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Disc Rot (yes this thread again): is there any point to investing in a collection of physical games?
- Thread starter Angst
- Start date
If you want to keep playing old games in the future you have to accept that no form of media storage is going to last forever. Make back ups while you can if that's important to you.
Hardware also won't last forever. Disk drives in particular fail pretty frequently due to lasers dying or moving parts malfunctioning. Nothing about optical media is built to last..
Hardware also won't last forever. Disk drives in particular fail pretty frequently due to lasers dying or moving parts malfunctioning. Nothing about optical media is built to last..
Ultimately, you have to enjoy the experience of the art itself. The medium and delivery system should not be the main thing. But attempting to preserve art in some way is a noble, if difficult effort. We are going to need some sort of physical backup. With digital work that makes it all the harder.
I have nearly 3000 CD based games in my collection going back all the way to the PC Engine CD in 1988 (31 years ago). Not a single case of "Disc rot". The only time I have come across something like that is when I buy used games that have been improperly stored. I am not saying it is not real but I expect most of my disc based games to outlive me. Even with my Laserdiscs (which are apparently more susceptible to rot), in my collection of 1500+ discs (going back to the early 80s) I have only encountered about 3 bad discs.
When Telltale shut down I lost 20+ digital purchases and many of my favorite iPhone games have been removed from distribution.
So far I have been much better off with physical. But your milage may vary.
When Telltale shut down I lost 20+ digital purchases and many of my favorite iPhone games have been removed from distribution.
So far I have been much better off with physical. But your milage may vary.
No, it's completely dependent on the manufacturing and handling of the media. I've opened sealed media that had disc rot after 5 years still in the packaging. Everyone back up your optical media because it's probably doomed in the long run.
Emulation (be it through FPGA hardware or software emulation) is ultimately the only way that games can be preserved. Both physical and existing digital copies of games will all die eventually.
Once the original hardware dies out, that's it. Physical or digital? It doesn't matter in the end... Emulation is ultimately our only hope.
Once the original hardware dies out, that's it. Physical or digital? It doesn't matter in the end... Emulation is ultimately our only hope.
I emulate everything besides 3DS, Switch, PS3 and PS4 games that I can, so for me, my physical game collection is more about the packaging and the sheer joy of holding a game in my hands.
i have no clue how long it's been since I played any of my GBA carts. My GBA SP doesn't even have a battery in it anymore, threw it out because my GPD XD can do GBA better than the GBA can.
Same with a lot of my discs. I don't think I've used my Wii or PS2 discs in this decade. I just have them backed up and emulated.
i have no clue how long it's been since I played any of my GBA carts. My GBA SP doesn't even have a battery in it anymore, threw it out because my GPD XD can do GBA better than the GBA can.
Same with a lot of my discs. I don't think I've used my Wii or PS2 discs in this decade. I just have them backed up and emulated.
My thoughts as well. I have well over 20 years worth of Saturn and PS1 games not to mention many Turbo Duo/PC Engine CD ROM games from the late '80s/early '90s, stored them all carefully, not a single case of a game failing to work let alone disc rot. Game preservation is extremely important but disc rot seems to be overblown and rare, I've never heard of it outside of retro discussions online.
And lol @ the suggestion of preserving through the Cloud. Cannot believe some people can suggest that with a straight face. FPGA and emulation, yes.
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Why do people bring this up like it's an epidemic? I own tg16 and Sega CD games and none of them have disc rot, I own one PS2 game that does. Shit happens, everything will die, but you probably have many decades to enjoy it. Who cares about it when you're dead?
Store your games somewhere safe and take the time to rip them.
Also, your kids might not be into video games :P
Disc rot is highly overstated. It's rare and can occur anytime from 10 to 50 years after you buy the disc. I've personally never experienced it in my 32 years on this earth.
It's still by far a safer bet to last longer than your digital libraries. In the meantime do backup all your shit. All my save data from virtually every game I own are backed up onto multiple hard drives.
It's still by far a safer bet to last longer than your digital libraries. In the meantime do backup all your shit. All my save data from virtually every game I own are backed up onto multiple hard drives.
Nothing last forever. If the idea of losing your collection gives you anxiety and stress, you're better off letting it go.
Disc rot is kind of a boogeyman, in the sense that if kept in the right conditions physical media can survive without degrading for decades. As long as you are storing the media correctly you have nothing to worry about.
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Hard drive failure is a way more common and widespread issue than disc rot, and is often unpreventable for the user unlike disc rot. The main issue with digital is that you don't actually own anything, so when services go under there is no obligation from companies to continue to provide access and if they are the only source, no longer any way to purchase the game. The only way this would happen with physical media is if all of the copies were destroyed, which is unlikely to say the least.
I'd rather have a digital proof of purchase tied to my account, than a perishable physical disc that I can't exchange for a replacement when I get either a scratched disc or a DRE when my console is no longer under warranty or even in production.
This is why BC is so fucking important to me, as well as lifetime digital ownership.
This is why BC is so fucking important to me, as well as lifetime digital ownership.
I always hope to buy physical in some way. One of many issues I have with cloud streaming is nothing tangible to show of my purchase.
And I've never heard of disc rot. This is a real thing?
And I've never heard of disc rot. This is a real thing?
cd consoles breaking down worry me more than disc rot.
my launch day dreamcast is still running like a champ, but i'm on my 2nd saturn and ps1
my launch day dreamcast is still running like a champ, but i'm on my 2nd saturn and ps1
No. Eventually you are going to move enough times in your life that you realize that the only reason you ever touch 95% of your games is to put them into and take them out of moving boxes. They take up space, you end up buying tons of games you never intend to actually play for the sake of taking up that space, and you stop 'seeing' your collection altogether. It is incredibly freeing to abandon your collectors' compulsion.
Make sure to rip everything as a backup. There are a lot of alternatives to playing discs on older consoles nowadays and there's of course emulators on PC.
(Rhea for Sega Saturn as an example)
Saturn being a bad example of modding for this, since the dude who makes them doesn't understand why there is so much demand for them :P He just made 50, why would he make more!
I'm going to continue to want to keep the hard copies - if nothing else, as a collector, it's nice to have a physical collection - but increasingly I'm exploring ways to avoid actually using the discs on older hardware, particularly as my Xbox (original) and PS2 lasers are not looking too healthy these days.
I used to worry more about things like this. I've swayed almost completely into the digital realm since it started becoming an option last generation though. Digital is just too convenient and causes way less clutter. Yes you could lose potentially everything if a company goes under. Physical isn't without its concerns though. House fires happen. Homes get broken into. Floods happen. Tornadoes happen. I've known way more instances of these four things happening then any instances of Sony or MS going out of business. Insurance exists sure, but it would be a pain (and sometimes impossible) to regain what was lost of your physical collection.
It's best to just try and enjoy your hobby. I used to have a massive (stupidly massive tbh) DVD collection back in the day, and I would worry more about crap like this than I should have. Going digital was freeing in a lot of ways.
It's best to just try and enjoy your hobby. I used to have a massive (stupidly massive tbh) DVD collection back in the day, and I would worry more about crap like this than I should have. Going digital was freeing in a lot of ways.
Disc rot is basically where the chemical / dye used in making the disc starts to deteriorate after many years, making the disc unreadable either entirely or some sections.
I think it only happens to older discs though, don't think there are any widespread cases of Blu-ray disc rot. As long as its stored well it should be fine for the years to come.
If they're like your kids, sure. As someone else said it depends on the kids and what they like. I have a good friend who has two boys aged 10 and 7. They love playing his NES and SNES cartridge game collection and a few months ago they got a Switch which they're now playing constantly, they mainly play tablet/phone games as an occasional side distraction. Last year he borrowed my copy of Mega Man Anniversary Collection for Gamecube and they've been obsessed with the Mega Man series ever since. Just because a kid was born in the mobile era doesn't automatically mean they're only going to like mobile games, Minecraft and Roblox, ect. But props to your efforts. :)
Usually what happens for me too is that I realize that on the off chance I actually want to revisit one of my ancient games I'd rather just find a more convenient way to play it, be it emulation or buying a rerelease. It's such a hassle to dig out old hardware (Don't have the space or desire to have everything hooked up at once) that I usually just give up if that's my only option.
Do you guys really play all of your old games? I love the idea of having a giant collection of classics that I dig into. For me though - I virtually never go back to older games that I own. Too much new stuff coming out.
Even on enthusiast message boards like this, it's hard to get people of any age to branch out at all from the systems they grew up with when it comes to older games.
It's well worth it investing in a half decent disc bag. Like I said, my PS1 discs still work fine to this day and I can play those games physically whenever I want to.
The same cannot be said for something a lot more recent .. like the wii shop.
I would go crazy if I didn't have constant access to Mega Man 1-6, X, and Link to the Past, but those are pretty much the only games that old that I consistently revisit
Meanwhile, I didn't even try to get my kids into them, and they love them. Both of my daughters (5 and 9) would watch me play some classic games then ask for turns afterwards, before I knew it I had my old NES hooked up to their playroom TV and the SNES classic on the main TV sees use by them often for Kirby and Mario games especially.
That's just to say, kids are all different.
Heck yeah I do! There are certain games I play every year (Mega Man Legends, a rotating list of Final Fantasy and Breath of Fires, Knights of the Old Republic, etc) and I even decided to take this year to reexamine a lot of games that I either didn't give enough chance, or thought way too positively about nostalgicly just to see if they hold up.
Yeah but you =/= everybody. It's a process which is bound to happen, if given enough time. Of course this can be accelerated when living in an especially humid environment. It's like blaming people for having greasy hands when the PS4 Dual Shock rubber on the analog sticks started to deteriorate for some. Same with YLOD and RROD on PS3/360. While it's not an widespread issue, properly storing discs won't automatically stop that from happening.
This is where I'm at with Disc Rot. I have a huge collection and have never encountered an issue up to this point.
Assuming the games are complete, I think they will still maintain value due to the packaging also being sought after. Some NES boxes and manuals are worth hundreds and thousands of dollars.
It's time consuming, but at some point I probably should start backing up all of my systems one at a time.
Indeed. I was just thinking the same thing. Then they'll be ready for transferring to optical drive emulators and the like.
Yea, my young son absolutely loves the NES and SNES Systems (both mini and original). We've played through several beat em ups together already and of course Mario, Kirby, and Donkey Kong are big hits with him as well. Kids have different tastes just like adults.
I must have something like a hundred old disc based games many from the PS1 era, and have never experienced this. I should probably be backing them up, and I plan to, but I haven't run into it yet.
It's tricky because there are so many facets of old game design that are more dated than we realize and those only come to the surface when someone who didn't grow up with the games goes back to experience them for the first time. My partner is really good at games, tearing through games like Bloodborne and Celeste without too much trouble. She played Link to the Past for the first time this year and found the presentation and controls to be stiff and unintuitive, but ended up loving A Link Between Worlds. I'm blind to any faults LttP could possibly have at this point because the entire game is muscle memory for me, but it's not the case for everyone.
In all fairness, even modern physical games suffer the same problem. What if a physical game must download content to be playable? We have several physical games on all three current platforms that would either lose features or be totally unplayable should the infrastructure be lost.
Disc is a way to the collection feel more... tangible? My steam collection means nothing compared to my SNES one, it's complicated. But, of course, there's a problem of conservation.
Sounds anecdotal to me. My 6 year old nephew has a Switch but he's always begging me to let him play my SNES and Genesis.
Have you just never had a hard drive fail? No matter how well you take care of things they are eventually going to wear out. Most of my desktop hard drives have needed to be replaced after the 6 year mark. You're going to have to replace that hard drive at some point, and if it happens once the downloads servers are unavailable you're SOL.