Do you prefer to download PC Games off the internet or buy the DVD?

[ZandraJoi]

We prefer buying the DVD because then we have the physical copy. It’s very useful for when you lose your internet but would still like to pass the time with a game. Plus, from our experience, if the website goes out of business, we still have the copy. Unfortunately, there was one game I TRULY loved. Skip-Bo Castaway Caper. Years ago, when we upgraded our computer, I tried to play it & it wouldn’t play. I emailed customer support but the game was no longer available. I still miss that game lol I did find a place where you can play it online, however, you need to start over from the beginning each & every time. Bummer!

[Shagger]

Your right. Internet not being available and the possibility of online services for games getting shut down are very real and justifiable concerns when it comes to digital game's distribution. Sadly, the question is kind irrelevant because there has not been a major PC game or port released on physical media for well over a decade. The format is long since died off. It's one the weaknesses of PC gaming in general.

 

I did a little research on that game you mentioned Skip-Bo Castaway Caper and as far as I can tell the game has trouble running on modern systems because of an incompatibility with 64bit operating systems and hardware. This can, at least in theory, be fixed by running the games using window's compatibility mode. 

[Razor1911]

On 7/16/2021 at 7:37 AM, ZandraJoi said:

We prefer buying the DVD because then we have the physical copy. It’s very useful for when you lose your internet but would still like to pass the time with a game. Plus, from our experience, if the website goes out of business, we still have the copy. Unfortunately, there was one game I TRULY loved. Skip-Bo Castaway Caper. Years ago, when we upgraded our computer, I tried to play it & it wouldn’t play. I emailed customer support but the game was no longer available. I still miss that game lol I did find a place where you can play it online, however, you need to start over from the beginning each & every time. Bummer!

The best point of buying hard copies is that we can sell it later. I have played games like God of war 1 and 2, Spider-Man, GTA IV etc. After completing the game, I sold the used copies to my friends at 50% off the real price. In our place, buying or selling such used gaming DVDs are very common.

[The Blackangel]

Being that I'm a classic gamer (and despise emulators) I can only use physical copies of the games I play. Granted there are a handful of modern games that I play, but not many. RDR2 being the main one. For that I bought the Ultimate Edition, which as far as I know, is only available in physical format. It opens up so much to you such as free items in stores, free horses, extra side quests, and more. If you play the game then use the codes in the Ultimate Edition, you'll wonder how the hell you ever played it before.

But to get back to the topic, I very much prefer physical games. I won't lie, I did a count the other day, and I have 110 DDL games on my Switch. Not to mention 19 cartridges for it, many of which hold more than one game. So I'm more than set.

[Empire]

I personally prefer digital, although I do have a few physical copies, just that nowadys in todays world it makes sense to go fully digital, faster, sumple, less discs space in your room 😛 quite a few games where you buy physical, the full game gets downloaded. Then there's the patches, if they have them. Once both are done and you go start the game, then it has to install the game.

I have a physical copy of Ghost Recon, after being downloaded from the disk, once I start the game for the first time, it takes up to an hour to install the game, from a freaking disk. At least with digital, the game plus it's patch gets dowloaded in one go.

 once it's done and installed, I don't have to go through another installation phase once I start the game. Also, for some games, they weirdly take up less space on the harddrive digitally than its physical counterpart.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Empire

[AndreiMirfi]

Who uses DVDs anymore?

The fact that with only a few clicks from home, I can get a game right away, this is, in my opinion, the cool life!

True, having a physical copy can give you advantages, but I'll just stick with digital.

[m76]

I prefer to buy the physical copy then download from the internet. I like to own a physical token of the purchase not just a digital version. That said I haven't purchased physical games apart from console games in years. Simply because digital copies could be had much cheaper.

[The Blackangel]

I bought that RDR2 bundle recently because I wanted the RDR2 Zippo for my Zippo collection. Sure, I got a lot of extra stuff that was really cool, but the lighter was the driving force behind it.

[killamch89]

Nowadays, it's far more convenient to download PC games rather than by the disc because most Laptops/Pre-built PCs don't even come with disc drives and storage-wise, it really helps.

[calm-gamer]

Both options suck in their own special ways, but nowadays I only ever download games, so I'd say that says it all.

[killamch89]

18 hours ago, calm-gamer said:

Both options suck in their own special ways, but nowadays I only ever download games, so I'd say that says it all.

I concur - both sides do have their pros and cons but with DVDs I always remember the days of that one scratch on the disc that causes it not to work.

[Demon_skeith]

Lol, who still uses DVD? Besides Nintendo >_>

Anyways, I still prefer to get the disc, I like to touch what I own. 

[killamch89]

20 hours ago, Demon_skeith said:

Lol, who still uses DVD? Besides Nintendo >_>

Anyways, I still prefer to get the disc, I like to touch what I own. 

That's the medium that physical copies of PC games use but I just prefer to download because it's so convenient.

[Demon_skeith]

On 7/29/2021 at 8:29 PM, killamch89 said:

That's the medium that physical copies of PC games use but I just prefer to download because it's so convenient.

I don't think I've seen any physical PC games in years, I know a local Staples store did but they threw them out years ago. 

[killamch89]

On 7/30/2021 at 11:20 PM, Demon_skeith said:

I don't think I've seen any physical PC games in years, I know a local Staples store did but they threw them out years ago. 

I mean you can still hit up Gamestop... I can't believe I just said that but Gamestop is actually the more reasonable place to go. The prices on Ebay and Amazon for physical games is pretty astronomical.