Physical vs Digital (Full Retail)

[DarkSoleride]

23 minutes ago, Cynthia-Roses said:

I prefer physical. I sometimes bite the bullet and deal with digital, but I had some bad experiences with digital on consoles so thus physical is more for me. I was a PC gamer for a long time, so I have grown used to digital, but if it can be helped, I go physical.

Fair enough, I get that I was always about disc copies but this generation digital especially in the UK has mostly been cheaper compared to physical despite the lack of trade in

[soniq]

5 hours ago, patrickogorman19 said:

You can keep physical games forever.Way better long term investment.

Sure, but what for? My backlog of games that I picked up in PSN sales over the years is so huge that I won't ever play a game again after earning 100% of the trophies and if they aren't getting any more DLC. I just don't have the time and there are always more games coming out that I want to play than I can complete.

 

I sold my relatively huge collection of NES, Gameboy, SNES, PS1, N64, GBA, DS, PS2, DC, Xbox, 360, Wii and PC games about 2 years ago and it felt really good to get rid of all that stuff that was just collecting dust.

[RavenclawHobbit]

Digital 99% of the time. The only time I go physical is if it unavailable on digital (shadow of mordor not goty) or if it's a really good price. Otherwise I just prefer digital, no discs means my disc reader can go out whenever it decides to and I won't care even remotely. Had 2 PS3's that bit the bullet with the disc reader and feel I have learned my lesson. Plus I am one of the people who despises GameStop with a passion. So every dollar I can keep from them is a good thing. ?GameStop!

[J2V89]

I perfer getting my games physical still until it's time to move onto digital.

[gabor434]

Hmm lets see..

 

Physical game pros:

- new releases are almost always cheaper than the digital version (at least in my country)

- you can buy used games for cheap!

- games always install faster from blu-ray disk than an internet download,   the difference can be huge if you have slow internet, for example intalling an 50GB game from disk is 15min for me while downloading 50GB is around 15hours with my internet

- you can sell the game if you dont like it or if you completed it and dont plan on playing again (and you can use that cash to buy new games)

- you can buy collectors, special or steelbook editions (etc) and display them in your room

- 10-15years from now on, when the servers will be shut down you wont be able to download your games anymore, while your physical games will still work (single player games obviously)

 

VS

 

Digital game pros:

- you dont have to swap disk, if you want to play a different game  (saves you like 30seconds horay!)

- often there are really good sales in the PSN store and you can buy games for bargain prices

- you dont need physical space to store your games (a huge physical collection can take up multiple rooms)

 

Physical games have much more pros for me and im also a collector and i like to display things in my room, so i only buy digital games if there isnt a physical version or the digital version is super cheap.

 

Pysical games FTW!

 

[patrickogorman19]

6 hours ago, soniq said:

Sure, but what for? My backlog of games that I picked up in PSN sales over the years is so huge that I won't ever play a game again after earning 100% of the trophies and if they aren't getting any more DLC. I just don't have the time and there are always more games coming out that I want to play than I can complete.

 

I sold my relatively huge collection of NES, Gameboy, SNES, PS1, N64, GBA, DS, PS2, DC, Xbox, 360, Wii and PC games about 2 years ago and it felt really good to get rid of all that stuff that was just collecting dust.

I would love to collect that kind of stuff.I haven't played a lot games  in years but some games are hard to find are rare.Always go for physical.Some rare physical games are worth over $100.

6 hours ago, serialkilla1987 said:

Digital 99% of the time. The only time I go physical is if it unavailable on digital (shadow of mordor not goty) or if it's a really good price. Otherwise I just prefer digital, no discs means my disc reader can go out whenever it decides to and I won't care even remotely. Had 2 PS3's that bit the bullet with the disc reader and feel I have learned my lesson. Plus I am one of the people who despises GameStop with a passion. So every dollar I can keep from them is a good thing. ?GameStop!

Gamestop is a good shop to find rare preowned games.

[RavenclawHobbit]

1 hour ago, patrickogorman19 said:

I would love to collect that kind of stuff.I haven't played a lot games  in years but some games are hard to find are rare.Always go for physical.Some rare physical games are worth over $100.

Gamestop is a good shop to find rare preowned games.

Yes and if you can deal with them then go right ahead. I would rather hand a higher percentage of my money to the company responsible for the game/Sony. GameStop can jump off a cliff.

[patrickogorman19]

10 hours ago, serialkilla1987 said:

Yes and if you can deal with them then go right ahead. I would rather hand a higher percentage of my money to the company responsible for the game/Sony. GameStop can jump off a cliff.

There are multiple ways you can get a physical copy e.g. best buy, amazon, Ebay, walmart.

[Mercer_333]

Personally I will always try to find a physical copy at first, I would much rather play the old fashioned way putting the disc into PS3.

I have no problem buying digital version of the game if it cannot be found around stores anymore like Warriors: Legends of Troy

and Just Cause 2..

 

Actually I would buy games I cannot find anywhere else for the life of me like Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon

or Shadows of the Damned if they were available in PS Store...

 

Other than that I say Physical games all the way baby!

[RavenclawHobbit]

16 hours ago, patrickogorman19 said:

There are multiple ways you can get a physical copy e.g. best buy, amazon, Ebay, walmart.

Again I will state that I do not want a physical copy in the least bit. Digital is what I want, and hence digital is what I buy. 

[B1rvine]

Digital, digital, digital.  Join the future, people.

 

I love that I can buy the game once, but then download the game for both of my PS4's (or PS3's) and play on both systems simultaneously.   I love that I can get slightly older games for 2.99 at a flash sale etc.  Gamestop will still be like likely $15 or $20.  I mean, how many people do you hoarders really show off your collection to other than the internet?

 

Edited for clarity.

Edited March 29, 2017 by B1rvine

[patrickogorman19]

1 hour ago, B1rvine said:

Digital, digital, digital.  Join the future, people.

 

I love that I can buy the game once, and download the game simultaneously on both of my PS4's (or PS3's) and play on both systems at the same time.   I love that I can get the games for 2.99 at a flash sale etc.  Gamestop will still be like $15 or $20.  I mean, how many people do you hoarders really show off your collection to other than the internet?

Thats incorrect.

[B1rvine]

Just now, patrickogorman19 said:

Thats incorrect.

 

What part is incorrect? 

[patrickogorman19]

4 hours ago, serialkilla1987 said:

Again I will state that I do not want a physical copy in the least bit. Digital is what I want, and hence digital is what I buy. 

At least I don't have to worry about my games being taken away.Better future investment If you buy physical copies.

1 minute ago, B1rvine said:

 

What part is incorrect? 

Where I live they are way more expensive and they take forever to download.We are getting screwed more and more each year with people like you buying digital games.

[B1rvine]

16 minutes ago, patrickogorman19 said:

At least I don't have to worry about my games being taken away.  Better future investment If you buy physical copies.

Where I live they are way more expensive and they take forever to download.We are getting screwed more and more each year with people like you buying digital games.

 

I think you're misinformed about how digital works.  The games will never be "taken away."  Even in the event they are pulled off of the Playstation store, as long as you've bought them you WILL still have access re-download it any time you want.  If you're referring to some supposed server shutdown, that's never going to happen, unless Sony as a whole becomes defunct because your download history is part of PSN as a whole, which can be accessed on phones, computers, etc, not just a single system.

 

As far as price, I can't comment on Australia, but in the USA physical copies almost never get to prices the PSN store has when they do their sales (other than HUGE days such as Black Friday etc).  I am referring to slightly older games. 

 

Edit: More on the price.  You just said about 5 posts ago that some "rare" games are $100.  Show me a game on the PSN store that's $100.

Edited March 29, 2017 by B1rvine

[Satoshi Ookami]

1 hour ago, B1rvine said:

 Join the future, people.

If that's the future, I shall gladly stay in the past.

[crimsonidol38]

Most of the time I prefer physical but there are some occasions where I prefer the download-version. Mainly for racing games as I tend to play them in between other longer games from time to time and so I don't have to switch the disc everytime I decide to play a few races.

Spoiler

And now that I own a second PS3 it's also much easier to get some of those notorious MP-trophies in games with (nearly) dead online servers.

 

[patrickogorman19]

1 hour ago, B1rvine said:

 

I think you're misinformed about how digital works.  The games will never be "taken away."  Even in the event they are pulled off of the Playstation store, as long as you've bought them you WILL still have access re-download it any time you want.  If you're referring to some supposed server shutdown, that's never going to happen, unless Sony as a whole becomes defunct because your download history is part of PSN as a whole, which can be accessed on phones, computers, etc, not just a single system.

 

As far as price, I can't comment on Australia, but in the USA physical copies almost never get to prices the PSN store has when they do their sales (other than HUGE days such as Black Friday etc).  I am referring to slightly older games. 

 

Edit: More on the price.  You just said about 5 posts ago that some "rare" games are $100.  Show me a game on the PSN store that's $100.

 

[Dangisuckatgamin]

I've always wondered how many people actually order the $100+ digital copies of games. I about crapped when the first one went live lol

[patrickogorman19]

2 minutes ago, Dangisuckatgamin said:

I've always wondered how many people actually order the $100+ digital copies of games. I about crapped when the first one went live lol

Digital games are always more expensive off sale compared to physical games.

[iAlphaSoldier]

I have a healthy mix of both digital and phyical copies. Both have their pros and cons so the deciding factor which of those I get are the availability and the price. Some games are digital only or physical only so the debate which format is not applicable in that case.

There really isn't any reason to me though whiy I should pass on a game I want to try just because it's not available in the form I prefer.

[B1rvine]

43 minutes ago, patrickogorman19 said:

(your picture post)

 

Digital games are always more expensive off sale compared to physical games.

 

Your argument is a little misleading.  Basically you're showing the bundles with all DLC on every game, not the game by itself.  And when comparing the game by itself to regular stores in your country it's the same price, not more or less expensive.

 

For MLB The Show 17:  You're showing the Deluxe Edition.  It's a bundle with tons of DLC, not just the game by itself.  The game by itself is $75.95 (thats in AU dollars, not USA dollars) as shown here on the AU PSN Store:  https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-au/games/mlb-the-show-17/cid=UP9000-CUSA06387_00-MLBTHESHOW17SHEU.  I can't find an AU physical copy anywhere, but the USA copy is $59.99, the same as it is in the PSN store.  If you were to buy the physical game and the DLC separately you'd find the digital copy is cheaper in the long run.

 

For Madden NFL 17:  Once again, two out of three of those you list are the bundles with all the DLC.  This EBGames Australia store lists the price at the same $99.95AU, the same as the PSN Store, listed here : https://ebgames.com.au/ps4-217098-Madden-NFL-17-PlayStation-4. 

 

For Mass Effect Andromeda:  Same thing again.  The game by itself, not the bundle with all DLC is only $99.95 on the PSN store. (https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-au/games/mass-effect-andromeda/cid=EP0006-CUSA02491_00-MASSEFFECT400000) compared to a physical copy at the same EB Games for the same $99.95 (https://ebgames.com.au/ps4-202609-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-PlayStation-4)

 

When I said about $100, I meant US dollars.  The AU dollar equivalent is about $130, so I should have said find an AU game by itself, not a bundle with DLC over $130 AU.  It does appear though that AU versions are more expensive, both digitally and physically a little bit.

 

Considering you actually get 2 copies (since you can download on up to two machines) when you buy digitally, the price is basically always cheaper for a digital version.  Price really isn't something you can say is better, since it's the opposite.  Even if you only downloaded once, usually physical copies hit a bottom price of $19.99 or $9.99 ($US) where the PSN sales get even lower.  

 

With that said, I do recognize there are some benefits to both physical and digital.  And I prefer digital.

 

 

Edited March 29, 2017 by B1rvine

[patrickogorman19]

10 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

 

Your argument is a little misleading.  Basically you're showing the bundles with all DLC on every game, not the game by itself.  And when comparing the game by itself to regular stores in your country it's the same price, not more or less expensive.

 

For MLB The Show 17:  You're showing the Deluxe Edition.  It's a bundle with tons of DLC, not just the game by itself.  The game by itself is $75.95 (thats in AU dollars, not USA dollars) as shown here on the AU PSN Store:  https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-au/games/mlb-the-show-17/cid=UP9000-CUSA06387_00-MLBTHESHOW17SHEU.  I can't find an AU physical copy anywhere, but the USA copy is $59.99, the same as it is in the PSN store.  If you were to buy the physical game and the DLC separately you'd find the digital copy is cheaper in the long run.

 

For Madden NFL 17:  Once again, two out of three of those you list are the bundles with all the DLC.  This EBGames Australia store lists the price at the same $99.95AU, the same as the PSN Store, listed here : https://ebgames.com.au/ps4-217098-Madden-NFL-17-PlayStation-4.   Thats the same price you show on the AU PSN store.

 

For Mass Effect Andromeda:  Same thing again.  The game by itself, not the bundle with all DLC is only $99.95 on the PSN store. (https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-au/games/mass-effect-andromeda/cid=EP0006-CUSA02491_00-MASSEFFECT400000) compared to a physical copy at the same EB Games for the same $99.95 (https://ebgames.com.au/ps4-202609-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-PlayStation-4)

 

When I said about $100, I meant US dollars.  The AU dollar equivalent is about $130, so I should have said find an AU game by itself, not a bundle with DLC over $130 AU.  It does appear though that AU versions are more expensive, both digitally and physically a little bit.

 

Considering you actually get 2 copies (since you can download on up to two machines) when you buy digitally, the price is basically always cheaper for a digital version.  But price really isn't something you can say is better, since it's the opposite.  Even if you only downloaded once, usually physical copies hit a bottom price of $19.99 or $9.99 ($US) where the PSN sales get even lower.

 

 

100 dollars is still expensive for a digital game.Standard edition for madden 17 is 99.95 which is almost $100.And actually you can get a buy 2 and get 1 free if you but it preowned for $88.Plus you don't have to wait 2 days for it download.

[B1rvine]

21 minutes ago, patrickogorman19 said:

100 dollars is still expensive for a digital game.Standard edition for madden 17 is 99.95 which is almost $100.And actually you can get a buy 2 and get 1 free if you but it preowned for $88.Plus you don't have to wait 2 days for it download.

 

My point was though, the price for physical vs digital is the same.  BOTH the digital copy and the physical copy are $100 (AU dollars).  So you can't say the digital is more expensive.  Sure there may be some special deals like buy 2, Get 1 free from time to time at a specific retailer, but I'm comparing regular prices.  If you want to compare deals, the PSN sales > retailer sales IMO.  I just bought about 20 games for $100. And I get them twice for since I have two PS4s.

 

Edited March 29, 2017 by B1rvine

[BlazingCat83]

I'm old school. I prefer physical when I have a choice, but no real issue with digital. A nice thing with physical is I can sell it and get some of my money back when I'm done.