I know how you feel, bro. I also prefer physical games over digital, even if i have to pay more for it. There was something "magic" about opening up that big box which PC games came with (these DVD cases suck).

I always try to buy physical copies for the games i want, but i'm a collector. For the average gamer purchasing a digital copy is a much better deal. Physical copies for PC games are expensive and hard to find nowadays, not to mention that most are useless since they just come with a fucking Steam code anyway. They don't even make physical manuals anymore.

There are many games that i own both the digital and the physical version. Sometimes i even buy a digital copy so i don't have to go through the hassle of getting the disc, searching for patches, searching for fixes and everything. I'd rather let GOG do everything for me. I own both the physical and digital versions of System Shock 2, for example, because the physical version is a pain in the ass to get working on modern PCs.

However, i'm not completely crazy about physical stuff. I do buy many digital games when i some good deals. Sometimes i try to get physical copies of the games i enjoy after i already own them digitally. I know that feel bro, i had the special edition box for Fallout, which is worth around U$300 nowadays.

For these cases, special rules apply. Instead of just throwing it into the trash, you wrap it in bubblewrap, put it in an envelope, and send it to a certain address in Germany that I would be willing to reveal under these circumstances ... ;)

I still wouldn't collect it, but if I can sell it for 600$, I'd gladly take it off your conscience. ;)

I was a little off. It is actually about $400 with the box and it actually belongs to my brother though I don't know if he knows it exist.

Perfect, so what are you waiting for? ;)

I used to prefer physical copies, but realized, that there's no reasonable argument other than to touch it. On the other hand, CDs/DVDs, unlike books, don't last very long anyway. Furthermore it's unnecessary bad for the environment (production, shipment and waste).

Mine occurred when we were packing stuff for a 1,000 mile change of residence. The boxes went buh-bye but at least I put all of the contents in Ziplok bags. Still wish I had the boxes, shelf space be damned!

I appreciate the digital convenience we get today, but there's still this indefinable <something> about having the box and disks, and the printed manuals and other goodies (eg: the extras found in Crusader: No Regret).



OP: forgiven. We all have bad days, and the internet is an imperfect medium for expressing thoughts and ideals.

What did he do?

I don't recall you from anywhere, first time I see your username (or at least make a mental note of it). What did you write before? I prefer them in this order, from highest to lowest:

1. DRM-free digital download version (like GOG).

2. A retail CD without any DRM or copy protection.

3. A retail CD without DRM, but with simple disc check copy protection (not Starforce etc. which installs extra anti-piracy drivers).

4. Digital download with DRM (like most Steam games).

5. A retail game which has DRM (needs online authentication), or Starforce copy protection.

6. Diablo 3 and OnLive games.

I don't really need the game boxes for anything. In fact I destroyed dozens if not hundreds of my old PC game boxes when I moved many years ago, and kept only the CDs and manuals (in small minigrip plastic bags).

In retail times, I very much preferred the new kind of smaller DVD boxes, the similar that console gamers had been using for years already. Old PC game boxes just took far too much room, and were usually mostly empty anyway. They were big just so that they would stand out on the retail shelf from other PC games. Stupid marketing a-holes.

I sometimes get bitching about my retail games too, even though I've crammed them into several storage boxes that I can hide from sight, and got rid of most of the retail cardboard boxes so that the CDs and manuals would take as little room as possible.

And that is indeed one of the main benefits of digital delivery: my gf has absolutely no idea that I have hundreds upon hundreds of games purchased in e.g. GOG and Steam.

If she was playing any Steam games with my account, maybe then she would be able to see how many games I have in my Steam account, but GOG doesn't even have that problem as no client (which would reveal the amount of games you have purchased) is needed in order to play the games.

Then again, she just plays some silly casual games on Android. Sometimes she might look a bit what I am playing on PC.

In an attempt to raise a bit of money and clear some much-needed shelf space, I have started drifting towards all-digital as well. It'll take me ages to dispose of all of the boxes, but I've put the few dozen that I least desire on sale. Time will tell whether I'll extend the program to every physical game I own.

I have yet to do the same to music and DVD's, but that just because they take up much less space and because I can't be bothered to familiarize myself with the digital alternatives.

I like displaying my games on the shelf as well, however now days hard copies of new games seem to be way overpriced than the digital copy, sometime I could find older games at bargain prices though.

I prefer DRM Free and digital. Physical goods just take up valuable real-estate.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo. You're a monster.

Let's talk about food packaging. :-)

Easy for you to say, aren't you primarily a console gamer? :) I was always envious to console-only gamers for their small PSX and PS2 game boxes (I have lots of those too, no need to throw the boxes away with them). At some point the DVD box size fortunately became the norm also on PC, but it didn't take many years after that that PC digital delivery started taking over.

Try to live with e.g. that monstrous Journeyman Project Trilogy box that could hold a small child, but contained only CDs in a cheap cardboard sleeve if I recall correctly, ie. it was full of air. Or that triangle-shaped Thief: The Dark Project game box.

I'm telling you, PC game publishers were just crazy sometimes. And before someone says that you can't fit a 30000 page flight sim manual or a cloth map from Ultima games into a DVD box, those were really just exceptions at some point anymore, and big boxes were just full of air.