xbone digital or retail version?

[AgentUnknown]

Is it better to download the digital versions of games or use the disc? Both has to install on the system. Installing takes forever. They require the disc if you install it to play versus digital that doesn't.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Many Microsoft published games are also crossbuy for Xbox and Windows 10 only if you buy digital.

You can't trade in or sell digital copies though, and you can trade in physical copies.

I never sell or trade my games, but I still buy physical discs because I just like having them to look at.

 

[AgentUnknown]

Yeah, I am not feeling this install the game. I am used to just booting up the game and playing. This is ok on PC, but not on consoles. I have gears 4 digital and it's a 64 GB download. Holy hell. My PS4 isnt this slow installing. What gives?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Optical drives aren't fast enough for modern games anymore. Loading times would be much worse than they are now. The Xbox One installs the entire game before it lets you start playing. The PS4 does a better job of letting you play the game before it has fully installed and installing while you are playing. Just more proof that console gaming and PC gaming are merging.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Once a year MS has a big sale on digital games which I like. Their ecosystem is the closest to Steam, and Steam is the goal.

 

[chimaxi83]

Optical drives aren't fast enough for modern games anymore. Loading times would be much worse than they are now. The Xbox One installs the entire game before it lets you start playing. The PS4 does a better job of letting you play the game before it has fully installed and installing while you are playing. Just more proof that console gaming and PC gaming are merging.

No, you can play on the One before an install is complete, as soon as enough data downloads. Just like on PS4.

I prefer digital games, solely because I only have to buy one copy, and can share with my kids on their One. Useful if you both want to play the same game online, like we're doing with Halo 5 right now.

 

[purbeast0]

Given the option I will always get the physical disc version.

 

[HOOfan 1]

No, you can play on the One before an install is complete, as soon as enough data downloads. Just like on PS4.

Does that indclude disk based games? Because it sure does seem to take a long time to Install enough to say "ready to play" on my Xbox One. On my PS4, I can insert the disk and start up the game right away.

 

[razel]

I nearly always choose disk since I can sell it after I'm done. Only times I bought games are if they're around $5. Most expensive DLs I have are DLCs at $20 for a season pass. Most expensive game was recently @ $9. Shadow of Mordor GotY, mainly because it now supports PS4Pro. Yes, XB1s updates/games are gigantic and it doesn't help that the drive (at least on the 1s) is slow! It's so slow 20GB updates download before the 40GB games finishes copying off the disk. Sad. If you have a fast internet connection and family members/friends who don't, you can copy it to an external drive and have them copy it to theirs.

 

[chimaxi83]

Does that indclude disk based games? Because it sure does seem to take a long time to Install enough to say "ready to play" on my Xbox One. On my PS4, I can insert the disk and start up the game right away.

Yes it includes disk based, but not every game will allow you to play before its 100% downloaded. Most support it in my experience, but not all. When it does work though, there's no denying it's slow as FFF lol.

I nearly always choose disk since I can sell it after I'm done. Only times I bought games are if they're around $5. Most expensive DLs I have are DLCs at $20 for a season pass. Most expensive game was recently @ $9. Shadow of Mordor GotY, mainly because it now supports PS4Pro. Yes, XB1s updates/games are gigantic and it doesn't help that the drive (at least on the 1s) is slow! It's so slow 20GB updates download before the 40GB games finishes copying off the disk. Sad. If you have a fast internet connection and family members/friends who don't, you can copy it to an external drive and have them copy it to theirs.

Yep, I use an external 4TB with the One S I just got and it seems to be much faster with downloads and installs.

 

[Lil Frier]

Once a year MS has a big sale on digital games which I like. Their ecosystem is the closest to Steam, and Steam is the goal.

The problem is that a standard sale on Steam is 60% or greater off, while on Xbox, it's more like 15% off. I can get a new game with GCU at Best Buy physically for less than it'll cost me waiting 6+ months to get it digitally. Heck, the major Xbox Store sales this holiday were either the same or more than the digital alternatives. Why spend $40 on digital when I can spend $20 on physical? I didn't see Dying Light mentioned among the Xbox Store digital sales, though I didn't look hard because I have no faith in the Xbox Store. However, I picked it up for $20 at GameStop, can play the heck out of it for a few months, then probably trade it in for $5-10 when I'm done. I'm guessing going to the Xbox Store would have been a permanent purchase of $40, as one example.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The problem is that a standard sale on Steam is 60% or greater off, while on Xbox, it's more like 15% off.

Yeah but that is better than the Sony solution where nothing really goes on sale digitally en masse.

Really you just explained why I am mostly a PC gamer. I am too much of a cheapskate to pay top dollar for games.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Playstation store is actually having some good sales right now. Sometimes Amazon prices seem to drop to meet their sales though.

Generally though, I agree, I can get a physical copy of the game cheaper on Amazon than buying it digitally from the Xbox Store or Playstation Store.

I can get Gears of War 4 physical on Amazon for $30...it's $39 on Xbox Store

I can get Dishonored 2 for PS4 for $40 on Amazon...it's $60 on Playstation Store.

Digital games should be cheaper, not more expensive.

Colin Moriarty of Kinda Funn (formerly IGN) has been saying for about 2 years now, that Digital Games will lower the price of games.

I'm still waiting.

The difference between digital and physical games, is that stores have to move inventory of older physical games out to make room for the newer games, so they discount the price. Xbox Store and Playstation Store don't have to worry about that.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Digital games should be cheaper, not more expensive.

Agreed. I think a big part of what drives that on the PC is the fact that you have more options for digital games outside of the Steam Store. Probably half of my game library comes from Humble Bundles or some on sale code I got from some other gaming website or even Ebay.

If there was competition for digital distribution on consoles we would see the prices of games drop, but for good reasons Sony and MS don't want that so it won't happen.

 

[AgentUnknown]

Damn you Ultimate Marvel vs capcom 3 on PS4 digital only as of now.

But let me tell you the constant update downloads on the X1 and installing take forvever. I have total buyers remorse.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I guess when I had an XB1 I never noticed it or cared to notice it. I always buy the physical game if the price is the same. I do have a few digital games because they were cheaper than the disc at the time. Like the Black Friday Titanfall2/Battlefield 1 deluxe edition bundle on PS4 for $70. As was mentioned though you get the WIndows 10 version of the game if you buy it for XB1 digital on first party titles that have a version on both consoles.

 

[Tweak155]

Damn you Ultimate Marvel vs capcom 3 on PS4 digital only as of now.

But let me tell you the constant update downloads on the X1 and installing take forvever. I have total buyers remorse.

Really? There is a low power mode you can leave it in and it will install any updates when you're not using it (outside the controllers). Any games I buy digitally while on Xbox website installs when I'm done with the purchase... I come home and the game is ready to play.

 

[zerocool84]

Xbox 360 updates and installs were much faster than PS3. Now it's reversed and my PS4 installs insanely faster than my Xbone.

 

[AgentUnknown]

halo 5 is a 45 gb install. There is also another 40 GB patch. WTF.

 

[Lil Frier]

halo 5 is a 45 gb install. There is also another 40 GB patch. WTF.

Yeah, they've released a LOOOOOOOT of free content in the game. You've got craploads of new maps and Forge tools (Forge wasn't even done at launch, I don't think).

 

[Golgatha]

You know, I'm pretty pissed at Activision for making Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 digital only on next generation consoles. Also, not too happy with them for basically doing a half-assed port and charging a price you'd normally see for a brand new game or remaster. Finally, no BC support from Microsoft for my 360 copies of these games, which I blame both Microsoft and Activision for those shenanigans.

In staying with the topic of this thread, having a digital only version of the game on a console means it will probably never go on a good sale, whereas I picked up the XBox 360 physical games for less than $20 each and can probably get most of that back out of them if I ever decided to sell them, which I would if I could get the games on a next generation console for a reasonable price, or I'd keep them if Microsoft did BC for these titles.

 

[Illusio]

I almost always buy physical versions of games. Mostly because I will either loan them to friends or trade/sell them later. You get no value from a digital game other than convenience.

 

[HOOfan 1]

The only time I usually buy digital games is when that is the only option (Indie games usually), or there is a really good sale.

Playstation store had a Flash Sale of games under $5 this weekend and I bought $95 worth of games. There were some pretty good games on the list, unfortunately I had already bought a bunch of them for $20 or so.

 

[Tweak155]

Prefer digital, but if physical is consistently 20% or more cheaper (Amazon pre order, GCU at BB, etc) it will be a hard sale for me.

 

[Golgatha]

The only time I usually buy digital games is when that is the only option (Indie games usually), or there is a really good sale.

Playstation store had a Flash Sale of games under $5 this weekend and I bought $95 worth of games. There were some pretty good games on the list, unfortunately I had already bought a bunch of them for $20 or so.

Yeah, when the game is $10 or less, I personally don't care about resale value. I've also re-purchased a few valuable PSOne games (e.g. black label Final Fantasy games, Xenogears, etc.) so I don't have to get the discs out any more. I also buy multi-player centered games from time to time due to their resale value becoming less than $10 down the line, and the whole season pass thing always being digital only really kills resale when a GOTY version inevitably comes out. Examples of these games, are games like Battlefield 1, Star Wars Battlefront, and Call of Duty 3.

The absurdity of it all really rears its head when a physical boxed edition is way cheaper than digital, and the boxed edition contains only an install disc and a code for Steam or some other DRM software, which completely kills resale value. The most recent example of this is Fallout 4 for me. The boxed edition of the game was cheapest on Amazon.com and the season pass was on sale on Steam at the same time. I actually purchased the Season Pass before the game due to the pricing differences.