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[Drizzlehell]

I hate to start this with the words "back in the day" because it immediately makes this post sound like something even I wouldn't wanna read but hear me out because I think in this case it's actually relevant.

So anyway, back in the day, PC games used to come in those big, beautiful boxes with an amazing-looking artwork on them, and inside you'd find all sorts of goodies apart from the game disc itself. Things like art books, thick instructions manuals, quick-start guides, posters, stamps, and various assortment of other bonus trinkets, depending on what the release was.

Then we went from that to small-box releases with only the game, the manual, and occasionally an additional user's guide or a bonus disc.

From there we went to DVD cases which only stored the game disc and maybe a short manual, then from manual to just the game disc, to a slip of paper with an activation code on it. It's like, what the hell is this? What am I even buying? A plastic case to clutter my shelf?

What really bugs me even more about this is that, what used to constitute a regular-ass physical release that you could just grab off a shelf at a normal retail price, is now considered a collector's item that goes around at increasingly ridiculous prices.

Take this release from mid-to-late 2000s for Dawn of War anthology collection. It's still not the greatest release ever because it was already long after the big box era, but it's still a decent example for the comparison that I wanna make:

It may not look like much on the photo but apart from the user guide and art book, each box also included a poster of some sort, and a bunch of strategy cards that explained how each unit worked, kinda like the stuff that you get in actual Games Workshop figurine sets. Pretty cool stuff that I managed to grab at the time and still own it.

It cost me about 25 dollars in 2009.

Now here's a "collector's edition" of the upcoming Space Marine II:

This costs about 250 dollars, and in a lot of other territories even more, depending on where you get it. Apart from the statuette that probably cost like 3 dollars to manufacture (hand-painted my ass), this is pretty much the same stuff that you'd get in a regular 60 dollar release back in the day. Arguably it wouldn't even make for a very impressive release even in 2009.

This is such a cop-out and the main reason why I don't buy physical games anymore. I used to love collecting them because of how beautiful boxed releases were and how awesome it felt to unpack them, read all the booklets, and display them on my shelf. I still have a pretty sizeable collection of PC games from that long-gone era, some of which are pretty rare and expensive right now. But nowadays all the choice I have is between a shitty blu-ray box with nothing inside of it, or a 250 dollar collector's edition that's not even worth that kind of money. Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[MikeM]

I like physical simply because I have a tangible item of value. I can play it, keep it, lend it to friends, and/or sell it without restriction.
Digital is fine and all, but until there is a market for license reselling, or laws surrounding the requirements to make sure games are available forever and never delisted, physical will still be my main.

 

[Impotaku]

Thats why you do your research & don't blindly buy everything especially when collector editions can cost hundreds the amount of tat thats been sold for a fortune seems to be getting more and more crazy. The days of feelies is long over now that kind of lavish attention that was just a standard release back in the day is pretty much unheard of now and will only appear in collector edition. It has to be something pretty interesting to get me to cough up for a limited edition with a 3 figure price tag. The most recent one that qualified was a special version of cult of the lamb, as it comes with a huge artbook which has been signed by the devs along with the game also been signed as well plus some regular stuff that comes in most collectors editions.

I still buy physical both regular releases and short print limited run company style ones at least for switch as the games are complete and usually have all the latest patches on the cart, i come from gen 1 so i grew up in the era of really amazing physicals but i also appreciate owning my games too which sadly nowadays is been programmed out of the newer gens of gamers they are been trained to accept renting over owning. I wish devs would do more lavish releases but sadly sometimes getting the game out there especially for smaller publishers is all they can do. The fact there are a wave of limited release companies that are lavishing attention on smaller indie games giving them really nice collectors releases is something i still support if i see a game that i like getting a collectors edition & the stuff in it is not total tat i'll gladly upgrade.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Once you collect 2-3 generation worth of games sitting on shelf collecting dust with no more space to add more, you realise same collection would have been much better digitally with good backwards compatibility.

 

[lh032]

Once you collect 2-3 generation worth of games sitting on shelf collecting dust with no more space to add more, you realise same collection would have been much better digitally with good backwards compatibility.

you can sell the disc.

If companies remove the digital license in the future, you may not be able to access your digital games but a physical copy will.

 

[angrod14]

I would've saved myself so much money and hassle if I went full digital 10 years ago since the PS4 gen. Anyways, I'm there now and it's awesome, and I don't think I'm going back.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I like physical simply because I have a tangible item of value. I can play it, keep it, lend it to friends, and/or sell it without restriction.
Digital is fine and all, but until there is a market for license reselling, or laws surrounding the requirements to make sure games are available forever and never delisted, physical will still be my main.

In many cases it just isn't, though. So many games these days are always-online that it doesn't matter if you have it on disc or digitally, not to mention that even the single player games on a console are very fickle things and will ofter refuse to work if your console will happen to be offline. It happened to me so many times whenever I took a PS4 with me when visiting my parent's home only to find out that the games I downloaded prior to the trip are not working and I have no internet connection to fix that.

Physical media is incredibly redundant at this point and it's only gonna get worse.

Once you collect 2-3 generation worth of games sitting on shelf collecting dust with no more space to add more, you realise same collection would have been much better digitally with good backwards compatibility.

Tbh I see value in the release itself. It's kinda like when you buy a Warhammer or LEGO sets that have all that other stuff that comes with it. Sure the main attraction is the game but there's also all that other stuff in the box that you can enjoy and that's forever.

Sometimes I will even seek out an old physical release without the game disc itself just for the box with all the goodies, because I have the game digitally anyway so I don't need it on the disc.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

you can sell the disc.

Don't want/intend to. It's called collection/library for a reason.

If companies remove the digital license in the future, you may not be able to access your digital games but a physical copy will.

This is a big maybe.

With physical, i am sure I will have to get rid of it eventually.

 

[MikeM]

In many cases it just isn't, though. So many games these days are always-online that it doesn't matter if you have it on disc or digitally, not to mention that even the single player games on a console are very fickle things and will ofter refuse to work if your console will happen to be offline. It happened to me so many times whenever I took a PS4 with me when visiting my parent's home only to find out that the games I downloaded prior to the trip are not working and I have no internet connection to fix that.

Physical media is incredibly redundant at this point and it's only gonna get worse.


Tbh I see value in the release itself. It's kinda like when you buy a Warhammer or LEGO sets that have all that other stuff that comes with it. Sure the main attraction is the game but there's also all that other stuff in the box that you can enjoy and that's forever.

Sometimes I will even seek out an old physical release without the game disc itself just for the box with all the goodies, because I have the game digitally anyway so I don't need it on the disc.

The volume of always online games is still the very tiny minority. Regardless, everything else about physical benefits remains so long as they don’t take the game servers offline.

 

[MiguelItUp]

To me, physical games changed when they no longer had booklets in them, that was one of the best parts IMO. But, in the end, it's still physical, and I personally think owning something physically is much better than digitally. Especially when it's the exact same price. If digital wasn't the same price as physical, and was cheaper, then I think I'd view things much differently. But in any situation where it's the exact same price, I feel like owning something I can hold in my hands goes a bit further.

 

[OGM_Madness]

With the housing market as it is, you move a few times and soon you’ll appreciate a digital collection.

Have kids and you’ll appreciate that same digital collection even more.

 

[kruis]

Physical is much cheaper than digital. I can buy new PS5 games from for about 60 euro online, the same game will cost 80 euro on the Playstation store.

It's ridiculous when I check out the deals in Sony's Days of Play 2023 and they offer just a meager 25% discount, meaning GoW:Ragnarok now costs only 60 euro. That was the price I paid for the physical disk back in November. That same physical release now costs between 45-50 in various online stores, lowest physical price I'd veen to date was 35 euro.

Once you go digital-only you're going to be paying much more for these games since you're stuck with a greedy as hell Sony for the rest of your life.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Their main purpose still exists - you actually own the copy of the game. Even if you need to download multiple GB's of patches it's still yours. But yeah, it was nice having the standard versions with goodies like a big manual, a CD soundtrack or an artbook. It's rare these days and often tied to a more expensive deluxe / collector's version.

I think everyone should do what they like - don't hate on the people who went digital-only and don't laugh at the ones who want for retail versions to stay as long as possible. Just try to understand the opposite side. Personally I always like to point out why retail copies are still relevant, but I'm not planning on hating people who've completely abandoned the retail market.

 

[Puscifer]

I like physical simply because I have a tangible item of value. I can play it, keep it, lend it to friends, and/or sell it without restriction.
Digital is fine and all, but until there is a market for license reselling, or laws surrounding the requirements to make sure games are available forever and never delisted, physical will still be my main.

Till digital has a way for me to resell on a market it can kick rocks.

 

[TGO]

It happened to me so many times whenever I took a PS4 with me when visiting my parent's home only to find out that the games I downloaded prior to the trip are not working and I have no internet connection to fix that.

Physical media is incredibly redundant at this point and it's only gonna get worse.

What's that gotta do with physical?
Very few games require internet connection and they're usually online games.
In fact I got disconnected for 2 weeks and didn't even notice

 

[rofif]

I can do without all the plastic toys but the disc is the disc. It's on my shelf and it's playable 1.0 or not.
Plenty of games still include stuff like Elden Ring. Or steelbooks, some cards etc

 

[Stuart360]

I was sooo against digital games before i went PC only towards the end of the 360/PS3 gen. But once you go digital, you quickly realize why its way better, and i actually chuckle now when i see staunch physical media people on here because i remember i used to be them, and i also realize how many of them will also realize just how much better digital games are, when they decide to go digital only (which will probably be next gen as i highly doubt either Xbox or Playstation will have disk drives).

 

[NinjaBoiX]

I don’t want any of that extra stuff you listed, it’s just extra crap to find a place to store. Why do I give a shit that the box has a nice picture on it?

I just want to be able to play the game with the minimal amount of extra fuss and plastic tatt.

 

[DaGwaphics]

I was sooo against digital games before i went PC only towards the end of the 360/PS3 gen. But once you go digital, you quickly realize why its way better, and i actually chuckle now when i see staunch physical media people on here because i remember i used to be them, and i also realize how many of them will also realize just how much better digital games are, when they decide to go digital only (which will probably be next gen as i highly doubt either Xbox or Playstation will have disk drives).

It's funny how that goes. I was one of those loud mouth clowns that was worked up over MS's original X1 plan because physical had to be protected. I then preceded to purchase just 7 physical games for the X1 over its lifetime, LOL.

Once you lost the ability to instantly play anything straight off the shelf, physical lost the charm for me.

 

[MasterDerico]

I don't trust in digital midia, what will happen in the future...
I have a huge collections of digitals, but games i really like, only physical.

Im also a collector since Nes days, so nowdays if the game disc has not the entire content inside, or needs internet connection to play, im out.

 

[kruis]

I was sooo against digital games before i went PC only towards the end of the 360/PS3 gen. But once you go digital, you quickly realize why its way better, and i actually chuckle now when i see staunch physical media people on here because i remember i used to be them, and i also realize how many of them will also realize just how much better digital games are, when they decide to go digital only (which will probably be next gen as i highly doubt either Xbox or Playstation will have disk drives).

PC != console

There are many competing online stores for PC games, not just Steam, Epic or Gog, but also many smaller ones (Humble, GMG, etc). And if that's not enough, there are also tons of online stores selling even cheaper keys from dubious sources.

That competition is completely absent from the official Sony, MS or Nintendo games stores. They can set to the online price to whatever they want, because they're the only place where you can buy.

I've long given up buying physical PC games, it's cheaper and more convenient. But when it comes to online PS games, I pay 25% more for games compared to physical releases. Fuck 80 euro games. I refuse to pay that much for a game.

 

[kaizenkko]

Yeah, it's not like the good old days, but it's better to actually own the game you buy than have just a license to play (who also demand internet connection).

 

[Stuart360]

PC != console

There are many competing online stores for PC games, not just Steam, Epic or Gog, but also many smaller ones (Humble, GMG, etc). And if that's not enough, there are also tons of online stores selling even cheaper keys from dubious sources.

That competition is completely absent from the official Sony, MS or Nintendo games stores. They can set to the online price to whatever they want, because they're the only place where you can buy.

I've long given up buying physical PC games, it's cheaper and more convenient. But when it comes to online PS games, I pay 25% more for games compared to physical releases. Fuck 80 euro games. I refuse to pay that much for a game.

Once Xbox and Playstation go digital only, there will be loads of key stores for console games. Hell you can already buy Xbox keys on a lot of key sites already.

 

[brettski2024]

I say bring back PS1, SNES and Genesis style boxes, cases, and inserts

 

[Drizzlehell]

What's that gotta do with physical?
Very few games require internet connection and they're usually online games.
In fact I got disconnected for a 2 weeks and didn't even notice

How should I know, lol. It was like "uh-oh, something went wrong, please connect to the internet to update the game" or some shit like that, even though I downloaded and played it just before unhooking the console and taking it with me.

It often happens with Steam games too.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I don’t want any of that extra stuff you listed, it’s just extra crap to find a place to store. Why do I give a shit that the box has a nice picture on it?

I just want to be able to play the game with the minimal amount of extra fuss and plastic tatt.

For the aesthetics of it. It's just a nice piece of packaging with great-looking video game art on it. Plus I like reading the manuals and user guides. I remember how I used to flip through them when the game was installing and it helped me immerse myself in the experience with cool bits of lore included in them.

It's all this tangible stuff that you could find in the box that made it feel all the more exciting to get a new game before you got to play it.

 

[Dis]

I hate to start this with the words "back in the day" because it immediately makes this post sound like something even I wouldn't wanna read but hear me out because I think in this case it's actually relevant.

So anyway, back in the day, PC games used to come in those big, beautiful boxes with an amazing-looking artwork on them, and inside you'd find all sorts of goodies apart from the game disc itself. Things like art books, thick instructions manuals, quick-start guides, posters, stamps, and various assortment of other bonus trinkets, depending on what the release was.

Then we went from that to small-box releases with only the game, the manual, and occasionally an additional user's guide or a bonus disc.

From there we went to DVD cases which only stored the game disc and maybe a short manual, then from manual to just the game disc, to a slip of paper with an activation code on it. It's like, what the hell is this? What am I even buying? A plastic case to clutter my shelf?

What really bugs me even more about this is that, what used to constitute a regular-ass physical release that you could just grab off a shelf at a normal retail price, is now considered a collector's item that goes around at increasingly ridiculous prices.

Take this release from mid-to-late 2000s for Dawn of War anthology collection. It's still not the greatest release ever because it was already long after the big box era, but it's still a decent example for the comparison that I wanna make:

It may not look like much on the photo but apart from the user guide and art book, each box also included a poster of some sort, and a bunch of strategy cards that explained how each unit worked, kinda like the stuff that you get in actual Games Workshop figurine sets. Pretty cool stuff that I managed to grab at the time and still own it.

It cost me about 25 dollars in 2009.

Now here's a "collector's edition" of the upcoming Space Marine II:

This costs about 250 dollars, and in a lot of other territories even more, depending on where you get it. Apart from the statuette that probably cost like 3 dollars to manufacture (hand-painted my ass), this is pretty much the same stuff that you'd get in a regular 60 dollar release back in the day. Arguably it wouldn't even make for a very impressive release even in 2009.

This is such a cop-out and the main reason why I don't buy physical games anymore. I used to love collecting them because of how beautiful boxed releases were and how awesome it felt to unpack them, read all the booklets, and display them on my shelf. I still have a pretty sizeable collection of PC games from that long-gone era, some of which are pretty rare and expensive right now. But nowadays all the choice I have is between a shitty blu-ray box with nothing inside of it, or a 250 dollar collector's edition that's not even worth that kind of money. Thanks, but no thanks.

Im the other way around. I grew up poor so my PS1 was modded and PS2 too. So all games where on Arita DVD’s or Lifetec CD’s from the Aldi. (Pretty lifeless)

Now i dont have to mod anymore and recently bought Naruto Narutimate hero 1 and 2 and .Hack part 1 and some other cool PS2 games and i think it looks fantastic on my shelf.

But if the box only has the code. Or in Hogwarts Legacy’s case, doesnt work unless you download a day 1 patch. Yeah that game can go kick rocks or its going to be a bargain bin €5 purchase.

If consoles go digital only then i’m out.

PS. Super interesting for pointing out that collectors editions where basically what it used to be back in the day!

 

[ReBurn]

Physical is much cheaper than digital. I can buy new PS5 games from for about 60 euro online, the same game will cost 80 euro on the Playstation store.

It's ridiculous when I check out the deals in Sony's Days of Play 2023 and they offer just a meager 25% discount, meaning GoW:Ragnarok now costs only 60 euro. That was the price I paid for the physical disk back in November. That same physical release now costs between 45-50 in various online stores, lowest physical price I'd veen to date was 35 euro.

Once you go digital-only you're going to be paying much more for these games since you're stuck with a greedy as hell Sony for the rest of your life.

Physical is cheaper than digital for you to buy, but it is not cheaper to produce and distribute for publishers. Gamers expecting deep discounts on games shortly after release when game prices have severely lagged behind inflation is a reason why publishers are pushing to move to digital and are skimping on discounts.

In regard to the premise in the OP, I also feel the loss of elaborate boxed games and all of the cool stuff inside. Opening a new game, especially some PC games, used to be an amazing experience. In addition to manuals there were posters, maps, codexes, special glasses to decipher the codex and all kinds of other cool things. But the cost to create, package and ship those extra things became too expensive and gamers weren't willing to accept those costs being passed on to them, so they disappeared.

Maybe if gamers were willing to pay $100 for games, which is roughly the 2023 equivalent cost of a $40 boxed game from 1988 or a $50 boxed game from the early 90's that included all of those goodies, perhaps things would be different. But with game prices largely resisting inflation as production costs exceeding inflation publishers had to cut what they could. Now we're at the point where all that's really left to cut is the existence of physical media.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Physical is cheaper than digital for you to buy, but it is not cheaper to produce and distribute for publishers. Gamers expecting deep discounts on games shortly after release when game prices have severely lagged behind inflation is a reason why publishers are pushing to move to digital and are skimping on discounts.

In regard to the premise in the OP, I also feel the loss of elaborate boxed games and all of the cool stuff inside. Opening a new game, especially some PC games, used to be an amazing experience. In addition to manuals there were posters, maps, codexes, special glasses to decipher the codex and all kinds of other cool things. But the cost to create, package and ship those extra things became too expensive and gamers weren't willing to accept those costs being passed on to them, so they disappeared.

Maybe if gamers were willing to pay $100 for games, which is roughly the 2023 equivalent cost of a $40 boxed game from 1988 or a $50 boxed game from the early 90's that included all of those goodies, perhaps things would be different. But with game prices largely resisting inflation as production costs exceeding inflation publishers had to cut what they could. Now we're at the point where all that's really left to cut is the existence of physical media.

Another problem that I noticed is that somewhere in the past decade or so, local distributors of physical video game sort of vanished from the market. At least here in Poland. The reason why those big, lavish releases used to be so affordable was thanks to those local distributors such as CD PROJEKT (not the developer), that were practically built upon the business of distributing western video games to a Polish market in really nice-looking and often localized versions.

But then they sort of stopped doing that, and most of the smaller distributors sort of threw their towels too and that was the end of it. From then on it was nothing but straight up imports from abroad that cost almost as much as digital editions.

 

[TGO]

I don’t want any of that extra stuff you listed, it’s just extra crap to find a place to store. Why do I give a shit that the box has a nice picture on it?

I just want to be able to play the game with the minimal amount of extra fuss and plastic tatt.

And that's okay, there are gamers that use to discard the box and put them in sleeves.
Or just leave the discs scattered around.
Return them to the store and exchange it for another or just sell them..
There are people who skip cut scenes to games they never played because they have zero interest in the story or play music over the game.
Everyone is different and value different things.
But not everyone should be forced to do what's convenient for you and your preferences.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I like digital for convenience - no need to have disks.

 

[Nydius]

Until digital gives me the same ability to resell, loan, or give away my license, and until digital (on console) has multiple competing storefronts with sales that rival that of physical copies, I will always prefer physical over digital in the vast majority of cases. Even if the physical disk is just a piddly installer disk.

Hell you can already buy Xbox keys on a lot of key sites already.

This is a gross exaggeration. There’s maybe one or two sites, and neither sell keys any cheaper than the usual price of the game. Or they only sell keys from foreign regions that require VPNs to access. Or they’re gray market account resellers. If digital only was the order of the day, it wouldn’t suddenly increase the number of key sellers, and companies like Microsoft and Sony would crack down even harder on third party and gray market sites.

 

[Knightime_X]

The internet was very slow in the 90s.
Most of us paid $50 for the game and not for a few stickers.
Most games have evolved the manual in ways paper can't.

I think if we had the same internet speed, evolved manuals and ease of access back then it would be the same as it is now.

I mean, the thought of playing your game the instant its released with a manual you'll never lose all without needing to leave your house was a massive fantasy back then.

Still miss the small trinkets though.
But oh well. Got something far better instead.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

I fucking hate discs, but I'll still get a few games for PS5 now and then if I must. I'll always prefer cartridges on Switch whenever possible.

 

[Aenima]

Depends of the publishers, you can still get goodies on ur physical games. The standard version of FF16 comes with art cards for example. Also the standard version of CDPR games are also filled with goodies.

Most important, is the pricing. While this physical version of FF16 that comes with goodies and still give me the option to resell the game if i wish to do it, costs 67€, the same version in digital without goodies costs 80€.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Totally agree. I’m not paying $200 for your plastic trinkets or $70 for a disc and nothing else. Also don’t really care about having a bunch of physical media sitting around my place. It’s just clutter.

 

[SeraphJan]

I'm going to quote myself in the other thread

It amuses me that some people are dying to see that we lose the option of reselling games, buy used ones or shipping a game that was unreleased in the region.

Downplay physical copy to collectors only is a strawman argument.

I prefer the flexibility of distribution of the game over relying on digital license which is also at the mercy of the online server, even if it means a little bit of exercise of putting a disc into the tray.

So no, physical is not redundant, if anything digital is the one that is redundant, there are so many things you cannot do with digital. Physical doesn't always mean those over priced collectors edition, If the topic was "is collectors edition worth it?" I would say maybe not, but if you were only talking about standard physical release I would prefer it over digital every time.

I'll give you some examples why physical are better than digital

1. You could buy a used (people who completed the game and reselling them) relative new released game after few week with up to 30% off, for digital to reach this discount you need to wait much longer
2. You could than complete that game and resell it again at almost the same price you bought used, meaning you get to finish a game almost free of charge
3. Some people will choose to keep the game, which is also better than digital because it does not rely on digital license that is tied to your account and an unreliable online service, you could also lend the game.
4. Since digital is locked to your account, if there is anything happened to that account (such as losing it, or banning), you also lose all your games.
5. For a game that does not officially release in a country, shipping a physical copy oversea might be the only way they get to experience it. Same goes the other way around, for example you could import some of the Japan only game if they have physical release (such as many Super Robot Taisen games)

This is the real reason why publisher is pushing digital, they want to limit your capacity of reselling. Game publisher think they are entitled to your right to redistribute your own item while all the other item such as books, electronics, furnitures are all resellable, what makes game publisher think they are special? A big fucking NO to digital only release and their anti-consumer intention.

 

[Fbh]

Special or collectors editions have always been overpriced crap.
At most there's a cool steel box from time to time.

To me the point of physical is having more ownership and options with my games. I can resell them, trade them or lend them to friends.

Once I realized I don't really replay like 90% of the stuff I play, reselling made even more sense.

 

[Coconutt]

Still going physical when I can for the resale value but gotta admit the world became a darker place when games stopped coming with a manual or guide.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I'm going to quote myself in the other thread

So no, physical is not redundant, if anything digital is the one that is redundant, there are so many things you cannot do with digital. Physical doesn't always mean those over priced collectors edition, If the topic was "is collectors edition worth it?" I would say maybe not, but if you were only talking about standard physical release I would prefer it over digital every time.

I'll give you some examples why physical are better than digital

1. You could buy a used (people who completed the game and reselling them) relative new released game after few week with up to 30% off, for digital to reach this discount you need to wait much longer
2. You could than complete that game and resell it again at almost the same price you bought used, meaning you get to finish a game almost free of charge
3. Some people will choose to keep the game, which is also better than digital because it does not rely on digital license that is tied to your account and an unreliable online service, you could also lend the game.
4. Since digital is locked to your account, if there is anything happened to that account (such as losing it, or banning), you also lose all your games.
5. For a game that does not officially release in a country, shipping a physical copy oversea might be the only way they get to experience it. Same goes the other way around, for example you could import some of the Japan only game if they have physical release (such as many Super Robot Taisen games)

This is the real reason why publisher is pushing digital, they want to limit your capacity of reselling. Game publisher think they are entitled to your right to redistribute your own item while all the other item such as books, electronics, furnitures are all resellable, what makes game publisher think they are special? A big fucking NO to digital only release and their anti-consumer intention.

I may have been more bothered by this if I wasn't literally swimming in video games and feeling absolutely no desire or need to ever trade them in for something else. Even with the physical games for PS3 that I still collect since that's the only way to get them, I just want to keep them not trade them in.

Accessibility problems for digital games seems like an exaggerated problem to me as well, since it's only limited to scarce few examples of a live service game getting shut down or some very rare situations where someone's internet would suddenly go down for like a couple of hours. Idk just read a book or something to pass the time, it's not the end of the world. Such a scenario is so unlikely to me anyway, because I honestly cannot remember it ever happening to me since I set up my first home internet back in 2008. All the digital games that I ever bought are also readily available to me to this day so the terror of them ever going away also seems like doomsaying to me.

Anyway, this thread isn't really about that, though. I'm lamenting the fact that we no longer get nice physical releases anymore and it's just a shitty blu-ray box with a disc in it, and sometimes it doesn't even have that. I would keep buying physical games if they had a nice packaging and some extra goodies inside but if I'm just gonna get the same shit as when buying a digital version, except I'll have to deal with disposable piece of plastic that is the blu-ray case, then I'd rather go with the digital.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

I like physical simply because I have a tangible item of value. I can play it, keep it, lend it to friends, and/or sell it without restriction.
Digital is fine and all, but until there is a market for license reselling, or laws surrounding the requirements to make sure games are available forever and never delisted, physical will still be my main.

Exactly. I sold off a bunch of Switch games recently for thousands of dollars. Many were worth more than what I paid for them.

Until you can resell digital games, I’ll never be all in on digital.

 

[Gexxy1]

I just sold some old Pokemon games on Ebay for $200.

If they were purchased digitally they wouldn't have been worth one cent.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I just sold some old Pokemon games on Ebay for $200.

If they were purchased digitally they wouldn't have been worth one cent.

Ever heard of account selling?

 

[Drizzlehell]

Also the standard version of CDPR games are also filled with goodies.

Yeah, a rare example because CD PROJEKT basically started as a distributor of western games in Poland, and their main business model revolved around packaging those games in those lavish editions and giving fully localized dubbing to Polish audiences. Those were the good times.

 

[Gexxy1]

Ever heard of account selling?

No, but why would I want to when there are newer games I want to play, + some games I own that I don't want to sell any time soon, + I'm not interested in losing trophies/friends?

Also, just a quick google search:

Per the Nintendo Account User Agreement and Nintendo Network Services Agreement, your Nintendo Account and/or Nintendo Network ID (NNID) cannot be transferred or sold to another person.

(playstation) You can’t sell accounts because they are not yours. You will usually see a rule regarding selling accounts when you agree to the terms. When a person is caught selling his/her account, it will be locked and banned.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Once you collect 2-3 generation worth of games sitting on shelf collecting dust with no more space to add more, you realise same collection would have been much better digitally with good backwards compatibility.

If they are collecting dust, you simply sell them off.

I lost hundreds of dollars in resale value of Pokémon games alone because my family bought digital on 3DS.

 

[kraspkibble]

Physical games haven't been what they used to be since about 2006. I really do hope next gen removes the disc drive/cartridge slot completely and we go all digital.

 

[NeonGhost]

This topic again

 

[Kataploom]

you can sell the disc.

If companies remove the digital license in the future, you may not be able to access your digital games but a physical copy will.

That has never happened, of that happened once the backsplash would have made other companies not follow. In fact it has happened the other way around, Nintendo had to ditch their console bound purchases in order to be considered a viable digital market and it paid off in spades for them.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Physical is much cheaper than digital. I can buy new PS5 games from for about 60 euro online, the same game will cost 80 euro on the Playstation store.

It's ridiculous when I check out the deals in Sony's Days of Play 2023 and they offer just a meager 25% discount, meaning GoW:Ragnarok now costs only 60 euro. That was the price I paid for the physical disk back in November. That same physical release now costs between 45-50 in various online stores, lowest physical price I'd veen to date was 35 euro.

Once you go digital-only you're going to be paying much more for these games since you're stuck with a greedy as hell Sony for the rest of your life.

Exactly. Not sure how so many people can’t see this. A digital only future would be VERY bad for gamers especially with the greed that runs rampant in the gaming industry. I’m still seeing 5+ year old games on the digital stores at full retail price for example. The way gamers are embracing an all digital future is definitely concerning imo.