Why? The presence of the Steam server makes the game playable, not the disk.

There are solutions to that.

While I still have a good collection on shelves etc of boxed games, both large and small, I am glad to downsize and have everything on a more reliable medium than a disc. And while some box artwork is indeed worth appreciating, I probably do that more as an image file, because generally all I see on a shelf is the spine of a box usually.

But unlike many (youngsters especially) I guess I can indulge in nostalgia any time I wish.

And let's be honest, the big boxes in most cases, waste a lot of space, and definitely in my case, have to compete with books and music and movies etc etc.

Digital is much more convenient and flexible.

Still, if money was no object ......

Sure, but they don't make the disk any more useful as a standalone installation medium.

If you want to play your old games on a new OS(/PC), the installation media have become useless (without external files). IMO, the only thing that makes up for it is some really nice box/packaging/artwork/documentation.

e.g. I have the original boxed releases of Monkey Island 1 and 2. I'm still glad that I have them, but I'm not getting an old PC to be able to run/install those 3.5" disks. If I want to play them again, I'll just play the GOG special editions (close enough) on my current PC.

I know, there's something paradoxal in this post. I guess I'm just trying to say that when physical releases started to be Steam-activated, they also started to lose other 'collecting-worthy' aspects.
DVD case... sucks. DVD case without (any or meaningful) printed documentation... sucks even more. All of the previous with online activation... this has gone too far!

I don't think that it's (entirely) a generational thing. Just check out second hand websites - when 'big boxes' were the only way to buy a game, a lot of people threw away that cardboard (for whatever reason).
It was the same thing with music - many people bought LPs and CDs because it was the only way to purchase music. They didn't care for the physical/collectors aspect / If Spotify existed back then - that's what they would've gone for.

Not really. I had a large collection of physical games but I just sold my home and I putting up almost all of my boxed games (along with arcade cabs) that I have. I'm kinda of happy to shrink my collection actually. It feels good for me to just see the best of best in my line up.

I will be keeping a few from Indiebox as most of those games my kids bought me as father's day and birthday presents throughout the years.

So long as I have access to some DRM FREE binaries I should be good. Though I am becoming more and more open to getting cloud based games.

I did miss them during the early days of digital distribution. I'd fondly put them on display on my bookshelf. Some of the packaging was so unique (Omikron: The Nomad Soul) that I couldn't bring myself to toss out the original boxes.

But the older I got, the happier I was living with less clutter. So today I can say that I do not miss them at all...

...but buried in my bedroom closet is a collection of old game discs, stripped of their original packaging and neatly organized in a binder case with individual protective sleeves. One day I will gain the courage to depart from them too.

I always prefer to read manuals (or whatever material) from classic paper format that from digital pdf copy.

The pleasure of purchasing a boxed game, unpackage it and enjoy the cover, see it full of documents and goodies and browse for the first time a big physical manual while the game was installing is a feeling unsurpassed, like buying a book youa are very interested in, remove the plastic and smell the print. It can't be compared with an ebook or a digital game. It's like always were christmas :)

Used to, but digital is way too convenient now. As for manuals. I got way too many eBooks to worry about reading printed manuals lol. They pretty much meet my reading quota.

The other thing about boxed / retail games, they often require you to keep a play disk in the CD / DVD drive. I'm OK leaving that behind. :)
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Oh forgot to add, my small apartment simply doesn't have the space or else I'd have kept my old retail boxes, my comic collection (was sad to see it go), shows / movies on DVD and so much more. Space is sometimes a premium. :)
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Physical is the best. Looks nice on the shelf and can be sold if the game turns out to suck or you simply grow tired of it. Do they? Because the last time I checked Cyberpunk 2077 came in an empty box that had a download code inside of it, with no physical copy in sight.

DVD boxes with just a download code or a DVD that simply features a Steam installer are just about the most pointless thing ever invented and should go the way of the dodo.

While looking good on a shelf, I fear for the capacity of preserving them. They rot/get damaged pretty easily, and in many cases, even if your local law allows creating digital backups of them, it might be hard to do so (like when they have drm or have unusual shapes which require special tools).

So if possible, I'd stick with digital games that are drm free, are far easier to preserve.

That's not quite what I meant.

Many like you say probably did not keep the box, so they cannot indulge in nostalgia, and they may not have even kept the disc(s) past a certain length of time.

Youngsters, unless the type that purchases second hand games in boxes, would in most cases not be able to experience what those of us with such boxes experienced at the time. At the very least, a different era and feeling and limited choices we had, so not quite the same in any case.

Nostalgia equals a trip back into the past with feelings. You had to be there.

I don't miss those DRM's. And I don't miss StarForce either.

I mostly back-up my games on other HDD's these days.

I do miss the days when you had a game on disc(s) and basically all you'd need to copy to Cd or DVD was the patches (official), unofficial patches, fixes, and/or mods.

I don't miss installing games off multiple CD's or DVD's though. Ugh, I'd rather do one big download and install.

$20 max is what I would pay for game anyway physical or not.