Poll of the Day > I find the 'to have something on my shelf' argument for physical media dumb

(+) Yeah! (+)

Not having that is like the main appeal of digital to me. Sure, there are other conveniences, but I can still live with having to make a trip to the store or waiting for an online order to ship. Saving more space, wasting less material and having fewer things to pack up when I move sounds like a win to me.

i wanna show my clutter to mommy!!
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seriously though, I buy most of my console games digitally now. The sales are too tempting a lot of the time. My internet is trash though, so buying a digital game usually means I wont get to play it until the following day
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Some physical collections just look impressive, but only when presented in a decent manner (which isn't hard to do).

I, however, prefer the argument that the internet is only so nice, and there's certainly a chance that we'd need something physical to fall back upon if something goes wrong with either the internet or our digital storage. (Not the biggest chance, mind you, but still)
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Oh, well I still tend to buy physical for stuff that is easily available and isn't cheaper digitally. I also have slow internet, but if I'm buying something because it's on a sale then I probably wasn't going to play it immediately anyway

I do find collecting games a silly practice. Unless you plan to sell someday. How often do you go back and play that old game? Even worse, collecting movies. That pile of movies is worth nothing to anyone but you.
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I always worry about the storage. I can run out of space fast. I rather have physical, but I sometimes will buy digital.
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OneTimeBen posted...

I do find collecting games a silly practice. Unless you plan to sell someday. How often do you go back and play that old game? Even worse, collecting movies. That pile of movies is worth nothing to anyone but you.

I actually play old games quite often. I use to always play my N64 around Christmas when i was younger. Now I play older games whenever I miss it for any reason.
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My excuse is "cant be taken away/dont need internet connection/can resell if I get bored with it/dont need to backup or redownload if my hardware gets borked/support of manufacturing laborers who otherwise wouldnt have a job"

So far the only excuses I can see for it are environmental (barely any inpact, would rather help pay workers if the game costs the same as physical) and short term convenience.
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I'm aware there are downfalls to digital. However, the issues with long-term ownership/availability aren't a reason why the taking-up-space aspect of physical, specifically, is a good thing.

I buy physical because my local pawn shop doesn't sell digital games.
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I like my games physical so I have control over my purchases, not the supplier.
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AVGN will have a hell of a time moving his game collection if he ever moves.

Metro2 posted...

AVGN will have a hell of a time moving his game collection if he ever moves.

And he and Mike are the kind of people who constantly say stuff like what this topic is about. I like their content (or at least, I used to), but it can be hard to listen to them with how clueless and dismissive they are about any modern trends.

I buy digital purely so I don't have to leave my house or deal with shipping companies.

Medium doesn't matter anymore, when the servers shut down no one can update/play the games anyway. I used to buy physical so I "owned" my games but I just have to look at the pile of PC, PS2 and PS3 games that are no longer playable to know that's bullshit.
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Physical >>>>>>>>>>> Digital

Physical pros

- has resale value ( sometimes more than retail )
- looks nice on display
- can be traded
- can be borrowed out
- don't usually take up space on system memory
- can be bought used to save more money

Physical cons

- can be stolen / lost
- can take up space

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Digital pro

- good for fat lazy people to stay in their home

Digital cons

- takes up memory space
- you have to buy memory cards
- no resale value
- no trade value
- can't borrow it out
- if service ends won't be able to re download / lost
- pretty much flushing your money away
- have to pay full/new price. No used options
- slow download speeds for some
- downloading takes up your monthly GB cap for some

New price is neutral because I see cheaper/ more expensive for both.

That bias.
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xjayguyx posted...

- has resale value ( sometimes more than retail )
- looks nice on display

More than retail? What are you talking about? And who cares how nice it looks on display when it's probably not going to be seen by many people. Not to mention the vast variety of box/case/cartridge sizes kind of diminishes the display factor.

Digital pro

- good for fat lazy people to stay in their home

Isn't lack of physical space taken up also a pro? Hmm, totally not a biased comparison at all.

- you have to buy memory cards

No you don't... only if you fill up the console's hard drive/default storage, which nowadays is mostly just a problem with Nintendo consoles. And even with Nintendo, you don't have to expand memory, strictly speaking. Also, physical games can still have that problem with large update downloads.

- no resale value
- no trade value
- have to pay full/new price. No used options

Yeah, "full" price that is often heavily discounted over retail options. Digital gaming has passed on a huge amount of savings to consumers, which kind of makes up for the lack of resale/trade value, if you're scrupulous in your purchases. And buying used games isn't without its cons, which you failed to list. I like the assurance of not having to worry about a scratched disc or a bad cartridge, which was half-assedly tested, if it was even tested at all.

Rockies posted...

xjayguyx posted...

- has resale value ( sometimes more than retail )
- looks nice on display

More than retail? What are you talking about? And who cares how nice it looks on display when it's probably not going to be seen by many people. Not to mention the vast variety of box/case/cartridge sizes kind of diminishes the display factor.

Digital pro

- good for fat lazy people to stay in their home

Isn't lack of physical space taken up also a pro? Hmm, totally not a biased comparison at all.

- you have to buy memory cards

No you don't... only if you fill up the console's hard drive/default storage, which nowadays is mostly just a problem with Nintendo consoles. And even with Nintendo, you don't have to expand memory, strictly speaking. Also, physical games can still have that problem with large update downloads.

- no resale value
- no trade value
- have to pay full/new price. No used options

Yeah, "full" price that is often heavily discounted over retail options. Digital gaming has passed on a huge amount of savings to consumers, which kind of makes up for the lack of resale/trade value, if you're scrupulous in your purchases. And buying used games isn't without its cons, which you failed to list. I like the assurance of not having to worry about a scratched disc or a bad cartridge, which was half-assedly tested, if it was even tested at all.

Oh shut up all my points are valid.

- A game that is worth more than retail - legend of zelda breath of the wild master edition.

- I have game nights once a week in my games room with lots of friends and sometimes their friends that I haven't met before.

- Wii u, Switch, 500gb PS4 and Xboxones have memory issues. Same with PS Vita. Even a few of my friends have filled up their 1T PS4 slims with digital games. My PS4 has only 160GB on it so far.

- what cons from buying used? Being a dumb ass and not looking at the disc before buying?

Rockies posted...

I find the 'to have something on my shelf' argument for physical media dumb

I find most arguments that disagree with my personal worldview to be dumb as well.

Knee-jerk dismissing everyone who disagrees with you as being objectively wrong is part of what it means to be human.



But I prefer physical media, so by that same logic not only are you objectively wrong, but you're also a terrible person for feeling the way you do, and people like you are ruining the world for the rest of us.


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Also just to throw it out there because why not, my video game collection is worth easy 40k maybe 50k if I sell very patiently. If was all digital be worth just what the systems are worth so like just over 1k.

40k-50k or 1k ... hmmm

xjayguyx posted...

- A game that is worth more than retail - legend of zelda breath of the wild master edition.

Oh, so you mean a special edition that is worth more than a non-special version. The way you wrote it is misleading. It's virtually impossible to fetch above retail price selling things on your own, all other things about the product being equal.

xjayguyx posted...

- what cons from buying used? Being a dumb ass and not looking at the disc before buying?

It's virtually impossible to tell the play condition of a game cosmetically. Discs covered in scratches can work fine and ones with only a few scratches could be messed up. Cartridges could be filthy and have torn up labels and work fine, or one that looks pristine on the outside could be broken. Even if the game was tested, just testing that it boots up and loads the first mission doesn't mean anything if a later part of the game is the issue.

I don't like digital entirely because there still isn't a unified, protected system in place that guarantees that your games will be permanently available for you.
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xjayguyx posted...

Also just to throw it out there because why not, my video game collection is worth easy 40k maybe 50k if I sell very patiently. If was all digital be worth just what the systems are worth so like just over 1k.

40k-50k or 1k ... hmmm

Yes, but you put money into building that value too, and you aren't really getting it back unless you actually do sell. Some games will appreciate, but a lot will depreciate as well, so it's not a reliable investment. It's also a lot of effort to sell a collection that big. I used to be into trying to get original cartridges for everything I could, but I don't feel that way anymore. Why pay $100 for a rare game that is $5 on a digital shop? Sure, it may be worth even more than $100 later on, but I buy games to play them, not to hope to profit years later.

Rockies posted...

xjayguyx posted...

Also just to throw it out there because why not, my video game collection is worth easy 40k maybe 50k if I sell very patiently. If was all digital be worth just what the systems are worth so like just over 1k.

40k-50k or 1k ... hmmm

Yes, but you put money into building that value too, and you aren't really getting it back unless you actually do sell. Some games will appreciate, but a lot will depreciate as well, so it's not a reliable investment. It's also a lot of effort to sell a collection that big. I used to be into trying to get original cartridges for everything I could, but I don't feel that way anymore. Why pay $100 for a rare game that is $5 on a digital shop? Sure, it may be worth even more than $100 later on, but I buy games to play them, not to hope to profit years later.

I bought a lot of the games when they were $5 and now $100.

Still physical gets you money back, Digital does not. And most places that sell used have warranty. Even ebay / amazon your protected.

Anyway I'm done here, to me you have to be pretty dumb to buy a lot of games digitally. It's flushing money away and there is no system in place to insure you keep those games forever.

physical and digital are both available in basically every case with the exception of smaller indie games, the argument is entirely a non-issue
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Maybe it's the just the games I'm buying, but I haven't seen many games going cheaper for the digital version. That being said, maybe it's because I'm buying them first day or whatever. But I also would rather not wait a couple of days to get it maybe a few dollars cheaper. Not to mention either Nintendo games, you have to do a system transfer when receiving a new system to move your games and data over. Or you won't be able to play your games on the newer system. But sometimes, people buy a new system because the older one stopped working. And then that becomes a problem. So, like @faramir77 and @xjayguyx said, you can basically lose your games. Which would suck. Also, on most of my systems, I do get pretty close, if not up to the storage limits. Sure, I could buy an external memory device, but that would cost money, which makes digital seem more expensive. And I know it was an exaggeration, but a games selling digital at 5% of the physical copy barely happens, IF it has even happened ever.

I do agree on one thing, though. It can be tough to tell how much damage a game has. I had a game that didn't look damage. And played well. Until you got to a certain part of the game. Anything before that was fine. Anything after it was also fine. But I couldn't skip it because it was part of the story.

But all in all, I'd rather go physical. But Inhave gone digital for some games. Though I hate doing it.
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JunkoEnoshima posted...

physical and digital are both available in basically every case with the exception of smaller indie games, the argument is entirely a non-issue

And Phoenix Wright. Only digital in US. A few other games that are bigger in Japan are like that, I think. Though, I wish they were physical.

And sometimes, older games, too.
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The fact I can carry my physical game over to a friends and play it there is enough reason to buy physical. Add on to the fact that I can get physical games on release for 20% cheaper than retail and it takes ages for the digital price to creep down to that is the icing on the cake. If they didn't charge the exact same amount for digital and physical at release I would consider changes.

I also have a massive steam library.

Lil69Leo posted...

The fact I can carry my physical game over to a friends and play it there is enough reason to buy physical. Add on to the fact that I can get physical games on release for 20% cheaper than retail and it takes ages for the digital price to creep down to that is the icing on the cake. If they didn't charge the exact same amount for digital and physical at release I would consider changes.

I also have a massive steam library.

I did forget about that. There is a place where i can go to get the physical versions of games at a cheaper price.
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xjayguyx posted...

Anyway I'm done here, to me you have to be pretty dumb to buy a lot of games digitally. It's flushing money away and there is no system in place to insure you keep those games forever.

I don't buy a lot of games digitally. I still buy major releases physically. But I think digital is fine for plenty of things, like smaller indie games, Virtual Console and certain sales.

LinkPizza posted...

And I know it was an exaggeration, but a games selling digital at 5% of the physical copy barely happens, IF it has even happened ever.

It wasn't an exaggeration. I was specifically referring to retro games and stuff like Virtual Console, not normal new titles. Look at Earthbound - it's $8 on VC or equivalent to less than $4 on the SNES Classic, but original cartridges go for over $150. Most examples aren't that extreme, but even for common games, the VC is usually at most still half the price of a cartridge.

On the major two consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) I'm finding digital to be the superior choice.

With PS3 and 360, I had the benefit of knowing that I didn't have to go through long, painful installations... me getting off the couch and swapping discs actually came with that bit of justification. Now the disc just serves as a "key" to allow loading content that's already on the system. If I wanted to be subjected to a full install before I play, I'd rather just buy digital and have the benefit of being able to swap games without the physical media.
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On the subject of the topic title.

It is like having art on the wall. Its nice to look at and show off to people.
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Rockies posted...

LinkPizza posted...

And I know it was an exaggeration, but a games selling digital at 5% of the physical copy barely happens, IF it has even happened ever.

It wasn't an exaggeration. I was specifically referring to retro games and stuff like Virtual Console, not normal new titles. Look at Earthbound - it's $8 on VC or equivalent to less than $4 on the SNES Classic, but original cartridges go for over $150. Most examples aren't that extreme, but even for common games, the VC is usually at most still half the price of a cartridge.

Oh. You're talking about those kind of games. Yeah. If you're talking about original cartidges from forever ago, they would be more expensive. Which is what a few people were talking about. Selling old original cartridges & such for games. I thought you were talking about games that are out for the current system. My mistake. I buy digital for old games. But they are only a couple bucks, and for some people, they can only get the digital version. Not everyone has all their old systems. And some may have never had them to begin with. Most of the time, when people were collecting original cartridges to sell, they are talking about buying them when they first came out for normal price and then selling them later on. They would be on the receiving end of that $100. I did say MOST, though. Some would pay the $100. Haha. When it comes to current games, they are usually a lot closer in price.
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DrPrimemaster posted...

On the subject of the topic title.

It is like having art on the wall. Its nice to look at and show off to people.

I guess. I just can't imagine that anybody I know, even my video game playing friends, would care that much. I don't even display my games most of the time though because I find it easier to just keep them boxed up

Rockies posted...

xjayguyx posted...

Anyway I'm done here, to me you have to be pretty dumb to buy a lot of games digitally. It's flushing money away and there is no system in place to insure you keep those games forever.

I don't buy a lot of games digitally. I still buy major releases physically. But I think digital is fine for plenty of things, like smaller indie games, Virtual Console and certain sales.

LinkPizza posted...

And I know it was an exaggeration, but a games selling digital at 5% of the physical copy barely happens, IF it has even happened ever.

It wasn't an exaggeration. I was specifically referring to retro games and stuff like Virtual Console, not normal new titles. Look at Earthbound - it's $8 on VC or equivalent to less than $4 on the SNES Classic, but original cartridges go for over $150. Most examples aren't that extreme, but even for common games, the VC is usually at most still half the price of a cartridge.

Okay ill chime in once more on this. What if you say bought a retro VC game for $8 but could have bought the real cart for $50. A year goes by and the VC game is still $8 but the original cart is now selling for $70. Okay now 10 years go by and the VC game is gone and no way to re download it but the original cart is $150 or more.

All that means to me is I got to play the game for $42 less than the alternative. The hypothetical value increase is a silly sticking point because it's not easily predictable. Also, I buy games to play the games themselves, not a low-return investment game. A possible $100 gain over ten years is laughable. And that all assumes I would actually sell the game, but if I was going to actually pay $50 for a retro game in the first place, it probably means owning the cartridge has some sort of non-monetary value to me, which is lost by selling it.

Personally, I don't sell my games, but I can understand why some do. And while $100 over 10 years isn't a get rich quick scheme(or get rich over the long run), it doesn't mean it sucks. Any extra money is good. And could possibly help you out of a tough spot. Also, most of the time, people will have more than one game just sitting waiting to be sold for a large amount. Some also would rather sell them back to a game store when they're done. Sure, you get barely nothing most of the time. But barely nothing to sell a game you'll never play again is still more than nothing. Which is what you'll get for a digital games since you can't really sell it. And it can add up over time. Again, not going to get rich, but more money is usually better. I even knew a guy who had some trick to buy a physical game and beat it before getting all his money back or something like that. And he could only do it for physical games.
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Is PS4 the only console this gen that makes you install disc games still or something? Like Id be more willing to buy discs instead of digital download if it didnt require download from disc, otherwise most arguments like easy to bring over to a friends is wrong since the game still requires download from disc. Sharing is easy enough still that you can let a friend download from your account and play the game, just make sure they deactivate your account from their system after.
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J_Dawg983 posted...

Is PS4 the only console this gen that makes you install disc games still or something? Like Id be more willing to buy discs instead of digital download if it didnt require download from disc, otherwise most arguments like easy to bring over to a friends is wrong since the game still requires download from disc. Sharing is easy enough still that you can let a friend download from your account and play the game, just make sure they deactivate your account from their system after.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's hard. Just start to install it early. Like when you first get there. Haha.
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The idea that digital games can't resell for anything and therefore are the worse option is greatly oversimplifying it. That's true if you have a game that is equal price for both physical and digital, in equal condition, but I feel like that is common sense. I never intended to advocate for digital on a purchase-by-purchase basis with the physical version costing the same or less; of course in those cases physical is the smarter option.

But there are frequently sales where the digital price goes below retail, and digital retro games, which make the better option less clear, especially where depreciation exists. In that earlier example, if the $50 game depreciated to $30, then it's a worse deal - you lose $20 so you can get rid of the game vs. losing $8 on the possibility that you might lose the game. And that's not taking into the account that buying a game is paying for the experience of playing it. If I'm not intending to sell a game, I'd rather choose an option that lets me pay less for (basically) the same experience.

Rockies posted...

The idea that digital games can't resell for anything and therefore are the worse option is greatly oversimplifying it. That's true if you have a game that is equal price for both physical and digital, in equal condition, but I feel like that is common sense. I never intended to advocate for digital on a purchase-by-purchase basis with the physical version costing the same or less; of course in those cases physical is the smarter option.

But there are frequently sales where the digital price goes below retail, and digital retro games which make the better option less clear, especially where depreciation exists. In that earlier example, if the $50 game depreciated to $30, then it's a worse deal - you lose $20 so you can get rid of the game vs. losing $8 on the possibility that you might lose the game. And that's not taking into the account that buying a game is paying for the experience of playing it. You should pay less for that experience if you can, unless you want to sell the game later, but that's a risky move and you also end up selling the experience along with the game.

But that example only works when talking about buying older games on older consoles. I don't think I've ever seen a consoles game go down from $50 to $8 unless it didn't sell well for a more current console. If someone is buying the actual physical game for an older system, I think it's for more reason than just playing. The physical/digital debate I was using for most of my points are for the current games for current systems. Like I said earlier about retro games, most people will seem to buy digital because they don't have/never have owned those old system anymore. For that reason alone, you would buy digital. But for newer games, that's where most of our reasons are meaningful. That being said, the ones talking about selling them either already have them like the one who has the collection worth probably 40K-50K. Or they are talking about buying those games now to sell in the future. Meaning, they are buying current which are most likely the same price(or close to depending on where you get it) as their digital counterparts.
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Rockies posted...

who cares how nice it looks on display when it's probably not going to be seen by many people.

I do. I like to feel I physically own something when I pay for it. I like to have access to my games whenever I please. I like to lend my games to my brother. I like the smell of new games. I like not having to download games. I like that I can sell my games. I like that my games cost less for the most part.

What happens to your digital game if it gets removed from the server and you no longer have it on your HDD? I mean you can't download it again as the file has been removed from the server so you're kinds screwed. With physical you're not.
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xjayguyx posted...

Also just to throw it out there because why not, my video game collection is worth easy 40k maybe 50k if I sell very patiently.

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LinkPizza posted...

I don't think I've ever seen a consoles game go down from $50 to $8 unless it didn't sell well for a more current console.

You misread my post because I didn't claim that, but games for recent/current consoles have gone down from $60 to less than $8 in many cases.

wwinterj25 posted...

stuff

All things which, again (see post 10), have nothing to do with the display/space factor.



I don't mind the discussion/debate in this topic, but I'm not sure if I'm creating misconceptions. So, to clear things up:

- I never attempted to claim that physical didn't have advantages or that digital didn't have disadvantages.
- I still buy many games on physical media and generally prefer it.

Physical media can degrade, digital can disappear. Nothing is safe, though physical is arguably more secure if you look after your things.
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Still just being a NMB alt I see.
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Rockies posted...

All things which, again (see post 10), have nothing to do with the display/space factor.

Well all I can really say is that games look cool on display to me so I like them. I can't disagree that they take up space though.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

Still just being a NMB alt I see.

Apparently having opinions makes me NMB?

NMB says dipshit things that make absolutely no sense, and then never responds to people who show him how wrong he is. I don't do that.