Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I used to get all of my games physical purely because I had no idea what the eShop was. However when I did learn what you could do on it, I flocked to it almost instantly. At the moment, when I get physical games, it'll usually be because there's something about the digital version that puts me off. It's usually a large file size (Zelda, Smash Bros, ALL of the Pokemon games) but sometimes there'll be some really cool boxart for the physical edition or maybe I'd want to have it physically rather than digitally to maintain a pattern for displaying them, it really does depend on a lot of factors.

Of course, the main reason why digital is a lot more enticing is honestly the pure convenience factor involved: it takes a heck of a lot more time to grab your cartridge, slot it in and wait for it to register as in rather than just... selecting the game. It's a big reason why I grabbed Splatoon 2 digitally even though I'm fully aware that it's one of the few games without cloud saves: for a game with so much multiplayer focus, the hassle would put me off playing it a lot of the time.

I do wish I could have everything physically (you have no idea how much my heart yearns for that physical release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles) but in the world we're in, it becomes more and more awkward by the day to keep it up. It's annoying but what can you do.

@Fizza
Indeed. I love the concept of physical, but the convenience factor just became too much to ignore. After modding my 3DS and dumping my physical game collection digital, I had an epiphany. Up until that point I was the most diehard physical gamer you'd ever meet. Complaining when games had partial downloads, upset when DLC wasn't on the cart- it was constant misery. But once I realized the I played games more frequently when I had access to a digital library, I realized my love of physical had unfortunately become a detriment to my enjoyment of the hobby. Accepting digital was like a burden lifting off my shoulders. No more worrying about incomplete physical releases. No more searching a shelf of hundreds of games trying to find the one I want to play. No more watching TV because I don't feel like getting up to search for a game to play. It changed everything for me.

I still value physical, and fully acknowledge its benefits and appeal. I wish they'd invent a system where the license was transferable from cart to system, and could only be on one or the other. Before reselling you must insert the cart and transfer the license back to it, and it will read, "license present" when inserted in another system. Works like any other physical game. But at any time you can transfer to a system for digital access, but the cart reads "license NOT present" until you transfer back.

But they'll never do that. So digital it is. Even though I'm digital on PS5, XSX and Steam and dual digital-physical on Switch, and plan to go full digital only on Switch 2, I may still buy select collector editions for Fire Emblem, Xenoblade, Monster Hunter and Metroid.

@Ralizah all my Switch games is physical

I find digital to be far more convenient (and 95% of the time, it's the only reasonable option due to living in a place where Switch games are rarely found in stores). But anytime the chance presents itself, I prefer to buy a physical copy.

@BrazillianCara
Why not order on Amazon? Your profile says you're in the U.S., no?

I definitely wouldn't want to go back to the days when releases were physical only. It's definitely nice not being at the mercy of a small print run.

@Fizza TGAA is still pretty inexpensive in NA. Dunno how much it costs to import games where you live, but it shouldn't be inaccessible if you buy from ebay or Amazon NA.

@Snatcher Sony had planned to, and then backed off after there was outrage online. Although I can't speak to how easily one can actually purchase and download games on a PS3 atm.

They cut off the ability to used your credit card on a Ps3 late last year, which is why I bought a decent handful of older games on it before that happened (none of which I've played yet). Now AFAIK you have to use a newer PS console or checking out the PS store on your computer or phone if you want to buy games for Ps3.

@Ralizah @kkslider5552000 So they did, and they didn’t, At least Sony stopped when people were mad about it.

I went all digital with the Switch.
It's way more convenient and these days pretty much every game gets patches and DLC, which aren't on the cartridge to begin with. As such, I don't really see the point to own games physically anymore.

@kkslider5552000 Important to note that while that works for adding funds, for actually buying the games your only option is via the store on the PS3 itself which is very slow (people complain about the Switch eshop being sluggish but it's very fast compared to the PS3 store). The other stores which allowed you to buy PS3 games got shutdown in late March 2021 before Sony reverse their decision but kept the stores closed after the decision got reversed.

So things are kind of similar to how 3DS/Wii U are at current except browsing the 3DS/Wii U eshops are enjoyable experiences.

@Grumblevolcano To be fair, Sony remade the store for the PS4 hardware, and the PS3 was stuck with it. The PS3 launched without a store. PSN didn't exist yet. The first iteration of the store worked fine on PS3. The poor system just can't handle all those fancy graphics and higher resolution images.

@Tremblucay
I did the opposite.
I don't like the convenience from being digital.
I play the games in physical release.
I still like to insert disc or cartridge onto video game machines.
Collecting games in physical is not just collecting objects, I consider all my purchased games as my friends. This is the reason I collecting games in physical. I see their presence.

@Anti-Matter
Well, if you've got such an emotional attachment to your games that you consider them friends, I totally understand why you'd go physical.

The day the Switch came out was basically the day I went all digital. I'd been teetering on the edge for a while, but having all my games available on the same storage just felt like a perfect fit for the portability and versatility of the Switch hardware.

I'm not worried about game delistings currently. In 2022 the oldest of these (Wii) are still available for download, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I think by the time the Switch store completely shuts down these games will have been preserved in other ways anyway.

My main concern with digital purchases is being unable to sell the games on. I'm getting more into the practice of buying games that I'm unsure about physically, just incase I decide they're not for me. That way I can at least get some money back from these purchases.

@Anti-Matter @JaxonH I understand this. While I wouldn't consider them my friends(?) I have a huge attachment to my collection. I have 110+ physical Switch games and about two dozen digital ones. I have tens of thousands of dollars worth of physical games and I'm frequently posting about them on my Instagram account and have them extensively cataloged and insured. However, I have been collecting these games since I was a pre-teen. I also now have the income to afford to not worry anymore. I can understand someone maybe jumping into gaming in the last 10 years when digital purchases were already convenient and not understanding physical games being a thing.

I really think it's us older gamers who grew up before the X360/PS3 era and only had physical games to play. There's something magical about seeing all these games on a shelf rather than a list of icons on a screen. It just feels more substantial and meaningful when you finish a game and put it back on the shelf and pull games out years later, reading the manuals, skimming the back covers, pulling out contents of collector's editions, that you just can't get with digital content. I also understand not having the space or money for physical games as they don't go on sale as often or as deeply as digital games.

With that said I have over 500 Steam games and tons of digital stuff in general. I'm totally not a hater of digital content. I just don't want physical stuff to go away. They co-existed together for 15 years. I think it can continue. I'm one of those who learned to adapt. I also will sometimes buy a game digitally first while waiting for the physical version to release.

I have my Steam Deck order coming sometime next month and understand it's 100% digital-only but I'm still incredibly excited about it. I have a hacked Vita and PSP(s) but I still, enjoy collecting my favorite games on those systems physically. Some people stress too much about physical games, but if you learn to live with both it's the best of both worlds. I also learned to not be a hoarder, but a collector and not buy every game I come across. I only buy the ones I want to actually play and enjoy. I save the game I'm not so sure about for cheap digital sales since it won't be a huge loss if I don't like it.

with E3 canceled, Nintendo felt they have no obligation to do a E3 Direct.

My immediate assumption is that its because its a modern Ubisoft game not made specifically for Switch, so making the game unplayable without updates is ok for them, because they are jerks.

@korosanbo
There's a couple but I do know many of them will actually allow you to play without the update, but you have to put it in airplane mode. Try it out and see.

@BinaryMessiah
I don't think physical is going away. Not for a long time, anyways. It's true it's us older guys who grew up with cartridges that still cling to it. The younger kids don't care, and as we age out and die, physical will slowly disappear.

That aside, ya, I agree on just buying physical for games you're interested in. There's so much garbage and junk- I have no desire to waste money on that crap just for the sake of having it. I enjoy collecting, but I narrow it to games I'm interested in. I barely even have enough room for that.

Granted, I'm pretty lenient with games I consider interesting enough to buy. Pretty sure I'm over 500 physical Switch games now. But every one of them was something I wanted, or reviewed well and I was curious, or didn't review quite well but was in a series I like, or had reasonable word of mouth. And tbh, I could probably trim the fat and sell off 100 of them. Games that just weren't good, or were bad ports.

Having wasted 15 years of my life in substance abuse from age 15-30 basically, I think I was so used to having nothing but the shirt on my back for so long, that when I finally got it together I felt the need to indulge on something material that lasts (well, nothing lasts forever- I'll die one day and these games will be sold off in auction I'm sure), but you know what I mean.

For real though, I dont have anymore room. I'm out of room. I have no choice but to go full digital for Switch 2. I remember the first 10 games I bought when I decided to start collecting. 5 3DS and 5 Wii games. Was all proud of it lol, boasting to my co-worker about my new "game collection" I'd started. He came over to see it, and I'm pretty sure he was not impressed, but he was polite about it 😀 Crazy how in 10 years it went from those 10 games... to this...

@JaxonH great collection. It’s eye candy to me.

@JaxonH I feel inadequate looking at that collection compared to my poultry few physical games. It just never stopped scrolling. The fact that you have so many amiibo especially makes me more jealous than you could ever imagine.

In short, it's fantastic