Thinking about fully converting to digital

[AJ_Radio]

12 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I respectfully disagree.  We can cherry pick Spyro's and Alekhine's Gun's all day (I'll give you a freebie - Telltale Season Pass discs), and be upset when multiplayer games require internet... but big picture the physical situation's not even close to as doom and gloom as you think it is.  Especially if you're a little diligent with what you add to the collection.

 

Everything is becoming online integrated. Everything.

 

The last time we could truly say physical games were physical was midway through the PS3/Xbox 360 generation. The PS2 generation was the last full generation where you can enjoy all of your physical library of games completely offline, because back then most people had slow ass DSL internet connections that couldn't even give them a reliable online experience with multiplayer.

 

Today, that physical PS4 or PS5 game without the patches is likely no better than serving as something you put on the dinner table to have your daily cup of coffee. Online only games that had physical releases that now have long dead servers are complete bricks, physical games that are mostly single player are already starting to go this route.

 

I sure as hell wouldn't even consider playing Cyberpunk 2077 via physical release with no patches to the game at all. So you might as well either download all those updates, or settle with the digital only version.

 

Physical media by itself isn't what it's cracked up to be, and this is no longer the 2000s anymore, a time when we could safely say a lot of physical media was under our complete control/ownership.

Edited May 18, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[Dreakon13]

6 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

Today, that physical PS4 or PS5 game without the patches is likely no better than serving as something you put on the dinner table to have your daily cup of coffee.

 

I think you're exaggerating a bit.

 

EDIT: Sorry, to be more clear... you're definitely exaggerating a lot.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[AJ_Radio]

7 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I think you're exaggerating a bit.

 

EDIT: Sorry, to be more clear... you're definitely exaggerating a lot.

 

No, you're just not willing to hear and agree what some of us are saying about this.

[Dreakon13]

1 minute ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

No, you're just not willing to hear and agree what some of us are saying about this.

 

I have hundreds of playable games on the shelf that disagree.

 

But hey, a system update broke Alekhine's Gun... whatever that is... Cyberpunk was bad, and Fallout 76 requires internet, so I guess everything sucks now.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[AJ_Radio]

5 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I have hundreds of playable games on the shelf that disagree.

 

But hey, a system update broke Alekhine's Gun... whatever that is... and Cyberpunk was bad so I guess everything sucks now.

 

Yes but you're just driving away rom some of the points mentioned in this thread.

 

I have a big physical collection and big digital collection. I dabble in both, and I see the pros and cons of both sides. I already sold off some old PS3 games and a couple PS4 games so that's one benefit I really like about physical. I can't do that with all the digital content I've bought over the years.

 

You can add No Man's Sky and Fallout 76 on that list. But nobody cares about them anymore, we're just eagerly awaiting the next Cyberpunk disaster to hit so we can repeat the whole process over again.

 

Long story short, physical media isn't as great as it used to be.

Edited May 18, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

My physical collection is currently larger than my digital, but digital sales have been improving as of late so I can't deny that.

 

There are certain games that if the series or other factor is meaningful to me, then I will go our of my way to get physical. Or even get digital to play asap, and then physical to collect.

Legend of mana is one of them, I have digitally preordered on psn, and also ordered the physical collector edition from JP.

[Dreakon13]

9 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

You can add No Man's Sky and Fallout 76 on that list. But nobody cares about them anymore, we're just eagerly awaiting the next Cyberpunk disaster to hit so we can repeat the whole process over again.

 

I edited Fallout 76 in actually but it's irrelevant.  MMO's were never good fodder for physical discs.  See: every PC MMO going back to the 90's

 

No Man's Sky has had reprints with all of it's updates, and can be played offline.  Even its launch copy worked fine, it just wasn't as advertised.

 

And yes, we are waiting for the next Cyberpunk disaster because a lot of people wouldn't know what to do with themselves without it.

 

 

Quote

Long story short, physical media isn't as great as it used to be.

 

Agreed.  But not being as great as it used to be doesn't mean it's bad.  

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[DEADLOCKED11]

The PS3 has been marked for digital death, it won't be long until digital releases for the system will no longer be supported, whether that is updates or just straight up download of purchases.

 

I dunno about you guys, but I still have nearly 40-60 games I need to finish on the system, I think it is completely possible that I won't get them done by the time they cut services, I've downloaded everything I can, and at least I'll have a ton of physicals to play what I can 

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

41 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I respectfully disagree.  We can cherry pick Spyro's and Alekhine's Gun's all day (I'll give you a freebie - Telltale Season Pass discs), and be upset when multiplayer games require internet... but big picture the physical situation's not even close to as doom and gloom as you think it is.  Especially if you're a little diligent with what you add to the collection.

 

 

 

It doesn't need to be "fully patched".  I have absolutely no doubt the native PS5 print of Cyberpunk will be vastly improved from the PS4 launch disc.  The PS4 launch version on a PS5 was even playable.

 

It's not really "cherry picking", it's just a fact that not all physical games come complete on disc (again, especially if we're talking patches/updates), and software or firmware updates can make games completely unplayable. The latter is rare, yes, but I don't think its rarity makes it any less of a concern. I don't even think physical is "doom and gloom", I wouldn't have such a big collection if I did, I just realise it isn't something I "own" as much as something pre-7th gen.

 

It doesn't, but if you want a physical game to be "complete", as in you don't need to download anything at all, it'd stand to reason that all patches and content would be on the disc. This is something some limited physical print game companies try to sell their games on, the fact that they're complete on cart/disc.

 

Anyway, I've exhausted pretty much everything I feel I have to say on the matter.

[AJ_Radio]

16 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

I edited Fallout 76 in actually but it's irrelevant.  MMO's were never good fodder for physical discs.  See: every PC MMO going back to the 90's

 

All of those old MMOs are long dead. I bought every World of Warcraft expansion physically including the Mists of Pandaria, invested god knows how much time into that game. Physical discs for WoW were essentially bricks anyway, but back in the 2000s that was the exception rather than the norm.

 

16 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

No Man's Sky has had reprints with all of it's updates, and can be played offline.  Even its launch copy worked fine, it just wasn't as advertised.

 

And yes, we are waiting for the next Cyberpunk disaster because a lot of people wouldn't know what to do with themselves without it.

 

So was Cyberpunk. CD Projekt Red practically lied to their fanbase. Hello Games/Sean Murray promised a lot that wasn't in the initial No Man's Sky. But it's gotten a few overhauls, and now can be considered a very decent worthwhile game. I tested it out the other night and it plays wonderfully.

 

16 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

Agreed.  But not being as great as it used to be doesn't mean it's bad.  

 

I never said that. Please reread some of the points I was making.

Edited May 18, 2021 by AJ_Radio

[Dreakon13]

11 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

All of those old MMOs are long dead. I bought every World of Warcraft expansion physically including the Mists of Pandaria, invested god knows how much time into that game. Physical discs were essentially bricks anyway, but back in the 2000s that was the exception rather than the norm.

 

MMO physical discs are bricks, but that's expected with online games.  All of them.  Regardless of generation, regardless of platform.  Online games need servers to run, servers cost money, money isn't infinite, servers aren't infinite.

 

Discs are fine otherwise, generally.

 

 

Quote

So was Cyberpunk. CD Projekt Red practically lied to their fanbase. Hello Games/Sean Murray promised a lot that wasn't in the initial No Man's Sky. But it's gotten a few overhauls, and now can be considered a very decent worthwhile game. I tested it out the other night and it plays wonderfully.

 

There's a difference between a broken, unplayable game (Cyberpunk)... and a fully functioning game with missing features (No Man's Sky).  But it's beside the point, because regardless of how it launched, you can buy a disc with a lot of the updated content on it.  You'll probably be able to do the same with Cyberpunk in 6-12 months.

 

 

Quote

I never said that. Please reread some of the points I was making.

 

You never said the state of physical games (something that used to be great) is bad?  You're the same guy who said "Today, that physical PS4 or PS5 game without the patches is likely no better than serving as something you put on the dinner table to have your daily cup of coffee"... right?

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[Dreakon13]

23 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

It doesn't, but if you want a physical game to be "complete", as in you don't need to download anything at all, it'd stand to reason that all patches and content would be on the disc. This is something some limited physical print game companies try to sell their games on, the fact that they're complete on cart/disc.

 

Having it be "complete" would be ideal, but it's not necessary in the context of what this thread was intended for (physical vs digital).  Frankly it just needs to be playable with minimal game stopping issues, something Cyberpunk's PS4 launch failed to accomplish like few other games before it.  Cyberpunk's PS5 launch will likely come much closer in that regard.

 

The goal is to play and enjoy games without PSN, as is physicals advantage over digital.  Not necessarily guarantee that rare sound issue they patched 2 years after release and DLC fighter #36 are ready to go.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[TrophyChief]

A lot discussed here, but having a physical collection is cool to look at, share, display, and downright be proud of. Stories you can tell and memories to relish. From a trophy hunting perspective, removing patches is a lot easier to capitalize on exploits and positive glitches. Version 1.00 can be a good thing.

[AJ_Radio]

12 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

MMO physical discs are bricks, but that's expected with online games.  All of them.  Regardless of generation, regardless of platform.  Online games need servers to run, servers cost money, money isn't infinite, servers aren't infinite.

 

This is opening up a can of worms I will rather not discuss, so I will refrain from making any point on this.

 

12 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

There's a difference between a broken, unplayable game (Cyberpunk)... and a fully functioning game with missing features (No Man's Sky).  But it's beside the point, because regardless of how it launched, you can buy a disc with a lot of the updated content on it.  You'll probably be able to do the same with Cyberpunk in 6-12 months.

 

Doesn't matter if the Twitter mob and the social media dogs jump on the game. No Man's Sky, Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout 76 were all victims of the mob mentality on social media. They basically try to force the developers on the other side to conform. I've witnessed this happen many times over the past few years. Star Wars Battlefront 2 forced you to buy those microtransactions, it got such a bad reception EA was forced to take action.

 

See The Witcher 3: Complete Edition. Everything on disc, including DLC. Contrast that with the Spyro the Dragon Trilogy. Last I checked, only the first game was available physically, the other two you have to download online. So what was the point of having a physical version for Spyro if you cannot get all three games on the disc?

 

The Witcher 3 did it right. Spyro the Dragon didn't. That's the difference.

 

16 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

You never said the state of physical games (something that used to be great) is bad?  You're the same guy who said "Today, that physical PS4 or PS5 game without the patches is likely no better than serving as something you put on the dinner table to have your daily cup of coffee"... right?  Did you think I forgot that?

 

The state of physical games is getting worse. But I didn't say it was entirely bad. I still buy physical games, especially if they're much cheaper than what I can get on the online store. I got no alternative for Steam, since everything there is digital anyway.

[Dreakon13]

12 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

See The Witcher 3: Complete Edition. Everything on disc, including DLC. Contrast that with the Spyro the Dragon Trilogy. Last I checked, only the first game was available physically, the other two you have to download online. So what was the point of having a physical version for Spyro if you cannot get all three games on the disc?

 

The Witcher 3 did it right. Spyro the Dragon didn't. That's the difference.

 

These are the two extremes... one game with literally all available content on disc, one compilation with full games missing.

 

Most (single player) games fall closer to The Witcher side of the spectrum, in the sense that even without the DLC they have the full intended experience on the disc.  From opening logo to ending credits.  Missing bug fixes and DLC that came later, isn't the same kind of offense as what Spyro did, and what Spyro did isn't very common.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[OhDearDevilRun]

Someday when we can sell our digitals...im all for digitals 100%, but then is there going to be even value for something that has infinite copies? of course until it is delisted..

I still like physicals very much for series I love, and those rare/ultra rare editions. Lately I been starting to collect Steelcases cause why not?? Some are really nice.

[AJ_Radio]

1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

These are the two extremes... one game with literally all available content on disc, one compilation with full games missing.

 

Most games fall closer to The Witcher side of the spectrum, in the sense that even without the DLC they have the full intended experience on the disc.  From opening logo to ending credits.  Missing bug fixes and DLC that came later, isn't the same kind of offense as what Spyro did, and what Spyro did isn't very common.

 

In regards to The Witcher 3, this was long before the Cyberpunk 2077 disaster. Obviously something went wrong at CD Projekt Red between 2015 and 2020. That's something I'm trying to do a little research on.

 

Most companies still don't do this. Ubisoft throws out a Season Pass for practically every game and then offers microtransactions in the form of booster packs and promotes in-game advertising whenever you access the main menu for any particular game. Same with 2K Games.

 

Sure they could compile everything on a disc, but it's more profitable for them to just sell you the base game while they charge a lot of money for a Season Pass and DLC.

[EDGES]

On 5/18/2021 at 2:29 AM, DaivRules said:

Someone hacks your account and you lose access to your library. You lock yourself out of your account and you lose access to your library. You violate some terms of service and you lose access to your library. 
 

 

a lot of IFs there

 

on subject:

do it, I did it last year and I have no regrets, instant access to all my games, smaller builds, fun fact, downloading an already patched latest build of a game digitally is smaller in size than a disc install fully patched, by several GBs, 5+ in some cases, patches are a must have for games these days, makes no sense to on the early build printed on the disk and 10~30+gb worth of patches are digital, might as well go digital

Edited April 3, 2022 by The Investigator

[Dreakon13]

7 minutes ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

In regards to The Witcher 3, this was long before the Cyberpunk 2077 disaster. Obviously something went wrong at CD Projekt Red between 2015 and 2020. That's something I'm trying to do a little research on.

 

Most companies still don't do this. Ubisoft throws out a Season Pass for practically every game and then offers microtransactions in the form of booster packs and promotes in-game advertising whenever you access the main menu for any particular game. Same with 2K Games.

 

Sure they could compile everything on a disc, but it's more profitable for them to just sell you the base game while they charge a lot of money for a Season Pass and DLC.

 

Yes, there's a lot of grey area on the spectrum between your Witcher 3 GOTY and Spyro examples.  But like I said, even without the DLC, the games play from the intended start to finish on the disc.  Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Far Cry whatever are complete games.  The existence of a seasons pass doesn't mean a game is impossible to enjoy without it.

 

That being said, I'm not disagreeing with the fact they exist, or that it's frustrating to be nickle and dimed.

 

 

4 minutes ago, LockheedPrime said:

a lot of IFs there, none of that happened to me for 20+ years on all the PC clients and whole PS4, seems like most of them are also a YOU problem, is your Password "PASSWORD"? if not, you're going to be fine

 

I know someone who permanently lost access to their PSN account when a few people got together and decided to bombard Sony with reports for something he said to them online.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

16 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

Having it be "complete" would be ideal, but it's not necessary in the context of what this thread was intended for (physical vs digital).  Frankly it just needs to be playable with minimal game stopping issues, something Cyberpunk's PS4 launch failed to accomplish like few other games before it.  Cyberpunk's PS5 launch will likely come much closer in that regard.

 

The goal is to play and enjoy games without PSN, as is physicals advantage over digital.  Not necessarily guarantee that rare sound issue they patched 2 years after release and DLC fighter #36 are ready to go.

 

Depends what someone wants from physical. If they don't mind, then yeah, it doesn't matter, but I think it's still worth bringing up. The OP didn't specify, nor did they specify what consoles they own, which is why I brought up the Switch. If you're looking into getting physicals on Switch, there's a lot that are incomplete on cart or literally just a code for the digital version in an empty case, so that's something to be aware of. Even if it isn't relevant to OP, may be relevant to anyone else browsing this topic.

 

I never disagreed with you in this regard. A game with no patches is still better than no game at all. I just realise there are some games that are incomplete or have issues (and not necessarily game breaking ones, but those are obviously the biggest concerns) without updates.

 

14 minutes ago, MrTrofyHunter said:

A lot discussed here, but having a physical collection is cool to look at, share, display, and downright be proud of. Stories you can tell and memories to relish. From a trophy hunting perspective, removing patches is a lot easier to capitalize on exploits and positive glitches. Version 1.00 can be a good thing.

 

Agreed. I like having what's basically a library of physical games on my bookshelves. Collector's editions and other special edition games also make for good show pieces, even when it's basically only ever me and my partner that sees them. The only issue is running out of space for physical games, which is the situation I'm finding myself in recently. Having to stack games behind games and store some games for older systems in plastic storage containers in my spare room. 1st world problems I suppose.

[EDGES]

4 minutes ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

I know someone who permanently lost access to their PSN account when a few people got together and decided to bombard Sony with reports to something he said to them online.

highly doubt it that Sony would not fix their mistake if explained to their support and if there's actually no reason for it, what did he say? I know 50-60 million that never had a problem, you know one person that had a weird problem, I'll take my chances

Edited May 18, 2021 by LockheedPrime

[Dreakon13]

1 minute ago, LockheedPrime said:

highly doubt it that Sony would not fix their mistake if explained to their support, I know 50-60 million that never had a problem, you know one person that had a weird problem, I'll take my chances

 

Just sayin'

 

It happens

[EDGES]

1 minute ago, Dreakon13 said:

 

Just sayin'

 

It happens

so what did he say? cause either he said something that he deserved to be banned for, or he didn't in which case Sony would've reverted it, you can't just say anything online and think it won't affect you, you should know better

Edited May 18, 2021 by LockheedPrime

[Dreakon13]

5 minutes ago, LockheedPrime said:

so what did he say? cause either he said something that he deserved to be banned for, or he didn't in which case Sony would've reverted it

 

Friend of a friend, he didn't get into details.  But let's be honest... I can't think of saying anything bad enough to lock you out of years of purchases.  Maybe ban you from participating on PSN socially.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Dreakon13

[EDGES]

On 5/18/2021 at 6:09 AM, Dreakon13 said:

 

Friend of a friend, he didn't get into details.  But let's be honest... I can't think of saying anything bad enough to lock you out of years of purchases.  Maybe stop you from participating on PSN socially.

ain't that something, a friend defending another friend's friend without the full story, you have to be careful who you take your advice from on the internet, this guy is a prime example of who not to take it from

here's a tip for you: never spread content through your PSN account, or any digital account, that you yourself in real life would not spread in any situation, public institutions, in front of officials, work etc.

Edited April 3, 2022 by The Investigator