the importance of owning the real thing as opposed to digital delivery

I got Super Mario Bros for Nes in very good conditions, with package and instructions. some guy was willing to give me 200 euros for it, but I said no, as that game is a piece of history and more importantly it reminds me of my childhood. to me it's like a photograph. so many memories connected to that game.

owning something material is very important, therefore we should see Digital Delivery as an option and not like something that is gonna substitute certain products.

so, this is certainly a con when it comes to Digital Delivery, I think it's actually the only con, but I as a gamer will most likely always prefer to own a physical copy of a game, even if I have to do an economical sacrifice.. and with this I'm referring to services like Steam, with its tempting offers.

now this should not present a problem, options are a good thing, but I don't like the path Pc gaming is taking..

why am I saying this? well I'm primarly a pc gamer and live in a relatively small city. there are plenty of store that sell videogames and movies, but the department dedicated to pc games has been shriking in the last years, supposedly due to the growth of the digital delivery market on this platform.

I don't know if that is a worldwide problem, but I can only imagine that the situation can't be that much different in the other countries.

I used to hope that products like books, movies and videogames would all go digital, but having experience that at first hand, I came to the conclusion that digital products can't substitute the physical ones.

The only thing that DD has going for it over the physical copies is the fact that the only room you need to store all those games is in your hard disk, making it much more handy.

I'm guessing the next gen will make more use of dd ganes, but what says you?

You can always backup the game to a DVD...

You can always backup the game to a DVD...

DreamCryotank

Digital download or physical, hard copy; idgaf.
Either way i get to play the game i've purchased.

my Sonic the Hedgehog 2 cartridge still smells like plastic, just like the day i got it as a gift....it still smells awesome! bahahahaha! 8)

Meh. I prefer having my game secured to an online account instead of some silly little nostalgia. Sometimes opening Steam it reminds me of when I first started using it a long time ago when it was replacing WON. KHAndAnime

I have a ton of games, and as far as I'm concerned all they do is take up space.

I love the fact that I can turn on my PC and have a hundred games available to play. I also love that I can turn on any other PC, and have a hundred games available to play.

I wish that my DS would just have all my games available to play, and I would love to see consoles the same way.

digital delivery is like literature without poetry. I wish we'd go back to cartridges, but that's just silly nostalgia I guess.

also, I hate having all those games and not knowing where to put them and worrying about how to keep them in order to not get damaged.

[QUOTE="DreamCryotank"]

You can always backup the game to a DVD...

Captain__Tripps

You get manuals in PDF format. Unless having it in a paper booklet is benificial in any way, I don't see the different. Same can be said about a plastic box.

[QUOTE="KHAndAnime"]Meh. I prefer having my game secured to an online account instead of some silly little nostalgia. Sometimes opening Steam it reminds me of when I first started using it a long time ago when it was replacing WON. rybe1025

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"][QUOTE="DreamCryotank"]

You can always backup the game to a DVD...

DreamCryotank

You get manuals in PDF format. Unless having it in a paper booklet is benificial in any way, I don't see the different. Same can be said about a plastic box.

DD is the future, it greatly lowers the production cost.

[QUOTE="DreamCryotank"]

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"] That doesn't give you a proper manual or box, doesn't untie your game to one account for eternity. Even though manuals these days are lame (usually) compared to years past.Captain__Tripps

You get manuals in PDF format. Unless having it in a paper booklet is benificial in any way, I don't see the different. Same can be said about a plastic box.

Do you still listen to music using a CD player? :P But seriously, I'd rather have a book in paper form, but a 12 page manual? Meh.

I always seem to find better deals on digital copies so I have to go with it cause I save money.

this is actually a good point that i've never considered. Unfortunately i've never kept any old games in good condition. If i want to be reminded of how great they are i just bust them out and play them. But i'm also a fan of collecting cool stuff, and collecting video games is one of the coolest hobbies ever.

I don't see a crucial difference between physical and digital formats. It's basically the same code. The only difference between the two is how you obtain it whether you buy it from a store/online store or download it.

Physical media still has it's place in the world, but it doesn't mean it can't exist along with digital media.

i like dd...i am very much for it...i can buy a game and not have to worry about if the store has it...im sorry but my bestbuy and gamestops dont have alot of pc games...and whats worse is waiting for them from amazon...ive done that before and forgotten taht i ordered a game...lolz...that and all the indie games on steam are awesome...and lets not forget all the steam weekend/holiday deals...games on the cheap and in bountious numbers

I like collecting games. I enjoy having a library of physical copies. I have old systems and i enjoy playing old games on those old systems rather then getting them off the VC or PSN. Heck, i even enjoy going around to various stores hunting for games. I recently bought black lable, fantastic condition copies of Dragon Warrior 7 and Vagrant Story. Could've paid significantly less if i had've used psn, at least for VS. It just would have meant alot less to me.

I can see how alot of people would happily embrace DD. It has many fantastic benifits. It's just not worth it to me.

I'm not a collector, so I'm favoring practicality. A digital game can be replaced. Discs can break, etc. And they waste space. I only care about playing the game, the hobby in itself, not the collection. So digital distribution is the main way for me :)Skittles_McGee

owning the real thing =/= collection.

i only have about 12 games for my Sega Mega Drive, around 15 games for PS1, 20 games for PS2, etc. and now i only have about 10 games for my PS3. about 20 games for the PC over the years including a Spear of Destiny diskette (prequel to Wolfenstein).

it jsut means you keep the games that you really adore. i've played a ton of PS3 games through the years, same with PS1, PS2, and PC. but i don't keep all of them. i just keep the ones that are memorable. that's why i prefer the real thing rather than digital copies.

there's more to it than a game file. the cartridge itself, the description at the back of the box, tha manual, etc.

besides with digital copies you also back up games on discs, not only that but you make backups in other hard drives, etc.

cloud-based gaming hasn't really taken off.

A copy of a great game that you can't play is just another piece of plastic. You have to be able to play it for it to have any value. Eventually with disc based media that time monster will grab you. Digital all the way. Konxumer

so your point is that nostalgia is an important thing? no Nostalgia in my opinion is a useless mind set it makes you think things were far better then they were.
Nostalgia is unimportant when compared to price, value, fun...etc

[QUOTE="Konxumer"]A copy of a great game that you can't play is just another piece of plastic. You have to be able to play it for it to have any value. Eventually with disc based media that time monster will grab you. Digital all the way. Captain__Tripps

What time monster? How is a digital copy going to be any more playable than a disk game? Assuming you don't lose your disks or play frisbee with them? A digital copy is less likely to be playable long term, because the DRM holder could very well go out of business or change their business model.

Exactly. What should happen if all those games that you bought & downloaded onto your HDD, gets corrupted or some other sort (meaning the HDD itself)? Plus what should happen if your favorite company that puts the games on DD like Steam somehow goes bankrupt (or if their online servers shuts down completely)? That's right, you'll lose everything that you bought, & you won't be able to re-download them. Just look at games like Double Dragon or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on XBLA for example. Those games used to be on XBLA, but once something terrible happened to Midway & the other company who had those games on there, those games went "poof!" off of the XBLA lineup. Not to mention that developers can instantly take away the games from certain lineups without warning at any time, & you won't be able to buy it (or possibly re-download them should you ever delete them from your HDD).

Physical copies all the way. You don't have to worry about whenever that game will disappear from XBLA, PSN, etc., & you'll guarantee to play it years down the road (considering that you take good care of the discs/cartridges like I do).

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"][QUOTE="Konxumer"]A copy of a great game that you can't play is just another piece of plastic. You have to be able to play it for it to have any value. Eventually with disc based media that time monster will grab you. Digital all the way. garland51

What time monster? How is a digital copy going to be any more playable than a disk game? Assuming you don't lose your disks or play frisbee with them? A digital copy is less likely to be playable long term, because the DRM holder could very well go out of business or change their business model.

Exactly. What should happen if all those games that you bought & downloaded onto your HDD, gets corrupted or some other sort (meaning the HDD itself)? Plus what should happen if your favorite company that puts the games on DD like Steam somehow goes bankrupt (or if their online servers shuts down completely)? That's right, you'll lose everything that you bought, & you won't be able to re-download them. Just look at games like Double Dragon or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on XBLA for example. Those games used to be on XBLA, but once something terrible happened to Midway & the other company who had those games on there, those games went "poof!" off of the XBLA lineup. Not to mention that developers can instantly take away the games from certain lineups without warning at any time, & you won't be able to buy it (or possibly re-download them should you ever delete them from your HDD).

Physical copies all the way. You don't have to worry about whenever that game will disappear from XBLA, PSN, etc., & you'll guarantee to play it years down the road (considering that you take good care of the discs/cartridges like I do).

I agree. Then again, I did just buy 70$ worth of games for 13$ off steam yesterday. I think it's a fair trade off.

I think both forms can coexist.

[QUOTE="garland51"]

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"]

What time monster? How is a digital copy going to be any more playable than a disk game? Assuming you don't lose your disks or play frisbee with them? A digital copy is less likely to be playable long term, because the DRM holder could very well go out of business or change their business model. Skittles_McGee

Exactly. What should happen if all those games that you bought & downloaded onto your HDD, gets corrupted or some other sort (meaning the HDD itself)? Plus what should happen if your favorite company that puts the games on DD like Steam somehow goes bankrupt (or if their online servers shuts down completely)? That's right, you'll lose everything that you bought, & you won't be able to re-download them. Just look at games like Double Dragon or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on XBLA for example. Those games used to be on XBLA, but once something terrible happened to Midway & the other company who had those games on there, those games went "poof!" off of the XBLA lineup. Not to mention that developers can instantly take away the games from certain lineups without warning at any time, & you won't be able to buy it (or possibly re-download them should you ever delete them from your HDD).

Physical copies all the way. You don't have to worry about whenever that game will disappear from XBLA, PSN, etc., & you'll guarantee to play it years down the road (considering that you take good care of the discs/cartridges like I do).

Keep them in a disc case like I do. Plus DVD's, etc. have longer lifespans.

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"]

What time monster? How is a digital copy going to be any more playable than a disk game? Assuming you don't lose your disks or play frisbee with them? A digital copy is less likely to be playable long term, because the DRM holder could very well go out of business or change their business model.

Exactly. What should happen if all those games that you bought & downloaded onto your HDD, gets corrupted or some other sort (meaning the HDD itself)? Plus what should happen if your favorite company that puts the games on DD like Steam somehow goes bankrupt (or if their online servers shuts down completely)? That's right, you'll lose everything that you bought, & you won't be able to re-download them. Just look at games like Double Dragon or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on XBLA for example. Those games used to be on XBLA, but once something terrible happened to Midway & the other company who had those games on there, those games went "poof!" off of the XBLA lineup. Not to mention that developers can instantly take away the games from certain lineups without warning at any time, & you won't be able to buy it (or possibly re-download them should you ever delete them from your HDD).

Physical copies all the way. You don't have to worry about whenever that game will disappear from XBLA, PSN, etc., & you'll guarantee to play it years down the road (considering that you take good care of the discs/cartridges like I do).

[QUOTE="DreamCryotank"]

You can always backup the game to a DVD...

Captain__Tripps

I think a majority of us will always prefer a physical medium over digital, i know i will.djsifer01

I prefer having a physical copy.

It's nice having a shelf full of games.

Boxes are nice and all but if all my digital copies were to suddenly turn into physical copies I wouldn't even have room for them, I'd propably put them in a box and bury it somewhere. And then when I'd want to play one of them I'd have to go search for them. And physical copies can go "poof" as well, at least I've had a couple of discs get scratched, all my digital copies still work though.

I like the collector aspect of gaming; I still have all my systems dating back to the Atari 2600 with plenty of cartridges / boxed games for each system.

That said, I love the evolution towards DD. I don't need to literally swim in game boxes at home; just having physical copies of my favourite games is enough.

And being able to play my games anywhere, from any computer, thanks to my Steam account is glorious.

the great thing about digital is you don't buy games then sell them only to regret it later. With digital you can't sell them so you will always have them to go back to. imprezawrx500

The great thing about digital games is you can't resell them?:? Most people would disagree.

Some games don't have .pdf manuals either.

All that matters to me is the game. Collecting boxes and discs is just silly imo.

As long as Steam/any other DD game provider offer sales(75% discount off is the way to go)for DD games, I can most certainly live without ever purchasing a physical copy from a retailer again.