Buying a game is easy and it's getting easier - but the age old question remains - digital or physical?

When it comes to purchasing a game, given the choice, should you opt to buy a physical copy of a game or purchase it digitally for an instant download? What are the pros and cons of each? Does it make a difference?

While digital games are no doubt the more convenient option, that "purchase" comes with an enormous amount of fragility attached to it. What if the publisher revokes the game from the storefront? What if the game is has DRM that can affect performance? Is the purchase even a true purchase or is it a lease of a service? Let's not forget that all too often we're seeing games removed from digital store fronts due to licensing arrangements. We've even seen games being changed at a moments notice with soundtracks being edited, or replaced entirely, as rights expire. And what of service games - they can be shutdown remotely if the game underperforms rendering the game unplayable.

Then you have physical media. While unlike days past, even physical media can carry some questions when its merits. Day one patches that prevent you from playing the game without updating the title; disc-based consoles cost more; mandatory internet connections or account registration can be a thing; and what of the environmental impact? And let's not forget that inevitable disc rot!

Publishers are even thinking up ways to make physical ownership less attractive - you only need to look at the plans by Microsoft during the initial Xbox One reveal where physical disks, once used on a console were then digitally tied to that system and unable to be traded or resold without going through hoops and paying a premium to do so.

At the end of the day - does it even matter? Should video game ownership and preservation be a concern for the average player or should the purchase be seen as the equivalent of a theme park ticket - a temporary thrill with no regard for the future?

And what of piracy? Is there a merit and legitimacy to breaking DRM and illegally copying games when it comes to video game preservation?

Let us know your thoughts below.

 

[matpower]

I'm pretty neutral overall, new physical releases are crippled, as you have mentioned, and if they even pull the rug over my digital titles, I'm willing to pirate them back. So far, the latter hasn't happened for any title I've owned, so I feel safe.

So for me, it ends up boiling down to whatever is cheaper or available: for example, I bought Ring Fit physical because it isn't available on eShop but the rest of my Switch library is digital because Nintendo doesn't sell physical games here (they'll be available soon at least), meanwhile my PS4 is mostly physical (bar Persona 5R) because I usually get great deals on them.

 

[Rednorka]

im very used to digital

in 99% of the cases these will be up somewhere preserved unlike physical copies which are hard to replace or repair. its also nice to have everything in one place already without any hustle! (though its not as valid for pc thanks to several online stores offering different games)

 

[pivix]

Of course physical ones. Love how dusty, they become after finishing, and putting them on the shelv.

 

[peteruk]

"Let's get physical!" - Physical all the way for me!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Although I checked physical due to being an old-school kind of guy, neither is super bad. IMHO, the best kind of physical is cartridge-based - if the cartridge is not read only, you can actually update the cartridge, and still keep the game.

Digital is good if it isn't tied to a subscription. If you actually downloaded the games files to your system and there isn't DRM in place to uninstall it for you (think Steam, or better yet GOG), then you're good to go; doesn't matter if it's been removed from the storefront as you still have your copy to keep forever.

 

[Reploid]

Digital stuff is cheap. Very cheap. Extremely cheap. You get it.

 

[Deleted member 194275]

I play digital backups. I buy physical games.

 

[mrgone]

companies like limited run games are why i'm not fond of physical anymore. they purposely only make like 5 copies, refuse to make any more and then if i end up wanting a physical copy of a game it goes for like 8 million dollars on ebay jut because it's limited run

but companies like them publish games that would not get a physical release at all.

 

[Naster]

Physical

 

[KleinesSinchen]

None (anymore)
I stopped buying games altogether. Simply lost interest in new stuff and have enough for life.

As for the question "physical or digital", I previously preferred physical releases and only bought digital licenses from indie-developers who can't afford the risk of a physical release. A big plus for the modern way of distribution: Small developers have the chance to release their stuff (which they never could in the 1980s/1990s).

I already stopped buying PC games about 2003 due to aggressive DRM and never looked back, so the lack of physical releases on that platform never bothered me.

 

[CoolMe]

The choice is not always easy anymore, and it's been the case ever since the start of the 8th generation of gaming (PS4/XO). I would do some research before buying physical discs blindly, as some can have download codes for the game instead of having the data stored on the actual disc..

 

[KleinesSinchen]

The choice is not always easy anymore, and it's been the case ever since the start of the 8th generation of gaming (PS4/XO). I would do some research before buying physical discs blindly, as some can have download codes for the game instead of having the data stored on the actual disc..

What kind of physical release is that? A download code? A BD-XL would have the advantage of simply containing up to 128GB of data one doesn't even have to download.
Again. quite happy with having "retired" from actively following gaming market.

 

[Catastrophic]

As someone who mostly plays on PC, I prefer digital downloads just for the sheer convenience of it. Being able to buy games instantly without going to retail, often times at much greater discounts than retail, and having them available pretty much at any time outweighs the cons compared to having physical copies. Doesn't really help that even physical copies these days are often "incomplete" versions and require downloads anyways. Worst case scenario, I can acquire copies illegitimately if servers ever go down; what idiot would argue against that?

 

[Latiodile]

but companies like them publish games that would not get a physical release at all.

i'd rather a virtually infinite supply digitally than an absurdly limited physical release that's overpriced at launch and even more overpriced used

 

[sven7777]

I only game on consoles (no PC gaming) so 99.9% physical because I prefer to own things. Digital = rental. Once you've lost a digital game because of "reasons" it's hard not to eye all of them suspiciously. I've read about the drama concerning publishers like limitedrun being exploitative, but unfortunately sometimes it's the only way to get a physical copy of a game that wouldn't have one otherwise.

The console makers (Sony, Nintendo, MS) will have to drag me kicking and screaming away from physical games. I know that's definitely part of all their master-plans so in a generation or two I might have no other option. Maybe then I'll switch to PC because almost all PC games can be backed-up (probably all of them, but I don't follow PC closely enough to assert that).

Every once and a while I'll buy a digital game for something that I really want to play and it either seems unlikely that a physical copy will come out at all or it will just take too long. "Tunic" has me on the fence, but since I've got a stack of about 60 ps4/ps5 games I haven't touched yet, I can probably put it on the back burner.

 

[andeers]

Physical

 

[raxadian]

Physical unless it ia DRM free like Gog and itch.io games.

 

[CoolMe]

What kind of physical release is that? A download code? A BD-XL would have the advantage of simply containing up to 128GB of data one doesn't even have to download.

Some do come with a physical disc and some don't, just the download code..

 

[engagex]

Digital for convenience, physical for collectors edition of a game i really like

 

[Y0shII]

I prefer physical, however between local prices and availability I usually buy digital games.