VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => General => Topic started by: insektmute on March 31, 2013, 11:05:47 pm
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So I find myself at something of a crossroads with PC gaming: Do I shift to digital distribution only (mainly Steam and GOG), or doggedly stick to boxed releases?
I'm generally a die-hard advocate of having a physical product, but more often than not, I'm finding PC games are increasingly using services like Steam for authentication, which kind of defeats the purpose, and with older stuff, GOG seems to do a pretty great job of making things more stable on modern hardware. Toss in factors like DLC being a bit of a minefield of half-assed, uncertain distribution methods if it's released outside of a cohesive service (I'm looking at you, BioWare), ease of install and re-install, ridiculously cheap sale prices, and multiple options for backup, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm just being needlessly stubborn.
Thoughts? Anyone else with a similar preference for physical releases that's made this switch, or considering it?
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Hiiiiiiiiiii.
I'm mostly a digital guy because there's only so much space in my house. But games get pulled from digital stores all the time so I still buy modern games in physical form whenever I can.
And yeah, whoever thought that stupid Bioware DLC method was a good idea deserves a punch in the balls.
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For PC I'm digital-only, because it's so easy to get good deals.
One of the best places to look is:
http://www.greenmangaming.com/
It always has games on sale even on pre-orders... right now, for example, Battlefield 4 (which I have 0 interest in since BF3 changed Battlefield into Call of Duty) is 20% off. And sometimes even better deals can happen... Not to mention Steam sales.
I think that the potential prices for digital PC games make them worth, well, the fact that you never actually own a game you buy digitally (though Steam is solid enough to make you think you do :P).
On consoles however, it's completely the opposite. Digital console games are crazy expensive compared to physical games in my experience. For example, I paid 12$ less for Sonic Kart 2 on Vita than it would have cost me on the PSN... at launch, shipping included. And that goes for really any game, it's easy to find pre-order deals on everything, and prices drop super quickly on physical games while they stay high-priced digitally even though there's no reason to. I'll stay mainly physical as long as it's possible on consoles/handhelds.
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If I was a PC gamer, I would do digital only.
To be honest, I've thought about clearing the Microsoft stuff out of my collection and only concentrating on SEGA for physical releases and PC gaming for modern gaming and emulating ther retro stuff. It is a huge space saver. If it wasn't for JSRF, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Outrun 2 and the such being obvious omissions I probably would have done that. Plus, I do like Halo and Forza which are the few things not on PC.
Ultimately, the collector in me likes that there is an end to physical media. I much prefer a focused collection. And there is already too much out to get.
Steam and GOG are really good services as well. They do things right. Plus, have you tried installing and running old physical releases. I'd go GOG in a heartbeat, despite the downsides.
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I am a physical fanboy. Doesn't matter what platform it is.
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Yeah, space is definitely a part of why I'm considering the switch, and running old games on modern hardware is... yeah.
I guess the biggest factor here is that with consoles, it's a completely closed ecosystem. Once a new one comes out, it's a big ? as to what happens to everything you've bought, and you have far fewer options for backup - if any. There's no guarantee Steam won't go the way of the dodo one day, but at least hardware upgrades doesn't mean potentially losing everything, or having to keep old systems around to play old games.
I've bought more on GOG by far though, and if it were up to me, I'd buy all my PC stuff there. Such a fantastic, no BS service, and I kind of love that supporting it also means supporting CD Projekt.
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i pretty much only buy physical copy's because of uncertainties, how do i know if one day the game i paid 40 to 60 dollars will be gone, what happens whan my computer needs to be redone & now steam or some other service wont accept my verification code, what happens whan steam or some other service servers are shut down because the software is old & they dont want to support it any more, there are a lot of problems with digital downloads & DLC that no one is seeing & all of this is even worse on consoles
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i pretty much only buy physical copy's because of uncertainties, how do i know if one day the game i paid 40 to 60 dollars will be gone, what happens whan my computer needs to be redone & now steam or some other service wont accept my verification code, what happens whan steam or some other service servers are shut down because the software is old & they dont want to support it any more, there are a lot of problems with digital downloads & DLC that no one is seeing & all of this is even worse on consoles
That's pretty much how I see it. I don't like uncertainties.
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The uncertainy is the main reason why I'm considering a switch, actually. I touched on it a little bit already, but when you're dealing with stuff that isn't tied to a service like Steam, things tend to get... a bit dicey.
I'll take Mass Effect as an example, since I mentioned BioWare earlier. If you have it on Steam, the Bring Down the Sky DLC is simply downloaded, no fuss. If you have a retail copy, there's no indication of what to do with it when you launch the game. Turn to Google, and you'll find a multitude of sites referencing dead links on various BioWare pages, like this one - http://masseffect.bioware.com/me1/galacticcodex/bringdownthesky_pc.html. Part 2 says to go to http://accounts.bioware.com/my_account/mepc_cdkey.html, login, and enter your key, but the link just redirects to bioware.com. From what I recall, there's nothing to indicate registration or ownership of BDtS on your account, either. You can eventually figure out where to go, but it takes a bit of time and digging, and the page itself is obviously a relic of sorts, existing only in a sort of unofficial, forgotten capacity.
Things like software being old and service servers shutting down is what's impacting physical releases, not digital ones available through services like Steam and GOG, because the method of distribution is not a stream of forgotten publisher sites.
You also have numerous games like Dead Island, Fallout: New Vegas, Dawn of War II, Skyrim, Dishonored, Borderlands 2, every Valve game, BioShock Infinite etc. that require Steam, which means the disc basically serves no purpose - you can't play the game without activating it on Steam, and you don't even need the disc, since you can just enter the code on Steam and download the game and all relevant patches more quickly.
The key difference here with consoles is that your console is the DRM. It can't be played absent that specific hardware, outside of emulators, and those take years to reach maturity. Extra authentication crap is possible, mainly with companies like EA (notice a trend here with those assholes?), but offline, disc-only play is generally still a possibility... at least for now.
Since computers utilize a massive variety of different hardware, which is often upgraded, the system itself can't be an authentication system. Some companies have tried this, by tying activations to hardware, but apart from a small number of exceptions, this is again more of an issue with physical releases than with digital, because companies are using digital distribution services as a means of authentication - like a console.
I wish things weren't going this direction, but based on some of the issues I've run across, it seems like physical PC releases actually present more problems and uncertainties about long-term use than digital ones.
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I hope that all made sense. I've been sick as a dog all weekend, and my head is pretty fuzzy right now. Buhh :/
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Made perfect sense. That's why I don't even consider modern games on the PC.
BTW get better soon. I had that crap last weekend.
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insektmute i'm not sure what your saying here, yes physical media has its uncertainties but not as many digital downloads, with digital downloads you are completely at the mercy of the publisher or the service that its using, physical media has had its share of annoying carp but you were never at mercy of the publisher unless you count what kind of DRM there gonna be using
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I'll take Mass Effect as an example, since I mentioned BioWare earlier. If you have it on Steam, the Bring Down the Sky DLC is simply downloaded, no fuss.
Uh. What?
I thought this wasn't available on the Steam version at all?
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lol, space I remember the boxes where these huge things that took up space and then they went to this little small sized box to nothing at all.. As for me I don't mind physical or digital as long as I've got the game. That in itself is reason to enjoy what the creator wanted. It is still apart of collecting in my mind physical or digital because you do have it or you wouldn't be playing it... right?
As for the green man gaming - thank you for that.. I've been using Steam and Gamefly for my Digital copies and have a good selection in Steam already..mostly indie games though :)
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I am a physical fanboy. Doesn't matter what platform it is.
Same here.
Made perfect sense. That's why I don't even consider modern games on the PC.
Again, same here :)
The fact that I'm not a pc-gamer (and have no real interest in becoming one) makes (for now, at least)...sticking to my pickiness & stubborness in insisting on physical media only...A Lot easier 8)
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To be honest, I'm kind of the opposite of a lot of people here. I feel much safer with digital releases. Name a PC game, it can easily be downloaded and played on anything.
Try playing a lot of Sega Saturn games on anything but a saturn. Physical media will deteriorate. It becomes difficult to collect for. 3DOs are getting difficult to find in working order. Jaguar CDs are even worse. Not only that, but the adhesive in CDs will corrode and become impossible to read. That is a big problem with Laser Disc now.
Digital is the easiest thing to pirate and I have a lot of faith in pirates. If I purchased something on steam and then had issues using it, I do not see any problem emulating or looking for a way to break it. In that way, digital is very archive friendly. Multiplayer with severs could change a bit of that though...
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I haven't played or bought any PC games in a long time as my PC's hardware is so outdated I couldn't even hope to run a newer PC game on it. And my laptop isn't equipped for gaming either. The boyfriend has some digital titles, roms, etc. for his PC, and a "hacked" PS2 and Xbox with tons of roms. I personally have no interest in Steam, GOG, or even roms on consoles. I'm all about the physical media. The only digital games I own are XBLA titles, and it will probably remain that way.
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To be honest, I'm kind of the opposite of a lot of people here. I feel much safer with digital releases. Name a PC game, it can easily be downloaded and played on anything.
Try playing a lot of Sega Saturn games on anything but a saturn. Physical media will deteriorate. It becomes difficult to collect for. 3DOs are getting difficult to find in working order. Jaguar CDs are even worse. Not only that, but the adhesive in CDs will corrode and become impossible to read. That is a big problem with Laser Disc now.
Digital is the easiest thing to pirate and I have a lot of faith in pirates. If I purchased something on steam and then had issues using it, I do not see any problem emulating or looking for a way to break it. In that way, digital is very archive friendly. Multiplayer with severs could change a bit of that though...
I've tried running a digital PC game copy burned to disc on a sega saturn and it kept asking me for a saturn disc.. why why must you lie.... j/k
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BTW get better soon. I had that crap last weekend.
Thanks. Really hoping it doesn't stick around - took today off, but I don't feel any better or worse than I did yesterday :/
Uh. What?
I thought this wasn't available on the Steam version at all?
Hrm, you might be right on that one. I don't see it mentioned or listed on there, anyway.
I haven't played or bought any PC games in a long time as my PC's hardware is so outdated I couldn't even hope to run a newer PC game on it. And my laptop isn't equipped for gaming either. The boyfriend has some digital titles, roms, etc. for his PC, and a "hacked" PS2 and Xbox with tons of roms. I personally have no interest in Steam, GOG, or even roms on consoles. I'm all about the physical media. The only digital games I own are XBLA titles, and it will probably remain that way.
That's always been my stance too (except my hardware doesn't suck :p), and will definitely remain so on consoles, but with a lot of PC games now, they might as well be giving you an empty box with an activation code in it. It'd be easier if I weren't interested in any modern releases, but in a lot of cases (The Witcher 2, Borderlands, Bethesda stuff, etc), I'll take PC over console any day of the week, and there are still a lot of top notch exclusives.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with XBLA and PSN over the next few years, though. The future is way more uncertain with them.
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Interesting thing I just noticed (and had been wondering about) on Steam: Games that have been removed from the store can still be downloaded and installed if they were purchased. I picked up Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum awhile back during one of the uber cheap sales, and it's no longer in the store, but it still pulls up in my library and works as normal.
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Interesting thing I just noticed (and had been wondering about) on Steam: Games that have been removed from the store can still be downloaded and installed if they were purchased. I picked up Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum awhile back during one of the uber cheap sales, and it's no longer in the store, but it still pulls up in my library and works as normal.
Uh, yeah. :P
That's why I add stuff that isn't in the store anymore. If I can find a listing, and a cover shot, I add it. I've gone through lists of removed games just to add them to the site.
Unfortunately pulled items are often left without any sorts of updates, so if say, you bought Stubbs The Zombie on Steam, you're boned, because Aspyr Media won't bother fixing up the title ever. Then again they're assholes who abandon games a year after they release them, so.
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Interesting thing I just noticed (and had been wondering about) on Steam: Games that have been removed from the store can still be downloaded and installed if they were purchased. I picked up Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum awhile back during one of the uber cheap sales, and it's no longer in the store, but it still pulls up in my library and works as normal.
It seems to be the case with XBLA and PSN, although they have some hoops sometimes. But Outrun is no longer listed and there are people who have been able to redownload it.
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I still won't buy anything from PSN/XBLA that isn't exclusively available that way, but it's good to hear that's a possibility. It's sad, but I think one of the biggest obstacles with digital stuff and games that rely on digital services is going to be license expiration. Pretty much anything related to movie franchises, tabletop role-playing games, sports, racing, etc. is a ticking time bomb.
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I'm a pretty big stickler for boxed titles, but Steam has some damn good offers and it's never given me any hassle re: authenticating other PCs/helping me out when I forget my password, etc so I can't really fault the service; and modern western PC boxes are usually pretty underwhelming anyway so if Steam are selling a £30 for £10 in a sale I'm not exactly missing much.
If games still came with giant fold out maps, novellas, spell charts and grid paper I'd be all over physical but I'll save that money and put it towards some retro instead :)
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I have always prefere buying physical games because i have the satisfation i have bought something. With the digital, i have more the feeling to rent a software which one day will not be available anymore because the server to download it will be closed.
The day i will not be able to find physical copy of my games, it will be time for me to stop collecting new stuff.
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I've pretty much given up on Physical PC releases. Though there are a few games I am holding out on buying digital. For the most part though, I'm resisting digital as much as possible. Both with games and with movies and music. Especially with music. I love having CDs and having them out in view. The same can be said w/ my console games. I really enjoy having a vast library of titles in my bookcase to flip through.
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Being able to display everything, and feeling like I don't really "own" something digital, is really the only thing that's stayed my hand so far, but with space at a relative premium, it's starting to feel kind of silly having boxes full of discs that literally never have to be used. Gah, I just don't know.
I think for the time being, I may go with sort of a middle ground option - buy boxed if the game is completely standalone, buy digital if it uses Steam or GFWL for authentication, and buy on GOG if it's a old game that I want to be able to run on modern hardware.