Digital Copy vs. Physical Disc Game

A digital copy of a console game ONLY makes sense if the game is dirt dirt and i really mean DIRT CHEAP. Unlike on PC where you can get games in digital format (Steam / Good Ol Games / BundleStars / Indie Gala / HumbleBundle to name a few) for literally pennies on the dollar, you would be a fool to get a digital copy of a console game at this point since you can not resell or trade it.

In fact, this might be a way for Sony / Microsoft to thwart piracy and reselling of their games to 3rd parties like GameStop in the future with the next console. They would obliterate the used resellers market by simply not allowing physical media to be used in a console and force 100% digital downloads to happen across the board. Of course, this would not be good for console gamers in general - Dont flame me lol

I just got my PS4, I decided physical even though I went digital on the Xbox One, I'm also physical on Wii U. On Xbox One it makes more sense since it's kind of shit as a disc system and it's so hassle free installation digitally. On PS4 too, I've heard game installs sometimes get corrupted and require reinstallation, and I'd rather do that with ease on disc than wait for downloads. Plus, I've heard how Sony handles those whose accounts get hacked, basically screwing them out of their money or their digital rights, I'd rather not have to deal with that.

So, I used my credit card to download Soma and the Bloodborne DLC and after that deleted my CC info off the account. Thankfully the console I just got was the Uncharted bundle and I happened to find one with the game on disc and not the new wave of digital vouchers stores with high sales have.

I prefer the physical copy because once I finish the game I can trade it in. Unlike all of my digital copies. You can't trade in digital copy of a game. It just takes up hard drive space on your ps4.

Physical, because they have collectible value, you can lick and smell them, and you can still install and play them after PSN has went through nuclear fallout.

Heavy online content is hindering the value of physical copies, though. It doesn't take long until your physical disc data is severely outdated, so you are online-reliant anyway. I'm not saying patches and stuff are bad, but it often feels like devs/publishers are pushing incomplete games out on release, thinking "we'll do the rest of it in patches soon".

You know what would be the absolute best solution? Getting everything as digital when they are released, and they would offer Complete Collectors edition as physical for a small premium if you choose so, wich would be sent to you about 1 year after, when they typically release GOTY editions, so you could actually have the complete code as physical copy. Including all DLC and patches and so forth.

At this moment, it feels really stupid to pre-order your favourite games as Collector's Editions, when you know that later on there will be GOTY edition that will actually be the complete code, but in a stupid generic plastic case. I'm looking at you (among many others) Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin.

Physical of course.

I will buy the digital version only if:

1. They have NO physical distribution and NO plan to do so in the future.
2. The price is significantly lower (>$20 differences).
3. The game is "just okay, not great" in my opinion, but I still want to try when the price goes down.

I like to see my game collection that I had fun with. There is a personal connection you made with your games, if you really enjoy them.

1/3 of my PS4 games are digital. I get digital games when the game is exclusive digital or is such an awesome deal that is much cheaper than disc. PSN had some really awesome deals the past few weeks. Going digital was never a problem with the PS3 as my hard drive was 750GB and games were like 7GB. Now with the PS4 and these games being like 50GB with my measly 500GB hard drive? I have to be really picky about whether a digital PS4 game is worthy. I feel better paying a little bit more for disc version. I was considering getting Battlefield 4 ($9.89) or Battlefield Hardline ($9.99) with some free $15 worth DLC but I am not sure if it is worth all the hard drive space.

Recently shifted to buying all digital. It's definitely a hell of a lot easier for someone like me who does a lot of traveling where I stay away from home a lot. Having all my games loaded on the PS is just so convenient. Even at home, not having to change discs is the greatest feeling ever

I think as far as physical copies go, it's just a lot better for me. The fact that I can go trade in games I don't want and get some money for them, rather than nothing for a digital one is a big plus for me. On top of that, I can lend my games to people and them do the same for me.

Consoles just don't have enough memory in them out of the box to hold a lot of games. I don't have separate HDD for my PS4, so I'm constantly needing to delete games in order to install new ones.

Physical for consoles, digital for handhelds.

Digital copy is green environment friendly but physical disc can be duplicate for protection of retaining a hardcopy versus non tangible one! But what I want to know is how can one change DVDs or CDs or using multiple discs in a unit by press of a button? In other words is there a multiple disc changer for PS3 or PS4?

I can't bring myself to pay more than 15$ for a digital game

I'm scared to go digital on a PlayStation because they lack the support for backward compatibility and they lack the support for external hard drives for games, the 2TB internal hard drive swap is not enough. So with PlayStations I prefer discs while other systems like Xbox One and PC I'd go digital because they have better options for storage and support backward compatibility.

Physical. It's the same as digital but you can touch/trade/sell it.

Digital all the way. Scratched discs, theft, and sales tax are the reason i hate physical.

I was a collector and did like physical, but now I'm starting to prefer digital because it doesn't take up space in your house.

I prefer Physical copies not a big fan of digital copies but if Developers decide to go all digital I will have no choice but to get used to it. Also because I'm considering buying a gaming laptop that might be how I buy my games in the future.

I'm with you.

lol so many man-children in this thread its hilarious

This is basically how i picture everyone in here saying "physical discs" :

Do we get additional behifits while pre ordering a hard copy instead of downloading one?

Physical unless the digital version is massively cheaper.

Physical all the way. I hate having to wait hours and hours to download a game. Average AAA game these days takes around 6 hours to download Having it on disc would be very nice. Even when you get disc games most of the time only a couple of gigs on it at most sometimes only steam installer.

Edit but do like download also though. I broke a game disc once but thought thank god I can download it. So both have good and bad points.

Too Coolyfett digital copies are for all time classics. Games that will stand the test of time. Hard Copies are for testing and resales. Both are great for gaming. Coolyfett is totally against the whole gaming collection thing. So most games are sold when done with. Downloads are for games that will always be classics.

Always preferred a physical copy. Just like having the actual game.

Both have their merits like most things

Not having to swap discs and not taking up physical space are the benefits of digital. Also my game shops don't really have decent sales compared to the PSN store.

Having physical copies is always nice, it looks good to have a collection. Resale value is the main reason though. I was able to get €40 store credit for GTA V recently. It allows me to buy games without spending cash which I appreciate.

I'm reaching a point where, yeah, I would probably prefer digital, but I can't bring myself to support it while physical copies still hold nearly all of the advantage. (It's a totally different story on PC, of course.)

@xghostprotocolx: that picture is always funny. Coolyfett loves games, but game collections? Coolyfett can pass on that. Physical to try a game out and sell, Digital for timeless classics and GOATs.

I love the convenience of digital versions - the ability to just buy a game, download it, and play it is awesome.

But I'm noticing two things: one is that I'm continually running out of space on my PS4 HDD. And I'm not really keen to buy the 1TB model, just for more storage. I'll wait for the Neo, and if there is a version with a big hard drive, I might get that.

The second thing though is a bit weird I guess. I've become a more serious video game collector in recent months - I've been buying up a lot of retro stuff that I always wanted to own (or that I traded in at one stage). What I'm finding is that I like the physical copy, because I can really preserve it...I can keep it protected and secure. If I only get games that are digital and they are tied to my PSN, what will happen with them in 20 years' time? Nobody can say, and that's a worry for me.

So, I'm sure I'll continue to buy digital copies of games. But at the same time, I think for some key games that I really love and want to own for a long time, I might get the physical copies.

There is hardly a difference now that games for thr PS have to install it's files into the console. The only real difference now is that the disc serves as a drm.

I am split really. I love the convenience of digital games and how I can preload them and not have to stand in any late night release lines etc. Being on the west coast, this means I can start playing a new game at 9:00pm. I love seeing my whole game collection on screen, even if it is not installed. Also not having to deal with changing discs as I switch between games often. My internet connection is pretty good (300Mbps down) so it doesn't take long to do installs.

But physical games are great for showing off your collection on your shelf, and you can get physical games cheaper most of the time than digital. As far is trade ins, I never do them anymore as I am sick of getting $4 dollars for a game they will turn around and sell for $25. I would rather just keep the game.

Considering I don't have a hardline internet connection, just a portable wi-fi hot-spot, I will only buy physical copies of games. I'm also with the collectors.....I have 347 video games ranging from consoles mostly from NES through PS3/XBOX360 and some for Intellevision. I don't have the newest consoles. I would only purchase digital copies of games if they were under $10 from their initial release. If your system fries, or get a red ring of death, or power goes out while downloading or saving......just way too many variables that are pro-hard copy. Digital download times suck, internet connectivity can be a problem. Bandwidth, internet costs for service, memory space and menu browsing for who knows how long.......physical beats dlc any and every day of any week, month or year. The only downloadable games I will play are on my Android phone.....most are old games I have on my phone with release dates of atleast 10 ago. I love the ability to have friends or family come over and they can browse my shelf while others and I play......can't browse while playing with digital....have to stop playing and go to a menu and then look through the menu and find something....all taking time away from playing. I will never purchase a downloadable game.....I would if I could burn a copy in my ps3 or xbox360.....as long as I can have a physical form of the game, I will buy it....if it's only downloadable.....they lost a sale with me as well as a few of my friends who feel the same way as me.

please don't bump ancient threads. 2 weeks is the limit per the posting guidelines