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I'm generally buying more digital over physical for all platforms, but Switch specifically I almost hate the idea of buying physical games anymore
- Thread starter CloseTalker
- Start date
Nintendo physical games hold their value a lot better than physical copies of games on other platforms generally.
It's why I'll always grab physical on switch if it is an option.
It's why I'll always grab physical on switch if it is an option.
Whenever I play multiplayer with friends, I've had no problems switching from one game to the next. Yeah the flap is flimsy, but it always was easy to swap as a result.
That's happened to me and I always focus on curating my collection. Sometimes there are games that I no longer care about, so I trade them in (or sell them if they're valuable). It's why I'm able to keep a shelf of old retro and current games.
50 Switch game cases fit comfortably in a standard office drawer.
Same, with the exception of a couple physical Switch games (Limited Run) and Mario 3D All-Stars.
I thought about selling the physicals and re-buying digital, as I only have like, ~10 physical. If I purchase a digital 3D All-Stars, I can still re-download past the March deadline, right?
I thought about selling the physicals and re-buying digital, as I only have like, ~10 physical. If I purchase a digital 3D All-Stars, I can still re-download past the March deadline, right?
I used to sell games more frequently but...then I would constantly find myself in a situation where I randomly felt like playing an old game again. Curation does help though, that's a really good point. But for me the double whammy of convenience and saving storage space makes it appealing. I still buy plenty of physical games but only if it's a collector's edition or I particularly like the cover art.
This. Its crazy how words like inconvenience, hassle ect is used to change cartridges. It takes 20 seconds, also how many games will you play on the go? I take my switch out when I need to travel on the train, I have enough time to play 1 game, I may have another game to carry but that's all. I'm not gonna be changing 10 games on the go when I'm on the train.
It's mostly based on their track record and because I like continual access to my games. Nothing I bought from them previously has carried over to the Switch and I've lost digital games on their systems before, so the chance of me buying digital from them is extremely low.
Full price I tend to go physical unless it's a long playing game or a game that tends to be always there (Animal Crossing, Mario Maker 2, 51 club games...)
Indies I tend to go digital unless there's a cool collector's edition and it's a condensed single player experience.
Indies I tend to go digital unless there's a cool collector's edition and it's a condensed single player experience.
i absolutely worry about the possibility of the digital purchases being delisted / no longer available in 10 years, but at the same time, i so intensely value a clean apartment without the clutter. it's a mix.
aesthetically, i also don't really enjoy the idea of game boxes anymore. i just don't. the spare cute game boy box or something is fine. but that's just my own thing.
now, did i buy super mario 3d all stars physically and digitally because of nintendo's weird ass expiration date nonsense? heck yes i did
aesthetically, i also don't really enjoy the idea of game boxes anymore. i just don't. the spare cute game boy box or something is fine. but that's just my own thing.
now, did i buy super mario 3d all stars physically and digitally because of nintendo's weird ass expiration date nonsense? heck yes i did
I hate to be pedantic, but a switch case is actually only 3/4 the thickness of a PS4 case. If you line them up on a shelf, like books, they take up less space than PS4 games.
This will happen with absolute certainty with digital platforms. The timeframe will differ from store to store and systems with backwards compatibility that are still making money off older games, will probably have their servers up longer.
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Physical for first parties with some exceptions for digital sales and Animal Crossing because that's one game I would find annoying to constantly switch out. Third party is mostly digital because the sales are generally more frequent with bigger discounts.
PS5 I'm almost entirely digital at this point and PC is 100% digital for obvious reasons.
PS5 I'm almost entirely digital at this point and PC is 100% digital for obvious reasons.
OP
OP
I've gone 99% digital on Switch, the only exception being Ring Fit Adventure, which isn't available separately for some reason (you can buy ring cons by themselves, albeit third party).
It's a bummer to miss out on the deals and sales that physical gets sometimes, but I try to make up for that by buying eshop cards at a discount whenever available.
It's a bummer to miss out on the deals and sales that physical gets sometimes, but I try to make up for that by buying eshop cards at a discount whenever available.
Same for me. I only have one one physical game on Switch: Ring Fit Adventure. That's because it's only available as a cart/ringcon package. I just keep the cart in the system and, with no other physical games to swap out, it effectively functions like a digital game anyway. I just don't see a need to have these carts on a portable device. The games are not that big and micro SD cards are cheap and huge.
Funny, though, I have always bought physical PS4 games if they're available and will continue to do the same when I get a PS5. Those games are huge and the HDD size is not, relatively speaking.
Funny, though, I have always bought physical PS4 games if they're available and will continue to do the same when I get a PS5. Those games are huge and the HDD size is not, relatively speaking.
yeah, it's gonna happen. then nintendo is gonna re-release some of those games for their new digital service in 2035, lol.
My Switch is the only platform where I'm all physical. Nintendo's back compat/digital license management leaves a lot to be desired.
Switch games really retain their price extremely well. I feel like if I ever get into an emergency, I could sell all my switch games for like 80-90% of their original value.
Plus Switch is the console with the most party/couch multiplayer/local coop games. So its easy to just bring your Mario Party/Mario Kart/Just Dance/Smash etc to a friend's place who doesn't have the game and you're good to go for some fun!
Plus Switch is the console with the most party/couch multiplayer/local coop games. So its easy to just bring your Mario Party/Mario Kart/Just Dance/Smash etc to a friend's place who doesn't have the game and you're good to go for some fun!
The Switch (and PC for obvious reasons) is the one system I own where I'm about 90% digital.
Having physical cartridges to constantly swap in and out of a hybrid console that you can take anywhere just doesn't seem conventional. Especially if I'm traveling on vacation and want to bring my Switch with me.
And I've had no problems with it, so why not do it?
Having physical cartridges to constantly swap in and out of a hybrid console that you can take anywhere just doesn't seem conventional. Especially if I'm traveling on vacation and want to bring my Switch with me.
And I've had no problems with it, so why not do it?
I really like the idea of digital, but I don't feel comfortable getting everything digital if I can't be sure I'll still be able to access those games later down the line. Can you backuo everything from the sd card and pop it in a new switch if the old one dies? But then you'd still need to log in and who knows long that's going to be possible.
Nah, Nintendo is too crazy with their prices which fortunately for me it means that their games stay valuable.
It's more of convenance. TBH, I went physical to digital, and its infinitely better.
During the pandemic switching Switch cartridges hasn't even remotely been something I've thought about as an annoyance. There was a period of time pre pandemic where I was taking the Switch on my commute on the bus and it was harder then, but my carrying case had a place for putting cartridges so I just used that.
I'll buy physical for big single player type games that are kinda play through once and then done, like RPGs. Most other things I'll go digital.
I do have young children and we will likely have multiple switches at some point, so I do have to weigh the pros and cons with respect to being able to share games digitally/physically.
I do have young children and we will likely have multiple switches at some point, so I do have to weigh the pros and cons with respect to being able to share games digitally/physically.
Every now and then I'm tempted to transition to digital, but the idea of sunk costs on videogames makes my stomach turn.
At any given moment I want to be able to re-sell the games I've bought as I see fit.
At any given moment I want to be able to re-sell the games I've bought as I see fit.
I second this, this is how I was the entire PS4 generation which is why my library is mostly digital. PS5 tho I've gone back full physical.
I am kind of the opposite. I buy 100% digital on PC and Xbox, but buy everything on switch as physical. I don't trust Nintendo with my digital licenses. Not with the way they always try to tie purchases to a single console or nonsense like that.
My fiancée and I go physical on Switch because, apparently, those games don't lose any type of market value. We once bought a used copy of a game and once we were done with it, we actually sold it for a bit more than the price we had paid for it. Also, it's not much of a problem to switch cartridges.
I went all digital on PS5 though.
I went all digital on PS5 though.
With the memory size of the bigger retail games, carts being so small, so many indies being digital only anyway, and the way that I tend to play one long game at a time and they take me weeks to finish, I've never found carts to be a problem. On the off chance that the one cart that's in the device I've stopped playing, I'm out for the day and didn't think to bring more carts, there's several dozen other digital games on it anyway. I can usually predict when I'm getting towards the end of a game, and they are so many times longer than my average play session that it's just never come up. I guess some players graze through titles more than I do. I like being able to sell off games that I thought were just 'ok' and will never play again, and with them being cheaper than digital to start with, it just makes sense for me to buy physical where I can.
I'm the opposite, Mostly Digital on PS4, Series X and mostly physical where possible on Switch.
Switch is the only current console that has decent benefits to being physical;
Switch games hold their value in case you want to trade it in
They're usually pretty much representative of the game since most Nintendo games don't have gigabytes of day one and future update patches applied
They take up less physical space than PS4/5/Xbox games and are sturdier than discs
They don't require installs so they save on the much more limited digital storage space the Switch has.
Nintendo's crappy digital licensing means it's easier to share a game with someone else in your household with another Switch if it's a physical copy (unless that's changed?)
I have a few digital Switch games from sales (BOTW, Mario Maker 2, AC) but I mostly go physical with it when I can.
Switch is the only current console that has decent benefits to being physical;
Switch games hold their value in case you want to trade it in
They're usually pretty much representative of the game since most Nintendo games don't have gigabytes of day one and future update patches applied
They take up less physical space than PS4/5/Xbox games and are sturdier than discs
They don't require installs so they save on the much more limited digital storage space the Switch has.
Nintendo's crappy digital licensing means it's easier to share a game with someone else in your household with another Switch if it's a physical copy (unless that's changed?)
I have a few digital Switch games from sales (BOTW, Mario Maker 2, AC) but I mostly go physical with it when I can.
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I'm all physical for the usual reasons, plus I enjoy collecting. I'm also the type that sticks to a single game until I beat it rather than bouncing around a bunch of different titles, so frequently swapping carts isn't a problem for me. That being said, if it's a game like Rocket League or Animal Cross where you just want to play a little every day, then digital makes a lot of sense.
I buy digital certainly, especially for MP games or say sports games, stuff that has no resale value, plus indies and such. However, I try to buy physical for most. Usually prices are better within first year or two (with some exceptions), have an option to resell in the future and with the Switch you save on SD card space.
I like having a collection of games (only buy what I want to play, not for "collecting" sake) on a shelf as well, but I am not super space constrained. I could see if I lived in say an apartment, I would be much much more judicial with physical.
I like having a collection of games (only buy what I want to play, not for "collecting" sake) on a shelf as well, but I am not super space constrained. I could see if I lived in say an apartment, I would be much much more judicial with physical.
Yes absolutely. When I got the Switch I was still buying physical games, but around a year later when there was a huge winter sale going on with most AAA titles 30% off on eShop, I sold all my physical games, even Collectors Editions like Xenoblade 2 or Fire Emblem Warriors, and bought them all digitally.
I only buy digital nowadays and completely dislike the idea of having plastic boxes lying around, filled with nothing but a tiny cartridge or a Bluray Disc with an outdated game version on it.
Doesn't help that the retail release of Rocket League I bought a few years back is now worthless due to the game going free-to-play.
For me the most interesting feature of the Switch is that it uses carts. I won't buy anything digitally on there unless it's not getting a physical release. I also don't have any faith in digital store fronts when it comes to Nintendo so that's another reason to avoid it.