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General discussionDo you miss the days of physical games?(81 posts)(81 posts)
(81 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 18, 2021
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tyl0413: This gonna be an unpopular take on here but i think only reason people like physical is just nostalgia. There's no logical reason to go back to physical.
Ownership argument is dumb bc DRM takes out physical games too, DRM-free regardless of distribution method is the way to go
Discs are outdated technology, you can't fit modern games on them, they're slow, they scratch easily, it's just really inconvenient
I have my digital games downloaded to big hard drive, easy to play them whenever, make a backup of or move them, etc, much more convenient than having a bunch of small fragile discs that take up a lot of physical space.
I do believe the option should still be there for those that want it but even if it was there i wouldn't go back, but maybe if the option was there i wouldn't have been pushed to ever try digital and wouldn't know of the advantages. As for physical extras they never really went away, many games still have Collectors editions that have all the stuff from old physical games, sucks that you gotta pay up to get them but it's just good business, most people didn't care for them so why waste resources manufacturing them for every copy, so they just sell for higher prices in limited quantities to those who care.
Your right about the drm part, you don't have any more ownership over a drm ridden
Physical disc than you do of a digial game, actually probably even less with the
Drm ridden disc. Which is why getting drm free or games with the drm broken/bypassed
And putting that on your own physical media is the only way actually have true
Ownership. I like physical media for ownership, not mastalgia, but I don't buy
Physical media unless I intend to rip to hvec/MP4. I put digital content on my
Hard drives and Blu rays. And Blu rays have gotten up to 100 gigabytes in a single disc
They are big enough for any game if you use heavy compression on larger titles. You don't need blu rays tho
But if you only use hard drives, I would have at least 1 or 2 backup hard drives so if you hard drive fails
All your stuff isn't gone
Posted August 18, 2021
It's almost as if there isn't any one solution.
Posted August 18, 2021
low rated
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WarbossAohd: It's almost as if there isn't any one solution.
???
digital is the ultimate solution
Posted August 18, 2021
I have a largish collection of physical video games and an even larger collection of old wargames from Avalon Hill, SPI etc.

However I do not miss the days of physical games. The world always changes, I adapted and saw the merits of the new way. Plus I always try not to look back at a past that is gone anyway- wallowing in the past is unhealthy, and ensures that is where your best days will forever remain.
Posted August 18, 2021
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tyl0413: This gonna be an unpopular take on here but i think only reason people like physical is just nostalgia. There's no logical reason to go back to physical.
Ownership argument is dumb bc DRM takes out physical games too, DRM-free regardless of distribution method is the way to go
Discs are outdated technology, you can't fit modern games on them, they're slow, they scratch easily, it's just really inconvenient
I have my digital games downloaded to big hard drive, easy to play them whenever, make a backup of or move them, etc, much more convenient than having a bunch of small fragile discs that take up a lot of physical space.
I do believe the option should still be there for those that want it but even if it was there i wouldn't go back, but maybe if the option was there i wouldn't have been pushed to ever try digital and wouldn't know of the advantages. As for physical extras they never really went away, many games still have Collectors editions that have all the stuff from old physical games, sucks that you gotta pay up to get them but it's just good business, most people didn't care for them so why waste resources manufacturing them for every copy, so they just sell for higher prices in limited quantities to those who care.
What about Blu-Ray? You can fit modern games on those
Posted August 18, 2021
low rated
avatar
tyl0413: This gonna be an unpopular take on here but i think only reason people like physical is just nostalgia. There's no logical reason to go back to physical.
Ownership argument is dumb bc DRM takes out physical games too, DRM-free regardless of distribution method is the way to go
Discs are outdated technology, you can't fit modern games on them, they're slow, they scratch easily, it's just really inconvenient
I have my digital games downloaded to big hard drive, easy to play them whenever, make a backup of or move them, etc, much more convenient than having a bunch of small fragile discs that take up a lot of physical space.
I do believe the option should still be there for those that want it but even if it was there i wouldn't go back, but maybe if the option was there i wouldn't have been pushed to ever try digital and wouldn't know of the advantages. As for physical extras they never really went away, many games still have Collectors editions that have all the stuff from old physical games, sucks that you gotta pay up to get them but it's just good business, most people didn't care for them so why waste resources manufacturing them for every copy, so they just sell for higher prices in limited quantities to those who care.
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Jon_Irenicus_PL: What about Blu-Ray? You can fit modern games on those
will you write out every time when they get updated?
Posted August 18, 2021
@OP - For a moment there I thought you meant board games, but really you meant games on physical media.

I still enjoy the occasional board game with family and or friends.

As for my game discs, I am glad to have moved away from them to pure digital downloads. Discs are slow and noisy and get damaged way too easily, and many of them come with awful DRM, and take an age to install, with some requiring you swap discs partway through, even during playing. And of course, there was a need in many cases for an update or patch, which you couldn't implant on the original disc(s). And of course, what worked on earlier versions of Windows or DOS can be a struggle to install on newer versions, let alone play.

So nope, don't miss them at all ... though I still have them all, a sizable collection that I can look at to fulfill any nostalgia visual wise.
Post edited August 18, 2021 by Timboli
Posted August 18, 2021
No, they take room space. I better like GOG Offline Backup Installers approach, collect them in external hdd.
Posted August 18, 2021
If physical copies amount to resale value then yes, otherwise no.
Posted August 19, 2021
avatar
tyl0413: This gonna be an unpopular take on here but i think only reason people like physical is just nostalgia. There's no logical reason to go back to physical.
Ownership argument is dumb bc DRM takes out physical games too, DRM-free regardless of distribution method is the way to go
Discs are outdated technology, you can't fit modern games on them, they're slow, they scratch easily, it's just really inconvenient
I have my digital games downloaded to big hard drive, easy to play them whenever, make a backup of or move them, etc, much more convenient than having a bunch of small fragile discs that take up a lot of physical space.
I do believe the option should still be there for those that want it but even if it was there i wouldn't go back, but maybe if the option was there i wouldn't have been pushed to ever try digital and wouldn't know of the advantages. As for physical extras they never really went away, many games still have Collectors editions that have all the stuff from old physical games, sucks that you gotta pay up to get them but it's just good business, most people didn't care for them so why waste resources manufacturing them for every copy, so they just sell for higher prices in limited quantities to those who care.
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Jon_Irenicus_PL: What about Blu-Ray? You can fit modern games on those
Yes, they get up to 100 gigabytes in size, but DO Not use blur rays
With an organic dye/layer or rewriteable Blu rays, they are
Unsuitable for archival. Use high quality Blu rays with a metal/rock
Layer. You can fit any game on a Blu ray,there's no game that won't fit
If you download highly compressed versions. Read dead 2
Is 120 gigs, but thers a download out there in the wild that's 60 gigs that
Will fit on a 100 gig Blu ray, I have yet to find a game that I can't fit
On a Blu ray if it's highly compressed.
Posted August 19, 2021
low rated
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Jon_Irenicus_PL: What about Blu-Ray? You can fit modern games on those
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wanker666: Yes, they get up to 100 gigabytes in size, but DO Not use blur rays
With an organic dye/layer or rewriteable Blu rays, they are
Unsuitable for archival. Use high quality Blu rays with a metal/rock
Layer. You can fit any game on a Blu ray,there's no game that won't fit
If you download highly compressed versions. Read dead 2
Is 120 gigs, but thers a download out there in the wild that's 60 gigs that
Will fit on a 100 gig Blu ray, I have yet to find a game that I can't fit
On a Blu ray if it's highly compressed.
ARK installed 322.2 GB :P
Posted August 19, 2021
low rated
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JakobFel: I absolutely miss those days. One of the many things that attracts me to GOG is that it's about as close as we can get to that era nowadays. Digital distribution sucks, full stop, but GOG makes it as close to the days of physical copies as possible. I just wish there were similar services for visual media (movies/shows), music and books... though, thankfully, printed media is still extremely popular.

Call me old school but I can't stand the idea of buying a massive string of ones and zeroes instead of an actual product buy that in the least. SOME physical storage may fail over time but I have yet to have a CD/DVD that has ever done that.
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idbeholdME: Pretty much EXACTLY this.

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Orkhepaj: another reason why not to use physical copies
physical storage media fades, so probably your games your mom bought for your 10th bday is no longer usable or soon wont be
https://
youtu.be/e7v13Zu3SXc
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idbeholdME: It does fade, but there is a HUGE difference between burned (something you make at home) and pressed discs (what you get in retail). While a disc you burn something on might be useless in 5 years, pressed ones can last decades. I already have multiple 20+ year old CDs that still work fine. If you store them properly, they can last a long time.
Would it be possible to get a disc pressing machine at home???
Posted August 19, 2021
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idbeholdME: Pretty much EXACTLY this.

It does fade, but there is a HUGE difference between burned (something you make at home) and pressed discs (what you get in retail). While a disc you burn something on might be useless in 5 years, pressed ones can last decades. I already have multiple 20+ year old CDs that still work fine. If you store them properly, they can last a long time.
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Jon_Irenicus_PL: Would it be possible to get a disc pressing machine at home???
Hahahahahahahahaha

You do realise that they're industrial kit right? Here's a very small, compact one:

https://www.singulus.com/en/bluline-ii.html

They're also not designed for one-off discs.
Posted August 19, 2021
Yes I do miss the days of physical games. Back when fancy maps actually came with the game and worked with no Internet connection... ;-)
Posted August 19, 2021
I've never been fond of physical media, except in a few cases for collection purposes. For most of my consumption, digital media is more convenient and doesn't have a shelf or 20 collecting dust with discs deteriorating with bit rot or getting lost or scratched. I owned 6 copies of Disciples II before I bought it here. 2 copies of Gothic, and 4 copies of Morrowind due to discs wearing out and "copy" discs not working. It was a scam to sell more copies of the games!! Absolutely I don't miss physical only games. I don't know where my Oblivion disc is (I think my FIL threw it out years ago by accident), and lost my Diablo II disc once when I sent my busted PC in for repair and it came back with a WarCraft 3 disc in it.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionDo you miss the days of physical games?(81 posts)(81 posts)
(81 posts)