Are you more willing to accept Digital Downloads only?

[SirFozzie]

I mentioned this in my blog thread, but I think we're at a tipping point where digital downloads for consoles convenience is going to be starting to dominate the video game market the way Steam has dominated PC gaming with digital downloaded.

I mean we're at the point now where a major boxed game release can be nothing more than a steam code and a small installer on CD that registers the game in steam and sets up the download.

Video Game Companies would love it, I'm pretty sure that Sony/Microsoft take a lower cut of the purchase price than Gamestop does. Plus they lock out the used game market (Anyone remember the $10 EA "reactivation" fee plan?) with digital downloads.

To me, PS+ and Games with Gold are just the gateway to folks accepting the convenience of digital downloads and softening the "You no longer buy our game, you buy a license to play the game" rule. I'm not saying it's a bad thing.. (being able to quit out of one game and load another without having to get up, switch disks, etcetera is a good thing).. but I'm wondering if the X1's plan to be always online with activation was just a couple years ahead of its time, compared to what we'll be seeing by 2020.

I'm thinking this is the last physical media generation for consoles, and soon, Gamestop and its ilk will be things of the past.

But I wanted to get more opinions.. have the ease of use and convenience of digital downloads convinced you to go less disc based? And did the Steam model convince you it was ok?

[jeff061]

I will not buy a physical game. If that's my only option then they won't get my sale.

Not interested juggling and storing physical media.

Big yes on the steam, it was the first platform and I wasn't immediately supportive of it, but I would have come around eventually.

[QuikSand]

of course

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thus far in my house it's basically been the more important the game is to us the less inclined to buy it digitally we are.

Was an on-going discussion leading up to Fallout 4, ultimately went disc.

[MizzouRah]

Yep

[SlyBelle1]

Yes, I have no issue with digital distribution, have been doing that for years on the PC with no issues, plus I can purchase and play on demand without waiting for shipments or going to a store.

However, the only concern I have from a console perspective is the amount of storage available for them. On my PC I have 3 TB of storage available, not sure if consoles have that kind of capacity yet. I hate uninstalling/reinstalling things, but still would prefer digital over physical even with this limitation.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by jeff061

I will not buy a physical game. If that's my only option then they won't get my sale.

Not interested juggling and storing physical media.

I get preferring digital download, and I think it's annoying if the disc is necessary to play and not just install, but a game coming on CD is a dealbreaker? For a marginal game maybe, but for the 1-2 games a year I actually care about and spend the majority of my gaming time on I feel like finding shelf space is pretty easy.

[jeff061]

Would have to be one hell of a game and these days I can't ever see myself even being put in that position anyways. Everything is available digital.

Hell I never bought Mass Effect 3 because it wasn't released on Steam and I didn't want to deal with another delivery platform. If that came out on Steam today I'd probably still buy it since I've played the first 2.

[SlyBelle1]

I think the other fact is that even if you buy a physical version of the game, it seems like it still has to download some massive update the first time you use it, at least on the Xbox one. Bought my daughter the guitar hero game for Xmas so physical was required, but went to play it and it was like an hour before it was even ready because of the updates/install. So in those cases, might as well buy digital anyway, but in this case I couldn't since needed the guitar controller

[SirFozzie]

Do you guys mind if I use snippets of these posts for a follow up on my an8bitmind.com article on this?

[jeff061]

Fine with me.

Also worth noting, I never really bought games used. If I had I may not be such a steadfast supporter.

[dubb93]

My major issue with the consoles being digital only is the size of the games themselves compared to the stock hard drives. When I can only fit a handful of games on my PS4 I think we have an issue.

My system shipped with a 500gb hard drive and many of the games I have played on the system need to install more than 80gb.

[Draft Dodger]

The kids and I are 100% digital download on PC. Like Jeff061, I use steam exclusively (so I haven't bought ME3 either) but I'll probably add Origin to the fold when I get my next PC.

I put some thought into it, and I think the last PC game I purchased that physically came with a disc was Company of Heroes, which is almost 10 years old.

Not there yet on consoles, in fact my son just wanted to buy a game yesterday for his new PS4 and after debating between download and disc we trudged out to the store for a physical copy. I'm just not familiar enough with how the download system works and have limited faith in Sony's support. So for now, consoles are physical for us.

I'd like to be download only for movies (especially since our awesome local video store went out of business) but when it comes to new releases I find the price fluctuations between the different titles and services to be a pain in the ass so I ended up going with the low end Netflix DVD subscription for newer movies.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Do you guys mind if I use snippets of these posts for a follow up on my an8bitmind.com article on this?

Not a problem for me (although I'm not sure how quotable I am)

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Not a problem for me (although I'm not sure how quotable I am)

you're probably the most quoted guy in FOFC history...

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Not a problem for me (although I'm not sure how quotable I am)

This quote is really good, to me.

"Thus far in my house it's basically been the more important the game is to us the less inclined to buy it digitally we are."

So for you, and the AAA titles that are the big ones, you're still inclined to buy the disc based version, but the lesser stuff is more "Meh". Which is kinda the way that Steam snuck up on everyone..

As I said above, I think this is the last physical media generation, and that basically puts Gamestop and the like out of business. Future "consoles" will be more like Steam. Point, click, and download.

[Radii]

I built this PC 2 years ago. I didn't bother installing a CD/DVD drive. So far it hasn't mattered, for work applications or for gaming. I don't own any consoles and don't forsee getting either a PS4 or XBone any time soon so those are irrelevant.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

So for you, and the AAA titles that are the big ones, you're still inclined to buy the disc based version, but the lesser stuff is more "Meh". Which is kinda the way that Steam snuck up on everyone.

Yep, that's on point.

And the final decision was left to my (nearly) 18 year old and that's his bias more strongly than my own.

[dubb93]

I'm digital only on the PC for years and loving it. I have my entire Steam library and Origin library installed at the same time. Also have all my text sims that don't have a DRM platform like those. Have over 100 games installed right now. If I went that route on my PS4, after installing Madden, NBA 2K, and Grand Theft Auto I could probably only install another game or two. I feel I would just waste too much time doing hard drive maintenance messing with digital only on my console. I'm not digital only and I spend too much time right now on hard drive maintenance for my PS4.

[Galaril]

I am guess I am the hold out here and prefer physical disk with the ability to be be able to trade in a few games for money for off a new console game purchase a major factor. I stopped playing PC games 8 years or so ago with life being too busy so with kids to sit in front of a computer all night playing Warcraft or FOF even. Maybe if I did play more of them still I would be in,clinked to do more digital purchases via Steam. I am almost 50 ( late 40s) and am finding I prefer board games ( sports and war games ) than console games. So, this PS4 is probably my last gaming machine once my kids out grow the it in a few years.

[BillJasper]

I'm primarily a console gamer and prefer discs. But I do realize we're headed for a digital download world.

[Kodos]

Ditto what Bill said.

[SackAttack]

Jon and I might be accidentally on the same page here, but for me, willingness to go digital is inversely proportionate to how likely I think I am to still be playing the game in five years. Or ten. Or whatever.

I'll cheerfully go digital for smaller games that I'm playing to have something to play, or that just hit the 'price point/interest generator' sweet spot on the matrix.

But stuff I look forward to, clear the calendar for, pre-order, however you want to phrase it? Oh, hell, no. Give me physical media for that. We're already to the point of having multiple examples of digital purchases oopsing off into the netherworld for one reason or another. DLC on the original Xbox? If your Xbox ever dies, you're fucked. That's shit you can't get back, even by replacing your Xbox, because Xbox Live 1.0 got turned off.

Konami killing the Silent Hills demo/beta/whatever is another example. If you've already downloaded it, you can play it, but if you lose that download for whatever reason, it's perma-gone.

I would much rather have my favorite games available to me at any time down the road, even if physical media is more inconvenient, than risk some suits deciding that continuing to permit me access to my library is bad for the business for one reason or another.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I would much rather have my favorite games available to me at any time down the road, even if physical media is more inconvenient, than risk some suits deciding that continuing to permit me access to my library is bad for the business for one reason or another.

This is what scares me more than anything in a digital only world.

[Groundhog]

I had a big issue going digital with music, but when I came around (and I haven't bought a CD in maybe a decade, after collecting about 500 prior to that) I didn't look back - books/movies/games/comics, etc.

I think the last two physical games I got for a console were both gifts - NBA 2K14, and Madden 15. I don't think I've bought a PC game on disc since World of Warcraft lord knows how long ago, maybe 10 years.

[bhlloy]

Sounds like I'm with the prevailing FOFC crowd on this, I wouldn't consider buying a PC game on physical disc because of how reliable, fast and easy to use Steam is, but I'm not there with consoles. I think I did buy a copy of one of the NCAA games off PSN a few years ago and it took 48 hours to download. I don't trust either of the major console companies to get it right or have the hassle of having spend weeks redownloading all my games if the hardware goes in a couple of months

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

This is what scares me more than anything in a digital only world.

And the precedents are already there, to varying degrees. What a digital-only world amounts to is how much you trust your content provider.

[Icy]

I buy only digital downloads, hate to store boxes/disks as I'm usually so messy and end losing them or damaging the disks.

Also love to be able to buy a game anytime I want it and play it right away instead of having to go to a shop to buy it.

I used to pirate a lot of games like years ago for above reasons. Since steam came, I haven't ever searched for a game torrent. Exactly the same situation for music since Spotify.

Thanks to steam I also have all my games available anywhere and in any computer, same with PSN games.

About ps4, agree that the HD is too small with today releases over 50gb, will need to upgrade mine soon as hate to have to delete games to install new ones.

[flere-imsaho]

The last time I bought a game or application on physical media was, I think, prior to 2010. It's not that I'm avoiding physical media, it's just that everything I want is available via download.

This extends to movies now, too. We still get some kids' movies out from the library, but I would say 95% of the stuff my kids watch on the TV or iPad are streamed content (obviously on the iPad, of course).

[SirFozzie]

Here's the follow-up article I wrote regarding the Digital Downloading era (or error, as you may put it)

https://www.an8bitmind.com/index.php...volution-post/

[frnk55]

When it comes to video games I love digital downloads. So much easier and cheaper. But as far as music goes I hate downloads. I gotta have the cd or record. That's right I still buy vinyl. I guess that's an age thing.

[SlyBelle1]

It's interesting sometimes to read that people dislike digital distribution because they think Steam and other distributors will go away at some point making them lose their libraries of games. That is totally possible, but for me personally I don't think the impact is that large, but I understand others might be different. And this is coming from a person who owns hundreds of digital games.

1) There aren't many games that I continue to play for years...typically I play a game for a few months (if not shorter) and move on. Therefore, if I lost a game, my world wouldn't end, but granted their are a couple of games that might upset me. Sure, the counter argument is you paid for it so even if you don't play it, you should have access to it.

2) Personally, it is more likely for me to misplace or damage a physical DVD then Steam is to disappear tomorrow. With Steam, I just redownload and ready to go, assuming Steam is still around. But if I lose or damage my physical media, I have to buy it again.

3) Although anything is possible, I don't see digital distributors just completely disappearing one day....I think it is more likely they will be bought and sold amongst themselves, which I would hope still keeps everything in tact. It would have to be a pretty drastic scenario where something just disappears without it going somewhere else first.

[SirFozzie]

Just following up on this, it looks like the physical market is collapsing like predicted, but it's taking the mega-game with it, and leaving smaller games, and ultra games (the Destiny-ies the Warcrafts, Fallout 4, etcetera, the ones that will ding you for $100-150+ for stuff throughout its life)

https://www.an8bitmind.com/index.php...first-victims/

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by jeff061

I will not buy a physical game. If that's my only option then they won't get my sale.

Not interested juggling and storing physical media.

Big yes on the steam, it was the first platform and I wasn't immediately supportive of it, but I would have come around eventually.

I'm the same. Physical media an annoyance I don't want to deal with.

[korme]

The only drawback to not having a physical copy is like a once a year issue, when I want to buy Madden and then inevitably want to return it for like a $30 value. Other than that, I play most of my PS4 games enough that I have no issues downloading the games and it's so nice not to have to manually switch discs. However, the downloading aspect could be speedier. It was nice buying Skyrim and playing almost instantly since I got a disc.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by korme

However, the downloading aspect could be speedier. It was nice buying Skyrim and playing almost instantly since I got a disc.

And that's the thing, yeah? We haven't got the infrastructure to support regular 50 GB game downloads outside of, like, major urban areas, and not everybody who games voraciously is living in Chicago or NYC or whatever.

So, I mean, the Day of the Digital is coming, yeah. Intellectually I acknowledge that, even if personally I prefer physical media.

But it's not here yet. Right now, it's kind of a newborn colt, still covered in birth juices, staggering around looking for its mother.

For console manufacturers to be able to leverage the existing digital business model, two things need to happen:

1) ubiquitous, low-cost broadband capable of downloading 40-50 GB games in minutes instead of hours

2) Larger internal hard drives in general, and for Microsoft to stop being a little bitch about user-driven hard drive upgrades and follow in Sony's footsteps.

I don't think 1) is imminent, and addressing 2) doesn't really address the issue that the purchase price of the console ends up being a down payment of sorts - which, people who buy consoles often do so because they're plug-and-play, without the need for future upgrades.

So what I think we're going to see instead on digital, long-term, is something akin to PS Now. Not necessarily a subscription service, but purchasing a license for a new game and streaming it when you want to play it, with a digital 'bookshelf' of sorts containing your games. Most people with broadband internet (excluding satellite internet folks, sorry) are going to have a connection capable of streaming a Fallout-type game, but not everybody is going to have the sort of connection that would allow for pain-free downloads of games that size.

I suspect we'll see something like that emerge in the next 3-5 years. It fits with the simplicity console owners want from their machines, and it does an end run around the infrastructure concerns.

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by korme

However, the downloading aspect could be speedier. It was nice buying Skyrim and playing almost instantly since I got a disc.

I like the anticipation waiting for the download to complete. It's cool watching the % work towards completion. I guess I'm easily entertained.

[Abe Sargent]

That's okay, we now know who to market the next Download Tycoon too!

[Dutch]

Digital only. As far as I'm concerned...Steam saved the PC gamer.

[FBPro]

Most are already this way so sure....

[Icy]

Digital only for the last 2 years, either steam or PSN.

I'm very compulsive about game purchases and hate to have to find the time to drive to a shop to buy them physically.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Would have to be one hell of a game and these days I can't ever see myself even being put in that position anyways. Everything is available digital.

Hell I never bought Mass Effect 3 because it wasn't released on Steam and I didn't want to deal with another delivery platform. If that came out on Steam today I'd probably still buy it since I've played the first 2.

This. I now use GOG as well on occasion. When Mass Effect 3 came out, I made the same choice you did. It wasn't worth it to me. I would have bought it day one on Steam. Have never bought it.

Even on consoles, I rarely buy the disc.

The downside to this is the used game market will eventually dry up because of this.

[Abe Sargent]

For me, the answer is more complex. For PC games, where a game has a very long shelf life, a digital download makes sense. I can play games on my current PC I bought 10-15 years ago perfectly fine. And I often do. I don;t need to keep a gaming rig from every 5 or 6 years in my apartment to do so. So the post-play value of of a game to me in the PC world is very high. Even games you might not thinks are replayable I replay all of the time, like To the Moon or FOF2k1, which has an active career I am still playing.

However, console games are different. It's rare when I want to go back and replay Head Coach, Madden 2007, or Mortal Combat vs DC Universe, you know? And for me to do so, I need to keep older gaming consoles, because the modern ones aren't backwards compatible anyway. It's not like I can put my copy of Twisted Metal Black into my Ps4 and play it. So my post-game needs in the console world are different. There, I'd rather have the ability to sell my game after i'm done, and recoup my value. Or, I'd rather pick up the game used first and drop the initial outlay considerably more than digital download. Two months after Madden you can find it 25% off, used, play it until you are done six months later, and then sell for 30-40% of the original price. It only makes $$ sense.

Right now, today, my list of console games ....in the disc era, around 70 games total I still own going back to the original PS1 era. Most are games i do want to play again, like Monster Rancher 3, Culdcept, Final fantasy 7, 8, 9, X, etc. The vast majority of console games I've played aren;t here.

And in addition to resale value, I can't even borrow a downloaded game, and give it a few hours to try it out or to play it outright.

So my answer is different from PC to console.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

And in addition to resale value, I can't even borrow a downloaded game, and give it a few hours to try it out or to play it outright.

Share Play is a thing on PS4. Not every game supports it, but most do.

[General Mike]

It's not so much that I'm against digital games, but the fact that I can get physical games for a cheaper price than the same game digitally right now, at least on PS4.