

[SaurusX]

I always liked this ad as an example of game prices.

Please tell me these are Canadian prices:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Some SNES and Genesis and even n64 games were expensive. The SNES and genesis hardware was much cheaper though as you can see.

 

[Lil Frier]

The prices of things rise over time? No way! Who'da thunk it?!?

I bet you're upset you have to pay *gasp* $60 for PC games when you've been paying $50 for the past 20 years!

Nope, I've never once spent $60 on a PC game. OR $50, for that matter. I think the most I've ever spent is $40 on the Wrath and Pandaria expansion for WoW. I think I spent $40 on Portal 2 as well. After that, I think the most I spent drops to $15 for CS:GO.

Thing is, you're talking about how prices SHOULD rise, but I disagree with that. Again, Hey You, Pikachu! was $80, and it came out in 2000. But the point is that I'm not even complaining about software. Look at the things I listed in my post; all of it is hardware, except for the LIVE service.

It's the hardware that's jumping in price, but the tech isn't necessarily jumping to warrant it. You can say that the One has controller tech beyond that of the 360, but at the same time, tech prices can drop rather quickly. Consoles are so static and locked-down that they falsely inflate hardware prices for the consumer while the manufacturing costs plummet. 8 years after the launch of the 360, the controllers cost the same at Best Buy as they did at the start. Do you really think that Microsoft's spending the same amount to make them as they did at the start?

 

[mmntech]

The prices of things rise over time? No way! Who'da thunk it?!?

Nope, the point is there's a price disparity between stuff you can buy in the States and what it sells for here in Canada. Back when the dollar was on par with the Greenback, it took a very long time for prices to come into sync. That was only when Canadians started buying everything over the border.

It's not just electronics either. Books, cars, clothing, alcohol, and housing is all more expensive here than in the US. Though average wages are about the same.

 

[andylau09]

Physical for console (resale the game after i'm done),
Digital for PC (steam, Origin..)

 

[smackababy]

Nope, the point is there's a price disparity between stuff you can buy in the States and what it sells for here in Canada. Back when the dollar was on par with the Greenback, it took a very long time for prices to come into sync. That was only when Canadians started buying everything over the border.

It's not just electronics either. Books, cars, clothing, alcohol, and housing is all more expensive here than in the US. Though average wages are about the same.

His argument for the Xbox One being more expensive than the 360.

The Canadian market pricing their items based on the USD and the value of the item in the US market is just ass backwards, if you ask me. I am wondering if companies like GameStop have a bad contract where it is just like "each game costs whatever the CAD value of $35 USD is at the time." They might as well use BitCoins...

 

[Bateluer]

Will we still be able to download our games, and if so for how many years after? 10? 20?

Yes, but that service will come about 6-18 months after those next next gen consoles launch, and you'll get to pay between 5 and 50 dollars per month. Select titles only.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I only do disk (Except where not available) ever since EA screwed me over with origin and NFS:MW.