Support NeoGAF

[KenaiPhoenix]

Really depends on the game, many disc-based games from that time used physical drm that relied on deprecated windows system archives. Try to run them today on modern machines without fan-fixes and you'll get locked out.

Idk man, so far:

- Unreal Tournament 99
- Unreal Torunamnet 2004
- Propilot 99
- The Sims 2
- Rogue Spear
- StarCraft
- Swat 4
- Conquest: Frontier Wars

Havent give me and issue on that part. Bonus point for Conquest which in order to get proper 1080p you just need to change something like 'LockResolution' to true in the config files.

Many steam games can be run directly from the game exe, others that utilize only steam-drm will still run offline as long as offline mode was set up, you can even copy game files along with the client and it'll run on different PCs. Truthfully, this latter one isn't 100% reliable, but can be easily bypassed just as with the case of old discs mentioned above.

That doesnt solve the issues and just copy and paste the folders doesnt help at all, you can just trash a lot of dependencies and registries. Let alone just mention the size of the files.

GOG lets you just download the installers, but even better is just a disc/cartridge so you can install whenever you want and on the system you want. Steam cuts supports on olders systems and you have to use fan-fixes tools to connect to it with older clients.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Idk man, so far:

- Unreal Tournament 99
- Unreal Torunamnet 2004
- Propilot 99
- The Sims 2
- Rogue Spear
- StarCraft
- Swat 4
- Conquest: Frontier Wars

Havent give me and issue on that part. Bonus point for Conquest which in order to get proper 1080p you just need to change something like 'LockResolution' to true in the config files.

Just take any game that used SafeDisc or SecuROM, among which are Morrowind, GTA 3, Test Drive Unlimited, NFS Most Wanted, Borderlands, Far Cyr 2, Diablo 2 and on and on and on. It was very common.

In fact, it should include some of the games you mentioned like The Sims 2, which is knowingly reported to not work on Windows vista and later without a no-dvd patch. Did you actually test it on a modern machine? Or did you run it on windows XP?

That doesnt solve the issues and just copy and paste the folders doesnt help at all, you can just trash a lot of dependencies and registries. Let alone just mention the size of the files.

I've tested many myself. It works. Modern games don't make much use of windows registries, usually only for storing settings. The ones that do tend to be exactly the ones with more heavy handed DRM. Dependencies like C++ libraries can be installed separately.

GOG lets you just download the installers, but even better is just a disc/cartridge so you can install whenever you want and on the system you want.

Just put the installer on a pendrive or disc and you got the exact same thing.

 

[Gamer79]

On a long enough timeline you will not be purchasing digital games either. Cloud based and subscription focus is where all of this is heading. I will stick to mostly the retro stuff.

 

[zaga]

Online stores can often ban your entire account over a single transaction (like say you want a refund and they refuse a refund so you do a chargeback). For this reason I never buy expensive games from online stores. Only $5 games on sale etc.

 

[Arsic]

Interesting timing for this thread as I recently got the disc drive for the ps5 and some blu ray anime stuff I wanted.

What would GAF suggest for must have ps5 physical copies?

On switch 2 I plan to get physical for sure on Zelda ocarina of time.

 

[Cakeboxer]

No, they don't. The main reason is that publsihers and platform holders hate physical games and would love to get rid of them entirely. They are still afraid of losing customers, though, so they're taking a gradual approach. First came optional digital-only consoles and now Sony is pushing further with digital consoles that require a separately purchased disc drive at a rather ambitious price point - one that was conveniently sold out for months. Additionally, it may not even come down to the platform holders. It is entirely possible that one major publisher decides to go digital-only, and once that happens, others could quickly follow suit.

Digital games are far more attractive to publishers and platform holders because there are no costs for discs, design, packaging, shipping, storage or retailer cuts. There is also no used game market, meaning they make money from every player instead of only the initial sale. At the same time, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have complete control over pricing and discounts through their digital storefronts, whereas retailers used to create competition through sales and some even with second-hand copies. As a result, digital sales generate higher profits and give platform holders much greater control over the market.

The days of coming home from Toys "R" Us with a game that was fully finished and complete on the disc are long gone. When the servers eventually go offline, many discs won't be worth much either. Most modern games require large downloads and day-one patches just to reach the state they should have been in at launch.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Interesting timing for this thread as I recently got the disc drive for the ps5 and some blu ray anime stuff I wanted.

What would GAF suggest for must have ps5 physical copies?

On switch 2 I plan to get physical for sure on Zelda ocarina of time.

That's where I'm at the moment. Bought a standalone UHD player couple years ago and enjoy the quality of both audio and video compared to streaming. Also, owning films I really love is something I like quite a bit.
When it comes to gaming, the medium's fucked I agree with OP. Yet, I still buy physical for a select few games that mean something to me beyond their mere "play value". For example, on Switch 2 I'd also get OOT and Star Fox.
To answer your PS5 related question, here's what I currently have:

• Elden Ring
• Persona 5R, 3R
• Stellar Blade
• Lunar Remastered (PS4)
• Suikoden I & II R
• Death Stranding 2 OTB
• Metaphor

..and a couple more PS4-gen defining physical copies of games. I typically also own a digital license for those as well, just for convenience.

 

[crackajack]

Like Vinyl at best.

 

[IDKFA]

Yeah, the licensing issue where things could be revoked or made unavailable sucks. I'm hopeful that maybe government regulation could help in future, like with the Stop Killing Games movement.

It's why I still tend to opt towards physical on consoles, because after Nintendo shut down some of their older console digital storefronts, and Sony tried to with the PS3 until people complained...I have less faith in them vs Steam. On PC I worry less because it doesn't have really have generations, the games scale to different hardware, and modders + the high seas sites can crack past DRM issues. Even Denuvo games are getting cracked without the hypervisor setup now.

GoG though is the best for preservation, especially because they do commit with their Good Old Games program automating old games to work on modern systems, and stuff like Proton with Valve as a translation layer shows me even if Windows fell off you can still play all that stuff on Linux.

That's why going digital on PC isn't an issue. It's also why I might go PC going forward and upgrade my old laptop. Hardware is more expensive, but it's more consumer friendly than console.

And I'll stop buying games. Their call.

Is there anything that would sway you to digital? For example if the games were DRM-free.