[Guardian]

Do you prefer the hands-on hard copy game, or a soft-copy downloadable version?

[SpookyZalost]

hard Copy all the way.

my preferred medium is Cartridges, nice durable medium that doesn't break easily.

but I like having physical media when possible, digital can be erased, and downloads lost when servers go offline.
not so with physical media.

[Guardian]

Up until recently, I was the same way. I preferred the hard copy, play it, maybe sell it back.

I've been favoring the soft-copy more and more now. Download the day it comes out, no traveling to a gamestore and picking up a copy. The game is tied to your account and there's no losing it or breaking it. Granted, the game could be digitally 'lost' but I doubt Sony or Microsoft are going under or going to allow that to happen anytime soon.

Also, side-benefits is reducing demand for the plastic used for the cases and discs, and fuel for people to go to the stores and trucks to ship the games. Tiny-bit less traffic on the roads because of it too.

[SpookyZalost]

@ guardian, you'd think that but this has already happened with the nintendo 3DS, wii, and various other consoles in the past when they became obsolete.

the E-Shop closed, and people who didn't download their games first lost them all.

as for fuel issues... well Drones and electric vehicles and such will help.

also bioplastic made from starchy plants like potatoes.

[Thomas]

I definitely prefer hard copies but I haven't bought one in years. Steam for me.

[Darth-Apple]

The issue with a lot of hard copies is that you have to insert the CD/DVD into the drive to play the game in many cases. Simcity was definitely one of those games. Nowadays, drives aren't even standard on most smaller laptops, so that has long been phased out.

I've always preferred soft copies just for that reason, but then again, having the actual physical media is nice sometimes.

[SpookyZalost]

@ Darth: see I always just ran the noCD crack, I had the actual disc so I had no real fear of reprisal for not wanting to put a disc in the drive and have long load times lol.

however that's not the case with consoles :\

this is one area I feel that older consoles did really well.

no installing neccessary, just insert the media and play.

esp cartridges because they just worked, maybe you had to clean the contacts once in a while but otherwise... yeah.

my atari 2600 carts still work long after they ceased production, I can't say the same about the more complicated drives on old PS1's and dreamcasts.

@ darth, what about this, how do you feel about physical copies, but digital backups played on real hardware to get around the issues?

[Kyng]

These days, I only get soft copies. I haven't acquired a hard-copy game since 2011 (when I got Total War: Shogun 2 for my birthday).

The main reason is Steam sales: I tend to rely on these to get most of my games now . (Yes, I know this means I don't technically 'own' the games, and if Steam is discontinued then I lose all the games I've ever paid for... but, that's a risk I'm willing to take )

[Darth-Apple]

That's a very good point on steam sales. There are some where they practically give the games away. It's probably not profitable for the developer, but you don't see that quite so often on store shelves.

[SpookyZalost]

Steam sales are nice... But I still think that hard copy games should exist... I mean I don't think I could play the og ratchet and clank if the ps2 worked like the PS4 and I got the game as a digital download back in the day... Sony would never keep the store open for old consoles like that.

Great for PC games, terrible for consoles

[Guardian]

That's a very good point on steam sales. There are some where they practically give the games away. It's probably not profitable for the developer, but you don't see that quite so often on store shelves.

They don't make much of of it, but they do get some small residual income from them that isn't usually accounted for. A lot of games bought during that time would not be bought by the numbers they are if not for the sale.

[Darth-Apple]

That's a very good point. Didn't think about that. Plus a sale, being that it ends at a certain time, drives people to purchase while they can.

[Guardian]

That's a very good point. Didn't think about that. Plus a sale, being that it ends at a certain time, drives people to purchase while they can.

Yep! I have been guilty of this myself. On the fence, erring on the side of leaving it. Oh, its on sale, yeah why not?

[Darth-Apple]

I mean, if they're throwing in a game for a great price and you aren't cash strapped, might as well. Gives you something to pass some time, if nothing else, or perhaps you find a new game you love.

[Guardian]

I mean, if they're throwing in a game for a great price and you aren't cash strapped, might as well. Gives you something to pass some time, if nothing else, or perhaps you find a new game you love.

I still have a few I've never played in my Steam library because I got them on too good a sale to pass up. They are games that I go to if I ever get bored and want to try something new. For the most part though, none of them have become games that were worth paying full price for so it works out.