I Hate To Admit It, But Digital Distribution Is Growing On Me....

[Shagger]

Maybe it's because I've spent so much more time gaming on PC this last year than I have done in the past, but I'm starting like this whole distribution thing. It's convenient and practical so long as your internet is decent, and you can find games cheep enough that it kind of makes up for the lack of used games. Rights to play games owned by friends and family are also improving and refunds are pretty much standard across the board now. There is also no risk of damaging or loosing your games either, something that has always been a problem with games in the past.

 

Don't get me wrong, we still NEED games to be available on physical media in a big way. We need to have the buyers rights they offer maintained and I will always be concerned about games going offline from a digital service and the other drawbacks with regards to game preservation. However, and I never thought I would believe this, but I'm coming round to digital distribution and I find myself considering it as an option that's at least as valid as buying games on disk. 80% of video games now are bought digitally, and I'm not surprised. Maybe this was simply the next step in game's evolution.

 

Are you still loyal to physical media, or are you embracing digital distribution instead. Tell me what and why below.

[Kane99]

It's the ease of use these digital marketplaces have. I haven't purchased physical games in years now. I got Borderlands 3, but never played it lol. 

It's also easier to keep track of the games you have, easier to access them and so on. I still prefer physical games, because I would love to build my physical collection more. But I'm too lazy these days to the point where I just want to get my games right away and not have to worry about shipment time making me wait even longer. 

Plus you got predownload options, which makes it even faster to play that new game day one. 

[Yaramaki]

Is a good old school rant at place here or not,  this may take a while to write but ...

Nah i'm not into digital media distribution at all, infact as a video game collector it is against everithing i stand for. Call me stubborn or whatever you want but once consoles go all out flat digital, think i'm going to retire from modern gaming all together. However since joining vgr i got stoked again on current gen hardware and started enjoying bargain hunting for modern physical games, mainly the xbox platform again. 

Never seen the benefit of digital either, yeah you can loose a game i can give you that. But damaging a game like a blu-ray disc if you use it the normal way it's damn near impossible to scratch up. Cartridges are usually robost things so unless you smash it on purpose you'll be fine. So it's a pretty lame to use that as excuse that digital is better then physical.

We have had these discussions before and feeling like i would only repeat myself again, i won't go into the whole digital vs physical arguement of ownership again because with modern gaming it doesn't matter all that much anymore, besides your disk is nothing but a license key these days to play the game, i've had games where there is literally only 40mb on the disc and the rest is a download, so physical disk or not it's the same as a digital download imo being the only difference you get a disk and a case instead of well nothing.

Nintendo first party titles and many games on switch are different in that regard as few games only require small downloads of patches, gotta give nintendo credit where it's due they seem to care that their games are as complete as possible before putting them on a cart. Offcourse can't really vouch for third party titles on switch as you know, you buy a switch for nintendo games and probably smaller indie titels aswell. 

But we are going way off on the subject could be a neat thread in itself , is nintendo the last true gaming company that cares about finishing their games?

there is some benefit in digital media and i can see why others prefer it over physical media and you know it's your oppion, i can respect that. Not everybody has the space to store all that crap or has the desire to keep everithing around like me and you know that is fine. That would be the only benefit i can think of with going all digital and that's space. Maybe another factor where digital is better in is that many games woulden't even exist because of the likes of steam, psn, xbox store or nintendo eshop.

I've had this discussion with my girlfriend last week when we were on vacation where she asked me how many videogames do you own exactly? I coulden't really say exactly but pretty sure it's well over 12k at the moment, do i need all that stuff and why do i keep buying all that stuff, it's a question i'm hoping to find an answer to sooner rather then later. I still enjoy collecting videogames and the hunt for every game for a console/handheld still appeals to me after all these years and that what matters most to me, the enjoyment i get out of it, still being stoked when i get some mail in with some new games, being able to tick some games off what seems an endless list. You could almost say it gives me satisfaction and purpose in my life lol.

But i digress because in the end it doesn't really matter all that much, alsong the physical option is there, i'll support that, if somebody else doesn't, no problem. The most important aspect is playing and enjoying the videogames we buy.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Yaramaki

[Clasher]

Currently I have garage ( which I also use a store room) full.of physical copies if video games I purchased in the past most of which I have made use of in a long time.

In as much as physical copies was the cool of the past I think digital copies has solved the stress of having to find a really good box to pack up your physical copies when you are moving to a new apartment so you crumple them up and have them damaged.

Most of my physical copies are still at the family house , moved out earlier this year and I still haven't considered going back to get them.

I don't purchase physical copies as much as I did, I just get a PlayStation or Xbox subscription or purchase them from the online game store in  Digital copies.

[Grungie]

My issues with digital distribution are more on the console side. A lot of this can by “bypassed” on the PC side.

If they remove a game from the store, you’re screwed, you’re not getting it back unless you jailbreak your console.

The physical copies tend to go down in price a lot faster than digital. People gloat about PSN sales and how those prices are why they went digital, yet I’m sitting here owning those same games I got for the same price (or less) on disc a long time ago.

it’s also crazy how I got some games a few years ago for $20 that are still being listed as $60 online.

[Kane99]

The thing with digital as well, is that you don't necessarily own that game. Same with any form of digital media. You don't own it, you just get a license to own it. 

As well, with digital, how long will we have access to that game? Once a device loses support, what happens to the games on said device? Can we download them later? Can we ever recover them? 

Digital may make things a lot easier, but there is a lot of cons to it. 

I think digital can save games though, in the sense that one day all of our physical media will die out. Disc based games eventually degrade and will become unplayable. There's no stopping that and it's already happened to some disc based games. It's called disc rot. 

[The Blackangel]

Honestly, I prefer physical media as opposed to DDL's. That's not to say I don't have a lot of them. I have 123 DDL's on my Switch alone. Maybe it's coming from being a classic gamer. Everything from N64 and PS1 back is physical cartridges and disc's. Maybe it's a worry that I'll lose it if something corrupts, or my computer crashes completely beyond repair unless I format it and reinstall Windows. I'm not a trusting woman. I know that as soon as I trust something it will fuck me over. Physical seems to be more trustworthy in my opinion.

[The Blackangel]

3 hours ago, Kane99 said:

I think digital can save games though, in the sense that one day all of our physical media will die out. Disc based games eventually degrade and will become unplayable. There's no stopping that and it's already happened to some disc based games. It's called disc rot. 

I unfortunately have to agree on part of that. Physical media will eventually be a thing of the past. Everything will become a DDL, and we won't be able to stop it whether we want to or not. It's already starting with several systems. You can get pretty much any game you want through their online store. And a huge number of games in stores like Gamestop are just a case with a digital code inside, instead of a cart or disc.

So before long (I estimate within the next 10 years) physical media will be gone and disc/cart capable systems will no longer be made.

[Withywarlock]

On 8/8/2022 at 5:13 PM, Shagger said:

Don't get me wrong, we still NEED games to be available on physical media in a big way. We need to have the buyers rights they offer maintained and I will always be concerned about games going offline from a digital service and the other drawbacks with regards to game preservation.

This is a huge concern for me also, and frankly there's not enough questions being raised. Gabe Newell's original statement on being able to play games externally should Steam up and die has not only been lost to page 2 of Google and beyond, it's also increasingly apocryphal. Steam customer service aren't particularly helpful (and in their defence, what exactly are they going to say?), and whatever contingencies are in place to allow you to continue playing your games library will likely cease to work as the games industry rapidly evolves. We've seen how slow legislation on loot boxes has been, even coming to a dead stop in Britain, so how the legal requirement for preservation of digital games (read: the arts) is going to come about before DRM puts the lid on it I've no idea.

6 hours ago, Yaramaki said:

Never seen the benefit of digital either, yeah you can loose a game i can give you that. But damaging a game like a blu-ray disc if you use it the normal way it's damn near impossible to scratch up. Cartridges are usually robost things so unless you smash it on purpose you'll be fine. So it's a pretty lame to use that as excuse that digital is better then physical.

Agreed. Even in the used market it's difficult to find a game too scratched to play. Computer Exchange (CeX, har har) won't take them, and the only big game retailer here in England - GAME - is even more choosey about what they take. Disc rot is the only true threat to the longer life of video games, but as you say discs and cartridges have been around for decades. Meanwhile digital and ownership sets to worsen each time a game is pulled from Steam, from Castle of Illusion to Alpha Protocol.

 

5 hours ago, Grungie said:

The physical copies tend to go down in price a lot faster than digital. People gloat about PSN sales and how those prices are why they went digital, yet I’m sitting here owning those same games I got for the same price (or less) on disc a long time ago.

That's an interesting observation, my experience is the opposite unless we count used sales (which obviously don't have a tangible benefit to the publisher). Then again the last time I paid attention to the used market was about 8 years ago when I was still on console.

 

3 hours ago, Kane99 said:

As well, with digital, how long will we have access to that game? Once a device loses support, what happens to the games on said device? Can we download them later? Can we ever recover them? 

That takes me back to when Uplay was Public Enemy Number One for basically opening a backdoor on users' PCs for trojans, among other things. At least they'd shown us bright and early the woes of digital. It's a shame convenience has overshadowed them, and I include myself in that.

~

Eh, I've had my fun and I've no longer the will to fight against the removal of digital ownership (what little we had in the first place). That just about sums up my own thoughts without piggybacking off of someone else's comment.

[Grungie]

8 minutes ago, Withywarlock said:

That's an interesting observation, my experience is the opposite unless we count used sales (which obviously don't have a tangible benefit to the publisher). Then again the last time I paid attention to the used market was about 8 years ago when I was still on console.

Some games I bought brand new for like $20-40 new at a place like GameStop or Best Buy and see it listed on PSN for $60 for quite awhile. So I personally find it weird when the digital copy stays at that price for so long, but the physical goes down quicker.

[Kane99]

4 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

I unfortunately have to agree on part of that. Physical media will eventually be a thing of the past. Everything will become a DDL, and we won't be able to stop it whether we want to or not. It's already starting with several systems. You can get pretty much any game you want through their online store. And a huge number of games in stores like Gamestop are just a case with a digital code inside, instead of a cart or disc.

So before long (I estimate within the next 10 years) physical media will be gone and disc/cart capable systems will no longer be made.

Which is why I'm for game preservation, because even cart based media will degrade over time, though it will take a lot longer than disc based games, it will eventually happen. I like what the wayback machine has done with their DOS games list, as they're trying to save as many games as they can. 

Which is why I think a lot of other media like it is starting to get digitized. Like old VHS tapes that have old commercials. I like when people preserve that history for us to watch later. And with gaming I think that's the only route to take, at least when it comes to retro and disc based games. Because I'd hate to see some classics get lost to time because no one decided to preserve them. I think Nintendo and all the big brands have their games protected and saved, but there are a lot of games that are probably never going to be released digitally and in turn could be lost to time. And that scares me. 

[Clasher]

On 8/9/2022 at 12:28 PM, Grungie said:

The physical copies tend to go down in price a lot faster than digital. People gloat about PSN sales and how those prices are why they went digital, yet I’m sitting here owning those same games I got for the same price (or less) on disc a long time ago.

I think that's also one of the really good features of the physical copies of video games, the prices go down a lot more faster but the digital copies could maintain the same price for quite a long time.

[Kane99]

22 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

That takes me back to when Uplay was Public Enemy Number One for basically opening a backdoor on users' PCs for trojans, among other things. At least they'd shown us bright and early the woes of digital. It's a shame convenience has overshadowed them, and I include myself in that.

~

Eh, I've had my fun and I've no longer the will to fight against the removal of digital ownership (what little we had in the first place). That just about sums up my own thoughts without piggybacking off of someone else's comment.

Eww, Uplay. I don't get the point in Uplay whatsoever. It's just Ubisofts way of I guess keeping track of their users. And didn't they really dig deep into DRM for their games? Even their digital games if I remember correctly. 

Digital is our inevitable future. We're already kinda seeing it with Music and movies. I haven't purchased a new movie physically in a long time. I was going to pick up Joker, but felt I really didn't need to. Because I could watch it on a streaming service or in other ways. I like the idea of adding a game/movie/cd, etc to my collection, but I feel like I'm becoming less and less of a physical collector. One thing is I don't have the space anymore for games, or collecting other forms of media. I will still buy a physical game if it's retro, or older generations, but newer consoles I never see the point. 

And one other thing, how Nintendo sometimes release a case with the code for a game. I get why they do that, for collectors, but once you use that code, you just have an empty case sitting on your shelf. What's the point then? If it's not coming out on an actual cart or disc, why even release it? 

[Withywarlock]

30 minutes ago, Kane99 said:

Eww, Uplay. I don't get the point in Uplay whatsoever. It's just Ubisofts way of I guess keeping track of their users.

I'd say the same of every digital platform ever: how long ago was it that 'cookie laws' were introduced, only 10 years? By that time they had just about everyone on the planet's information, and had sold it to those who don't. Even Steam has metadata via achievements, anticheat and the hardware survey. Uplay however was the absolute worst of the bunch for the reasons above (trojans, incorrectly identifying hardware, always online not working both ways), at least once upon a time; Tencent has its claws in more things than I care to remember. *shudders*

31 minutes ago, Kane99 said:

And one other thing, how Nintendo sometimes release a case with the code for a game. I get why they do that, for collectors, but once you use that code, you just have an empty case sitting on your shelf. What's the point then? If it's not coming out on an actual cart or disc, why even release it? 

Because Nintendo hate clean drinking water.

Joking aside, it was due to popular demand that people wanted to show off their games on their shelves. As far as I'm aware it dated back to a fan project someone did, where they made mock box-art for digital-only games to be placed inside empty Switch cases. It's a cute idea but unnecessarily wasteful.

[Kane99]

1 hour ago, Withywarlock said:

I'd say the same of every digital platform ever: how long ago was it that 'cookie laws' were introduced, only 10 years? By that time they had just about everyone on the planet's information, and had sold it to those who don't. Even Steam has metadata via achievements, anticheat and the hardware survey. Uplay however was the absolute worst of the bunch for the reasons above (trojans, incorrectly identifying hardware, always online not working both ways), at least once upon a time; Tencent has its claws in more things than I care to remember. *shudders*

For most of them yeah. I prefer my Steam and maybe GOG because they are DRM free with their games. The rest like Epic and Uplay are annoying. What I hate the most is having to have a launcher for every marketplace out there. Even GOG uses their own launcher, Rockstar too. 

1 hour ago, Withywarlock said:

Because Nintendo hate clean drinking water.

Joking aside, it was due to popular demand that people wanted to show off their games on their shelves. As far as I'm aware it dated back to a fan project someone did, where they made mock box-art for digital-only games to be placed inside empty Switch cases. It's a cute idea but unnecessarily wasteful.

I get that in some regards, but I still feel like including the game itself is ideal. Otherwise it's just a waste of plastic and paper. Unless they include extras inside the box to make up for it, like a poster, stickers, etc. At least give people to purchase it a reason to get the physical version instead.