Gamers slowly leaning more towards digital copies

[Zeus]

Down to 64% that prefer physical. Give it one more generation and I'm sure that'll be down to an almost 50-50 split like music is now

http://wii.ign.com/articles/110/1104230p1.html

[bovine]

I like not having to switch discs. Also, my shelf situation is getting a little out of hand

The only problem I have with digital vs. physical is how they are going to carry that into the future. With my 360, how are those XBLA games going to transfer to the next microsoft system? It sounds like the DSi ware stuff is not going to transfer from your DSi to the 3DS, so that is a bummer. I would like to see this sort of stuff both carry over and be supported, but that might be an impossible wish.

[Zeus]

What about being able to play the game later in the future? What if you 360 HDD dies out and they don't have it available for download anymore? I won't necessarily be able to play Bionic Commando Re-Armed in 22 years like I will the original when I beat it again on Aug 2, 2010 (the date Joe wrote his memoirs in the original NES game). We have to now assume that every game we buy digitally has an expiry date on it. Not all of us just like to play a game once during the first few years of release, some of us like to actually go back to older games. That control is now in the hands of the console maker.

[SineSwiper]

Well, in return, we get Mass Effect for $5. Seriously, some of the deals on Steam are much cheaper than those fuckwads at Gamestop would ever bring down a used physical game. Sorry, but used doesn't mean you get the buy it for $10 and sell it for $5 less than the retail price.

[Shrinweck]

I haven't bought a physical copy of a PC game since Fallout 3 was released. StarCraft 2 will update that statement, I suppose.

[Zeus]

Well, in return, we get Mass Effect for $5. Seriously, some of the deals on Steam are much cheaper than those fuckwads at Gamestop would ever bring down a used physical game. Sorry, but used doesn't mean you get the buy it for $10 and sell it for $5 less than the retail price.

I can get Mass Effect for 360 for $11 Cdn after tax. In fact, I bought two of them today (and traded them in for $26 each, but that's another story). Tell me, would you still buy it from Steam if you were able to get it for that price on a physical disc? I can promise you at least 75% would prefer the physical disc, particularly since the experience is nearly identical. I've said it a million times, there's nothing wrong with digital copies.....for the right price. Different value proposition has a different price attached to it. For the right price, it's certainly worth it. And Steam easily provides the best value over all of their noticeable competitors.

As far as Gamestop is concerned, vote with your wallet. Those fuckwads are trying to reset the used game price in order to a) increase their profit margins and b) appease the publishers who provide them with games by leaving the used price only $5 under new. Best Buy and all those other places are doing the same 'cause of the pressure they get from the distributors. Simple, don't buy the game, let them drop in price and then pick them up. Better yet, go through Kijiji or Craigslist and get your used games that way. As long as idiots keep voting with their wallets these companies won't change their addictive tendencies.

[Eric]

Uhhh no, when it comes to PC gaming, I prefer digital copies to physical by far. I can redownload steam games anytime I want, it's fast, safe, and secure, there's no difference between me having a disc or not when it comes to PC, because after you install you're done, you don't need the disc anymore, so why hold on to it? Same deal with MMOs, you don't need the physical disc for any reason, almost all of them allow you to download the client in the event you want to resubscribe. For PC gaming at least, physical discs are bad, best case scenario you never need the disc after you install, worst case you need to pop it in your computer while you play vs just download and go.

[Zeus]

Uhhh no, when it comes to PC gaming, I prefer digital copies to physical by far. I can redownload steam games anytime I want, it's fast, safe, and secure, there's no difference between me having a disc or not when it comes to PC, because after you install you're done, you don't need the disc anymore, so why hold on to it? Same deal with MMOs, you don't need the physical disc for any reason, almost all of them allow you to download the client in the event you want to resubscribe. For PC gaming at least, physical discs are bad, best case scenario you never need the disc after you install, worst case you need to pop it in your computer while you play vs just download and go.

You can re-download it....for now.

[Eric]

You can re-download it....for now.

*Hand motions*

[Shrinweck]

And sooner or later physical copies become damaged, lost, or just plain degrade over time. Steam is big enough to be around for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to care if I can't play my copy of Borderlands in 15 years.

[bovine]

I have a lot of trust in steam, but in terms of XBLA/PSN/DSIware/Wiiware games, that is where I have my trepidations.

[Shrinweck]

Oh, yeah, you'd be lucky to have so much as backwards compatibility for those let alone the ability to download it again down the road.

[Zeus]

And sooner or later physical copies become damaged, lost, or just plain degrade over time. Steam is big enough to be around for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to care if I can't play my copy of Borderlands in 15 years.

So my 25 year old copy of Super Mario Bros is going to degrade even though it hasn't yet? And isn't the degredation time on CDs/DVDs pretty long?

Again, I know I'm an oddity, but I actually play my games 15-20 years later (or more). Just this Xmas we played Punch Out and TMNT on NES and on Aug 2 we'll be beating Bionic Commando again. With downloadable games, I won't have that option. Or the option of lending out to my friends. Or the option of selling it if I happen not to like it or it happens to hit an insane price on Ebay. Which ever way you cut it, they simply don't have the same value proposition or usability as physical media. Because of that, there will always be a significant enough portion of the population that will prefer them.

[SineSwiper]

And sooner or later physical copies become damaged, lost, or just plain degrade over time. Steam is big enough to be around for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to care if I can't play my copy of Borderlands in 15 years.

So my 25 year old copy of Super Mario Bros is going to degrade even though it hasn't yet? And isn't the degredation time on CDs/DVDs pretty long?

I'm currently downloading that game, among 100,000 other games, for my arcade cabinet. So, no, I don't give a shit if somehow I can't touch the game, because I can just download it anytime, anywhere. I would be able to download Borderlands 20 years from now, even if it wasn't from Steam. In the meantime, as long Steam exists, I can still download Borderlands. When Steam no longer exists, piracy and abandonware fills the void, as it always does.

[Zeus]

And sooner or later physical copies become damaged, lost, or just plain degrade over time. Steam is big enough to be around for the foreseeable future. I'm not going to care if I can't play my copy of Borderlands in 15 years.

So my 25 year old copy of Super Mario Bros is going to degrade even though it hasn't yet? And isn't the degredation time on CDs/DVDs pretty long?

I'm currently downloading that game, among 100,000 other games, for my arcade cabinet. So, no, I don't give a shit if somehow I can't touch the game, because I can just download it anytime, anywhere. I would be able to download Borderlands 20 years from now, even if it wasn't from Steam. In the meantime, as long Steam exists, I can still download Borderlands. When Steam no longer exists, piracy and abandonware fills the void, as it always does.

You are, of course, assuming that the MPAA and RIAA don't eventually win their battle against piracy at the ISP level (don't think that won't spill over into games in a heartbeat) or that underground copyright treaty doesn't pass. Canada's industry minister is currently trying to pass a bill with actual teeth so they're certainly making headway.

Hey, I love piracy (before any of you shoot your mouths off, I own over 2200 games and well over 900 DVDs and box sets), it not only keeps the industry honest but it also allows us to enjoy games we otherwise couldn't (remember when FFV could only be had as a ROM for what, a decade?) or in ways we otherwise couldn't (like the arcade cabinets). But it's not necessarily something we can always count on. We have been able up to this point but not forever. They will win eventually, at least enough to make it quite difficult to get stuff.