Do you still prefer physical games or digital?

[lucaspalm]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been wondering lately if people still prefer physical copies over digital games.
Personally, I like collecting physical games, but digital is just more convenient sometimes.
Do you still buy discs/cartridges or mostly go digital now?
Curious to hear what everyone prefers and why.

[telekill]

Absolutely. If given the option, I'll opt towards the physical edition. The only time this doesn't apply is when you're buying a physical game but the actual game data isn't on the disc or cart. This hits hardest in the newest Nintendo gen with Switch 2 having game key carts instead of game carts on quite a few of their titles.

[kamikazekeeg]

I'll always support physical, but I'm also a PC gamer and PC has been digital only for many years now, so I do both. I reserve physical to consoles these days, which I have a PS5 and I still have my Switch games even though I don't have a Switch at the moment.

[sworddude]

Physical or bust.

if buying ain't owning sailing the seven seas ain't stealing

[Cartagia]

I'll always support physical, but I'm also a PC gamer and PC has been digital only for many years now, so I do both. I reserve physical to consoles these days, which I have a PS5 and I still have my Switch games even though I don't have a Switch at the moment.

Same here.  Physical for anything console related (unless the price is too good to pass up), but I also love my Steam Deck, and there's no actual option there.

[bikingjahuty]

I will always go with physical. I don't consider digital games a form of ownership regardless of whether they were purchased or downloaded illegally.

[bizzgeburt]

physical - no question about that preference  and ideally original hardware to play it on.

[juanblue85]

I have been mostly physical for the longest time but do tend to buy a digital copy every now and then if either the game is awesome or on sale at a good enough price for me. I used to get a lot of games on Steam but slowed it down to sales with a few full price buys here and there.

[segadude]

Physical-no question! I have been around since the Atari 2600 days and I started collecting the games and systems that were my favorites up to the Dreamcast, PS2, and Xbox. When I was an avid gamer, we actually OWNED the stuff we bought! I've noticed that the video game industry and much of the other markets have been slowly turning from an ownership model to a subscription model. While digital, online and emulation have made games convenient, that have also controlled the games to the point that you no longer own what you buy. You buy a game, you may have to buy additional content to play it or make progress in the game. Customization, colors, items may cost you more. Upgrading to newer consoles may mean re-buying your game(s) again. No instruction manuals come with them, you have to go online if the manuals are available. You might have to download the game, constantly perform updates to correct bugs and fixes, possibly enable newer capabilities. The game you bought, kept updated, and played religiously, may eventually end up on a server that the company will shut it down. If you bought an Atari 2600 and a game for it in 1977, it's very possible- you can still play it in 2026!! Plus it had a manual, sometimes in color! You may need to clean the cartridge contacts with alcohol and a q-tip, but you could still play it! It was Yours!

[telekill]

Going to add a prediction for the future of gaming.

With prices skyrocketing out of the grasp of the general population, I don't see any company making a return on what they put in after this generation. That leads me to two possible outcomes.

1. The industry crashes and crashes hard. With all the layoffs that have occurred over the last couple years, it's possible we're already in the midst of it, but somehow it was slow rolled.

2. With next hardware already well into developement and planned releases impending, I expect the next gen will be the last for physical hardware. As an example, if PS6 launches at $1000 as many are speculating (obviously we won't know till it happens), then expect a massive drop off in userbase. This will force Sony to take the Microsoft approach and switch to a more SaaS ideal, where Playstation will be streamed like Netflix. Playstation Plus will become Playstation, replacing hardware entirely as the masses wouldn't be able to afford hardware from here on.