Disc vs. Digital?

Wreck

Is Here To Serve
Staff Member
Jan 26, 2009
32,986
USA
So I'm a big supporter of the disc format. And I'll remain so with movies.... and have been so with games too.


However being older now and not really caring about trade in value later and such ...

Many times I don't play a game or game longer then like 1 game of madden, or 2k etc is just cause I dont want to get up and change out discs .... so I typically game like 1 game only then shut it all off and go on to Daddy Duties etc.


Do many of you guys buy the FULL game on PSN or live ? Any down side to this? I've debated it recently for the lazy reasons above (and the fact that my 2 year old loves to get a hold of any disc and shuff it in anything ...)
 
Personally, I haven't switched over to digital downloading of games yet. I do have a pretty extensive collection of digital movies, but I still prefer physical copies for games. As long as they're still releasing collector's editions with steelbooks and other goodies, I'll probably remain that way.

From what I understand, there is no downside to downloading your game versus buying the physical copy. The next gen consoles now require you to put the entire game on your console whether you buy the disc or download it anyways, so the hard drive space is being used either way. I know with pre-ordering a physical copy, you have the opportunity to get bonus material in the game, be it dlc or whatever else. Often times now, you can also get season passes for certain games for free or at a significant discount when you pre-order a physical copy.

The perk to downloading it is that you can do so ahead of time and once the release date hits, it's ready to go. At least that's what I understand. Worse case scenario, you pre-order the digital copy and, if your console's settings are correct, it downloads itself once the release date hits. I've heard that for some games, they also give out bonus material for digital pre-orders or other incentives to download them digitally.

Basically, it's just a matter of preference, and in some cases, how much you care about getting the bonus material/steelbook &/or other extra goodies. I think in your case @Wreck, the digital download might be the way to go with having kids like most, who love to play with daddy's things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wreck
Do many of you guys buy the FULL game on PSN or live ? Any down side to this? I've debated it recently for the lazy reasons above (and the fact that my 2 year old loves to get a hold of any disc and shuff it in anything ...)
i prefer digital i bought Destiny off the PS Store 20gb download i think didn't play much , also i signed up for the Need For Speed BETA (2015) i think that was around 10gb a day before the BETA was finished , my PS4 messed up :p kept powering off everytime i tried to turn it on, thought it was a goner, had to initialize my PS4 which means i had to delete everything noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but it fixed my PS4 thank god :rofl: physical all the way, and Xbox One i haven't used it in months so much dust , makes for some nice paper weight though :thumbs:
 
I'll always buy a disc when a disc is available to buy. If digital is half of the price of physical, then maybe i'd consider it. I also like physical, because i can trade or sell it when i'm done with it, if i want to do so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wreck
So I'm a big supporter of the disc format. And I'll remain so with movies.... and have been so with games too.


However being older now and not really caring about trade in value later and such ...

Many times I don't play a game or game longer then like 1 game of madden, or 2k etc is just cause I dont want to get up and change out discs .... so I typically game like 1 game only then shut it all off and go on to Daddy Duties etc.


Do many of you guys buy the FULL game on PSN or live ? Any down side to this? I've debated it recently for the lazy reasons above (and the fact that my 2 year old loves to get a hold of any disc and shuff it in anything ...)

Physical for my Xbox One / Ps4
Digital for PC !

But i'm only keeping the games longer if they have a steelbook or they're signed, if not its bye bye when the game is finished !

People say that the downside of for digital is the space, but you can always delete it and redownlaod if you want to replay !
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Wreck
Gotta go digital, man.I used to get most of my games physical, then when my consoles went down, i had no choice but to go all digital and it was amazing.There are faster load times and you can never really lose your library.I had so many games i still wanted to play, but since i had no working drive, i missed out on a lot games from last gen.you can easily replace a HDD but not a Blu Ray drive.

I still think it boils down to what you prefer.I think digital is smart, as all the games are available at your request no matter where you are and you don't have to get up and change disc...Ever.

Ever since i got my ps4 i have amassed a few physical games as they were on sale , but other wise it's straight to the trusty old HDD.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nicblue and Cobster
I sort of have a mixture of both but lately going more towards digital as i can get it instant and as wreck said i don't tend to think of trade in value anymore as most of the games that i get have massive playability so gone are the days for me were id finish a game then trade it in .
 
  • Like
Reactions: nicblue
I used to be pretty hardcore against digital games. I would sell ps3 games on eBay and buy used ones and repeat but honestly the ease at which downloading a game in rest while I sleep or do something else is so nice.

I rarely buy games at full price now a days unless it's something I really want (last two games at full price were digital) the only time I buy physical now is CE of games I must have (witcher, dark souls)

I just bought 4 games and a dlc pack from the flash sale today for $47 (10% off code and $15 credit). Digital games are amazing for the flash sales. One of the reasons I don't buy many games now, I just wait for PS+ sales lol. It feels great buying a game that was 59.99 for 10-20. Just have to wait, plus I don't feel as bad buying digital anymore now that I have a steady job. Ps3 days I didn't so I had to get by via eBay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wreck
Well I joined GameFly instead. The 3 month intro price was half the cost of a new game I was looking at. Knowing I wouldnt have much time for games I just rather go this route ... this way when I dont got time I got games in que for the kiddos. I used to be a GameFly member for like 2 years straight like 5 years ago. They've actually improved a lot since then. Aside from the obvious of having an APP. Now when it scans on leaving to be returned they already ship something in your queue. Which is pretty nice considering back in the days it'd be like a week of waiting of days to deliver to them and then ship out to you again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Noodles
I have always been a physical-only kinda gamer, but over the last little while, I've started a new system with my PS4. Third-party games, I buy digital; first-party games by Sony studios, I buy physical. I just don't have the room for massive game collections anymore. That and trade-in values are basically crap now, so it's not like you can really trade a game in anymore, anyway. I mean, you could, but it's not even worth it anymore. So yeah... that's the way I've been doing things lately and it's been working well.
 
I have always been a physical-only kinda gamer, but over the last little while, I've started a new system with my PS4. Third-party games, I buy digital; first-party games by Sony studios, I buy physical. I just don't have the room for massive game collections anymore. That and trade-in values are basically crap now, so it's not like you can really trade a game in anymore, anyway. I mean, you could, but it's not even worth it anymore. So yeah... that's the way I've been doing things lately and it's been working well.

You can always trade those games for other games you want to play on sites like GameTZ. All of mine either get traded on there, or sold on Amazon.