Gaming Anyone prefer Digital VS Hardcopies?

[Jetowa]

I was just noticing how my library of PS3 disc games is dwindling with only like a few games I replay and a few that are just not worth any money in trade in value. Although I do support the trade in stores as they have allowed me to continue purchasing new games when I'm outta funds, I am also glad that I have some games invested digitally as so I don't have a chance to trade them in! I like this on my vita too, although, I wish the storage was cheaper so I didn't have to trade out games I may wanna play on my 8 gig card.

 

[Foxi4]

Seeing that the price difference is incredibly small, if present at all, you cannot sell your Digital copies or trade them in (in most cases - some services do allow that) nor can you retrieve them in the event of the service colapsing/the company going bankrupt, with a physical copy having all those advantages, taking "less space on the drive" (since it's on a physical medium already and only needs a Data Install/Installation depending on the platform) and having the sole disadvantage of "sitting on a shelf in a store that you have to go to", I'd say that it's safe to assume that most people stick to their physical copies unless they're lazy.

 

[Another World]

there is a great chance that physical copies are going to outlast digital copies. digital copies offer a convenient means for making purchases but i fear for the day the hdd dies and those encrypted/DRM protected software downloads are no longer hosted and/or for sale.

-another world

 

[Bobbyloujo]

I like physical copies because I'm materialis- erm... I mean I like collecting games and looking at cool cover art.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

I personally prefer Physical discs but the future is going digital.

 

[Daniel Carville]

On any platform, I'll admit, I pirate everything, unless I decide the game is worth my money.
I know many people disagree with this practise, but they rarely consider how many games people buy when they do this, and for me, it's 1/2 of the games I pirate.

Hardcopies don't mean too much to me anymore.
They're useless nowadays anyway, considering even the manual is printed on one sheet with a URL and an ad on the back, so for example, if I buy a steam game, I'm doing it simply to support the developers/platform, and if said platform were to vanish, I wouldn't be too bummed out, since I'd immediately pirate the game considering I've already paid for it.

 

[codezer0]

I appreciate the resale ability that a hard copy grants compared to digital. For a game that I actually want to keep, Digital would be better - faster load times are possible, for one. But one sticking point is the fact that - while you'd think the cost savings could be passed on more directly, they almost never are.

Seriously, if Sony and Microsoft would take a page from Steam and start offering periodic sales of games via digital for greater-than 50% off more frequently, I don't think I'd ever again buy another game on disc, lol. Even VALVe proved they saw better profits by selling a random game at 90% off for a week or two than they ever would see by keeping it full price.

 

[tofast4u]

Physical copies because you can resell them after you are done.

 

[EyeZ]

I did at one time prefer the hardcopies, but i'm leaning more towards digital now solely due to my Steam account, i'm unable to resist a bargain.

Hardcopies purchased in the last 2 years i could probably count on my fingers, digital copies though i'd need a calculator.

 

[Magsor]

Digital. Although I did wish digital copies were a bit cheaper than their physical counterparts. I mean they do save a lot of money in manufacturing packaging and storage. If you ask Nintendo or Sony this question their answer would be obvious...

 

[BerserkLeon]

From my perspective (CFW PS3, yar harr) I really prefer Digital copies.
I mean, I do like physical to an extent, but one thing that really annoys me is when optical drive lasers start to die. A hard drive can usually outlive an optical drive, especially if the hard drive is solid state. I do pirate a lot of games, but I pay for the ones that I think deserve my money. Examples being Ni no Kuni, Metal Gear Rising, Borderlands and Borderlands 2, I usually buy every armored core game...
I do like the bonuses that some physical copies can have, like collectors/limited editions... hoping the lamp that comes with my MGR LE is worth it.
But usually I prefer a digital back-up or copy because, like I already said, they're not as easy to kill as optical drives are.
With digital I can keep a backup package or folder on another hard drive/storage medium in the eventuality that my PS3's hard drive dies. I realize normal users do not have this option, but that is something that should be provided by a company wishing to go digital... Steam lets you do this in a way, letting you backup your steamapps folder at will.
With PSN, at least you can redownload any digitally purchased titles, But your normal end user wouldn't want to waste the time doing that if they didn't have to. I suppose there's always the backup option in the system menu though. I also really love the idea of having all my games in one place, not needing to constantly move discs around, only needing to keep track of my hard drive...
It's double-edged as while I don't have to worry about my hard drive getting scratched up from some irresponsible child playing with it, said child could easily take my hard drive and throw it in a tub if they didn't like me playing games, or didn't like my games.
However that's where the backup medium comes in. With physical, you don't really have the option of keeping backups unless you're not a normal user. Publishers/sony/MS/etc go through all this trouble to make sure you can't back up the games for their system, and all that ends up doing is hurt the end user, if they lose the disc or it gets too scratched up to read, or the optical drive dies...

 

[The Catboy]

I prefer physical copies, with physical copies I know the game is always going to be there and or can always be replaced, I can't always be sure of that with a digital copy.

 

[Ryupower]

i do like having the Hardcopy

but if it is Hard to find a hard copy off
Digital maybe the way to go

 

[DJPlace]

Digital for me so i can't trade it in.

 

[Qtis]

Hardcopy for collectable ones (games I'll probably want to play again in the future) and digital for others. Also sometimes digital may just be convenient that I'll pay for it (FF for PSVita being a good example (~40€ for FF I, II, IV:CC, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, FFT:WoL)).

As the consoles become more easier to get games by other means (digital, CFW, flashcarts, ODDEs), I still do prefer hardcopies. If nothing else, I know I have the original if the backup fails.. Also been buying a ton of games I once played, sold and then may have wanted to play again :3

 

[joelv6]

Honestly it depends on the game. i like hard copies because i can keep the art like Tales of Graces f. i paid of it to support the company so they release more games like this becuase i like to collect their art they make. but digital copies have their advantages too. it reads the game much faster which means less loading time lol
Like i said before it depends on the game

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

I prefer a physical copy, then if I own the original and a cheap digital promotion happens I will pick them up. F-Zero for the Wii-U was cheap enough at 30 cents that even though I own the original SNES cart and can emulate it 5 different ways, I still grabbed it. lol

 

[rdurbin]

I say Digital. Its very convenient to keep all your games in one place and not having to swap out discs whenever you want to play a game. Its also nice that you don't have to worry about discs getting scratched, drive not reading discs, etc. The only real disadvantage is you cant sell your games, but this could also be viewed as an advantage. You never know when you may want to play an old game again (happens to me quite often)

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I personally prefer Physical discs but the future is going digital.

Too bad digital won't be the new standard. And if it does, it'll be a LOOOOONG time before it does.

 

[aaronz77]

My wife can't complain about the digital copies piling up.