Physical or digital?

[crispymorgan 1,054]

Cropped up on the BLOPS game thread, but I thought I'd split it out. 

 

Personally I favour digital because I have 2 PS4 systems that use the same license at the same time, effectively I can buy 2 copies for the price of one.  Also I don't have to lean forward and remove a disc (very hard work).  And there is no chance of loss/damage.

 

What are your thoughts?

[crispymorgan 1,054]

Forgot to add an option for @Amnotright, My drive is broken.

[phil bottle 9,758]

At present, you can't sell or buy used digital games. That's the only thing i can see in favour of disc.


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[Nutcuttlit 359]

I prefer digital over physical for the same reasons also I can preinstall digital and play it on release day. Different strokes though, some people like a to have a stack of cases but I find it a pain in the arse

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[J4MES OX4D 10,034]

I prefer digital on PC nowadays as it's cheap keys on the latest releases but with console, I prefer physical as I do like to collect some classics plus I can trade games in. I bought Spiderman for £48, finished it and traded it in for £41 10 days later for instance, so I could get another full priced game already in the knowledge that I've got my money's worth out of a game which I finished and will never play again for just £7.  

 

Digital prices on console are outrageous though - £60 is disgusting for new games especially if you can get a physical version for £40. It's convenient if you hate disc-swapping and clogging up space plus you can get some cheap deals through the XBL/PSN stores in the sale but it really adds up on new titles especially if they have a season pass, meaning a new release could cost upwards of £100.  There is also not many games worth collecting these days on the current gen and as we've seen with Black Ops 4, the disc versions contains literally fuck all of the game so going forward, they'll be worth sod all. 

 

I do have some amazing collections of classic games particularly big box ones on PC that are worth decent money but the way gaming is going; digital will probably soon take over even on console. Retailers are also reluctant of buying up large stocks of products because they don't want to inject too much money in stock that may have to be sold at a loss months later or turn dead - GAME are still sitting on countless copies of Football Manager 2014, Battleborn and Evolve for example. They'd rather have minimal game stocks with most being pre-orders and then money being put into high-margin goods such as console bundles and peripherals which are the big sellers this time of the year.

 

As long as streaming games doesn't become a norm; I'll be happy with digital on mainstream titles on PC and physical for major console exclusives. I'd struggle to spend more than £40 on a new game so new PSN titles is a no-go for moi. 

[LordBaguette 840]

For me if it’s a single player game I would like the disc. It’s future proof if you ever want to go back and play it again in the future when you want to go back and play old games like you would with ps2 games as an example now 

[MrBiron 1,453]

Physical copy for myself.
The reason is simply down to cost. I can buy a disc copy for £10 cheaper than digital. And when I'm done I can then sell the game. This means that, on average, it costs me £25 for a game. Compared to £60 for a digital copy. Why would I not want to save £35?

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[Spacedeck 920]

Depends on the platform.  I couldn't imagine having my entire Steam library as physical products, so PC is always digital.  Plus even buying physical PC games nowadays, normally just provides a Steam code in the box.

 

Consoles I really like physical but I don't buy many of these anyway.  The VITA I also like physical but most of my games for VITA are from PS Plus.

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

Well I think you know why the second option has a vote so far

 

I did write about this when we had a blog as its something i'm quite passionate about. I think it boils down to the facts of practicalities so I do understand why people go for Digital and also why the only reason most of you still buy Physical because of 1) Price and 2) resaleability.

 

I think I just have some hereditary traits in me, like hoarding/collecting things and some principles that stick with me. I love the aesthetics of buying physical games although now they don't even give manuals for most games which is disappointing. For some reason my brain doesn't feel attached to Digital games as much as they don't feel 'real' - its probably why I am more inclined to play console over PC maybe.

 

Maybe not relevant for newer games but for older games I think the argument is there more in my favour. They came fully complete with no Day One patch and they hands down beat emulators for feel and aesthetics, with original graphics and controllers. Nothing beats blowing the cartridge, sticking Wiz n Liz in and playing some levels like the old days with your mates.

[TigerBurge 2,375]

If it’s a game I’m going to spend a lot of time on I go digital. If it’s something I’ll play and possibly trade in I go physical. Considering I only play like three or four games a year most are digital nowadays 

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Prefer physical for paid-for games (not PSP)

[techno 3,510]

Physical simply because they are cheaper, if they bring down the price in ps store I'll buy digital I very rarely if ever trade in games.

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

If it’s something like a steel book, or a neat version with goodies, or a Nintendo title; physical.

All else digital.


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[Dan94 913]

Physical for me. Maybe I'm old school and just enjoy that feel of going to pick up a new game and having an actual disc.

Same with books. Give me a hard copy book to read over a digital version every time


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[SPFreely 49]

Digital in my case.  I had to breathe some relief that I had Duke Nukem 3D Megaton Edition on Steam, before Gearbox decided "hey, we don't want you to have that anymore".  I found my Duke Nukem Atomic Edition disc while tidying my room, it was scratched up beyond recovery.  Digital if you're careless like me 😀.