Who's excited for games to go all digital?

Physical copies are the best, I love boxes, big stupid lovable plastic or even cold metal boxes. I fear the day that the machines will take over and all my games will be no more than nothing more than... well, nothing...

I love being able to actually hold the fruit of someone's labors in my hands. I just enjoy the idea of fulfillment in a physical form.

Having something digital is fine, but I think we'd be missing out on something fundamentally important to people if we just went all digital.

@SeriouslyNow said:

@Aldrenar47 said:

@Contrarian said:

Enjoy playing your digital games when there are no jobs because nobody buys anything "real" any more. We are buying ourselves unemployment every day.

No, what digital sales do is transfer money more directly to the developer. That means jobs will be lost at publishers, but they will be gained at developers. It's actually a huge benefit to gamers as well as devs because we will see much more innovation and variety when there are no middleman to go "well, we don't think your game will appeal to a large enough audience to make this investment worth it for us financially." They won't have to appeal to a huge audience, since there won't be a publisher taking a 50% cut or whatever the number is (not to mention the retailer's cut, which is probably much larger than what Valve takes from a Steam purchase). It will most likely increase the number of actual gamers as well, since there will be a larger variety of games on the market and they will be cheaper, which means more money coming in towards the industry as a whole. If anything the net economic effect will be positive.

What you're describing has a lot more to do with e-commerce in general than digital sales specifically. There are now manufactured products which get sold in small runs (which wouldn't have been financially feasible prior to e-commerce reaching critical mass and the services it brought with it like Kickstarter, Tee Fury and the like) such as books and clothing which are made for smaller, niche audiences which can be all over the world. Digital sales just magnify that experience. Oh and ignore Contrarian. He's a playing the contrarian.

Well, I am a Contrarian.

Do you seriously believe the gain at one end will outweigh the loss at the other? The loss at the retail level would have significant econmic impacts. Sure, ordering online is already having that impact, but to remove it altogether is to kill major sectors in the economy with no benefit to the wider economy. The increases, decreases and improvements you speak of for gamers will never happen (more games will dilute the market and still see it as being economically risky). There will more likely be a significant drop in gamers as the consumer who sees a physical product that they can pick up and read, simply because it is there, will be lost to the market. We are all gamers because we bought games at shops and we are the core audience, we know what goes on. The new consumer does not. The whole marketing approach to get these consumers will be a task of mammoth proportions and will require spending on marketing in non-traditional areas just to get them to pay attention.

Eh, I hate having to wait for something I've just bought to download. I suppose I can't lose digital copies though, like I did with all my PC games five years ago.

The quicker those gamestop cunts go out of business the better imo.

No thanks. I want to maintain what little control of my entertainment media I have left. Now get off my lawn you young whippersnappers!

I like my boxes... I want more boxes. But I also don't want to ever leave the house or wait or realise there are no more copies.

Oh the problems of a spoiled brat.

I'm getting fibre optic broadband in a month. Bring the digital age the fuck on!

@DEMONOLOGY_24 said:

but don't you love the feeling of the plastic case in your hands? I think deep down we all do

No way, and changing discs on console is incredibly archaic. I hate it.

Boxes just get in the way, I have PC games on my shelf that are basically a disc and a code that I used for Steam, I just keep them around to fill up space, as soon as I need that space those games are going in the trash.

I think retail copies should stay around but only because you can usually buy a retail game cheaper than the price on Steam and then just use the code and wham, it's a Steam copy.

Not really. Most of my games are already digital copies, so it's like I'm living the future right now. I'm constantly connected to the Internet and, should it go down temporarily, it wouldn't bother me. Tough luck, but I'll have other things to do and keep me occupied.

I buy digital whenever I can. I've never grown attached to my material things, and game boxes are usually mainly a pain in the ass to store and move around. There are a few exceptions though. If all games were digital, I still might buy collectors editions of my favorite games and go to midnight launch events for the fun of it. On top of the convenience of an all-digital lifestyle, I appreciate the environmental benefits. Shipping and manufacturing tons of plastic around the globe seems silly, when you can just press a button and teleport the game across the world via wizardry.

Besides games, I still buy some movies on BluRay because of the improved image and sound quality. I also sometimes buy CD's if there is a signed or special edition. I also enjoy looking at the album art when listening to the music, but the same function could as well be served with some sort of app for example.

Digital is fine when you are an American I guess. If not companies try to fuck you other with currency conversion rates etc. As a person who lived and "gamed" in three different countries I am concerned that most digital IDs are tied to a specific country and language. Steam being the exception. Basically I am not trusting MS/Sony/Nintendo/EA to do the things right for the customer when going all digital.

I have no use for physical copies. I am an adult and do not decorate my home with them. I still buy them though because they are usually much cheaper for me.

@Chop said:

I would love for all media to go completely digital. Unfortunately, I live in an area with sub-par internet speed and very strict bandwidth limits.

I'm not, I like having physical copies of all types of media.

Retail is cheaper, and you get a brand new copy to smell, to touch, to run your fingers down it's spine, an-... That can't go away anytime soon! I won't stand for that!

I love digital but there is just something about owning that physical copy and seeing your collection shine. However, I refuse to collect Xbox 360 games because I think the boxes are terrible, lol.

@Kidavenger said:

While I really like digital distribution on the PC, I'm worried about it on the console.

I really don't believe you will see the same sales/discounts on games we see now once they are digital exclusive and you only have one store per console.

Steam has been the perfect digital distribution service for at least 3 years now and they haven't been doing anything that can't be replicated easily(and many others on PC are catching on GMG/D2D/GOG); so why are psn store and xbla/zune still such garbage, $5 for old movies that were $0.99 in blockbuster? I have no faith in Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to be able to put together a compelling digital distribution service.

You have to give it time, right now Microsoft and friends can get away with this kind of thing because no one has challenged them on it. Once SmartTV's really take off (like GoogleTV, Amazon Video, etc) then we will see the competition - MS and PSN - have to make changes to their plans. They have no reason right now to lower the prices. People buy this stuff all the time, so what would be the point in being fair and lowering the price? CAPITALISM!

All digital, all the time, baby!

I'm totally ok with going all digital in theory. I've no love for plastic boxes and having to change disks. BUT, I'm not ok with a 20gb download everytime I want a new game. I can't leave my console on all night downloading all the time. I'd probably rather just pick up the disc when I pass the store or whatever. I think digital for smaller games is awesome currently. But whenever I get a full retail game from PSN or something, it's a nightmare.

I'm 10,000% pro digital, but I'm not super thrilled with the console online services. It's really kind of shocking to say but PSN is the best in terms of being able to actually buy games and for legacy stuff. Also the prices for downloadable games on 360 are crazy town. Blood on the sand was still like 50 bucks, and while it's a masterpiece of modern gaming it still an old ass game. Also how do they keeps making the menus WORSE with every dashboard. At first I thought the cross bar was dumb and the blades were awesome. But christ at least that thing works for the most part. And it's not a huge pain in the ass to get to anything. But screw you ps3 for not just knowing when an ether net cable is in like the x box. So yeah, the concept is awesome but the implementation...not so spectacular. I mean they could (and tooootally should) just crib everything from valve.

What if you want to sell the game after you're done or you don't like it?

I love me some physical media. Give's me something to collect.

Although I dont think it is a reasonable option now, I personally cannot wait until uncapped-high speed internet is available everywhere and I can just purchase the new xbox game a day before it comes out, preload it, and play it the minute it is released. There is still a ways to go before this is the norm, but I don't see the appeal of cluttering up your space with boxes for games, dvds, ect.

I also like having physical copies of things. Someday electricity will explode and I'll be the only one with any video games. All those discs will come in handy during the post-electricity world.

@PeasantAbuse said:

I also like having physical copies of things. Someday electricity will explode and I'll be the only one with any video games. All those discs will come in handy during the post-electricity world.

What are you talking about, I WILL BE LIVING VIDEO GAMES. Once that happens, obviously anarchy cripples the world and you have to fight and quest to survive. While you're busy with your simulated gore, I'll be Bloody Messing across the wastelands of Washington State.

Also I've managed to buy like, a physical game in the last year? Steam is awesome.

I'm excited when and if they could lower the price on digital games for consoles. Some of the full games are ridiculously marked up compared to retail.

It depends. I would like to own all my PC games on Steam but when I get around to getting a Vita I will want to own all the games on cart.

No, not at all.  Everybody wants their own service, so you have to keep remembering passwords and going in and out of various services.  That's why I don't buy from a service outside of Steam (maybe GOG) unless there's a Steam key, but of course EA is trying to change that with their totally unnecessary Origin bullshit.
Second, you have to download everything.  I don't buy games at launch, so it's not like I could pre-load them.  When I buy something on Steam, I have to wait 8 hours for it to download, since games today are all massive.

Serious though an all digital future would help the environment tremendously so...

what really sucks is with digital you cant let your friends borrow the game. or trade it to a buddy. or even trade it in to amazon or wherever you want.

Physical stock can get old and prices can go down.
 
Example:  Old ass Shivering Isles, stand alone expansion, is $30 on xbla and psn.  Oblivion game of the year edition with SI included is $20 on a shelf.
 
Physical is always cheaper, even though it should be the other way around.  When digital services stop asking people to pay full price, when there is no printing, packaging or shipping happening, and actually pass some savings on (I know steam doesn't suck - but everyone else does) then I will want all digital.

I like having physical games that I can put on my shelf so i'm not looking forward to it at all to be honest. It's still a long ways off though I think.

Man, those plastic circular things that you jammed in to your computer sure was something. Glad that's behind me though.

Digital distribution for every new game is a must if I'm going to buy a next gen system.

I can see the next gen being full digital. If they can pull off a smooth experience a la steam but for console, that would be neat. No more back order, no more disc reading error (did not happen often mind you, maybe once), no more searching for a old game that I can't find anywhere.

Not sure the transition would be easy tho.

I live in a rural area where the only "broadband" solution is wireless or satellite, which makes downloading large files a GIGANTIC pain as it can be slow, or can get disconnected, etc. etc. So no, I don't want everything to go digital. It's not convenient for everybody yet.

Plus, I like owning physical stuff.

@Contrarian said:

There will more likely be a significant drop in gamers as the consumer who sees a physical product that they can pick up and read, simply because it is there, will be lost to the market. We are all gamers because we bought games at shops and we are the core audience, we know what goes on. The new consumer does not. The whole marketing approach to get these consumers will be a task of mammoth proportions and will require spending on marketing in non-traditional areas just to get them to pay attention.

Have people started watching less movies with the advent of Netflix streaming? Highly doubt it. And yeah, there will still be a need for advertising and marketing in most cases, but I don't see how it will cost any more than it does now. There are plenty of ways to bring attention to lesser known games with digital services, and they are certainly more effective than box art (which will still exist btw). A digital service for example can recommend a wide range of new titles to you based on what you like, offer reviews from other players etc. At a retail store you're lucky if the person working the games department knows anything more than how to unlock the display case to get a copy of something for you.

@ExplodeMode said:

Physical stock can get old and prices can go down. Example: Old ass Shivering Isles, stand alone expansion, is $30 on xbla and psn. Oblivion game of the year edition with SI included is $20 on a shelf. Physical is always cheaper, even though it should be the other way around. When digital services stop asking people to pay full price, when there is no printing, packaging or shipping happening, and actually pass some savings on (I know steam doesn't suck - but everyone else does) then I will want all digital.

I believe psn/xbla prices are high because they don' want to anger retail (Gamestop, etc) companies, which currently provide way more $ than digital. For example Space Marine not being on Steam in the UK on launch.

Discs are still the way to go. If I had digital copies of all my 360 games, there is no hard drive big enough that could fit them all. I just love my collection of games.

If everything went digital my bedroom would just be an empty shell.

• When I got my Kindle I had no need for books.
• When I got my iPhone I got rid of all my CDs.
• With Netflix I got rid of a whole mess of my DVD's.
• If games go digital, goodbye games.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed boxed copies was the manuals. Since that seems to have been done away with I'm ready for it.

Digital all the way, baby. Been doing it since Steam came out and I prefer to buy my titles on Live and PSN digital if its available.

Titles technically should be cheaper, and while the upfront cost is the same, I pay less because of convenience on my part. A retail store does not carry PC games, first of all; I must travel 12 miles, round trip to the nearest Fry's. That's a fifteen minute trip each way. I must then park, shop, deal with the long line, pay sales tax up front. The $59.99 title ends up costing me $66 after tax and near $70 when you factor gas and wear and tear on the car.

The publisher and devs see more money since there are fewer middle men taking their cut. I'm perfectly fine with that. I remember having to save up $80 for SNES games when I was a kid.

I am also a pack rat. I save everything. This is a -bad- thing. I am planning on buying a house this summer and when I move, I'm going to take a minimalist approach to living. My current apartment is full of clutter that I never touch, but don't have the heart to throw out. Wreckless: Yakuza Missions? Yup. I've got that somewhere. The launch version of Madden and DoA for PS2? Yup. A game boy micro? Yup!

I got 99 pieces of clutter, but PC game boxes ain't one.

I went all digital back in 2004. You console kids make us PC gamers chuckle.

While I like the convenience of downloading everything, I hate the idea of my account being compromised and a company going "eh too bad" and losing hundreds of dollars worth of games.

The only real downside to digital is, you never really OWN the games you pay for. But we're going to be stuck with digital eventually.

I'm, they are taking to long.

@Hizang said:

If everything went digital my bedroom would just be an empty shell.

• When I got my Kindle I had no need for books.
• When I got my iPhone I got rid of all my CDs.
• With Netflix I got rid of a whole mess of my DVD's.
• If games go digital, goodbye games.

Focus on a nice decoration, plants, frames, furniture.. style and good taste is not over rated. You don't need consumer products to "decorate" your living space.

I don't trust it one bit. If my internet goes out I can't play any of my XBLA games. I can't play Diablo 3 either.

I don't trust them with the ability to simply turn off what is rightly mine.