Physical release!?

[Illyrian]

Hey.

So what is with the kind of obsession some people always have about having a physical copy of every game they buy? Especially when everything is available on the Internet through different means both legal and illegal. I understand collecting old games for the nostalgia and because they might be worth a lot one day but why do people obsess over this with new games?

I mean they print so many copies of new games it isn'the like we are going to run out anytime soonext.

To clarify: I am referring to regular versions of games. I understand collecting collector's editions.

[Blinge]

Here we gooooo

[jochen]

Ask again in maybe ten years then your PS3/ Xbox 360 / PS4 / Wii U with all your downloaded games is damaged with no chance to repair it.

Of course you can buy a used console. The question will be if you can transfer your legaly downloaded games to your new console.

Even if you are willing to buy and download your favourite games again - what if Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo dont support their old consoles anymore and
shot down PSN, Xbox Live Arcade or Wii ( U ) Shop.

A physical copy of a game ( hopefully ) works on more than one console and maybe you can sell it.

[Shoryukev]

The bottom line is that one day you're going to turn on your PS3/4/xbox1/whatever and the online service will not work......what happens to all your downloaded games that require the internet for authentication? I'd hope they would issue an update before the plug is pulled that disabled all online requirements for playing the games, but what if you miss the deadline on getting that update?

There is also an issue with licensing, often games and their DLC get pulled from PSN/XBL/etc. when contracts with companies expire. The biggest example of that I can think of is Capcom pulling everything that ever involved Marvel Comics offline. There is a limited release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Xbox360 that fetches a huge price because the disc has all the DLC included. If I were to boot up Marvel vs Capcom 3 on my PS3 there would be two characters I wouldn't be able to download, even though I have the redemption code that came with my limited-edition copy. I had those characters downloaded on my fat-PS3....but it died a long time ago.


Those are two legitimate issues people have with not owning physical media. Nostalgia can often play a factor when this subject comes up, but it's not the only reason we want physical copies of our games.

[BryanM]

Exactly. DRM that will eventually take your license away from you is beyond anti-consumer.

If they're gonna save themselves the $25 over-head of printing, shipping, and sharing the profit with the retailer, the least these bitches could do is share some of that savings to the customer. Mysteriously, this never happens with the trillion dollar blockbuster titles.

What a mystery.

[nissling]

The question will be if you can transfer your legaly downloaded games to your new console.

That's not an issue at all. Games purchased on Steam, PSN etc. can be downloaded an infinite number of times.

Personally I buy some console games physically but during sales and such I prefer digital downloads. For PC I quit buying physical games a long time ago. I personally see the reason with collecting physical games but the game itself is priority number one for me.

[Illyrian]

I personally don't want to have a house full of game boxes as well.

[Squire Grooktook]

I personally don't want to have a house full of game boxes as well.

What kind of monster are you

Next thing you'll be saying is that you don't have room for anime figurines.

Casuals...

[Super Laydock]

Ask again in maybe ten years then your PS3/ Xbox 360 / PS4 / Wii U with all your downloaded games is damaged with no chance to repair it.

Of course you can buy a used console. The question will be if you can transfer your legaly downloaded games to your new console.

Even if you are willing to buy and download your favourite games again - what if Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo dont support their old consoles anymore and
shot down PSN, Xbox Live Arcade or Wii ( U ) Shop.

A physical copy of a game ( hopefully ) works on more than one console and maybe you can sell it.

You should copyright this as it's the final truth in this mather.

[Illyrian]

You know you don'the need to be logged into PSN etc to play games you own right? Even if they turned off the service I could still play my PS4 games, just not online

[Super Laydock]

You know you don'the need to be logged into PSN etc to play games you own right? Even if they turned off the service I could still play my PS4 games, just not online

but you won't be able to sell them when you're bored with them. Also I imagine a 500 GB PS 4 (like mine) is easier overcrowded with games than the usual household so you dispense them earlier (thinking you can download them later... but what if you can´t????)

[GaijinPunch]

You know you don'the need to be logged into PSN etc to play games you own right? Even if they turned off the service I could still play my PS4 games, just not online

Your PS4 will one day break, and they will not have the online service up. It is way down the road, but it's a thought nonetheless. Most people here are of the older, collector ilk. I have a few games I've owned for decades, and can luckily still play. But think, if Saturn games were download only, I'd have just wiped out all of them when my Saturn when tits up.

[CIT]

Just some of the reasons I like physical:

- Awesome box and manual art is part of the experience for me, especially with old games.
- You don't truly own a digital game. There's no guarantee the services that allow you to re-download and play your games will exist in the future.
- You can't re-sell your digital games.
- You can support your local mom 'n pop gameshop by buying physical.
- With old games, hunting for a copy of a rare game can be fun in and of itself.

But I'm by no means dogmatic about it. For example, I don't give a shit about having my music and films as a physical copy. I just care about video games more.

[Xyga]

http://youtu.be/vWz9VN40nCA

[MR_Soren]

I understand collecting old games for the nostalgia and because they might be worth a lot one day but why do people obsess over this with new games?

You understand collecting old games, but not new games? You do realize that new games eventually become old games, right? It's the same idea, plus the concept of time.

If you're in it for value, there are already games as recent as the PS2 era that are worth around $100. It's only a matter of time before newer generations reveal their own diamonds.

However, value is not a primary consideration for me because I generally don't sell my games. I just want something I can always play even if my console breaks and the online services shut down. It's also nice to have something I can loan, trade, or sell if I wish to.

As far as cluttering my house... media shelves keep everything organized and tidy. Video game storage is pretty easy compared to most things a person could collect.

[Shoryukev]

You know you don'the need to be logged into PSN etc to play games you own right? Even if they turned off the service I could still play my PS4 games, just not online

Maybe this has changed (it's been awhile since I checked) but many PS3 games downloaded from PSN used to force online authentication to play them. If you can't connect to PSN with the account it is tied to, it changes to the demo version and tells you to log-in to play the full version.

[TransatlanticFoe]

What even is the benefit of a DRM download over a physical release?

Space is literally all I can think of and even that's outweighed by all the negatives already covered in this thread.

I really don't think it's silly to want something because it's clearly superior.

[Mortificator]

Your physical discs and carts are eventually going to fail. It's inevitable. Though you may die before that happens, the original media dogma leads to humanity permanently losing these games within a relatively short time.

The two solutions are to regularly copy them to new media (which is how various works have survived to the 21st century, though many were lost along the way) or convert to digital.

[BryanM]

Yes that is a function of piracy and emulation.

But we're talking about legal licenses here. It'd be nice to get something for your money that lasts 200 years instead of 12.

[boagman]

"I mean they print so many copies of new games it isn'the like we are going to run out anytime soonext."

Yes, because there are just so many copies of Radiant Silvergun just floating around in the garbage. I just tripped over one in the alley!

[Shepardus]

If you really want your games to last then DRM-free digital distribution is the way to go. Ideally open-source so you can port them to future platforms.

"Physical" vs. "digital" is a silly argument to me, as either way you're dealing with digital data stored on physical media. The only inherent difference between the formats is whether you get the physical goods such as the box (the importance of which varies from person to person) - the game itself is the same. It's more about DRM vs. DRM-free, and I doubt many consumers explicitly want DRM - they just vary on how much they care.

[ZacharyB]

...Interesting crossroads between what modern companies have to do to survive as they make the games, and what happens to those games afterwards.

[nissling]

Your PS4 will one day break, and they will not have the online service up. It is way down the road, but it's a thought nonetheless.

By that time you won't be able to update your physical games with the latest FW and therefore you will get plenty of bugs or such during gameplay. Not only digital distributed games will suffer.

Maybe this has changed (it's been awhile since I checked) but many PS3 games downloaded from PSN used to force online authentication to play them. If you can't connect to PSN with the account it is tied to, it changes to the demo version and tells you to log-in to play the full version.

I've never had such issues with my Ps3s and yet I'm only connected whenever I'll download a game or an update.

[GaijinPunch]

Your PS4 will one day break, and they will not have the online service up. It is way down the road, but it's a thought nonetheless.

By that time you won't be able to update your physical games with the latest FW and therefore you will get plenty of bugs or such during gameplay. Not only digital distributed games will suffer.

Programmers releasing shoddy product is for another thread.

[nissling]

Guess you haven't noticed how much current video games are improved thanks to updates...

[trap15]

Yes... improved...

[boagman]

Guess you haven't noticed how much current video games are improved thanks to updates...

You're not going to believe this, but physical games can be updated. I mean, the very *idea*!!!!!!

[HydrogLox]

Your PS4 will one day break, and they will not have the online service up. It is way down the road, but it's a thought nonetheless.

By that time you won't be able to update your physical games with the latest FW and therefore you will get plenty of bugs or such during gameplay. Not only digital distributed games will suffer.

Programmers releasing shoddy product is for another thread.

Which is why it is starting to make sense to move physical releases towards the end of the commercial product life-cycle (and it basically encourages double dipping); i.e. when it is highly unlikely that any further patches will be issued. Though that only works for consoles/devices that support physical media - something that may be universally abandoned in the near future.

[nissling]

You're not going to believe this, but physical games can be updated. I mean, the very *idea*!!!!!!

Of course they can but you missed my point. The point is that by the time that the servers are down and you cannot download any games from the stores you will most likely not be able to update the games either regardless if you've got it physically or digitally.

Yes... improved...

The Phantom Pain V1,0 was broken and Uncharted 4 V1,0 didn't feature adjustable motion blur.

[rancor]

So what is with the kind of obsession some people always have about having a physical copy of every game they buy?

I would imagine that you're not the kind of person that has a retirement account, or more than $1000 in the bank either, right? Everything is fine today, so why wont tomorrow be the same?