Retail Disc vs Digital Download : Questions..

[Kuzagi_PT]

I am not sure if anyone asked this before but :

A. ) is there any way to lend the games i have bought in the ps store? If not what do you think about it ? ( Answered )

B. ) What is better ? Retail discs or digital download ? Give me your opinion please.

So many times i see ps store doing amazing promotions that i cant buy in a CD inside the market but then i wonder how do i lend those games or if the trophies will be blocked if i share with my family accounts ( inside the same ps3 sistem ). Any player here knows more details about it?

Edited May 20, 2014 by BUwUNY

[TonyCROGamingHD]

Well i don't know the answer to question A, but about question B, i always buy retail discs, i know there is a risk that i can break the CD and then it's bye bye game, and such a thing can't happen with digital copies, but i like retail discs because digital copies just isn't my thing.

Also, you don't have to be afraid that the trophies will be blocked on your game for your family accounts. I have 3 accounts on my ps3 system and i can play any game on any of those accounts and get trophies for each account

Edited May 20, 2014 by TonyCROGamingHD

[-Dark Mark-]

I like digital copies cause I can't break them, nor can I decide to trade them for less later on.

[antithesis]

a. Gamesharing is against the PSN T&C and can get you banned from the PSN. There's also a high risk of having your PSN account stolen by the person who "borrowed" your games. It's also frowned upon by upstanding PSN communities like this. Do it at your own risk.

 

b. Digital downloads allows you to install any purchased game on two PS3 systems concurrently. If you have two PS3s in your house, then it's fine to install a digital game on both. I do this to self-boost MP trophies.

 

There are no problems sharing games  / DLC among different PSN accounts on the SAME PS3, as long as the account that bought the game is Activated on that PS3. As soon as the buyer's account is deleted or Deactivated, those games will no longer run.

Edited May 20, 2014 by ant1th3s1s

[Parker]

You can't let people borrow your digital games (though this was supposed to be a feature on the Xbox One) but any account on your PS3 can play your digital games. So if your family members have 3 different accounts, as long as your main account in on that PlayStation, they'll be able to play your games. Trophies will still be unlocked. We're talking family members here, not gamesharing. 

 

What is better? They're both the same but I prefer physical because I enjoy collecting video games and I like seeing all the boxes. It takes up a whole lot of space though. 

 

 

Parker

[merciful84]

Retail. Simply put: It gives more control to the consumer than the distributer. IMO, digital distribution has more to do with wrestling control of a product from the customer and less to do with convenience. The latter is just how distributers sale the whole idea to its customers.

 

The 2011 PSN outage and lack of backwards compatibility in current gen consoles is a prime example of how it is not the most convenient means of formats. What's the point in getting the digital version of anything when someone else controls its accessibility and its overall lifespan? The latter is the very same issue faced with retail discs except Sony has allowed the longevity of it software since the PS2 and early models of the PS3. However, when you alienate your ENTIRE digital library of legacy software (that's only a generation old), it really beats the entire purpose of offering digital versions in the first place and now said library is only as good as the limited support for the compatible legacy hardware! ROBBERY!

Edited May 20, 2014 by merciful84

[PSNP is crap i left]

Don't understand Question A sorry

 

My answer to Question B is: Retail Discs. Why? Because they take up less space.

[Kittens Are Awesome]

I am not sure if anyone asked this before but :

A. ) is there any way to lend the games i have bought in the ps store? If not what do you think about it ?

B. ) What is better ? Retail discs or digital download ? Give me your opinion please.

So many times i see ps store doing amazing promotions that i cant buy in a CD inside the market but then i wonder how do i lend those games or if the trophies will be blocked if i share with my family accounts ( inside the same ps3 sistem ). Any player here knows more details about it?

 

Yes, you can share between users on your PS3.  The trophies will unlock for every user just as you would normally. 

 

Also, I don't have a preference on physical vs digital.  I think they both have their pros and cons.  I use both mediums.

 

Edit: I just saw that Parker answered the question.  Guess I missed his post.

You can't let people borrow your digital games (though this was supposed to be a feature on the Xbox One) but any account on your PS3 can play your digital games. So if your family members have 3 different accounts, as long as your main account in on that PlayStation, they'll be able to play your games. Trophies will still be unlocked. We're talking family members here, not gamesharing. 

 

What is better? They're both the same but I prefer physical because I enjoy collecting video games and I like seeing all the boxes. It takes up a whole lot of space though. 

 

 

Parker

 

 

Really?  I never heard of that.  So did they never implement that feature?

Edited May 20, 2014 by PRARPIN

[Parker]

I think *almost* everybody is misreading his question A.  He isn't asking about game-sharing.  He specifically asked about users on his own PS3.

 

 

To answer your question BUwUNY, yes, you can share between users on your PS3.  The trophies will unlock for every user just as you would normally. 

 

Edit: I just saw that Parker answered the question.  Guess I missed his post.

 

 

Really?  I never heard of that.  So did they never implement that feature?

 

Back when the system was supposed to have the 24 hour online checks and all that other bullshit, there was a feature that allowed anyone on your friends list to borrow any of your games. Since everything was digital, everything was on your HDD (game discs were just instillation discs, if I recall correctly) so say you have 2 games, Forza and Titanfall. If 1 friend is borrowing Titanfall, no other friends could borrow it and you yourself couldn't play it either (though I'm sure there would be a "force return" feature or something) until it was returned to you. You could only play Forza until Titanfall was returned, and if you didn't want to play Forza, another friend could borrow it. 

 

When Microsoft reversed all their DRM decisions this was unfortunately one of the features on the chopping block too. Apparently without the console being "always on" they couldn't implement the feature. It definitely would've been cool though. 

 

 

Parker

[amebapiko]

Depends on the game but for PS3 I always prefer to go physical.

 

But on PC I always want to download digital copies. 

[Kuzagi_PT]

Yes, you can share between users on your PS3.  The trophies will unlock for every user just as you would normally. 

 

Also, I don't have a preference on physical vs digital.  I think they both have their pros and cons.  I use both mediums.

 

Edit: I just saw that Parker answered the question.  Guess I missed his post.

 

 

Really?  I never heard of that.  So did they never implement that feature?

  

Retail. Simply put: It gives more control to the consumer than the distributer. IMO, digital distribution has more to do with wrestling control of a product from the customer and less to do with convenience. The latter is just how distributers sale the whole idea to its customers.

Thank you all for your well detailed answers. It helps more than i wanted (: perfect . The main reason why i asked is because wouldn't be fair to buy a game together for only one single account. Looking forward to buy Mass Effect trilogy.. Thank you again (;

 

The 2011 PSN outage and lack of backwards compatibility in current gen consoles is a prime example of how it is not the most convenient means of formats. What's the point in getting the digital version of anything when someone else controls its accessibility and its overall lifespan? The latter is the very same issue faced with retail discs except Sony has allowed the longevity of it software since the PS2 and early models of the PS3. However, when you alienate your ENTIRE digital library of legacy software (that's only a generation old), it really beats the entire purpose of offering digital versions in the first place and now said library is only as good as the limited support for the compatible legacy hardware! ROBBERY!

  

You can't let people borrow your digital games (though this was supposed to be a feature on the Xbox One) but any account on your PS3 can play your digital games. So if your family members have 3 different accounts, as long as your main account in on that PlayStation, they'll be able to play your games. Trophies will still be unlocked. We're talking family members here, not gamesharing. 

 

What is better? They're both the same but I prefer physical because I enjoy collecting video games and I like seeing all the boxes. It takes up a whole lot of space though. 

 

 

Parker

  

a. Gamesharing is against the PSN T&C and can get you banned from the PSN. There's also a high risk of having your PSN account stolen by the person who "borrowed" your games. It's also frowned upon by upstanding PSN communities like this. Do it at your own risk.

 

b. Digital downloads allows you to install any purchased game on two PS3 systems concurrently. If you have two PS3s in your house, then it's fine to install a digital game on both. I do this to self-boost MP trophies.

 

There are no problems sharing games  / DLC among different PSN accounts on the SAME PS3, as long as the account that bought the game is Activated on that PS3. As soon as the buyer's account is deleted or Deactivated, those games will no longer run.

  

Well i don't know the answer to question A, but about question B, i always buy retail discs, i know there is a risk that i can break the CD and then it's bye bye game, and such a thing can't happen with digital copies, but i like retail discs because digital copies just isn't my thing.

Also, you don't have to be afraid that the trophies will be blocked on your game for your family accounts. I have 3 accounts on my ps3 system and i can play any game on any of those accounts and get trophies for each account

Thank you all for your answers. It helps more than i wanted. Perfect , i asked this because it wouldn't be fair to share the price with a family member for only 1 single owner. Looking forward to dowload Mass Effect Trilogy. Thank you all again (;

[DaivRules]

Back when the system was supposed to have the 24 hour online checks and all that other bullshit, there was a feature that allowed anyone on your friends list to borrow any of your games. Since everything was digital, everything was on your HDD (game discs were just instillation discs, if I recall correctly) so say you have 2 games, Forza and Titanfall. If 1 friend is borrowing Titanfall, no other friends could borrow it and you yourself couldn't play it either (though I'm sure there would be a "force return" feature or something) until it was returned to you. You could only play Forza until Titanfall was returned, and if you didn't want to play Forza, another friend could borrow it. 

 

When Microsoft reversed all their DRM decisions this was unfortunately one of the features on the chopping block too. Apparently without the console being "always on" they couldn't implement the feature. It definitely would've been cool though. 

 

 

Parker

 

This could still be implemented. This would go a long way to showing that digital content is really no different than physical goods. Microsoft probably has this very system still in test mode, either as a future feature or next-console feature. There really isn't any reason they can't still implement this without 24 hour online check-ins. Once it's lent, the game would not be able to be played on the host (no different than a PS+ account running out). To check it back in, go back online for authorization. Seems like Microsoft just took their ball and went home on this when people became outraged about not being able to sell their PHYSICAL games, as well they should have.

 

This would be a great first step into allowing users to trade and sell their digital content to other gamers.

[GoldenShaka]

You can't let people borrow your digital games (though this was supposed to be a feature on the Xbox One) but any account on your PS3 can play your digital games. So if your family members have 3 different accounts, as long as your main account in on that PlayStation, they'll be able to play your games. Trophies will still be unlocked. We're talking family members here, not gamesharing. 

 

What is better? They're both the same but I prefer physical because I enjoy collecting video games and I like seeing all the boxes. It takes up a whole lot of space though. 

 

 

Parker

Probably i'm not understanding your post but, for what i know due to new policies the owner of a PSN account can share its content (family purpose) up to two PS3 - not three - (at least that's how it is in USA), at the beginning (2006 to october 2011) could be shared up to 5 accounts (devices).

 

About the second part, hmm, I mostly buy Digital only games (in digital version hehe) because they're not so big, but i prefer to buy triple A games in retail version. A mix of nostalgic and avoid saturate the hard drive capacity hehe. Yes, i could be just install and unistall but c'mon takes long time to download games with more than 20 gb.

I prefer to have a physical collection.

[Parker]

Probably i'm not understanding your post but, for what i know due to new policies the owner of a PSN account can share its content (family purpose) up to two PS3 - not three - (at least that's how it is in USA), at the beginning (2006 to october 2011) could be shared up to 5 accounts (devices).

 

About the second part, hmm, I mostly buy Digital only games (in digital version hehe) because they're not so big, but i prefer to buy triple A games in retail version. A mix of nostalgic and avoid saturate the hard drive capacity hehe. Yes, i could be just install and unistall but c'mon takes long time to download games with more than 20 gb.

I prefer to have a physical collection.

 

I was referring to three different accounts on one PS3, not three different PS3 systems. 

 

 

Parker

[GoldenShaka]

I was referring to three different accounts on one PS3, not three different PS3 systems. 

 

 

Parker

Ok thanks.

[Willstown]

Generally I'll get the physical copes, it's usually way cheaper in the UK to pick a game up from Amazon rather than the PS store.

 

May madness and the Easter sale have been great for picking a tonne of stuff up recently though, that and all the free PS+ goodies.

[GREAT_HAVOK]

You can never go wrong with the retail copy, hard copy, physical copy of the game. Hands down!

The only reason Sony is marketing digital copies (and probably soon they want to extinguish retail copies) is all about CONTROL and PROFIT, just as merciful84 said.

You control the use of a product, you control it's market, and once you got it all controlled, it's profit. Yes, they are trying to rob you of other possibilities with a digital copy.

[EternalChaos72]

retail disc. the short and sweet answer to this is because DD eats all your GB like nothing normal.

[Dognoms]

I like digital. 99% of my game collection is digital but thats largly thanks to adding to my psplus while I was 'afk' from PS3. I do like disks for the art ect but tbh PSN sales are getting ok these days..not quite Steam but pretty decent.

 

I prefer the silent running over disk seeking tbh and I like having my collection stored on my HDD . No other real reason bar I'm used to PC so I guess thats fallout from that. The only thing I dislike is my DL speeds are terrible where I am

[Sakraali]

Only reason retail would be better is if you can be bothered to trade games in oldskool. Digital all the way.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Sakraali

[The Chosen Undead]

Does another person who shares a PS3 with you playing the games you bought because they're saved on the HDD count as gamesharing?

[antithesis]

Back when the system was supposed to have the 24 hour online checks and all that other bullshit, there was a feature that allowed anyone on your friends list to borrow any of your games. Since everything was digital, everything was on your HDD (game discs were just instillation discs, if I recall correctly) so say you have 2 games, Forza and Titanfall. If 1 friend is borrowing Titanfall, no other friends could borrow it and you yourself couldn't play it either (though I'm sure there would be a "force return" feature or something) until it was returned to you. You could only play Forza until Titanfall was returned, and if you didn't want to play Forza, another friend could borrow it. 

 

When Microsoft reversed all their DRM decisions this was unfortunately one of the features on the chopping block too. Apparently without the console being "always on" they couldn't implement the feature. It definitely would've been cool though. 

 

 

Parker

 

The owner of the game could play it at any time. If the borrower was using it at the same time, they'd be unceremoniously dumped to the Dashboard to prevent concurrent usage.

Conversely, if the owner of the game was playing it and the borrower attempted to start playing, the borrower would receive a message "this game is currently in use".

 

That way, the owner of the game was always in full control. They could also revoke borrowing privileges at any time and give the game to someone else. 

 

Thank you dumbasses of the world for not embracing progress. MS had some shit DRM ideas like "always connected" and "requires Kinect spyware", but the greater good would have prevailed in the end. Instead, we're left with a watered-down version of the XB1 and we'll likely not see MS's true vision for the Xbox until the next-gen.

Does another person who shares a PS3 with you playing the games you bought because they're saved on the HDD count as gamesharing?

 

If they're not in the same physical location, then technically, yes. That said, the reason it was implemented in the first place was two-fold -

 

1. To make it easier to replace failed hardware with a limited number of system activations, originally 4 or 5. It's similar to how Windows OS allows a limited number of activations to accommodate hardware upgrades, e.g changing your video card counted as an activation. It just so happened that 4 or 5 PS3s could be activated concurrently (though activations couldn't be renewed without calling Sony), which led to gamesharing. This was later reduced to 2 concurrent activations for more recent PSN digital content, however those 2 activations can be reset at any time, with a 6 month subsequent waiting period.

 

2. To allow us to play our games at friends / family / holiday homes, or on multiple PS3s in the same home. You simply activate your account to access your digital library, download and play while there, then deactivate and piss off home.

That's the theory anyway...in practice, as long as your account remains activated on the other PS3, it can always play your games. You can deactivate that other PS3 at any time using the Sony Entertainment Network site at http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/. If you get your account stolen in the process of gamesharing with a friend, or you can no longer activate your own PS3 because you forgot your PSN login and can't access the SEN site to do a reset, Sony will tell you it's tough shit, as it's against their T&C.

Edited May 21, 2014 by ant1th3s1s

[AlteredFormula]

I prefer retail disc, purely for the fact that I can generally buy it cheaper than I can for a digital purchase by £10-£20.  Until they sort that out, I'll always choose a retail disc.

[GuardianAider]

It is ridiculous to speak about breaking the Disc. You will not use it a volley ball at the beach will you ?

 

Well it is always better to buy the disc version instead of the digital version.

 

For example i finished Infamous second son then trade it in for Tomb raider for just 15$ on top of the infamous. 

 

Now i can beat Tomb raider and trade it in again for 15$ for another used game.

 

That's how you use your money

 

Enjoy

[WuTangJase-]

I like disc copies cus I can trade them in when i'm finished.