Poll: So pc gamers . Do you still buy your pc games at retail stores?

[The Virgo]

I only got on the internet recently (I had to take my computer to a friend's house to install the Orange Box), so I've always, at this point, bought games via retail.

However, the plus side of online is that you don't have to use a disc that will eventually get destroyed. (Poor Oblivion <:'-[ ) But there's still something about going to the game store, picking up the box, buying it, going home, unboxing it, installing it and then playing!

I dunno, maybe I'm just old fashioned.

 

[Ascarus]

depends on the game. based on the horror stories i have seen and read about with origin, as long as i can avoid that service i will do so. i have used steam on a few occasions and have been reasonably happy with the result.

since ME3 will be origin exclusive (/puke) i suspect that will be the first time use the service, unless i decide to dive into the old republic. i haven't decided yet.

so i use both - retail and digital download for all my games, PC or console.

 

[Panorama]

I do sometimes, as pc gaming is not as popular, it gets only a small section in most shops, but it does seem to get a discount, i normally go check on steam and look at price, then go in town if they are similar like the same or better i will buy it (as i like a box and disc) but if its more expensive then i just go for steam.

 

[newwiseman]

I avoid digital distro whenever possible, I have a 250GB internet traffic cap and I make it too the 240s consistently every month. Whenever I have to download a game I loose out on 4-8GBs of netflix and online gaming.

Comcast really needs to remove the traffic cap and just cap my bandwidth. It used to be 8Mps but now I get over 20Mps and it's way to easy to hit 250GB. I'll probably switch to Verizon FIOS soon.

 

[Strixvaliano]

I tend to funnel my money through Steam. Keeps all my titles in one nice little place and their sales are phenomenal. What they don't have I usually go to GoG for.

 

[Fuselage]

If the game is expensive or seems to hard on my frail and fragile internet, I buy it retail, nice to know that at least my EB Australia store has a full 5 shelves dedicated to PC.
If not I'd just use Steam.

 

[Bad Jim]

Until very recently my connection speed was 1Mb/s. At that speed, it takes about 2-3 hours to download 1GB, so most serious games would have to be left overnight, on more than one night. So I looked for physical copies where possible. I did buy older/indie games via Steam.

What I'll do now I have 8Mb/s? Possibly go download but I don't know.

 

[thestickman91]

This may sound weird but i only buy PC game disks if they require steam activation. This way I can install games much faster while still being able to download it to multiple computers without a disk if need be.

 

[Vigilantis]

Bought BF3 from Best Buy...worst customer service ever, will not be returning to best buy ever.

Will probably stick with steam/origin here on out

 

[chaosbedlam]

the last game i bought from a retailer was batman arkham asylum collectors edition. i got it cos of the batarang inside, but was disappointed when i learnt that it was just a cheep plastic model. don't get me wrong i wasn't expecting a fully functional batarang but dam a nicely carved model made from pewter would have been nice! look at the CoD boys they got some dam night vision goggles! so any way now days i will strictly only purchass games online you know exactly what you are getting.

woops kinda went into a we rant there, sorry.

 

[Nabohs]

Anything from Valve - No

Anything From Blizzard - Yes

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

The only game I purchased retail in the last several years was Starcraft 2 simply because I had no other choice.

 

[ajemas]

Not really. Steam is way faster and easier, and cheaper for the most part. Also, having it on the Steam Cloud means that I won't misplace any of the CDs, which has happened multiple times in the past due to my somewhat scatterbrained nature.

 

[F'Angus]

Only when there's a good deal on... but GAME tends to have terrible, old pc games.

 

[Krantos]

Way more selection online and they have sales. Stores never have sales on PC games (least not where I live).

Also, the ease of DLing it whenever I want is soooo nice.

Still, every once in a while a make a purchase at the store, and I always look every time I go in, just in case. Like I said, though, rarely any sales.

 

[babinro]

No.

There are exceptions with the rare pre-order bonuses but this would still average about 1 store purchase for every 2 years.

Personally I just don't like to rely on a game disc if possible. Granted, my old Warcraft 2 CD still works perfectly, but that's not to say all my games will after 5+ years.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Not any more, though not for lack of trying for a while there.

ME: Do you have a copy of (Game X)
EB: Did you pre-order?
ME: No.
EB: No.

Game X could be anything from Civ 5 to the super obscure Starcraft 2. Why should they be expected to keep some extra Starcraft 2 copies around? Who's to say that game will sell?

Turns out digital distribution always has the game I want in stock, and usually at 10-20% less than retail, and that's assuming no sale, in which case it's often 50-75% less than retail.

Retail can bite me.

 

[lumenadducere]

I would if stores actually carried a decent selection. Ever actually looked at your local game store? If it's anything like the GameStops near me there's a veritable drought of PC titles, and most of 'em are shovelware. None of the major PC versions of modern games get stocked, or if they do it's weeks after they actually get released.

GameStop is the biggest culprit of this, as once publishers started limiting the ability to re-sell PC titles with things like mandatory activation or CD Keys, they actually stopped stocking all PC titles. That only lasted for a few months, but they still haven't made the comeback that they should have. Add in all the rumors of them refusing to stock games that have corresponding Steam requirements, and you have a store franchise that generally isn't too considerate of PC gamers.

So I've been sticking to Amazon for when I want a physical copy, and Steam/GOG when I just want a digital one. GameStop can go bankrupt for all I care. Good riddance too, as I don't care for being bugged to buy a used copy that's only $5 cheaper than the actual new version. I'd rather have some of the profits actually go to the devs and publishers rather than feed your money-grubbing pyramid scheme, thanks.