I've been a proponent of "Disc In Hand" since the very beginning. I use digital due to not being given much of an option. Even when you buy a physical PC game, it's oftentimes just a link to STEAM or something on the disc where you need to download it anyway as opposed to being a working copy on the disc you can use without all the nonsense. Or such has been my experience.
GameStop Wants to End Digital Bundles in Its Stores
- Thread starter StewShearerOld
- Start date
I prefer digital, because I'm sick of dealing with physical discs and cartridges. Swapping discs to play different games was the spawn of satan, and it made me despise physical discs altogether. I still get annoyed when I have to swap discs in my PS3. Fuck. That. Shit.
I have done something like that with the A Link Between Worlds 3DS XL bundle back during Black Friday 2013. I looked at the box to find the digital copy was a download coupon. Before I fought my way through the mob to get the last box on the shelf, I wouldn't have figured that Nintendo would do that.Bobular said:
The game took about an hour to download, when a game of the same size on Steam takes me about 1-2 minutes. In 2013, Nintendo's only North American distribution server must've been an old Pentium 3 buried in their office broom closet.
I don't even get why publisher's bother with the effort to put a retail PC disc on the shelves, only for it to contain the Steam installer and a redemption code for the game. The only legitimate reason I can think of is they can get the discs pressed and ready to ship before the game code is even finalized, but any competent company can properly plan the logistics of a physical release without resorting to shortcuts.Therumancer said:
At least the full game on disc can help keep data caps down, even if you have to link the copy to Steam/Origin/Uplay.
That's good news to me! I've never bought a digital game and have no intention to do so. The day that gaming goes all digital is the day that it leaves me behind.
Good move, obviously Gamestop are just doing it for the trade money but honestly this shit has started getting on my nerves.
It isn't just consoles anymore, it's actual collector's editions of the games themselves.
In Australia, at least, it's become pretty standard for pretty much every game that comes bundled with a Microsoft console to be a digital download code, sometimes they have 1 physical copy of a game; but what really irks me is stuff like the upcoming Halo, you pay a premium to get the Halo limited edition console and inside is a limited edition steelbook case for a disc that only has a download code in it...
But what really has to take the cake is the ridiculously priced Halo 5 collector's edition, $330 in Australia, and in the box you get, and I quote, a Uniquely-designed Spartan themed SteelBook with a fucking download code in it... $330 and they can't even throw a fucking disc in to the fucking special case they fucking made to a hold a fucking disc.
It isn't just consoles anymore, it's actual collector's editions of the games themselves.
In Australia, at least, it's become pretty standard for pretty much every game that comes bundled with a Microsoft console to be a digital download code, sometimes they have 1 physical copy of a game; but what really irks me is stuff like the upcoming Halo, you pay a premium to get the Halo limited edition console and inside is a limited edition steelbook case for a disc that only has a download code in it...
But what really has to take the cake is the ridiculously priced Halo 5 collector's edition, $330 in Australia, and in the box you get, and I quote, a Uniquely-designed Spartan themed SteelBook with a fucking download code in it... $330 and they can't even throw a fucking disc in to the fucking special case they fucking made to a hold a fucking disc.
I'm not sure why everyone wants to go digital all of a sudden. Is it really that much of a pain to swap one disc into the tray for another, really? It's not like you have to call in a helicopter to land, wait for it to land, leave your house to then walk to the helicopter, get in the helicopter, take the disc from the pilot, store it in your inventory, then get out of the helicopter, go back into the house, head to your console, open your disc tray, take the current disc in the disc tray and put it into your inventory, select the disc from your inventory to put into the disc tray, then close the disc tray, and hit play, all the while a loading screen takes up half the time to do that from opening the inventory and exiting/entering the house.
Seriously though, I feel the advantage of having a physical disc is what consoles are really about. Digital is fine for PC, as most PC games tend to require obligatory internet connection for one reason or another, and waiting an hour or two to a day or so to download entire games unless you've got an internet speed that's some bajillion Megabytes per second or such isn't so bad on a PC cause you can do other things on the computer while it's downloading. With a console though, you can't really play other console games while it's downloading as(at least with the 360) it would stop or halt the downloading process. I don't want to buy a game, then wait an hour watching T.V. to play that game. If I buy that game on a console, I want to play it then and there, and that should never not be available.
However, as I am one for compromises, I would be ok with buying the game and having both a physical copy, and then the option to digitally download it should the physical copy get ruined.
Seriously though, I feel the advantage of having a physical disc is what consoles are really about. Digital is fine for PC, as most PC games tend to require obligatory internet connection for one reason or another, and waiting an hour or two to a day or so to download entire games unless you've got an internet speed that's some bajillion Megabytes per second or such isn't so bad on a PC cause you can do other things on the computer while it's downloading. With a console though, you can't really play other console games while it's downloading as(at least with the 360) it would stop or halt the downloading process. I don't want to buy a game, then wait an hour watching T.V. to play that game. If I buy that game on a console, I want to play it then and there, and that should never not be available.
However, as I am one for compromises, I would be ok with buying the game and having both a physical copy, and then the option to digitally download it should the physical copy get ruined.
I'm very much in the camp of "I know they are doing it for mostly selfish reasons, but I don't really care because it helps my reasons as well."
I honestly don't enjoy digital downloads. If the option exists for physical vs digital, I pick physical all the time. The last thing I need is something happening to the device/server/whatever that causes me to lose my games. If I lose my games, I want it to be a result of my own negligence or stupidity. At least I can control that.
I honestly don't enjoy digital downloads. If the option exists for physical vs digital, I pick physical all the time. The last thing I need is something happening to the device/server/whatever that causes me to lose my games. If I lose my games, I want it to be a result of my own negligence or stupidity. At least I can control that.
AS Umbra said, i know WHY they do it, but it also helps me.
If i buy a video game for my console, i don't want to download it, i want to stick it in the tray and play immediately. For a Pc game, while i got a decent speed for the web, I still have to wait and it kills my excitement.
Steam is a viable platform for game releases because its so damn cheap, and while you can't trade in games or stuff like that, I do put in very dedicated research into what I am buying beforehand and the possibility of enjoying it with friends weighs in heavily as well, especially during a sale.
If i buy a video game for my console, i don't want to download it, i want to stick it in the tray and play immediately. For a Pc game, while i got a decent speed for the web, I still have to wait and it kills my excitement.
Steam is a viable platform for game releases because its so damn cheap, and while you can't trade in games or stuff like that, I do put in very dedicated research into what I am buying beforehand and the possibility of enjoying it with friends weighs in heavily as well, especially during a sale.
A business that depends on the dead physical delivery method tries to push for said method. i wonder how long will it keep trying to beat that dead horse.
Except that CDs are pretty much dead and the only place vinyl made a comeback is in the heads of hipsters. Its all about streaming, like Spotify and dogital downloads like iTunes and BandCamp now. only the dinosaurs still print CDs.
Only one facet of PC gaming - Steam - has more active members than all consoles put together. Consoles are and always were dwarfed by PC gamers. Its just that PC has far more games and thus the audience is far more divided.ecoho said:you do realize that the pc gaming market while large is by far dwarfed by consoles right? (don't worry your pc is by far more powerful
OT: yeah good idea from them and they'll end up better off for it.
thats because there is no need to collect physical games on PC, since PC games wont stop working in a few years when MS or Sony decides to stop supporting servers. Heck, even when Ubisoft shut down its DRM servers the games reliant on them still worked. PC gamers can download collection of retro games bigger than most collectors in less than an hour. there is no reason to collect them seperately.AgentCooper said:
Except that CDs are pretty much dead and the only place vinyl made a comeback is in the heads of hipsters. Its all about streaming, like Spotify and dogital downloads like iTunes and BandCamp now. only the dinosaurs still print CDs.
maybe those people should finally start blaming those who are responsible for this instead of trying to blame everyone else?Hairless Mammoth said:
> Microsoft creates one of the best digital games markets for its Xbox One launch which even allowed digital game reselling and very extensive game sharing, something even Steam didn't and still doesn't currently offer
> online only games though so Microsoft gets crucified
> Microsoft backpedals a lot and makes the console offline friendly
> they have to remove the brilliant online system
> skip forward two years
> everything beginning to go more and more digital
> "Oh, if only there was some way to resell my digital games and give them to friends and family to play like they were physical games!"
> online only games though so Microsoft gets crucified
> Microsoft backpedals a lot and makes the console offline friendly
> they have to remove the brilliant online system
> skip forward two years
> everything beginning to go more and more digital
> "Oh, if only there was some way to resell my digital games and give them to friends and family to play like they were physical games!"
No excuse I said PC gaming retro collecting for physical is dead. Nothing I said invalidates that. Retro is different on consoles than on PC. Sure you can download tons of classic games and that just defeats the fun of retro game hunting. Some PC games from the 1990's had extravagant editions with cds and even art books. If you collect physical then you would want these.Strazdas said:A business that depends on the dead physical delivery method tries to push for said method. i wonder how long will it keep trying to beat that dead horse.
Only one facet of PC gaming - Steam - has more active members than all consoles put together. Consoles are and always were dwarfed by PC gamers. Its just that PC has far more games and thus the audience is far more divided.ecoho said:you do realize that the pc gaming market while large is by far dwarfed by consoles right? (don't worry your pc is by far more powerful
OT: yeah good idea from them and they'll end up better off for it.
thats because there is no need to collect physical games on PC, since PC games wont stop working in a few years when MS or Sony decides to stop supporting servers. Heck, even when Ubisoft shut down its DRM servers the games reliant on them still worked. PC gamers can download collection of retro games bigger than most collectors in less than an hour. there is no reason to collect them seperately.AgentCooper said:
Except that CDs are pretty much dead and the only place vinyl made a comeback is in the heads of hipsters. Its all about streaming, like Spotify and dogital downloads like iTunes and BandCamp now. only the dinosaurs still print CDs.
maybe those people should finally start blaming those who are responsible for this instead of trying to blame everyone else?Hairless Mammoth said:
No, cds are not dead and make up quite of bit of revenue. I can go buy new cd's for the price of a full album on itunes. I have sales charts from 2010-2015 and digital sales are down along with physical. People want streaming music. Which is a awful alternative for anything. Considering how shady streaming licenses can be.
Listen... I'm done debating. I'm not here to convince you otherwise and I don't feel like doing the endless quote chaining.
Yes, retro game for physical is dead, but its dead because there is no need for it and not because its somehow inferior. we just have better methods of collecting games, in digital form. and like i said its not like you have defined machines with PC. i can play Retrun Fire from 1993 on my PC i built last year but could i play Sonic 1 on PS4?AgentCooper said:
As far as the items such as atbooks go, there is actually a ninche group of people that shares these digitally as well. as in, scanned. of course legality of that is a gray area. dont know how exactly they do it since i was never into these things. i always bought games for games and not for complimentary items.
CDs are dead. Their revenue is small. Digital download totally dominates sales revenue, not to mention that majority of revenue for musicians now are tours rather than sales of songs (because often one can listen to them for free on youtube and the like, so much less people buy them nowadays)
Yes, like i said, streaming is king now. I agree that streaming is pretty bad considering how licensing works now and myself always go for digital download instead, but the trend to digital streaming is there.
Or, you know, microsoft could have done this like steam did and allow family sharing without always online bullshit.....Arnoxthe1 said:
Also this is the first time i hear about digital games reselling from microsoft. yes, their online idea system was something interesting but i never heard about this aspect of it.
I thought the reason the X-Box One was crucified before launch was because of the daily DRM like checks they were trying to implement. I'm all for digital but I still want physical collector's editions.Arnoxthe1 said:> Microsoft creates one of the best digital games markets for its Xbox One launch which even allowed digital game reselling and very extensive game sharing, something even Steam didn't and still doesn't currently offer
> online only games though so Microsoft gets crucified
> Microsoft backpedals a lot and makes the console offline friendly
> they have to remove the brilliant online system
> skip forward two years
> everything beginning to go more and more digital
> "Oh, if only there was some way to resell my digital games and give them to friends and family to play like they were physical games!"
For everyone that has crappy internet I see a solution for it. Stores like GameStop, Wal-Mart, Meijer, etc can sell pre-downloaded games on flash drives. If someone wants to buy a digital download they just bring in a flash drive and can have the game downloaded onto it at GameStop or other stores that have great internet.
Well, you could still use the console but you wouldn't be able to play games with it until you had a working connection. But the way the entire digital system would work, if they allowed you to play offline, the system would be able to be crazy exploited for free games. So there was a good reason behind the always-online decision. One of the big problems though is, Microsoft did such a bad job of marketing the system's positives, thus dooming any chance the digital system had of taking off. All people saw was online-only and none the massive benefits that Microsoft had planned for it. So, people obviously pretty much rioted against it. XDBat Vader said:
Having said all that though, we just simply aren't in a time where you can find an internet connection anywhere anyway. And until that happens, I agree that we should still stick to physical copies.
Strazdas said:
I can play Sonic 1 on the original Sega Genesis or mostly any system I have hooked up to my entertainment system. I own quite a few consoles in my entertainment center. I collect physical to play and having original everything is a must. What I do is maybe not feasible to some people. I'm a enthusiast collector and I know I am in the minority.
You still are not providing evidence for you claims for cds are dead. I can't personally speak for other countries and their own buying habits. Let's assume the profit margin for CD's are so razor thin. Companies would bow out in droves and not even offer cds as a third choice. Cds in general speaking are low risk these days that companies can pump out new collections of legacy titles and new albums with collectors editions even. Dead to me means no sales or interest in the format. Is the format declining? Yes. Is it so dwarfed by everything else that it makes so unprofitable? no.
Now... here is the million dollar question. Which streaming music service is going to hit a brick wall first.
The point being that you need to connect multiple systems with many different connectors while my single system plays everything. you can see how the need to collect diminishes here, im sure.AgentCooper said:
Small sales does not mean unprofitable. printing CDs is very, very cheap. think 4 cents per cd cheap when you go industrial. so even low sales and small prices still makes them profitable. even if the number of sales are dwarfed by everything else. Also two things are important to note. the music industry fought tooth and nail against internet. they did all they could to stop digital and failed. no wonder some companies would still try cds even if they were unprofitable. cds allow them more control over internet downloads. or at least they think so. and another thing - many smaller labels and artists did go full digital. even big ones seem to lean that way, for example that Nightwish album that was digital only.
I think the first brick walls are being hit already. Last.fm seems to be on life support now when 5 years ago it was the biggest streaming site. I think a lot of this streaming now can be made or broken by spotify. if spotify fails its going to leave a lot of angry customers. Soundcloud is very interesting hybrid in my opinion. it allows streaming and even tries to mimic spotify in this aspect. but it also allows you to download the file.
That's actually the opposite of the real situation, Publisher's have a Monopoly, but only on the physical disc side of gaming, it's perfectly possible to release a digital only game with no publisher involved.Something Amyss said:
CD Projekt Red did this and many smaller devs can do the same, but with the Disc release CDPR had to use a Publisher as a distributor, even though no actual "publisher" was involved in making the game at all.
Why?, because GameStop and the other main disc retailers won't sell games without a publisher being invoved.
As for your claim that a publisher can flick a switch and take away the game digitally.
How?
Steam isn't going anywhere and no publisher controls it. Maybe Uplay or Origin could do such a thing, but I would still have the game files and would immediately use a crack to take my game back.
Also as I run, the few Origin/Uplay games I own, in offline mode, they have absolutely no control of my PC.
The worst they can do is remove the online servers from a multiplayer component/game, but that affects discs as well as digital and still won't stop you playing with a crack or private server.
GOG, which is where I try to get every game, has both DRM free and I can download an installer to keep, just like a having a disc.
Sure GOG is better than every other online store, but you choose where to buy from.
I've even bought Games on GOG, I already have on Steam and immediatly hidden the Steam version as I can't actually sell it or even give it away after playing. That needs to change, but it's the only downside to digital gaming and apart from these few double purchases, I have no desire to sell a single game, the vast majority were bought for under £5 and are not worty selling.
The ability to choose Digital or disc is desirable, until all can get decent broadband speeds, there will be a sizable market for discs.
In the long term that market will shrink below the point where, publishers begin to lose money on the discs.
Only then. will publishers immediately stop selling discs at all, whether you like it or not.
It's perfectly possible to release a physical disc with no publisher involved. When anomaly hunting, you sort of leave out the caveats to one side and not the other, like here. This doesn't tell me I have it backwards, it tells me you like digital and wish to defend it. That's fine, but don't expect me to participate.Uhuru N said:
Strazdas said:
I have everything connected to what is amounts to a switch system. So turning on a certain console is tons easier and less hassle. It also helps mitigate a fire risk. That and I go to swamp meets to trade game with fellow collectors. I live in a rural area that is lucky to get even a 4mb download. I purchased the PC version of Dark Soul II: Collectors Edition and it came with a metal case with a steam voucher inside. That was so disappointing to me.
I don't see the cds out of rotation to any degree just yet. We are still seeing countries with better internet than the United States favor cds over digital. I assume this has to do with the countries laws or rather attitude to it. I do think digital music gives a outlet for smaller bands to gain traction in the music market. All I ask for is a choice and its understandable that smaller bands can't put out some kind of cd package. I wish some bands had the marketing team that did Slayer's new album recently.