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[dano1]

For me it’s all about convenience!
Especially now with how fast games load. Everything is just there

 

[Astral Dog]

Physical and digital can coexist, i don't understand the fanboys who think one should kill the other, recently there has been a big rise in digital sales because of COVID,thats good news for game sales, but companies will continue making physical units as long as its worth it, and im hoping its a long time healthy physical and digital sales are good for all gamers as each have their advantages.

One amazing advantage of digital media is that it gives a good chance to less known series to thrive, Metroid and Bayonetta 3 for example will see an increase in fanbase thanks in big part to digital sales, not having to fight for retail space with more popular series , Astral Chain already had a strong digital debut when everybody thought its retail sales were mediocre at best , hopefully that will continue with Bayo 3, and Metroid is going to see a big revival soon and will last longer.

And of course, old games can be made new again with digital, with stuff such as the virtual console, Sin and Punishment got a sequel because of digital sales

 

[michaelius]

I bough Ratchet and Sackboy for 50 euros (total ) from someone selling bundled games. Good luck getting deals like this befoe 2024 on psn

 

[Dr. Claus]

It seems obvious that if your house burned down then you're better off digital.

Realistically gaming would be the last thing on your mind, but hypothetically you could buy yourself a new playstation log into your account and have your digital library back in the few hours it takes to download them.

For physical you'd have to

a: remember what games you owned
b: prove to the insurance company you owned those games
c: wait months for the insurance pay out
d: search Ebay, retro stores, and online retailers to rebuy all the games individually
e: stick the disc in your machine and wait for the patches to install
f: think to yourself it would have been much bloody easier if only my library had been digital

A: Isn't an issue if you have a catalogue already made. Which, if you have a large collection with rare, expensive titles, you would.
B: Easy to do alongside A.
C: Doesn't take months.
D: This isn't that difficult or arduous.
E: No one has every game installed and updated. This is a literal non-issue.
F: Nope. I can get them back, easy. I am speaking from experience on this front, you clearly are not.

I was able to get back all my games within a month, the same month that I had contacted the Insurance company. I can play most of them without ever worrying about patches, outside of one and that is more due to PC struggling to run games from 1999 natively.

Meanwhile I have lost hundreds of dollars worth of games digitally. From STeam to the Wii eshop. I can't get them back.

Digital has its place, but physical is objectively superior for the vast majority of games. Digital offers short term convenience and that is it.

 

[DZ_b_EZ]

This whole thread only exist just to trigger me, but I will not have any of it today.

 

[Gexxy1]

Digital is and has always been a rip off for anyone who doesn't want to keep every single title they've ever purchased for the rest of their lives.

 

[Tell’em Keb]

Yes, I will buy physical games, so to me, there is a point to it.

 

[GardenOfAbbylon]

If the cost of a digital game is going to be the same as a physical one (which it always is), give me the physical. I want something tangible in my hands if i'm not getting a discount for a digital copy. I also can't stand licensing shit. So many games I can't get because it can't be listed on a store due to 'rights'. Physical, I can get it at any time and play. No concerns about digitial stores. (Like Return of the King. Older game, and I still enjoy it, but it'll never be available to buy digitial)

 

[Rambotito]

I went all digital with Switch for the first 6 months. Then I looked at the resale value of the games and promptly started buying physical. People are selling used Switch games for 90% of their original price and sometimes more (looking at you Xenoblade 2). So while I like digital for the convenience I think I'll stick with physical. For the PS5 it doesn't matter since every game loses 90% of its value in 6 months.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Yes.

I don’t mind getting up to change a disc. I also like to have a piss and a shit occasionally so if I can do this at the same time it’s a bonus. It also makes me feel alive that I can move.

I don’t honestly give a fuck if I have to download a patch.

The boxes look nice on my shelf.

I often get my games 2 to 3 days earlier.

I’m usually in bed asleep before midnight so I’m not sat patiently waiting for a clock to tick down so I can start playing (see above I’ve normally installed and started playing the day before anyway)

£45 for FC6 compared to £60 on the store is a no brainer.

 

[SafeOrAlone]

Is there any point in keeping my Simpsons DVDs? I just hope the discs never rot.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I think most people got the PS5 with the disc, that tells you all you need to know.

That being said, physical releases will be more and more reatricted for sure.

 

[Black_Stride]

*Checks internet speed.

Yup still need dem physical disks.....and fuck your download the whole game disk is just a license shit.

 

[dano1]

I think most people got the PS5 with the disc, that tells you all you need to know.

That being said, physical releases will be more and more reatricted for sure.

I bought the disc drive for 4K movies. Every game will be digital

 

[dano1]

True. Just using Apple IPhone as an example (I know there are no physical games but talking about buying digital games). I have spent so much money on games on older phones and often when I went to download them on a newer phone they say it isn't compatible with the new version of IOS and deveoper hasn't updated the game. So basically I am shit out of luck. Physical games you at least have the base game (except for online and MP games). MOST games are on the disc. But yes, developers and publishers are getting lazy and releasing huge patches.

Also it's seeming to be a trend that physical copies are not being available at launch. They want to reap a bigger cut with digital sales and then have the physical sales later. May get duplicate sales too.

Everyone of my Digital PS4 games work on my PS5. And they look even better!

 

[Edgelord79]

Not for me. I bought physical for years and have recently decided to just get the game wherever it is cheapest at the time. Day one patches render the physical advantage moot at this point. Also space is beginning to be a bit of a premium.

Basically at this point in my situation, physical copies are nothing more than a conversation piece of which nobody cares to discuss.

 

[BlackTron]

All of these plus the added bonus of digital purchases not randomly disappearing.

Had my 2009 digital purchase of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reshelled randomly disappear from my purchase list.
Tried MS/Xbox customer support and they want me to show them the credit card purchase I made back in 2009.

Also the digital purchase list only went back to 2013 even though I've been making digital purchases on Xbox since 2003.
At worst it should have all my 360 purchases which started in early 2006.

They basically couldn't help me without me proving I purchased a game 12 years ago.
It should be on their servers but nope.

My $20 purchase gone and I'll never be able to play Turtles reshelled again.

Lessons I learned:
from now on I will log every digital purchase I make in a notebook with the date, time and CC I used.
Can't trust corporations with your purchases.

What else can one do?..

Fun fact, as a huge TMNT fan, Reshelled was the first digital game I ever bought. So my very first digital purchase demonstrated that every concern you could have is valid lol. Like you, its gone from my history and the 360 I used back then has been long, long RROD'd. It's a funny thought that their ineptitude stole not only my software, but also the hardware I played it on.

Having read your post, I decided to dive deep into my records to see if I had anything. The backup archive of the email address I used back then (yep, I have this, I'm weird lol) shows the purchase of the MS points in August 2009 when it came out. So I bought the points and then went on to buy the game with the points. I'm not sure, but I think that may have been the only way to buy anything back then, to buy points and then apply them to the purchase. So it may not even be possible for a specific CC purchase to be tied to this game, meaning what they are asking you to do could not only be ridiculous, but also impossible.

Well, my original copy of the game is nestled safely in my SNES's cartridge slot, safe from the sad times we live in. I've played it with kids who weren't even alive when I bought reshelled. Digital can suck it.

 

[Fare thee well]

I wouldn't mind buying my hardware AND software from a local store. It supports the local economy, games have to release more polished than a broken pile of mess that requires 50+gb patches (or at least, they WERE better polished), i don't have to fight purchase bots (or as many scalpers). I can think of more honestly.

 

[Deerock71]

When you download a game, or worse, STREAM a game, this is how the wise consumer views how they've spent their money:

When you purchase a physical copy:

 

[Kaachan]

It's more expensive but those steel cases be looking so good tho

 

[HoodWinked]

Physical is good simply because it's a tangible and more importantly transferable license for that software.

 

[Roger Rabbit]

I like physical because:

I enjoy shopping around for a bargain, and looking in second-hand game shops.

Certain games get delisted - anyone purchasing an X-box for the first time now is out of luck for Forza Motorsport and most of the Forza Horizon games.

I like the fact that if I buy a physical game and it's faulty, my rights are laid out in consumer law. Whereas digital is much more nebulous.

I don't want Sony or Microsoft to have that much control over my games. The user Pockets had a long-running battle with Sony to get his account reinstated. I've also read about people who, unbeknownst to themselves, had their credit card company do a charge back when they tried to purchase a digital game. Sony see this as dodgy and ban the account. I realise that these are the exceptions, not the rules, but it wouldn't happen at all with physical.

The main advantages of digital - convenience and not needing storage - aren't considerations for me.

That said, I think an all-digital future is inevitable.

 

[GriffinCorp]

Do most GOTY editions not require patches?

 

[Mirumi]

I understand the wonders of digital and we some wanting it but here is an overlooked thing.

Did you know you can often get new games cheaper at launch with physical than digital? That's right, Walmart in the US at least often has brand new games 10 dollars off day 1.

I've looked at historical data and honestly, digital retains price if it is popular,but often big chain retailers discount them like the mentioned Walmart or targets famous b2g1. I remember last year going to frys (rip) and pitching up both xenoblade 2 and torna for 20 bucks each. Then there is obviousness in resale.

But I personally don't resale my games, they will stick with me until I die. It's just so satisfying to have them on display..."I beat all these". Far more tangible.

Also for those asking about insurance, maybe for the average hope of 10 games, but any serious physical collector has a cataloging and reports big purchases to their insurance. My insurance agent keeps asking why I invest so much but still updates my record.