Topic: Physical vs Digital my take 2 years later

The price debate isn't a debate. Unless you're buying games day-one, digital will almost always be cheaper. At least here in the U.S., Gamestop used games only knock like 5 bucks off the price, maybe 10 for an older game. Digital sales on all console shops and ESPECIALLY on PC (I mean, come on, guys, Epic Game Store literally gives you 2 free games a month for absolutely no admission price) blow any kind of used physical sales out of the water 99% of the time. I can log on to Steam any given day, even with no specific sales going on, and guaranteed I can get a big AAA game like Fallen Order, Red Dead, Witcher, whatever, for at least 33% off.

@Anti-Matter ; @gcunit ; @GrailUK

Out of curiosity, since you seems pretty set on the physical media, if the next nintendo console (or any other console for that matter) go only digital (which is more and more likely to happen in the next few years), would you just give up on the medium of games?

@RunGMhx That just sounds like a case of bad luck. I've heard several stories over the years, of people having issues/bad luck with disc- or cartridge based games, regardless of them having taken good care of them. Unfortunately, it happens every once in a while, but in general, the little buggers are pretty durable.

@redd214 Yeah, the cartridge thing was just an aside, although it could also serve as a strong point against digital, seeing as the durability of digital should probably be measured in availability or in hard drive durability/longevity.

Anyway, concerning those prices you mentioned, that must be a regional/local thing, then. I've been able to buy both Darksiders 2 and Darksiders Warmastered completely new for around 7 to 8 euros. Although that IS slightly more expensive than the digital versions that you bought, it's not 7 times as much, and obviously, you get more in return, so the slightly higher price is worth it. More in return is obviously only of value if you care about physical games, but still, I think you'll get the point.

But the main point was that I agreed with you, because BOTH can be cheap, it's not just one over the other in that regard. I mean: I've bought Humble Bundles before. Talk about cheap digital, huh?

@rallydefault Seeing as we're talking about consoles here, Steam or GOG prices are irrelevant to this particular discussion. Prices for digital console games are generally higher than on PC, even when discounted.

@ThanosReXXX For what it's worth, I always bring up DRM-free PC games whenever I talk about how I feel about digital gaming. I'll always stand by DRM-free being the best for digital, and I feel bad consoles don't have a similar option since DRM-free means you buy it, you own it.

Sorry, if my little mention sparked some PC related discussion, it's always something I mention pertaining to digital games.

@Sunsy No need to be sorry, and definitely agreed on DRM free. I do like my hassle-free digital games...

@ThanosReXXX
I did mention PC digital, but my post was focused on console digital. PS store, Xbox store, and eShop consistently have excellent sales that demolish physical prices. I believe PS Store is having a big sale right now, actually, or perhaps ended recently.

@RunGMhx I set myself a rule some years ago: don't pay more than £10 for a digital purchase. With less than 5 exceptions over about 10 years, I have stuck to that.

My Switch is filled with eshop-purchased games, but the majority of them were bought for around £5 or less. I switch accounts to get the cheapest prices and only pay above £6 for the games that are really hyped or that I am particularly keen on e.g. Celeste, The Messenger, Hollow Knight.

If Switch 2 was a download-only device then I would have to see what the implications were - would my eshop purchases on the Switch carry over (or would Nintendo at least commit to that starting with the Switch 2)? Is there something special about Switch 2 that means I have to have it? Would sales happen as frequently as they do on Switch? Would game sharing within my family be easier than it is currently? etc.

Since 2014 I have been playing catch-up on hundreds of games I missed over the previous 20 years, and I have now amassed a library of games that could probably last me the rest of my life. So I feel in a position where I don't need to let myself be pushed in whichever direction Nintendo (or anyone else) chooses.

If the next generation of Zeldas and Mario Karts look so amazing but are download only then I imagine I will either just wait and buy a used 'Switch 2' that has access to those games, or I may even swallow hard and buy them myself, but that will only be for the very cream of the crop. Currently I own about 70 physical Switch games (and what must be at least 100 eshop games). If Switch 2 went download-only but I still bought one and prices were held high then you can expect that 70 to drop to about 5 top tier purchases. Though yes, I suspect the reality of feeling that limited would put me off from buying in while the generation was current.

@rallydefault If we're talking eShop bottom-barrel prices, then that's hardly relevant as well, seeing as nine out of ten of these games aren't even available in physical form, and if they are, it's done by Limited Run games, or another company, for one-off physical editions, so obviously, these aren't going to be cheap.

Either way, the discussion was only partially about price, so that IS an aspect, but in general, I've found that people who prefer physical are definitely willing to pay a bit more to get SO much more control and ownership in return, so if I had to choose between a $10 digital version or a physical version that costs almost twice as much or even a little more, then I'd probably still go for the physical version, even though I myself am not strictly all-physical, but it IS my preference, whenever available for a reasonable/normal price.

@ThanosReXXX
Dude, you can't just keep moving the goal posts lol

And I'm not just talking "bottom-barrel" only digital stuff.

Look at the Capcom eShop sale right now. It's insane. And most of those games are 10-20-30 bucks more physical even at places like Amazon that have already knocked 10 bucks off the price. You're just dead-wrong that digital sales don't blow physical sales out of the water most of the time, even on console.

As I've stated before, even against all logic, I still buy only physical on my Switch. The ability to resell is nice, but in actuality I never do. I like to keep them and basically just accrue a stack of game boxes which...I don't know? Look nice? When you step back and think about it, it's pretty dumb and has probably lost me quite a chunk of change over the course of this generation (missed digital sales, missed extra gold points). But whatever, people are illogical creatures and we like to hoard physical goods.

@RunGMhx
No physical = No buy !
Digital only devices = Trash in the future.
Just look at the fate of PSP GO.
Can you even play PSP GO games with legal way after the server of PSN has been shutted down ?
I will blame the future is a Disaster by digital only and back to play with physical games i got.
Digital only is NOT cool, it's disaster !
Blame on the laziness of peoples who never consider about long term benefit.

I’m from the uk so physical is always cheaper plus even more cheaper when it comes with stuff.
Super Mario Maker 2 was 55£
Sold the drawing pad and stylus for 25 pounds
Sold the 12 months subscription that came with it for 15 pounds
Sold the steel case for 20
So 55 - 25 - 15 - 20 = so basically I got the game for free and 5 pounds extra

Bought luigis mansion 3 for 50
Sold the puppy badge for 25
Sold the steel case for 20
50 - 25 -20= i have the game for 5 pounds

Splatoon 2
Bought for 50
Sold them splatoon 2 pins for 15
50 - 15 = 35

Mario tennis aces
Bought for 50
Sold Mario visor for 15
50-15

Animal crossing nH
Bought for 50
Sold bag and key change for 25
50 - 25

Then there’s Mario odyssey with the cap
Arms
Kirby
If you buy physical. Be it from Nintendo uk or game or even amazon and you don’t care about the extras. It’s much much cheaper also I understand everyone doesn’t like selling stuff but luckily I do.

@RunGMhx I wouldn't no. If everybody does the same thing, it simply provides opportunity for someone else to do it differently. Evercade for example released and supports physical media. I don't think it will go away in my lifetime, and Nintendo make far too much money out of it presently. But yeah, someone, somewhere will create something physical. Even if it's a gimmicky table top screen with interactive war gaming models and the screen will measure LOS ort distances etc. I don't know what form physical gaming will take. But if it ever becomes everyone making a generic controller and we are all playing third person movie games, then I would happily just remain 'retro.'

@rallydefault I'm not moving goal posts, just mentioning what you yourself brought up.

As for why physical: if you yourself don't even know why, then that question is up for debate, but in my case, it's simply about ownership and control. I'm not a collector, but I do prefer physical. As mentioned previously, though, I'm not dead-set against digital, it's just that I'm seriously wondering how bad an ALL digital future will be for gamers, seeing as then we'll completely be at the whim of developers and publishers, which obviously isn't the case with physical games, so that's my main gripe.

@Anti-Matter I think it’s not a question on long term benefit for everybody. Some of us enjoy a game without ever needing to get back to it, the same is true with other media such as book or movies.

Personnaly I buy most of my games with a rule of 1$/hour played with a few exceptions. So when I’m in that rule I don’t care if it’s physical or digital, bought some games physical because they were cheaper following that rule. But then again I found that a rarely took 5-10 minutes to play Mario Maker when I had it physical, since I sold it and went digital I played it much more, in small chunk nonetheless but it just easier so taking 2 minutes to get the cartridge and the play 5 minutes is a bad ratio.

I don’t know much about the PSP Go but from what I remember the PSP line was not a huge success and it was more fun for modder hence often digital media.

As an exemple I just found my old Dreamcast in my parent basement, plugged tried jet grind radio and nba 2k to réalise that while I loved those game back then I hardly have any interest in them now, a sort of been there done that feeling and knowing that I could likely get a version that would be more eye pleasing/convenient elsewhere. That said I know it’s not the same for everybody because I sold the Dreamcast the very same day and made a 5% yearly return on it too...

I do respect collector and nostalgic gamer but if you’re not one of them, the fact that it still work 10-20 years from now is a non-factor.

Plus people say that physical games have the advantage of having something in your hand, but I kinda do with digital, I have a se card and can even have back up of it. One could argue that sd card can fail over time, yes is true, but it’s likely the same with the switch game card, who knows how they’ll age? I haven’t done research on them but my intuition would tell me that it nothing more than flash memory just like in a se card but in a proprietary format.

Another comforting thing g for me, if my switch with was to be misplaced/stolen or burn in a fire. I could get another one and get my digital purchase back in a matter of minutes. While I would have to hope for a favorable insurance claim and then be able to find sais games if still possible with a physical format...

I’m not saying that one is obviously a winner here, but that I started with a physical mindset only to réalise that for me some games are better digital.

@La-weejee That’s a valid point, but regional offer are not the same everywhere so this strategy is far from universal. Pre-ordered 4 games from GameStop last year, got 3 8.5x11 posters. The fourth one nothing at all... from my perpectives here in canada, extra stuff usually comes with deluxe editions and deluxe pricing...

@RunGMhx
Switching out cartridges is just take about 5 seconds, still feels better for me than tapping the App icon.
I don't like convenience like that, it's insulting me.
I'm not even attracted by cheaper price from digital download.
I want the expensive price from physical because i purchased a real thing.
Digital download will never be in my heart, not even something fun and cool to live on.
I did have a few digital games just for a sake of curiosity and i ended up by neglecting them completely after that.
Where is the real thing ?
I don't own a real thing by digital download.
I felt stupid by owning digital games that i completely abandoned them like they never exist at all.

@RunGMhx I agree about the regional offers. I was talking more about me in the uk.
I don’t dislike digital. I think they are great and convenient.
My gamecube, Wii games are all physical and digital.
I’ll do the same for my Wii u and switch games soon. 😉

@La-weejee wow. I did the same with Mario Maker and luigisMansion
👍🏻

Best of both worlds