Anybody else still buy physical games?

Anybody else still buy physical games? I game both on PC and console so the only physical games I can buy now are on my PS4 everything on PC is digital. The last physical game I got was Lost Judgement at Best Buy it was pretty depressing they didn't even have the game out on the shelves and I picked it up the day after it released. I had to ask a worker if they had it in stock and they had to go to the back to get it. I couldn't even get a little pleasure of seeing the game on the shelf and picking it up god I hate modern times. It's sad seeing physical games being a afterthought.

I travel too often. I just don't have anywhere to store them. I would like to collect them like when i was a kid, but i cant anymore.

Now all of my purchases are heavily discounted steam games.

I literally have not bought a physical copy of a game since 2004 or whenever Steam came out.

*actually that's not true, I did stand in line for the midnight release of WoW: Wrath of the Lich King. It was fun because my best friend and I played it together and we wanted to play it early lol. Kind of a waste in hindsight but we were sipping on big gulps of rum and Coke and just hanging out with other WoW players, it was pretty fun haha.

I still buy 95% of my games physical.

Yes. Nowadays I just buy collector edition or steelbook edition only of devs I like while the rest I wait for sales physical or digitally.

Absolutely. Was exclusively digital only until a few years ago though...funnily enough.

I think what changed for me is that I missed owning favourites physically. I'm not one for collector's editions...but, I just wanted to be able to look at an assortment of titles on the shelf and think: "Yeah, all this stuff is great."

In the back of my mind too, when I was primarily buying digital titles, I never got that sense of true ownership. There's a lot of people that can buy a game digitally for the experience and be done with it, sure. But there's a ton of sentimental value with owning a physical copy.

That's my two cents at least. :)

I buy entirely digital. There's little point to physical besides some old fashioned nostalgia and the belief people will sell their games later to recoup some of the costs. I personally wouldn't sell any game in my collection so it's moot. Every console I own currently no longer uses physical media, and that even includes my NES, SNES, and Genesis all of which have flash carts, while later consoles have optical drive emulators or run games off SSD (like my OG Xbox).

I do a bit of both, I do prefer physical though. Digital is just convenient if I can’t make a trip to the store or they don’t have the game im looking for.

Only for console, because my new pc does not even have optical drive anymore. I could buy external one, but why the hassle.

Just Nintendo games. Can't really explain why. Just feels better. They also cost less than digital where I live, for some very fucked up reason. Got Metroid Dread for 10 bucks less than it is on the eshop.

Just Nintendo Switch games are the only thing I still buy physical and games like those on my PS4, I went total digital since the start of this gen and PC ultimate digital and my last PC physical purchase was Diablo 3. Digital gaming just makes my gaming life easier.

Sorry but I don't miss physical gaming due to limited storage I have within my house area and just makes a clutter of mess if I pile up physical games again and believe me, I was a pro on physical games until the 8th-gen came and went digital.

One thing I'm NOT on-board is cloud gaming and digital is one thing but streaming games isn't on my mind and I'm glad cloud gaming is optional cause no way this is gonna be permanent for gaming.

Given the option and it isn't tied to Limited Run, I'll always go physical. If the game ends up great I can let my friends borrow the game and try it, and if the game is a stinker, easy to get some money back while its still in value.

For what it is worth I think P.C. handles digital as well as it possibly can at this point, not that we really had a choice in the matter. . Put GoG games on an external hard drive and it is very similar to owning a physical copy just without all the good graphics and fine case can provide.

On the physical note does anyone know if The Outer Wilds will get a complete physical edition now with the DLC is out?

I've been holding off the game because Limited Run copies have region lock for patches and DLC, I learned that the hard way with Bare Knuckle/ Streets of Rage 4.

Yeah I definitely still like to get my games on a physical format whenever I can get it like that. My last couple of purchases were Tales of Arise for Xbox and Metroid Dread on Switch. I don’t get physical because I’m interested in reselling, I just enjoy having a nice large collection of games.

Definitely. I prefer digital games, but I'm at a point in my life where I tend to wait for sales and it's usually the physical that goes cheaper first.

I buy digital on PC and Physical on consoles unless it's some crazy cheap sale. PC digital doesn't bother me because it's still an open market where storefronts compete in pricing to keep game prices competitive. I don't feel like consoles can do that with their walled gardens. I regularly find physical games on console for 10-20 bucks than it's digital storefront at full price, and those games are usually 3-4 years old. That's just way too much buying power for me to give up just for convenience's sake. Plus, I like loaning out games to my friends who wouldn't normally play a game I own.

I have picked up three NES cartridges in the last month. I haven't purchased physical for current gen since Xmas of 2019.

As a 47 yr old console gamer, I like everything games related physical...Movies being streamed & downloadable is one thing...but games are another & I always want physical copies....I know that it is going digital no matter how much I want it to stay..So I will just hold onto buying my disk versions as long as possible.

Nah.

At this point physical releases should be made-to-order collector's editions and not distributed to retail stores. Just seems like a waste of material and supply-chain resources to ship around data (not even the latest rev at that point). It's a big, up-front cost that also comes with scheduling commitments that just don't seem to work well with modern game development.

I'd rather see the industry move away from physical releases and provide more QoL benefits like buying one license and being able to play the game anywhere, and methods for sharing the license with a friend. Gaming on consoles is still very much in the dark ages from my perspective (at least on Sony and Nintendo platforms).

I'm fully digital this generation I had a good run buying physical but it just isn't worth it to me now.

The only physical games I buy nowadays are ones that I want to keep in my collection... the last was Mario 3D All Stars on Switch.

I love physical. Over the course of the years though I have been buy heavily discounted digital.

Depends. If super cheap will buy digital, if game is important to me or something I want to play 20 years from now, I go with physical.

I prefer physical and was nearly 100% physical but things have changed fast. Thanks to the pandemic and not really wanting to unnecessarily go out along with digital sales I haven't picked up a physical game since I grabbed Persona 5: The Royal & Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 on sale at Walmart like 6 months ago. I've bought plenty of games since then but they've all been digital and on sale. If I buy day one and pay full price, though, it has to be physical.

Edit: All of my digital games are beaten then deleted. There's no going back. Out of sight out of mind lol

No. Much more convenient and practical. Less space, generally cheaper. Great for people who have lots and lots of friends and family who aren't mooches and can afford their own games.

Steam used to sell physical deluxe games a long time ago. Now it's all digital deluxe.

Wait....physical games still exist? That's weird.

Not anymore. All my game purchases are digital.

Being able to lend games to my friends and return borrow games from them makes physical king. Plus it's fun to see it on the shelf, and if I want I can sell it too. I see no reason to ever give up that flexibility unless the price is WAY down.

For games I'm REALLY looking forward to, or if I especially think the devs deserve my money, then I'll buy physical. But that's probably only 10-15% of the games I buy these days.. It's just so much easier to grab stuff on Steam or GOG sales! Then again I buy way more games on those sales then I'm likely to ever play..which drives the physical percentage down by a lot.

I still love physical games but I also sell my games so that's a big part of it. Unless it's a game I really want to keep, I'll sell and then get it much cheaper digitally down the road.

I also traded A LOT of PS4 games to put towards PS5 purchases...So digital kills that convenience.. my collection are digital coasters when I'm done with them. And the way they charge more than a retail physical copy for new digital games is bewildering to me & completely not of any worth. For instance Deathloop & FC6 are 2 of my most recent purchases....They both cost $79AU each at EB games doing price match with others stores, yet, digital only in store are both $99AU. Like WTF???

I just simply don't mind having to move 3-4 foot to switch a game out...I'll buy games I didn't really want at full price or aren't available in physical, so I do have a decent digital collection.....but physical is always better for me as a consumer, better for brick & mortar stores, etc, so I just prefer to play that way.

I buy both physical and digital, but I am warming up to digital due to the sales PSN has been having. I like collecting, and much of my purchases are when they are on sale.

I still buy physical games for Switch, XB1 and PS4, but Series X (and when I get a PS5) is digital going forward.

The only physical games I buy are Nintendo games only because their digital options are not flexible.

Which is also a reason I'll never go digital on Nintendo. I'm okay purchasing Switch games on physical.

Outer Wilds physical release PS4 I'll assume you meant for PS4 right? Cause there's also a Switch version of the game as well.

Thank you for the link though I believe considering it's a year old link you gave, similar to the Limited Run version, so not the complete package of the game. I was more hoping for a GOTY edition with all the bells and whistles; such a physical version however probably doesn't exist. . yet.

From what I know about the game too much was sacrificed to get The Outer Wilds to run on Nintendo Switch. Switches lod rendering apparently takes a lot out the experience. And considering the game wants players to learn from visual representation, this is an essential feature to get right.

Outer Wilds isn't that demanding from what I've read, but the Switch version is not a good option given the choice.

I buy physical whenever it's an option, including stuff like Limited Run Games. It's not just the physical game that I like - in fact, it can be a bit annoying to swap out carts and discs - it's the functional ownership that goes along with it. No matter what the stupid EULA says, I do, in fact and in practice, own my physical games.

Digital games, unless they're DRM-free, inherently restrict my ownership rights. I'm not willing to effectively give up my rights for convenience, if I have a choice.

I do. I buy them physical I like owning a hard copy.

I do. I buy them physical I like owning a hard copy.

I do most my gaming on Xbox and I am entirely digital on that from XB1 onward. I still do physical for PS and Nintenso devices, mostly out of lack of confidence in the online infrastructure with regards to rights retention.

I still buy physical games (last time I bought one was G.I. Joe Operation Blackout this past summer). But, digital games aren't so bad either. You never know what can happen in real life & this pandemic is an good example. Assassin's Creed Unity is the game I'll be getting before the sale goes away later this month.

I'll buy physical games until they're no longer available.

i buy digital and physical games on my ps5 xsx and nintendo switch

As of 2 years ago, I am done with buying games on physical format. It was a long battle to stick with physical games, but it just isn't practical anymore for me.

Yup, still prefer physical if given the choice

Only Switch games, in this generation.