Digital vs Physical

So today I made the decision to spend an extra $20 on a game. Why you might ask? Was it a special edition or a limited edition? No. It was the same stock standard version of the game that I could have bought on release day which is tomorrow (Battlefield 1) for $79. Instead I decided to buy the game digitally.

When buying digitally first came around I was always that bloke who swore that I would always buy physical because I had something to sit on my shelf and I felt like I was getting my money’s worth more than if I was to purchase digitally. That and the price point, which like I mentioned is usually more expensive even though there aren’t any physical costs such as packing, booklets, cases, and postage and handling yet I am still forced to fork out more for a copy of the game for buying it on the digital marketplace. You can combine all these factors together and assume that I refused to pay more for the same game even though by the time I got to the shop by driving it would have probably worked out to be about the same investment.

Couple these reasons together with ADSL2+ speeds, which don’t get me wrong are good enough when you are not trying to download during peak hours and all of a sudden it will take you nearly 24hours to download a decent size game. Since the introduction of preloading, and having nearly an empty house during the day meaning I can leave my Playstation in rest mode and download during the day means that the downloading side of things really isn’t a problem anymore.

Then there is the age old having to change discs every time you want to play something different. I mean for this point I am being incredibly lazy as I sit right next to my Playstation just about with my game shelf within arm’s reach and my right hand side. But it is the inconvenience of having to swing forward on my chair, eject one disc and put in another. Something that probably only takes 60 seconds if that, but I mean how easy is it to just close down the current application you are playing and then selecting the new one you want. In this scenario it is really where having digital copies is definitely worth it.

But then you can come to buying “digital collector's” editions or limited editions which cost the same as those that you would buy in store yet at the end of the day all you have to show for it is a thumbnail on your TV screen instead of that nice steel book and packing that it comes in. Take Mafia 3 for example. $129.95 netted you a steel book, poster, map and a nifty looking box to store it all in. Had I have purchased the digital collector's, sure I would have still received the season pass, but it is not sitting there looking all pretty on my shelf, something that I will be able to look back on in time and think, damn I loved that game.

So the real point of this article was to share my thoughts on the way everything is evolving and moving. At this stage I don’t think that digital games will replace physical games as there will always be those people who want to have something to show for it. I guess you could say and there will always be collector’s editions being released that people are going to want to sit on their shelves. But times, especially for me, are changing. Going from that bloke who thought digital was just stupid or silly and that I would always need a disc to be satisfied, to probably being a digital fiend because it is easy and basically effortless to purchase from the digital marketplace.

So on a finishing note, I would like to know whether you guys and girls are digital or physical side orientated or do you just with whatever might save you a few bucks? Let me know on the Facebook post!

Thanks for reading!

Weeksy

Zachary Weeks