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Physical vs Digital (Full Retail)


Dreakon139

Physical vs Digital  

345 members have voted

  1. 1. When it comes to full retail games, which do you prefer?

    • Physical
      288
    • Digital
      57


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i hate digital games. i think having a big game collection is more impressive than having a big "virtual" collection. i only buy digital games when i think the deal is really worth it and i save a lot of money, like i did with burnout paradise (saved 10$ on the game, and got 3 dlc packs free by buying it digital)

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I have just encountered this situation, as Episodes from Liberty City is at £10.99 on the playstation store, but I can get it for around £12.99 on a disc online. I think I will actually go with the disc version on this occasion as there isn't much difference in price, but the outcome may have been different if it was significantly cheaper.

I almost always prefer to have a physical copy of a game than a digital copy, because it feels like I actually own something (instead of just owning a few GBs of memory).

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I have 3 digital only games and it just feels weird not having the discs. There's an uncumfortable feeling there for me and i'm not sure why. I do have to say though, it's really convenient to be able to fire up a game without having to put in a disc.

This right here.

The one and only time I bought/used a PSN card, I felt a little dirty afterwards. If my HDD was to get wiped, then there goes the content.

Note to self: Back-up HDD in case Al Qaeda Inc Ltd PLC Corp decide to upgrade their AOL service.

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I don't think i've ever bought retail games through the ps store before, except maybe the HD god of war collection, i always prefer to have a physical copy, although if the price was better online then i'd probably be tempted.

But then you can't beat that new game smell... i think the manual smells nice o.O

.

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I absolutely prefer retail, I don't have a single retail title downloaded, I own only discs of retail games. I personally don't see the point of releasing the game on a disc and then subsequently (or even on release day, example; inFamous 2) putting it on the PS Store for download.

It may be because I prefer having a physical collection that I can see and touch rather than just a mass of data.

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I prefer physical discs as I don't have to worry if my storage is getting full or backing it up in case I need to re-download everything if the HDD corrupts, and when I've finished with a game I can either sell it online or trade it in against something else. I traded in games and kept the store credit on a gift card and that paid for my Vita outright, happy days.

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Buying a physical copy is nice because you can always sell it after you finish. I am not much of a collector, so that option usually works out nicely for me. There is nothing quite like unwrapping a new game.

That aside, I must admit considering purchasing more full games from the PSN store in the future.

I don't have to worry about a scratched disk, or my kids destroying the booklet or case (which drives me nuts), or going out to the store. Of course you pay a premium price for the convenience of it, unless you catch a deal. But I've had just enough frustration with malfunctioning discs to make downloading seem like a viable option. I barely got through the last few chapters of Uncharted 2 because my game kept freezing.

Plus, in the case of some of the HD collections you can separate some of the included games if you don't want the whole collection.

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This right here.

The one and only time I bought/used a PSN card, I felt a little dirty afterwards. If my HDD was to get wiped, then there goes the content.

Note to self: Back-up HDD in case Al Qaeda Inc Ltd PLC Corp decide to upgrade their AOL service.

For the record, it'd be relatively easy to hop on your account with a new HDD and re-download the content.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I prefer Physical Copies, I'm old school yo!, BUT there are benefits to digital games. First off if your Blu-Ray drive dies you have your digital games. Second digital games tend to run better. For example Dead Space which I find the loading times to be much faster on the digital version, 4-5 seconds in the digital version between chapters versus 8-10 seconds. Also I notice inFAMOUS has a smoother framerate in the digital version. Also some games will have slightly better visuals in the digital versions.

The reason for this is because the entire game it loaded on the HDD, this means the PS3 does less work than having to run the Blu-Ray drive and HDD at the same time. Some games you don't see much of a difference, like Split/Second. Also digital format lets you buy games that you may be having trouble finding in the store or online.

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  • 7 months later...

I prefer Physical Copies, I'm old school yo!, BUT there are benefits to digital games. First off if your Blu-Ray drive dies you have your digital games. Second digital games tend to run better. For example Dead Space which I find the loading times to be much faster on the digital version, 4-5 seconds in the digital version between chapters versus 8-10 seconds. Also I notice inFAMOUS has a smoother framerate in the digital version. Also some games will have slightly better visuals in the digital versions.

The reason for this is because the entire game it loaded on the HDD, this means the PS3 does less work than having to run the Blu-Ray drive and HDD at the same time. Some games you don't see much of a difference, like Split/Second. Also digital format lets you buy games that you may be having trouble finding in the store or online.

I'm sure this is true for most games but my digital copy of PoP:The Two Thrones froze up 80% of the time upon boot up. (not the ps3 either)

That was the most irritating thing in the world. :(

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Digital has its perks.

For example, I mainly play games at my house.. but occasionally I'll go to my brother's house to hang out. If, eventually, I end up playing video games.. my game is already downloaded there. My saves are on PS+. I don't miss a beat no matter where I play.... at those two places.

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  • 1 month later...

When I got my Vita, I initially thought I would go digital, but when I bought it, I decided to go phyiscal. The thing about buying physical is that when I finish a game and want to sell it, I can actually do just that and get money back!!! You just can't do that with digital games.

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