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Oct 31, 2017
14,991
I've honestly bought a decent amount of digital games in the past year. Probably like 7.

One of the main problems is that I don't like most of them lol

So I can "hide" it from my library, buuuut I know I still have it in there

I'm kind of "stuck" with it; it can haunt me from time to time. "Give me another chance, pleaseinsertdisctwo!"

is that a personal problem? Maybe.

And secondly, I'm #sorry but I love having a physical box :-( I love looking at the front and back cover. And the disc art. People who apparently never looked at the back of the box for a game are so weird to me

like look how nice this looks

s-l1600.jpg

(Please note that I hate this game)

584daf05ed343_202481b.jpg


m61197642745_1.jpg
Or this for example. I feel refreshed just looking at it!!

If this OP is nonsensical I had 2 hours of sleep give me a break
 

dunkzilla

alt account
Banned
Dec 13, 2018
4,762
User Banned (1 day): Drive-by posting. Prior warned for similar behaviour
Cool, good for you.
 

BasilZero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
36,349
Omni
I dont know about PSN/SW/XBO but on Steam, you can actually remove the game from your library - had to do that earlier when I tried buying a "Gold Edition" of something that I had gotten from a bundle but the gold edition was cheaper than buying the DLC separately.

Anyways, I dont care which format I get in terms of its appearance and availability - for me I rather go with the cheaper option.


For an example

Persona 5 Royal was $20 physical at Best Buy (thats the format I bought it in) but in the new PSN sale its digitally available for $29.99 so obviously physical.


Most of my games are digital and on PC cause the prices there usually beat console digital prices.


In the last 10 years, 90% of my purchases have been digital and I dont see myself buying physical only because I hate clutter too.

Buy games to play games , not to look at pretty boxes.
 

napk1ns

Member
Nov 29, 2017
1,239
I've honestly bought a decent amount of digital games in the past year. Probably like 7.

One of the main problems is that I don't like most of them lol

So I can "hide" it from my library, buuuut I know I still have it in there

I'm kind of "stuck" with it; it can haunt me from time to time. "Give me another chance, pleaseinsertdisctwo!"

is that a personal problem? Maybe.

And secondly, I'm #sorry but I love having a physical box :-( I love looking at the front and back cover. And the disc art. People who apparently never looked at the back of the box for a game are so weird to me

like look how nice this looks

s-l1600.jpg

(Please note that I hate this game)

584daf05ed343_202481b.jpg


m61197642745_1.jpg
Or this for example. I feel refreshed just looking at it!!

If this OP is nonsensical I had 2 hours of sleep give me a break
It's all just stuff, let go and be free and switch games faster and use less plastic.
 

Deleted member 81119

User-requested account closure
Banned
Sep 19, 2020
8,308
It's pretty normal having emotional attachments to items that represent a positive experience for you. Even Chrono Cross is part of a broader experience that made you happy.

It is a bit weird to be slightly repulsed by digital games though if I'm being honest 😂
 

Whipwhopper

Member
Oct 7, 2020
890
I don't really care about collecting a disk and case, but I'll ALWAYS be up for collecting physical for the cartridge based stuff
 

Puru

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,176
Only physical games i buy are board games because i can justify the space for them since they are ultimately about manipulating pieces/cards physically. Video games not so much. But for a collector point of view i can certainly understand the downside of a digital library.
 
Oct 27, 2017
15,053
I certainly have an amount of 'anxiety' (not the right word but I'll call it that) about potentially buying a digital game I don't like and being 'stuck' with it. I wish Sony sorted their shit out and brought in refunds comparable to Steam.
 

TiagoCosta

User requested ban
Banned
Aug 3, 2018
2,844
At least on xbox you can hide the games you own, I've done it with some myself.
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,151
As a note, FFX was almost two decades ago. Chrono Cross, quarter century. You're getting old, OP. Time stops for no one.

Personally, the transition was easy for since manuals are pretty garbage or nonexistent and games get patched. I also hate changing discs.

One that could help you cope is buying ephemera of your favorite titles. Physical Artbooks are great here.
 

Deleted member 8468

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,109
This obviously doesn't work for all games, but I've found myself buying more artbooks for games I love. I've bought primarily digital for the entire last generation, I do enjoy the overall lack of physical stuff.
 

Orb

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,465
USA
I still buy physical if it's a game I'm not sure about or a mostly single-player game that I won't play again once I beat it. But then I don't keep them, I just trade them in. I have no interest in having a physical media "collection" of any kind.
 

Hobbun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,396
I've always been one who has preferred physical in the past. And to be honest, a large part of me still does. But it's not as strong as it used to be. I've always preferred physical for the reasons as yourself as I appreciate just looking at the box art, as well as the guide (and goodies) inside. I was always one that would actually read the instruction manual before playing a game.

However, buying physical games isn't like it used to be. You still obviously have the physical disc or cart w/box, but that's it. A lot of the charm of why I liked physical is gone now. You don't get the world map/item/skill list inserts any longer, you don't get an instruction manual to thumb through.

The examples you posted support why you like physical, but they are also older games as you can't find games now that have manuals any longer. It really is kind of sad. I understand why it has happened, but still is sad how it's changed.

So because of that I have actually purchased digital games more lately, where I never did before unless I had no choice. I will still buy a physical game (with empty box) sometimes, but more often of late I go physical because there is a nice collectors/special edition that releases for the game.
 

Stoney Mason

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,921
I like Vinyl album covers. Always have. Always will. So in that specific sense I get you although I've never had the same affection for game covers. So if that's your thing I don't see a problem. Keep buying them until you can't as long as you are getting them for decent prices and have the room to collect such things.

The library thing is just some OCD thing though on your part. The best part about a digital library is always having the option to play something. Whether you ever actually go back to that thing or not.
 

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,381
You'll get used to it, OP. It's a bit weird to make the switch at the beginning, but over time over you'll question why you ever had all of that junk lying around in the first place. I used to meticulously set up my cases with the names facing outward and ... lol, what's the point? It's just a bunch of plastic in 2020. Just grab the game from a menu and get playing.
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,151
This obviously doesn't work for all games, but I've found myself buying more artbooks for games I love. I've bought primarily digital for the entire last generation, I do enjoy the overall lack of physical stuff.
LOL. Great minds think alike. Just posted the same thing. Artbooks also blow away any manual, even when manuals were full color.
 

Bucéfalo

Banned
May 29, 2020
1,566
If it makes you feel better, nowadays disc releases don't look 1/10 as beautiful as the ones you posted in the pictures. Now they only put a disc in a cheap blue case and slide in it a shitty generic piece of paper that displays the controls.

Even so, I'll be buying physical until I die or corporations kill the format.
 

kikuchiyo

Member
Nov 9, 2017
778

This.

PlayStation was the last ecosystem I was converting to digital, though I'm keeping discs for some favorite PS4 games. I've mostly moved over and given the living room configuration am thrilled to not having to get up and physically change discs. I got the PS5 DE to push the conversion further and burn my (physical disc) boat behind me.
 

Deleted member 81119

User-requested account closure
Banned
Sep 19, 2020
8,308
You'll get used to it, OP. It's a bit weird to make the switch at the beginning, but over time over you'll question why you ever had all of that junk lying around in the first place. I used to meticulously set up my cases with the names facing outward and ... lol, what's the point? It's just a bunch of plastic in 2020. Just grab the game from a menu and get playing.
My slightly compulsive tendencies is why I prefer digital. All those game boxes in different sizes and different labels was so unsatisfying to me after a few gens. Nice simple squares on my digital library is what I love now.
 

Zekes

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,717
Getting rid of my physical games collection was the best decision I ever made. Took up too much space and I honestly never touched any of my old games
 

Nida

Member
Aug 31, 2019
11,200
Everett, Washington
After Amazon got rid of their discount for Prime members on new games I've primarily gone digital.

How long until studios start going after nostalgia and start doing it up for nice physical releases?
 

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,151
My slightly compulsive tendencies is why I prefer digital. All those game boxes in different sizes and different labels was so unsatisfying to me after a few gens. Nice simple squares on my digital library is what I love now.
They don't even look good. Steelbooks? Maybe?

Vinyl looks amazing because of the large format for the artwork. But games cases? Bleh.

In terms of aesthetics, my favorite are the Neo Geo AES (Not mortgaging my nest egg for this lol) and Genesis/MD plastic shell cases. Super Famicom cases were also great--shame they were cardboard.
 

Thug Larz

Designer @ Bungie
Verified
Oct 29, 2017
570
Totally get missing great box, disc, or cart art...hell an amazing physical manual was magic for me. Honestly though, I live in a relatively small space, so not worrying about where I have to put physical games has been a life saver for my hobby. Went all digital at the start of last gen, and I'll never go back.
 

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,381
My slightly compulsive tendencies is why I prefer digital. All those game boxes in different sizes and different labels was so unsatisfying to me after a few gens. Nice simple squares on my digital library is what I love now.
Yup. Nice, simple squares on a digital library and a CLEAN entertainment center. Who could ask for more?
 

CielYoshi

Member
May 10, 2018
1,262
Santiago, Chile
This year I've been making the switch to digital on PS4 and PS3 (as much as I can), and while I do miss the physical boxes, I sure like all the free space I now have :P
 

Doctor_Thomas

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,656
I bought a disc PS5 and disc games. I still like that new game feel.... but, I've definitely started leaning more digital.
 

c bweezie

Member
Jan 8, 2020
717
i'm not sure it's something you have to "get used to." if you like a game's physical presentation, just buy it physical. It's that there's an option that it's convenient.
 
Last edited:

Shalashaska

Prophet of Regret
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
1,426
I prefer disks too, it makes gaming a lot cheaper even if you just take the easy way and sell them back to Gamestop or whatever.

That being said the PS5 is almost silent until that disk drive starts spinning up. That might push me towards digital more than anything.
 

Giga Man

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,232
I'm stuck with ARMS. Even when I uninstall it, it's still in my purchase history and able to be redownloaded. I can't sell it and get money back. It sucks.

At least with low-cost digital-only games, I can take solace in the fact that I wouldn't get much money back anyway.
 

T-Virus

Alt-Account
Banned
Jun 5, 2020
711
Having to not switch a game in digital it's the only advantage and is a weak one.

Whit a digital game you pay to have the right to play the game. That's it. You can't sell it, you can't trade.... to me it's like putting my money on a black hole.

With physical you own the game. You can sell it later, trade it or do whatever you want with it and they are mostly cheaper than digital for the most part.

The only digital games I have are on my steam account(because I have no other choice) and the one I get for free(games for gold, etc) and that's about it. I don't see me buying digital games as long as physical copies exist.