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Digital vs Physical

I prefer digital so I don't have to fuss with a disc or whatever for consoles, but for handhelds (and the Switch) I prefer physical since having all my games on hand takes up a lot less space what with the smaller cartridges instead of a stack of game cases for my PS4.
 
Yeah, I'm sort of on two minds myself. I like the sense of security you have with a physical copy but the convenience of a digital library just trumps that by miles. The only big exception in with hand helds where I mostly prefer not to use up too much space.
 
Do you prefer to have digital or physical copies of your games?
I prefer physical. I don't know why; I guess the fact that I can physically touch a game and see its box adds a little bit more to it. I also want to be able to lend or outright give my games to people with consoles of their own if I ever wanted to.

It becomes a bit of a hassle to switch between games sometimes, though. Having Yellow and Crystal in the 3DS itself is my experience of digital copies of games, and it's nice to be able to pick the console up and play right away.

One day I'll have an impressive collection of games in my room for display. That gives me incentive to keep buying physical.
 
I prefer physical. I like owning what I purchase, not having a conditional rental, which is basically all a digital purchase is.

Digital storefronts are also the height of greed - full RRP when the middleman of the retailer and the cost of manufacturing has been removed? With no adjustment for depreciation that you commonly see in physical games as time passes? That's disgusting. I mean, sure, digital sales can be significantly better when they roll around, but that doesn't change that what I am paying for is just access, rather than something I actually own.
 
i really love to have plastic on my shelf so i gotta go physical.
 
Honestly I'm so used to everything being Digital now that I kinda don't mind either way.

If it comes to Deluxe Editions or something like that though, I gotta go Physical.
 
Mostly physical these days, because I like to watch some nicely-drawn boxarts. Besides, being on physical means I don't have to download huge game data most of the time (except for NBA 2K and some other games, which require huge update data regardless) which may take hours. Otherwise I'd pick digital if a particular game is only found on the eShop.
 
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soooooooo like

i more or less lean towards physical games. i dunno, there's thing gut feeling that i have with digital games that because they're a digital "license" of the game (so to speak), that Nintendo and/or the developer(s) of the games that i'm playing can very well just...decide the cancel the license for whatever reason and then poof, there goes my hard earned cash for playing the game and all the hours i sunk into it. .___.

perhaps someone who's more of an expert in video games legalese than i am will hopefully relieve these concerns but at the moment that's the biggest thing keeping me pretty hard towards physical rn if at all possible. that's not to say that i don't have any digital games, but i'm not super gung-ho on them, either.
 
soooooooo like

i more or less lean towards physical games. i dunno, there's thing gut feeling that i have with digital games that because they're a digital "license" of the game (so to speak), that Nintendo and/or the developer(s) of the games that i'm playing can very well just...decide the cancel the license for whatever reason and then poof, there goes my hard earned cash for playing the game and all the hours i sunk into it. .___.

perhaps someone who's more of an expert in video games legalese than i am will hopefully relieve these concerns but at the moment that's the biggest thing keeping me pretty hard towards physical rn if at all possible. that's not to say that i don't have any digital games, but i'm not super gung-ho on them, either.
Unfortunately, that's exactly how it works - digital games are a license that can be revoked at any time the company pleases. This has happened to several games already - TRON: Evolution being the most recent one highlighted. Nintendo have also done this with the DS and Wii eShops, and it's a safe bet that they will *eventually* do this with the Wii U and 3DS as well. To be fair, it's several years before this kind of thing happens, but then with a physical copy of a game you can play it whenever you want no matter how old it is. It doesn't force you to buy a new system to access your old games either...something that Nintendo did with the DS to the 3DS jump. Transfer your purchases or lose them forever.

I think there will be a gradual shift away from this - the move towards Netflix-style subscription services like Nintendo Switch Online, Playstation Now, and Game Pass suggest that we might *eventually* get a retro digital library that is easily transferrable and accessible across multiple platforms (although don't quote me on this until we find out whether Xbox Series X and PS5 will support current infrastructure...which let's face it, they would be insane not to) but as they are right now, digital titles are a temporary license and not an actual product. There is no customer ownership.
 
Unfortunately, that's exactly how it works - digital games are a license that can be revoked at any time the company pleases. This has happened to several games already - TRON: Evolution being the most recent one highlighted. Nintendo have also done this with the DS and Wii eShops, and it's a safe bet that they will *eventually* do this with the Wii U and 3DS as well. To be fair, it's several years before this kind of thing happens, but then with a physical copy of a game you can play it whenever you want no matter how old it is. It doesn't force you to buy a new system to access your old games either...something that Nintendo did with the DS to the 3DS jump. Transfer your purchases or lose them forever.

I think there will be a gradual shift away from this - the move towards Netflix-style subscription services like Nintendo Switch Online, Playstation Now, and Game Pass suggest that we might *eventually* get a retro digital library that is easily transferrable and accessible across multiple platforms (although don't quote me on this until we find out whether Xbox Series X and PS5 will support current infrastructure...which let's face it, they would be insane not to) but as they are right now, digital titles are a temporary license and not an actual product. There is no customer ownership.

which is a huge bummer because i'm not exactly jumping up and down at the prospect of eShop exclusive games when i know im going to lose "ownership" of those games eventually. @__@
 
Physical. The only digital games I have are those that don't have a physical release. I have a shelf where I show off the boxes from my games, and I don't like the idea of paying for a license to a game that could be revoked on a whim for any number of reasons. I like to occasionally go back and play old games, and to find out something I paid for was no longer available would be quite a nasty surprise.

It's basically the same reason I prefer physical copies of anime - I want to own it outright, and to display them on my shelves.
 
Physical all the way - I like to tangibly own my games. I only buy digital if it's cheaper or unavailable elsewhere.
 
Physical, just because I'm a collector at heart and like being able to see my collection of games neatly arranged on my display shelf. Though, I am trying to be more environmentally-conscious, so I might switch to digital at some point to stop hoarding plastic, lmao.
 
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