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 On 09/19/2015 at 09:41 AM by transmet2033 See More From This User » |
I have begun to embrace digital distribution. It first started with the Vita and 3DS and came from a place of practicality. I take my handhelds on vacations and trips all the time. I hate the idea of losing any of my games because the cartridges are so dang small. So I have been downloading more and more handheld games over the past few years.
My embace of digital distribution has invaded console gaming. That is what I really wanted to talk about. So far this year, on the PSN, I have purchased The Witcher 3, Arkham Knight, MGS V, Dishonored, and Destiny: The Taken King. Why would I, a gamer with many old-school sensibilities, move away from physical games? Well, I like the convenience. The fact that I can boot up my PS4 and just have access to all my games without having to swap out discs is a big perk. I like the ease of doing an endgame mission in Destiny before jumping back into MGS V. Sharing games is easier than ever. I can have MGS V downloaded on my PS4 and my brother, or brother-in-law can have it on theirs... and we can play it at the same time. You can only have 2 PS4 tied to an account, but still. Playing the same copy of a game, hundreds of miles apart.
At this point, I end up moving into the topic of pre-ordering. In theory, I am not a fan. In practice, I do it... It ties to digital distribution. Reviews for The Witcher 3 started to come out the week before its release. So, I had a good idea of what to expect, so in order to save 10% I pre-ordered it the Sunday before it released, This allowed me to save a few dollars and have the game on my system ready to go when the game officially launched. I am not going to just blindly pre-order something... Like say Uncharted 4 that releases more than a couple days out. There is a precedent set that Uncharted 4 is going to be amazing, but that doesn't mean that I am going to set down the money months out. Especially since it had been delayed.
Over the past 3 weeks, I have put about 35 hours into Metal Gear Solid V and currently have a 17% completion rating. I have finished up just over a dozen main missions and several dozen side ops. I just wish that I hadn't been sucked back into Destiny. Back to Metal Gear. The game is amazing... or I should say, the gameplay is amazing. It took me years to realize that story isn't what draws me into games. I typically gravitate towards games that have a focus on gameplay over story. I do enjoy games with a great story, but in my head gameplay is KING. In MGS V, gameplay is KING. I would love to tell you all about the game, but I haven't but anywhere near enough time into it. I can tell you that the story is there, but it takes a back seat. There are plenty of extra objectives in the missions that you will most likely go back to them a couple times. I almost forgot... I hated the prologue. It was too slow moving for me, and they ask you to create a character, but I am playing as Big Boss. What was the point of creating a character?
That is all I have for now. Have a good weekend.
hey, how do you share PS4 games? I'd love to do that with my brother.
I go back and forth about digital games. On my handhelds, yeah, I prefer them. But I haven't gotten into it on consoles yet, except for the Wii U. Unfortunately that has such a small hard drive. But like you, I hate having to switch discs and deal with that. Maybe I'll start doing it for PS4 too.. I couldn't do it with PS3 cause my hard drive was so small and always filled with free PSN+ games.
I had my brother log into my PSN account and just download the games to his console from my account. Then he would just play them using his account. There might be an easier way, but thats what Ive got.
I've been thinking of going more digital lately and slowly trading in all my physical games. Thing is though, concerning preorders and day-one purchases, I don't want to do that digitally because I still feel a digital copy isn't worth as much as a physical one. Case in point, the new Overlord game. I wanted to preoder it, but it's only going to be a digital download. I'm tempted to get it digitally day-one, but I feel like full price is a bit much and maybe I'll wait now.
There's a new Overlord game coming out? Dang, I own the other ones but still need to play them 
Your only source of Pikmin style gameplay on Xbox or Playstation. I wonder why that particular gameplay element hasn't been used much.
The only one that I have actually paid full price for it MGS V. DIshonored was half price because I owned the PS3 version digitally... Thank you PS+. The Witcher 3 was 10% off. I got Arkham Knight the week it was on sale for $45, which was actually the best price I had seen up until that point. I had traded in Destiny and used the credit for a PSN card, so I count that as not being full price.
I do agree with you, there is a part of me that doesn't like the idea of spending the same amount of money on a game and not having a tangible product. If digital games started at 50 instead of 60, I think that I would have jumped on a long time ago.
I don't think I've bought a digital game day-one yet. It just doesn't excite me the way a new physical game does. Oh well, bye bye preorders.
but I am sure that once you start playing the game, all that excitement should be there. It's not the same when all you have to do is boot up your console. I do miss the idea of stopping at the store, picking up the game and breaking the seal... but all the fun bits, like reading the manual one the ride home are gone. There are no manuals.
The one thing that I will miss are reversable covers, those are the best.
Downloads really killed my music interest for a long while. Only this year have I started to get back to it. I have one used record store around, Barnes & Noble, and libraries galore for my CD cravings. I'm downloading from iTunes only as a last resort. What will happen with games? I think the same. I'm going to buy last gen stuff used until I get the new systems, and then I'll probably wait for sales for anything on those consoles. Buying something for $60 new has to be a special experience, and watching a download isn't special.
I still hesitate to do digital downloads, especially for newer games because of the space requirement mostly. I've mostly only done it with indie or PSN games that don't have physical copies available. I'm playing MGSV on PC, which is a download on Steam, assuming I never have issues with my account, I guess it will be available? I guess? And it's odd because I own physical copies and remakes of all the other MG games except for the newer one.
I am right there with you on the rest of the series. I have bought Snake Eater 5 or 6 times at this point... 3 of which were on the PS2.
I still prefer having the disc for $60 purchases, but every time I have to get up and move to eject my copy of Arkham Knight and put a Blu Ray in, I'm tempted to go all-digital. Frankly, as long as I own a copy of my game, I'm good. With Steam, I refuse to buy anything full price, because I'm buying a license. I'm considering getting GTA V or MGS V digitally, since I would own the digital copy of the game and could keep it on external memory.
and that's fine. I am not here to tell you that you should buy your games digitally. I just wanted to share why I am trending in that direction.
For me, it doesn't matter if it is just a license... which brought up a new thought. In regards to Destiny, since it is only online and you need the server to play, there is no difference in whether you get a digital copy, or a physical one. When the servers go down, you are S.O.L. regardless.
I haven't been able to take the digital-only plunge. My older brother does it and loves the convenience but I just can't bring myself to part with my physical discs. I don't mind buying something digitally if it's a really good deal but certainly not at full price. My Vita, of course, is very nearly a digital-only platform though lol
The thing is, if you are a collector, then there is no reason to move to all digital. I find myself purging my collections every other year or so. Not just games. I go through books, comic books, and movies all the time and sell or donate a bunch of stuff.
I like knowing that my collection of physical goods are the things that I absolutely love.
My internet is too slow, so digital downloads are far from convenient in most cases. It would take me days to download any modern 3D game.
My interent isn't the best, but I usually have the game downloaded by the next day. If I had better interet, going all digital would be so much easier. For now I trend that way but I cannot say how I will feel in a couple months.
I still buy the majority of my games on disc. However, I have a ton of digital games as well (it's usually the result of irresistable "flash sales" on PSN). I prefer getting a case and disc whenever I make a purchase because I like having a physical collection as opposed to a digital library, though I do admit the convenience of digital is a bonus (though the PS4 hard drive space is ridiculously limited). Plus, I am pretty lazy when it comes to gaming, so I often play a downloaded game or whatever's in the system rather than get up and grab a game off the shelf lol.
I haven't fully moved away from physical games. Heck, I have a copy of Shovel Knight on a disc coming my way.
The flash sales are the bane of my existence. How am I ever to finish my backlog when it grows every time there is a sale?
I prefer physical copies for the most part, but that's mostly due to space constraints and a download cap (curse you, Comcast!). That said, I do love Microsoft's Games With Gold program. I've gotten several games that I probably never would have tried otherwise and ended up loving.
I'm the opposite from you, I generally prefer story over gameplay. I love how there's plenty of choices for both camps, though.
As far as I know, I do not have a download cap. In fact, I don't even think we have comcast around here.
I know that you are talking about hard drive space in regards to space constraints, but I am slowly moving towards fully embracing all digital because I am sick of having all this crap that just collects dust on a shelf. I don't have the space in my life for all this stuff.
I only ever get hard copies of games if it's console exclusive and has special gear with it.
Digi-games I find long to download too, it cuts out half the time but I bare it for those sweat graphics!
I haven't downloaded MGS:V yer because I just built my new rig and got the software running. Street Fighter IV is first up.
However due to things like Arkham Knight it does make me weary sometimes of the rubbish they pull in terms of quality control (or lack there of).
I am not a PC gamer, but I understand what you are saying in regards to Arkham Knight. I wouldn't trust the games that were ported over to PC from a console out of the gate.
In regards to the trinkets that come in collectors editions... they don't do anything for me. Outside of GTA IV's lock box and duffle bag, all of my collector's items have been thrown out, or are collecting dust.
I now have tons of digital games but mostly games that were on sale or not available as physical. My problems with digital are the long download times, huge file sizes for some games when I only get 100 GB a month and the fact that if I lose my PS3 for example I have to download the games again. Plus digital games are useless once you've finished them. Can't resell data.
and so I completely understand why in your case going all digital does not make much sense.
As for reselling games. More often than not, I sell a game and then later on I really want to play it again. I bought half-life on the PS2 the year I got it, and sold it to gamestop. Only to want to play it again a year or so after i sold it. So i bought another copy, which I sold. Then I bought a third copy, which I still own.... It has happend with other games as well.
The games that I suspect that I would want to resell, I will buy a physical copy, or wait for an amazing sale.
The funny thing about digital games vs physical games for me is that I have no problem with digital games when it comes to tablet games (not the funky little endless runners, but games that are a couple of bucks for a full racing/adventure game); but when it comes to handhelds or console I'm still physical copy first, but I have been slowly moving towards digital. I don't think I'll ever go completely to digital but I do like the convience of being able to switch games without getting up.
I mix between the two. It mostly depends on avaiability and preference, as I have no problems with buying digital on PC and i'm glad that they now have refunds. I still don't do it on consoles for the avaiability issue as the only two consoles I own that allow digital (Wii U and 3DS) don't have their digital shops on Colombia (fucking hell Nintendo), besides that i'm old fashioned when it comes to consoles.
As for pre-orders, I have done none in my lifetime, but considerig the pre-order goofs in the last years and some of the potential unethical practices that can create:
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