Physical vs. Digital

[Naner]

Nintendo announced yesterday that next month Super Mario 3D Land, Star Fox 64 3D, Mario Kart 7 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D will join New Super Mario Bros. 2 as digitally distributed Nintendo 3DS titles. The system's upcoming releases, such as Professor Layton and The Miracle Mask and Paper Mario: Sticker Star will also be available for purchase on the eShop on the same day as they're released on stores.

I've been a considerably enthusiastic consumer of digital content since I got my own credit card last year. My 3DS has a considerable amount of Virtual Console and eShop titles, my Steam collection has grown exponentially and I even bought two PSone Classics on my PS3. However, the first time I had to decide between buying a game in a store or just purchasing online was when New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in August. But even then it wasn't a hard decision: By accessing the Canadian eShop, I was able to pay CA$42 on the game; way less than the standard Brazilian price of R$149 (which was the game's price both online and at retail). And I can conveniently play the game whenever I want, I don't have to worry about bringing the game card with me.

On the PS3, the only full games I have digitally are inFamous, LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed. The first two were given to me after PlayStation Network's Great Outage and the latter was a bonus for buying Assassin's Creed Revelations early (I already had the first game on disc, but then sold that after getting the redundant digital copy). I don't feel as much of a urge to buy games digitally on my PS3. Sony makes it more of a hassle to access North American PlayStation Stores, the Brazilian Store's prices are sometimes OK and sometimes insanely expensive, and it's fairly easy for me to just import a game I want from an online retailer. Not to mention consoles usually stay put below the TV; I don't usually have to worry about not being with a game when I want to play it.

And on PC, it's obvious, isn't it? There's no point in buying physical PC games anymore, not with Steam's great service and often insanely great deals. Sometimes, I'm walking through the store, and notice a game like Borderlands selling for over R$50, while I got the same game (and all its DLC) for a little over US$5 on Steam. Even though I ultimately prefer playing on consoles, these deals make dealing with the annoyances of a PC worth it.

What do you guys think? Do you rather pay extra to get to feel that new game smell, or would you pay extra to be able to play that game without worrying about discs and cartridges? Would you get whichever one is cheaper? What's your choice when they're priced the same?

[Chris]

What do you guys think? Do you rather pay extra to get to feel that new game smell, or would you pay extra to be able to play that game without worrying about discs and cartridges? Would you get whichever one is cheaper? What's your choice when they're priced the same?

As I was born without a sense of smell that doesn't bother me much

I don't get the second part though, digital copies should be cheaper than physical, why would you pay more for less?

The problem I can foresee with Nintendo's digital games is that will probably not drop in price at the same rate as physical copies do nor would we get Steam like sales and bundles, Nintendo have always been behind with the times with online services so I'm very pessimistic about their digital retail strategy.

I wouldn't say it's useless to buy physical copies on PC, certinaly not for new titles anyway, many retailers discount their games to compete, many blockbuster titles will cost £30-£40 when released on Steam but you'll be able to get them cheaper if you shop around. Also many big name games do not drop in price on Steam for a long while, COD Black Ops is still £40 which is 2 years old and they are still selling COD4 for £20 which was released 5 years ago...

It all depends on the game and price, obviously collector's editions complicate matters too.

[okey]

One thing physical has over digital: if you get a bad game you can sell it or trade it for something else. If you get a bad game on Steam/PSN/XBL 99 percent of the time you're stuck with it forever.

One thing digital has over physical: it's the best thing to happen to smaller developers. There are a lot of great games that wouldn't have got the green light if they had to be a full retail release.

[Arachnus]

One thing physical has over digital: if you get a bad game you can sell it or trade it for something else. If you get a bad game on Steam/PSN/XBL 99 percent of the time you're stuck with it forever.

One thing digital has over physical: it's the best thing to happen to smaller developers. There are a lot of great games that wouldn't have got the green light if they had to be a full retail release.

That, and you get a lovely shiny box and an instruction booklet.

Seriously, though, I don't see a point really in digital software. You can't trade it in, the digital booklets are bloody confusing, and they're often more expensive than they are in proper shops. I looked at New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the eshop the other day and was frankly ashamed by the price. £39.99? You've got to be joking.

[Naner]

Yeah, NSMB2's digital price in the UK was really terrible. But I still think it's a great thing in a portable system. I have a friend that's pretty extreme about it: he would rather pay extra to get a digital copy of a game. And he only ever put one Blu-ray Disc in his PS3.

[Emperor Ing]

I look to Working Designs as the reason why physical will always have a leg up on digital retail:
Beautiful stuff like this

Of course, WD, with its full-color manuals, printed game-world maps, and lively translator notes in each manual, was the exception and not the rule.

I prefer physical releases, because the tactile tangibility of an object is worth the extra money, for me. I don't really buy too many games for my PC these days - and if I do I'll probably buy them as physical copies! Say like Civilization 6, the new Giana Sisters reboot (looking awesome), or the much-anticipated Wasteland 2 (which will be possibly the only PC game I'll look forward to in the coming years).

I used to think Steam was the best thing ever, but all the steam sales do for me is make me buy games I'll never play. So while I hold out on buying a copy of Mirror's Edge somewhere down the line, I am not caught up too much in the Steam-mania like I was when I was a little younger.

I like to think I'm a bit more measured in my purchases now - buying only what I truly, really want to play, or buy something that's so cheap that it's of no consequence.

[EmpReb]

I look to Working Designs as the reason why physical will always have a leg up on digital retail:
Beautiful stuff like this

Of course, WD, with its full-color manuals, printed game-world maps, and lively translator notes in each manual, was the exception and not the rule.

I prefer physical releases, because the tactile tangibility of an object is worth the extra money, for me. I don't really buy too many games for my PC these days - and if I do I'll probably buy them as physical copies! Say like Civilization 6, the new Giana Sisters reboot (looking awesome), or the much-anticipated Wasteland 2 (which will be possibly the only PC game I'll look forward to in the coming years).

I used to think Steam was the best thing ever, but all the steam sales do for me is make me buy games I'll never play. So while I hold out on buying a copy of Mirror's Edge somewhere down the line, I am not caught up too much in the Steam-mania like I was when I was a little younger.

I like to think I'm a bit more measured in my purchases now - buying only what I truly, really want to play, or buy something that's so cheap that it's of no consequence.

Sames. I just got an Xbox 360 to PLAY some games I have been dieing to get that are only on this system (the new Forza is dream come true for a fan of the OLD NFS like High Stakes). I also find that games like ACIII are just better to buy and play on consoles. Its just plain fact. I love PC gaming and Steam sales are great when you see that game you wanted for a crazy low price but I all the games I buy now are because I want to play them.

Free to play I think is where PC gaming AAA mulitplayer games are going to come from now. Firefall, Mechwarrior online, Blacklight: Retrubution, and soon to be Planetside 2 /Hawken are ALLL free to play like League of Legends and I am going to play each to see what I like and not pay a cent until I find it worth my time. I consoles are the home of tradtional AAA Games but PC is the home of indies and free to play.

[Zynux]

Not a huge fan of digital to be honest. As already mentioned, there is no reason why a digital copy of the game should cost the same as a physical one, yet publishers and developers do it anyway. You can't trade in, sell, exchange, or let others borrow your game because its a digital copy. In short, you have much less control over what you paid for, and since most games cost $60 a pop, that is not a good thing.

[Remnants]

Hmm... I'll be sticking to physical. Because the bulk of games I played in my childhood were borrowed from friends and family, I think physical may ultimately be cheaper if you and your buddies play your cards right. At least for consoles. Don't know how it works with PC.

[HYRUL3]

Physical all the way.

Here's why.

1. Hard Drive space. Installing a full game, plus save files, takes up several GB on a hard drive vs a couple hundred KB for just the save file.

2. If your hard drive gets run over, spilled on, stepped on, dropped, etc, all of your games are GONE. Of course, I'm sure you can redownload digital games for free, but if you're like me, and have a ton of games, you'll need to buy a new hard drive, plus it'll take forever to get your library back to where it was. It's just a hassle.

3. All the pretty box art. I keep a library of games. Literally, a library. Any game that is worth owning, that I've played, is on one of my shelves. Some of the artwork is absolutely beautiful. I don't know why, but I want physical copies of my games. It's just nice to actually be able to look at the incredible artwork. Having something you can actually reach out and touch is always much better to me.

[Chris]

You can't redownload a broken disc, a torn manual, a coffee stained box cover, it's swings and roundabouts. I buy both digital and physical.

[HYRUL3]

You can't redownload a broken disc, a torn manual, a coffee stained box cover, it's swings and roundabouts. I buy both digital and physical.

That's a valid point.

I'm just very careful with my games, so I don't ever worry about that.

A lot of stores, like Toys R Us, where I worked for 3 years, have game replacement plans, where if anything like that happens, you'll be covered to get a new copy of the game. If I had kids, I'd get that on every single game I own.

Btw, no sense of smell? Really?

[Naner]

Those are all good points. Both forms of distribution have their advantages, and I guess it all depends on your situation and your preferences.

I also enjoy feeling the box and the cart/disc. But feeling the box wasn't why I bought the game, it was to play it. Of course, certain items in my collection, like Metroid Prime Trilogy, wouldn't have the same value - both sentimental and financial - to it if it were digital, but that doesn't apply to most of the other games.

Since I never get rid of my games (unless something like the aforementioned Assassin's Creed incident happens), being able to resell games isn't much of a deal. However, I do miss being able to lend and borrow games.

[HYRUL3]

Yeah. I have GameFly to try out games I normally am unsure of. If I went digital, I'd either

1) Be super cautious and miss out on great games (GameFly has helped me find gems like Darksiders, Alice: Madness Returns, etc)

Or

2) End up buying shit games I wouldn't like (GameFly has helped me discover I don't like 3D Castlevania games, RAGE, etc)

[samusfan]

What do you guys think? Do you rather pay extra to get to feel that new game smell, or would you pay extra to be able to play that game without worrying about discs and cartridges? Would you get whichever one is cheaper? What's your choice when they're priced the same?

Some Special games I am pleased to have the cartridge or disc with me, others do not mind buying virtually