Poll: Your Opinions on Digital Distribution

chromewarriorXIII

The One with the Cake
Oct 17, 2008
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I'm writing a short essay on Digital Distribution of various medias (books, music, video games, movies), and was hoping to get some opinions on it.

What do you think about Digital Distribution? Will it ever take over hard-copies? Do you prefer it? Which is more efficient for you?

If you could include any experiences with Digital Distribution that made you prefer, or dislike it, that would be very helpful.

I personally prefer having a hard-copy of anything. I like owning a book, game, movie, or video game, and being able to hold it in my hands. While I have downloaded some games off of the PS Store, I don't feel as much of a connection to those games because of the fact that I can't actually touch them.

I am the same way with music. My whole family always prefers to buy new albums in a store and have the disk rather than buying it off of something like the iTunes Store.
 

Xombiebubble

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Oct 26, 2009
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I'm a PC gamer more than anything and Steam is a great way to get great titles at great prices.

I use XBLA often and still play trials HD

I downloaded Super Metroid for Wii VC

I downloaded FF7 for PS3 of the playstation network

when it comes to games, digital distribution is just great
 

The_Healer

New member
Jun 17, 2009
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Well usually I buy my games off ebay. This is mainly because:

1. They are cheaper
2. I have a PS3 and there aren't a great many downloadable retail games
3. I like them delivered to my door

So theoretically if availability and price were improved then I would download them. Not looking too likely at the present though.
 

Tzekelkan

New member
Dec 27, 2009
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I voted for a hard copy, though it's hardly what I do. The thing is, hard copies vs. digital copies are never the same price. I buy 90% games in Steam sales, so the question really is invalid as stores almost never go beneath 20-30? for good, first hand games.
 

hey_iknowyou

New member
Dec 24, 2008
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Usually I prefer digital downloads for a few reasons. I prefer not having to switchCD's around anytime I want to listen/play something else, and I also like the aspect that it's mroe difficult to lose digital games. There always there on my hard drive instead of scattered about my house where I can't find them.
 

KrakFoxx

New member
Oct 29, 2009
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I like both, really it depends on the game, if its something i really like i will get the hard copy, if im less concerned then i'll get the digital option.

Also HALLELUJAH! The Escapist hasn't been working for me for weeks and now it is! YAY!

Edit: Ok, it stopped working again for a minute...i have no idea why...uh oh
 

initialdelay

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Sep 29, 2009
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I prefer Steam these days, mainly for the convenience factor of not needing to swap disks. Plus several of my last hard copy games required steam activation anyway...
 

CoffeeScamp

New member
Sep 22, 2009
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For the same price, digitally.
Less messing around with disks, no box to stuff in the attic, can get at it from any computer..

For the PC, I'm thinking of Steam here mainly though. (Live Marketplace and PSN store are fine for things on the 360 or PS3, but I rarely buy things there as I do prefer the PC).

I'm less keen on the idea of grabbing things from other sites which might just disappear or withdraw support after a year or two, leaving me with no access to something I've bought. So far Steam have given me no reason to distrust them.


If asked this same question maybe 18 months ago, I would have said I preferred hard copies - for reasons of feeling more ownership of something I could hold. The convenience of having things accessible from multiple PCs has converted me on that one :)
 

Julianking93

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May 16, 2009
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I don't like digital distribusion for 3 reasons.

1. I can't get hooked up to the internet on my PS3 and therefore, wouldn't be able to buy any new games

2. I like having discs and boxes. I'm sort of a collector and they look good on my shelf.

3. I believe that if games were to become digitally produced, it would become far easier to pirate these games and sell them elsewhere or just give them away online.
 

Regiment

New member
Nov 9, 2009
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Given the choice, I'd buy a hard copy any day. I like having the actual physical thing with the actual physical instructions. I can't make a nice display of digital games.

If all I'm buying is a license code to download a game (Portal comes to mind), I'd sooner just buy it online.
 

Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
3,078
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I'm against not being able to have a hardcopy of my library.

Hard drives can go bad, servers go down, and companies go out of business. So if you save all of your steam games on a backup hard drive like a lot of people save their previous purchases and valve goes bankrupt in 5-10 years for some reason, only to find your hard drive has become unusable when you go to play an old favorite game and realize you've just lost a big chunk of your library.

I'm for digital distribution if I can burn it to a disc for backup and don't need installation tied to a server that won't always be around.

Otherwise, no, screw that.
 

chromewarriorXIII

The One with the Cake
Oct 17, 2008
2,448
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Thank you all for your replies. Maybe I'll post the essay in this topic when I'm done with it. It won't be anything incredible but I would like some critiques on it.
 

The Random One

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May 29, 2008
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Digital copy, always. I don't think having a physical copy helps you in any way other than cluttering up your rooms. My room is filled with books and comics, and I like it, but game cases somehow always felt off. The cases for games I do physically own are all stacked up in a shelf up high. The ability to buy a game and then start playing it without having to get my fat ass off the chair is a bonus. While I do enjoy scouring shelves for titles, I have such definite tastes (and am such a scrounger with money) that I doubt I'll ever find a game and buy it as a spur of the moment thing. I can scour virtual shelves with the same ease, anyway.

However, I won't make repeated business with an online games seller unless they give me some certainty that I can't lose my purchase if I have a hardware failure, for instance. Good Old Games offers games with no DRM and with infinite re-downloads from your account, so even if Armageddon comes along and everyone is grisly murdered I'll be able to redownload and play my games as soon as internet is reinstalled.
 

Photon987

New member
May 27, 2009
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The hard copy always wins out for me.

You can't beat that "new-game" smell. Don't even try to say you dislike it, because everyone will know that you are a liar - and an bad one, no less.
 

Marter

Elite Member
Legacy
Oct 27, 2009
14,276
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I much prefer to own a game. I have bought 212 games so far, and actually having the physical copy is a really good feeling I find. I also like being able to look over from the couch and see all my games sitting on the shelf.
 

Outright Villainy

New member
Jan 19, 2010
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Well generally I'll but second hand games or steam sales, and the latter is much more reliable. That said, I like having physical copies quite a lot. I still buy cds regularly, and I don't think I'd ever stop. So ideally physical, but steam has way too many awesome deals to pass up.
 

Jfswift

Hmm.. what's this button do?
Nov 2, 2009
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I used to be like you and prefer a hard copy however digital is great. It saves space and is easy to locate the files I need whenever I clean my hd off and need to redo everything. (well mostly it just saves space, no more lugging around 10,000 disks).
 

Romblen

New member
Oct 10, 2009
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Digital. I buy almost all of my games through Steam. It's saved me a lot of money because 1) Steam often has sales on games and 2) as long as I have my Steam account, I can keep all my games. If all my games were hard copy, I have no doubt that I would have lost half my games when I moved to my new computer.