Physical copy VS Digital copy

[Velshin]

Hey everyone, just wanna know which way you prefer when you are buying a video game physical or digital?

For me personally I prefer physical copy even though Digital is way faster and more convenient but, I just don't feel the same when I buy my games digital.

thoughts? discuss please and thanks for reading.

[Solitare-sp]

I still do prefer Physical copies to be honest. I like having the disk and back-up there if needed.

[Deleted]

Physical copies ftw i love having loads of dvd cases etc around me and that they are usaly always cheaper aswell if steam or gog isent having a sale guess it depends on the game most new games are always cheaper as physical where i live.

[Ohleemar]

Physical all day. I like having the discs around for easy reinstallation, etc.

[Wynnyelle]

Digital copy. I like having all of my games in one place on Steam, and it annoys me that I have a select few physical copies lying around. It's kind of an OCD-like thing. My console games I try to keep in perfect condition, since I have to have the physical copies of them, but if I can't get a game on Steam, it really annoys me if I have to have the physical box for it because so few of my PC games came from physical boxes. I dunno, I'm weird.

[vizzle]

Physical is nicer to have, digital is more convenient. Depends on my mood.

[Velshin]

Physical copies ftw i love having loads of dvd cases etc around me and that they are usaly always cheaper aswell if steam or gog isent having a sale guess it depends on the game most new games are always cheaper as physical where i live.

Where I live it's quite the opposite digital is way cheaper than physical but I still love the physical copies because of as the above poster said it's much better having your own disks and copy for backup also I love the boxes of the games and the physical manual.

[Repefe]

I dropped collecting physichal copies when I started collecting good books.

[lopk]

Digital copy. I like having all of my games in one place on Steam, and it annoys me that I have a select few physical copies lying around. It's kind of an OCD-like thing. My console games I try to keep in perfect condition, since I have to have the physical copies of them, but if I can't get a game on Steam, it really annoys me if I have to have the physical box for it because so few of my PC games came from physical boxes. I dunno, I'm weird.

I'm exactly the same way! :P I prefer a digital copy so that I don't have to worry about if my box get scratched, bent, etc.

[Lothaeryn]

While Digital can be easier to acquire and usually has all the updates, Physical has more personal value since its within your physical possession, rather than a metaphysical thing you own via digital data.

Plus, digital data can sometimes be buggy, in the sense that the verification that you own the product can disappear if someone tampers with your account information improperly, allowing for companies to say you never bought their product...

.../tinfoilhat...

[chazus]

I have a mixed batch.

For AAA games or games I care about (Mostly just blizzard games, these days), I like to have a physical copy.

Other than that. steam library or gtfo.

I've actually rebought games specifically for steam. I bought Deus Ex: HR from Amazon for $12 digital download... Then bought the "Pack" for $15 this last weekend for steam.

[Lothaeryn]

I have a mixed batch.

For AAA games or games I care about (Mostly just blizzard games, these days), I like to have a physical copy.

Other than that. steam library or gtfo.

I've actually rebought games specifically for steam. I bought Deus Ex: HR from Amazon for $12 digital download... Then bought the "Pack" for $15 this last weekend for steam.

Thank god steam is not origin, imagine if you got banned from your account, you'd be unable to play anything >_>

[chazus]

Thank god steam is not origin, imagine if you got banned from your account, you'd be unable to play anything >_>

I would seriously have a mental seizure if my Steam account got hosed. I have well over 150 games on there.

[Athorha]

Definitely physical copy, but the last game I bought a physical copy on was black ops for pc.
Convenience > all I guess for me.

---------- Post added 2012-06-26 at 02:37 PM ----------

Digital copy. I like having all of my games in one place on Steam, and it annoys me that I have a select few physical copies lying around. It's kind of an OCD-like thing. My console games I try to keep in perfect condition, since I have to have the physical copies of them, but if I can't get a game on Steam, it really annoys me if I have to have the physical box for it because so few of my PC games came from physical boxes. I dunno, I'm weird.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can "bind" copies bought through other means to your steam account.

[chazus]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can "bind" copies bought through other means to your steam account.

You can 'add' games through steam, however they aren't steam games, and as such you cannot save content to the steam cloud, nor redownload the game through steam, even if steam offers that game itself.

[Grraarrgghh]

Digital copy for PC games. Especially when I buy a physical copy and it wont tie to my Steam account (I'm looking at you Borderlands...).

Physical copy of books (still cant get used to e-readers)

[Blackmist]

Physical is nearly always cheaper due to not wanting to offend retail shops. Which leads to a few retailers selling it for the RRP online price, while supermarkets and online retailers take advantage of the initial rush and get rid of all their stock at near wholesale prices.

Even now, I can pick up Starcraft II for £8.99, or if I go direct to the developer (where it should be cheapest due to no overheads) I can pick it up for a bargain £32.99.

It's madness like this that makes Steam the most successful digital retailer, and the only other successful ones copy Steam's model.

[chazus]

Physical is nearly always cheaper due to not wanting to offend retail shops.

Even now, I can pick up Starcraft II for £8.99, or if I go direct to the developer (where it should be cheapest due to no overheads) I can pick it up for a bargain £32.99.

This is... not entirely accurate. Physical copies are often the same (if not more due to tax) on NEW games. Prices obviously go down over time, but physical copies later on are usually cheaper due to either being used, or simply out of circulation.
Starcraft, for example. is likely more expensive through Battle.net, because the availability of it being there effectively forever is a price paid. You pay for that premium of convenience.

What happens when computers stop using CD-ROMs entirely (I haven't had a computer with one in a few years now)? What happens if your CD is damaged or scratched? What do you do when the file system changes so much that it can no longer read the format your CD is written with?

[Grraarrgghh]

What happens when computers stop using CD-ROMs entirely (I haven't had a computer with one in a few years now)? What happens if your CD is damaged or scratched? What do you do when the file system changes so much that it can no longer read the format your CD is written with?

Emulators!

...or an era-specific PC. I have a Windows 2000-based PC with a DOS 6.2 partition just for all my 90s games.

[Asmekiel]

It really depends. When I get great games I want to have the Collector's Edition I get the physical copy (duh...)
But other games that I just want to play because they're games that seem interesting I just get them wherever it's the cheapest, and that's usually the digital edition.