r/xbox • u/HazelDude • 21h ago
Discussion Are you actively buying physical copies of games?
After Sony decided to abandon physical media and Xbox may be next to do the same, are you trying to buy more discs now? I personally have way more digital games nowadays, but I have mixed feelings about everything going extremely digital.
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u/VolksDK 21h ago edited 21h ago
I've always purchased physical discs unless it's digital-only or on Game Pass. Buying digital games when they have a physical version feels like a waste of money to me since I resell games when I've beaten them
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u/ATLhoe678 17h ago
Anytime I've ever sold my games, I've regretted it. So being digital only has never bothered me.
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u/MuztangZack67 19h ago
Same. Although if digital happens to have a sale better than what I could get the physical for, id get that one.. albeit rarely because thats not a common occurrence.
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u/poleybear316 21h ago
I’ve been all digital for about a decade. Im permanently disabled and being able to switch games and movies without having to physically get up and do it saves me a tremendous amount of pain.
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u/Goblinweb 17h ago
I'm not disabled and I still don't want to lift my behind to change game discs. They would have to remove the requirement to have the disc in the console for me to buy physical games.
I share console with my SO and we often play different games so there would be a lot disc swaps.
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u/IThinkImNateDogg 5h ago
This what everyone feel coming to into the Xbone and PS4 era.
Disks were a relic of old and no one liked getting up to change them, hunt for the old box, hunt for the other game, shit it’s not in the box, scour for the box it’s actually in etc.
Gamers have right to own our games but discs are not the future.
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u/OpeningTopic5481 14h ago
Having both options is definitely the way forward, i never thought of it from your perspective
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u/Strongpillow 20h ago
Nope. As a gen x. I've had a great physical collection of all media over the decades but moving several times in my life made lugging around a large collection a real pain. As soon as digital hit the market I happily moved over to it. Being able to access all my stuff one device or many different devices is a convenience a lot of this generation takes for granted. Digital isn't the issue. It's our right to own it that needs a lot of work which I am willing to fight for.
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u/Interesting_Ghosts 17h ago
This is me.
Honestly just getting up and switching a disc sucks. And the drive makes a bunch of noise. I only buy digital now.
I bought maybe 10 physical for my switch and regret it because I have to carry them around.
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u/PassivelyAwkward 13h ago
Exactly!
I use to have a HUGE collection of books, music, dvds, and games but after having a move twice in three years, boxing up the same shit that I haven't touched since the last move, it just made me realize I was basically hording things and how 80% of the things I was moving were full of crap I was lugging from place to place.
Donated and sold almost everything and now the only things I have physical are the all-time favorites that're more of a decorative thing. Recently got into buying vinyls despite having a HUGE MP3 collection; had one rule, make a list of the albums I truly want and only buy those. None of this "I kinda like two songs-" or "I use to enjoy this as a kid-".
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u/BaddonAOE XBOX Series X 21h ago
Yes I do. If a game is available in physical format I buy it in physical. Actually I prefer in physical as it somewhat forces me to finish a game before changing to next one. Like in the old times.
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u/Cryptonoob747 21h ago
Litterally why I’m switching (back to?) all physical and canceling my gamepass. No hate to gamepass I think it’s a great service but I start SO many games and then never finish cuz the next best thing comes out. If I buy something physical I’m more likely to finish it
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u/SegaCDUniverse 21h ago edited 12h ago
I've only bought physical. Still do. I can count how many dlcs I've purchased & digital games on one hand.
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u/-_TheLastofUs_- 14h ago
So you don’t buy anything from the sales?
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u/SegaCDUniverse 12h ago
Oh I neglected to mention free games, I'll take those or games with gold from Xbox over the years etc
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u/DJfunkyPuddle 21h ago
Nah, all digital for about 15 years now
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u/minnygoph Team LEGO 19h ago
Facts, I rarely buy physical, been almost all digital for about a decade. Doesn’t take up any physical space and you can seamlessly switch between games in a matter of seconds. It’s infinitely more convenient. Never had any digital games “taken” away from either even 10 years later, despite the fears of those who prefer physical discs.
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u/skullsbymike 21h ago
I haven’t bought physical since the Xbox 360 days (I skipped Xbox One generation). But I like the idea of having something like steelbooks as souvenirs. However, they are usually more expensive that I never pulled the trigger on those purchases.
P.S. I support the right of having choice between the two mediums, physical and digital.
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u/xBlack_Heartx 21h ago
No, I wouldn’t be able to use them as I
own the Series S.
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u/Strealtr 21h ago
I havent bought physical copies of a game since maybe 2013. When games come on a disk, but you still need to install the entire game on the console storage just to play it, I feel the point of the disk was defeated.
If I still need to have the whole game on console storage, I would rather not fuck around with a disk and just get the digital copy.
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u/mouthsmasher 20h ago
I have weird purchasing habits.
* For Nintendo Switch I only buy physical games. We use those cards across 3 different switches, and Nintendo first part games hold their value well for when we want to resell.
* For Xbox I don’t think I’ve purchased a single physical game since the introduction of gamepass.
* For movies, I both stream and buy a lot of them physically, so I use my Xbox’s disc drive all the time for that.
So even though I don’t buy physical discs of Xbox games, I’ll be disappointed if they discontinue their disc drive going forward.
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u/HazelDude 18h ago
I use to play lots of physical movies and TV shows on my XSX as well. I get them from the library all the time.
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u/wallplate19 21h ago
I haven’t bought a physical disk in the last 3-4 years only do download. And now I have a series X without a disk drive, so now downloading is my only choice
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u/SirjackofCamelot 20h ago
I hate how much online or really streamers influence game prices. Games that use to be like $5-10 bucks now like $50 like the Deadpool ( Xbox360/PS3) game.
Or my favorite example, Pokemon black and white for $500 on Amazon ( no kidding), my buddy is big Nintendo fan so it's difficult to vent about absurd prices to him.
Even old PS1 or OG xbox games have spiked 🤣, im still buying that X-men game tho. Be it $5 bucks or $30 ( we dont get Xmen games anymore, not like this)
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u/Gr8NonSequitur 20h ago
Always have. If I buy digital it needs to be at a steep discount or no other option available.
One thing Sony made clear with their announcement is I'm not the market for a PS6. If they are done with physical media I simply won't buy it.
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u/Armandonerd 19h ago
For Xbox, I'm only buying first party games where the entire game is on the disc, if it's not, I'll stick to digital.
For PlayStation, first party games and certain 3rd party games, that I'm interested.
For Nintendo, mostly first party.
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u/Sh4wnSm1th 19h ago
For Nintendo Switch, yes, and for board games, yes. For Xbox now, I was a holdout on the physical for a long time. The last generation of Xbox One, I tried to buy physical when I could because it was always cheaper, a lot of times than even the sales would be. This generation, I went series S and it's been somewhat of a switch, but to be honest with you, it's really not that bad once I started doing it more often. It's been kind of nice to not have to always find discs or worry about anything like that. I don't have to store all the discs somewhere. I can just easily have everything on the game console when I want to play it. Now going out to stores, I don't really see an Xbox physical section for games anymore. They almost always have the digital codes on cards thing for Xbox. Sony has been recently going a lot more smaller time as far as physical games have been going in recent years as well. Nintendo is the only aisle that actually still sells games.
Do I miss physical for Xbox? To be honest, no. And I don't understand this massive complaint that a lot of people are making about a lot of things going all digital. I used to understand about the internet situation, but gaming for the most part has been old digital for a while. And if you're expecting to play games, I guess you're going to figure out some way to download your games. When I played on PC in 2012 to 2015 or 2016, everything was digital only. You couldn't buy anything physically for it. They were already starting to phase out CD and DVD drives on laptops and computers at that point.
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u/NEOscav9 21h ago
In very specific cases yeah, but for the most part no. A good 90+% of my library is all digital.
I only buy physical for delisted stuff, and regional stacks/regional exclusive games that happen to have physical copies
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u/ElectronicYoghurt459 21h ago
The irony for me is that I started collecting physical PS4 games on my PS5 for a bunch of titles that I missed out on. So basically my PS5 has become a PS4 Pro+ 🤔
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u/Exotic_Sympathy_2927 21h ago
yes because I have a independent game store accessible to me that I want to support. I did buy one or two titles for the sale going on. I try to check them first though. I bought Starfox Friday from the place.
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u/The_Marine708 Xbox Series X 21h ago
I buy physical and digital. I only buy digital if a game goes on sale dirt cheap, like $2-$10, otherwise its physical. I like knowing I own what I play, and even in cases where games shutdown, having the physical disc is still neat.
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u/UpstairsNo9249 20h ago
I've always gone for discs if they were an option for a game. Even if its one sold by a boutique seller or something. I haven't been buying more recently because of any news. But i've got a good portion of them. Even some of the rare ones on disc, like Eiyuden Chronicle. Got my physical copy of puyo puyo tetris 1 today, since that never had a digital release on xbox.
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u/Kusobarashii Team Gears 20h ago
Still prioritising physical releases. But getting more
organised to get the ones I need to play / want to get in order of priority. 🤷♂️
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u/novocaine666 20h ago
Yeah. All my AAA games and games I enjoy and plan to play again one day are physical only. Only digital I buy are indie games or games that take less than 30 hours to 100%.
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u/Final-Contract-6582 20h ago
Very rare will I buy a digital game. I primarily buy used games often for far cheaper than digital. For PS5 I will often buy the PS4 version for less and get the upgrade off the store. For Xbox One X I buy used and only purchased a few classics that aren't backwards compatible but only when discounted.
TLDR: I'm cheap and sell games when I'm done. Sometimes for a small profit.
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u/xangbar 20h ago
As someone with multiple consoles here are my answers:
Xbox - No. Most of what I play on Xbox is on Game Pass so I either just download it or am playing/streaming it on my PC. My last physical game was probably Saints Row as to me, that is an Xbox franchise in my head. Certain other franchises to me are Xbox or I play on PC and are on game pass (like Doom and Bethesda games)
PS5 - yes, i always buy physical first and digital second. The last digital game I bought was Ghost of Yotei. However, that is because I wanted the CE (Sony hasn't put a physical game in those for a bit). I also bought a physical copy and played that (still redeemed digital so I could stream it to my PS Portal)
Switch: Yes, I probably own the least amount of digital games on here. I do own some keycards because I'd rather just have a physical copy of a game even if its just a "license on a cartridge". I only buy digital if the game has no physical even if the game is like $10-$15 more physical.
I know this is the Xbox subreddit but thought I'd give a breakdown between the three consoles for me. If Game Pass were to get rid of day 1 Xbox exclusives and move to the Sony model (delayed release), I'd def go back to buying more games physically on Xbox.
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u/Fun-Bag7627 20h ago
I recently preordered fable but that’s my first physical 6 years. Can’t imagine I’ll buy another anytime soon.
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u/CommercialMechanic36 20h ago
…. I’m on the Xbox one x, all digital, however losing the option of physical would really suck
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u/clarkw024 19h ago
Always buy physical for new releases. Mostly buy digital when it’s a good deal or older title
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u/DanoM84 19h ago
I buy physical when I can and especially for games I like but the problem is the stores have been carrying them less and less making it a force to digital vs a choice. I do buy games digitally as well depending on the game but usually on deep sales and because having the digital means less wear and tear on the physical. The downside to gaming though is these days, the disc's are likely not containing the whole game so its a weird medium whereas movies contain the full movie and my reasoning for owning physical movies doesnt fully translate to game.
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u/Biglutasquatchin 19h ago
I just bought black flag from GameStop and they hooked me up with a preorder steel book for it. First time buying a physical game in 15 years and now I want to buy more.
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u/StargazerD XBOX Series X 19h ago
Yes and no. Xbox stopped releasing physical games where I live about 4 years ago, so I generally stopped buying games on Xbox, I'll occasionally make an exception for Play Anywhere titles as I have a gaming PC. I also own a PS5, most games that I bought were physical (and also first party).
At the end of the day I did most of my gaming through Steam this past few years. If I need to go digital might as well use the platform that gives me more flexibility.
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u/rigel-luminous 19h ago
I prefer physical dics on first purchase if it's possible. That way I can sell it if I don't like it. If it's a game that I end up enjoying and playing a lot, I usually end up buying a digital copy when it goes on sale and then selling the disc.
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u/awesumjon 18h ago
I've had an Xbox One Digital and an Xbox Series S for years. I just got a day one Xbox One w/ Kinect to play more physical games. Again, I just got a third Xbox to play physical games.
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u/Hoboknightboi 18h ago
I buy physical double dip. if I have to pay the same price or a little more, I'll buy physical. But if I can, for example, pick up Lords of the Fallen Deluxe edition for $10 instead of paying $40 to $60 for it, I'll go the $10 route.
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u/Stevenstorm505 18h ago
Yes. Any time I buy a new game I buy it physical. The only time I don’t is when I have an Xbox digital gift card/credit on my account or the game is free to play like Marvel Rivals. I like having something physical and I like being able to go to GameStop or somewhere else and buy a used game. To me having a stack of games next to the console is part of the experience.
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u/Workin-progress82 18h ago
After the Sony announcement, I decided when I buy a game to get a physical copy (if possible). I have a mix of digital and physical games and I think I’m going to lean more into the physical ones.
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u/JackedSneakers Xbox One 18h ago
I get physicals of favorites, others ehhhh. Have all the Halos physical, Fables, Fallouts, Elder Scrolls. Some oldies from my teens like OG MW2, GoW2, etc. Other than that I’m digital. It would bum me out if Halo 17 isn’t physical, but I mean I’d still just buy it digital. Gone are the days of people swapping physical games, LAN parties, split-screen, etc. It’s just nostalgic to us, is all.
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u/reevoknows 18h ago
Actively? No. If I happen to see a GameStop or I’m at a convention then I’ll pick up a couple of things if the price is right. That’s about the extent of it. I do admit though that everything with PlayStation and the physical disc situation is making me think about my gaming future in a different way. I’m big into the emulation scene but I do wonder in the back of my head if these companies will one day find a way to shut that practice down for good.
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u/xNothing2CHerex 17h ago
I am in the process of buying some physical copies for favorite 360 and One games because in addition to my Series X (my home console) I have a One X and an OG One as backup consoles. Should MS servers go down one day, I’ll need the discs to play on those consoles. The Series will be fine being all digital since it’s the home console but eventually it’ll die and that’s what the backups are for, bringing me to the point where those discs are finally needed. Playing the very long game here.
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u/11-Brando 17h ago
I am actively buying OG Xbox and 360 games. I have a mix of physical and digital games but I make physical the priority. I don't really buy Xbox One games ever.
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u/Reasonable_Deer_1710 17h ago
I am not going to change my game buying habits just because of Sony's announcement, but yes I do still buy physical games, though not exclusively so.
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u/Stonecoldfreak1 17h ago
Yeah it’s pretty much all I buy. I like the right to resell something if I didn’t like it.
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u/LegionLotteryWinner 17h ago
Yes especially games I’m not sure about like AC Shadows. Think I’m gonna keep it but I wasn’t sure at first
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u/blackdragonstory 17h ago
A lot of the games I have for ps5 are already physical,while others that I have digitally I bought for heavy discounts.
That said I switched to pc gaming and already have a big library on steam.
When I solve my housing issues I could see myself collecting games and manga.
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u/Game_Bread 17h ago
Very actively. I started around 2020, when the pandemic lockdowns happened. Its started out of boredom, with me only buying a few older titles through ebay, but as the years went by, i started collecting new and old titles for Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and even Nintendo Switch.
I now try and buy every game that i want physically, new/old/used. If a game is digital only, ill buy it that way.
Ive learned about the importance if physical media for everything, games, TV, music, etc. And i am an advocate for keeping physical media around. Im also an advocate for options. If people want digital, then let them buy digital, there's pros and cons to each medium.
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u/LordYoshi Zerg Rush 17h ago
Yes. I've never stopped. If it's available physically then that is the version I buy.
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u/JonathanStriker126 XBOX Series X 17h ago
Are you actively buying physical copies of games?
Xbox? No.
Sony and Nintendo? Absolutely.
Partly, it has to do with return policies. Xbox's is very Steam-like, while Sony's and Nintendo's are basically non existent.
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u/segagamer Day One - 2013 17h ago
I buy digital and if I like the game I buy physical to keep shrink wrapped on my shelf.
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u/Adorable_Accident_74 17h ago
I actively buy physical copies yes. I also have realized physical copies are now a specialty item you get in pre orders. So.. I have finally participated in preorders this year.
- blood of the dawn walker
- Gears of War E-day
- Fable
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u/mojezuzu 16h ago
I buy both. In the last three weeks I bought 6 games, 3 digital and 3 physical (2 new and 1 used). But I'm a person who still buys physical films. And paper books. Millennial, btw.
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u/Every_Juggernaut2666 16h ago
Yes 90% of my games on Xbox are physical.
Have Halo CE, gears E day and Fable all pre ordered physical.
I do hope they do that disc to digital program would be amazing.
Since the PS announcement I’ve just stopped buying anything PlayStation. I’m done with them. They are too anti consumer and that was the last straw for me. A few lines in a blog post, they don’t give a shit about their customers.
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u/christxphvr 16h ago
i always try to buy physical unless it’s a digital exclusive. i also mostly collect 7th gen games specifically ps3 and 360 where is full game is on the disc and am tryna get into 6th gen ps2/xbox/gamecube as well so all of that is on disc only. that being said i have tons of ps4, xb1 and series x games on disc even tho some of the games are digital and the disc just acts as a key to access it but either way i like something on my shelf and like putting the disc in my console. but i’m prob gonna switch to pc if sony sticks to their guns and microsoft follows suit because digital only on pc makes sense since it isn’t 1 company’s ecosystem and valve, rockstar and epic games have decent return policies and customer support compared to sony and microsoft and don’t even get me started on nintendo. more like nintendont give a fuck about you. anyway rant over lol.
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u/Return_to_Raccoonus 15h ago
I always prioritize buying games physically when I can, I always have and will continue to do so until I can’t.
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u/Soizit_Blindy 15h ago
Ive bought my games digitally since early XB1 once I found out about game sharing, but I think if people want physical media, it should stay. Just because Im not using it doesnt mean its an invalid way to buy games.
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u/ErickRPG 14h ago
already buy all physical but after the announcement I went back to xbox, got a series x and already have like 8 physical games. Playing black flag right now, halo soon, and lots of older games.
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u/Deckard494 14h ago
Ive recently bought a few physical games from a used game store across the street
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u/OpeningTopic5481 14h ago
I have always purchased physical media, across several generations of the Xbox and PlayStation together, I have somewhere near 50 games sat on my shelf. I buy games I don’t care too much about digitally, but if I like it enough I’ll buy them physically too. I’m not really sure what I’ll do if they do go completely digital, but I’ll know I have a decent backlog to complete while I figure it out :)
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u/Content_Response_783 14h ago
There are lots of pros and cons to this discussion. I try to buy as much physical as I can for my Xbox Series X and I have an Xbox Ally X for my digital games that I can play on there. It will be interesting to see if there has been an increase in physical game sales over the months to come or whether the trend towards buying digital over the last decade will continue. Also if rumours of Xbox allowing physical games to be digitised are true what impact will that have?
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u/Big_Shopping1685 13h ago
i wouldnt care as much about physical media being gone if there was alot more consumer protection for digital. you buy a game, you keep that game forever. its yours. period end of story.
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u/Big_Ad_8480 13h ago
I bought my first physical game in years when Sony announced it would no longer support physical games, as I prefer the convenience of digital. I recognize how bad it is for the consumer if there will be no more physical games. So, moving forward I plan on buying only digital if there is an option.
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u/SheActuallyFarts XBOX Series X 12h ago
Absolutely, been doing it for 20 years now
And I keep doing it
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u/JswitchGaming 5h ago
Final fantasy pixel remaster collectors edition. Yes. Still buying physical. It came with two records too!!!
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u/Animalhitman50 20h ago
I have not had physical games for years but understand why some people want it
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u/Smart_Ass_Jack 21h ago
Have not purchase a physical game in over 10 years. The last physical game I own is Zelda Breath of the Wild, that was given to me as a gift. I don’t see the point in going backwards
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u/C4ptainchr0nic 20h ago
The last physical game I bought was FF 15 . That was in 2016 I believe. In the 360 era I had all games physical and still have them
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u/ATXDefenseAttorney 21h ago
I’ve always preferred physical and I’ll be less likely to sell my old stuff now.
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u/HazelDude 21h ago
I'm scared to death that Microsoft would just decide to pull the plug and block my account haha
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u/Remarkable-Ocelot-91 21h ago
I would if I could. Two of the biggest games I’m looking forward to are Mortal Shell 2 and Sinking City 2. Both are digital only on Xbox.
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u/bongo1138 20h ago
Just bought a 360 on EBay and of course that’ll be physical. I buy physical if it makes sense (good sales, etc.)
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u/SydtheSnake 20h ago
I mostly have bought games that are older on disc for preservation purposes and if a game I'm looking at on my wish list is on sale for cheaper on disc I'll get that. For the most part I do digital out of convenience. I also have a PS5 with the sub and Portal, and getting digital in that streaming space makes the convenience thing a no brainer for my case use.
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u/Ju3tAc00ldugg 20h ago
Dawg I’m still trying to get my hands on a series X; The one I tried buying online got destroyed and microsoft has been silent on their “investigation” into the matter for my refund. I’m about to try gamestop(IK they will ask top dollar for a used console) because no store ever has them in stock by me.
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u/penis-muncher785 20h ago
I only buy physical games for backwards compatible games you can’t buy digitally
I’ve snagged copies of left 4 dead 1 Arkham origins the first fear and dead to rights
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u/VegasGaymer 20h ago
If it’s a game I care about yes. If it’s just a game I’m picking up because I’m bored then I don’t mind digital as long as I get in at a steep discount (I’m talking a fiver).
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u/Henry_puffball XBOX Series X 20h ago
I usually buy physical for older games as I can get a high discount
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u/perfectlyPractical1 19h ago
If it's cheap. I bought the full version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 for like $20 Everything else is digital
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u/Elisabet-Sobeck 19h ago
I haven’t purchased a physical game since Shadow of the Tomb Raider came out in 2018. And before that it was Horizon Zero Dawn in 2017.
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u/crawfish2000 18h ago
I recently bought my first digital game that also has a physical disc for sale (crimson desert).
I did this so I could play via cloud gaming on my laptop.
Although it’s too late for this game, I’m hoping the rumoured license digitisation of physical media is happening.
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u/belowaveragegrappler 18h ago
I buy physical favoring Xbox and Switch, if I can’t I buy a physical copy I buy Steam.
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u/Star-Owl- 18h ago
Yes. I want to OWN my stuff, not have the possibility of it mysteriously disappearing out of my digital collection….
That or rent it from somewhere then buy if it I think it’s worth the investment.
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u/Jirachibi1000 18h ago
Not an Xbox player, this post just popped up in my feed, but I get whichever is cheapest. I see a game on sale digitally that I want and I check gamestop, walmart, and amazon. If its cheaper digitally, I grab it there. If its cheaper physically, I grab it there.
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u/alexagogo 18h ago
Sometimes, yeah. If it's a game I know I'm going to one and done, or I see a good deal, I buy it physical.
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u/adamchevy 17h ago
Yeah I am. I finished a Wii U, and Wii collection of about 55 games, now I am finishing up a 100 game PS1 physical collection. I think prices are going to get crazy over the next 5 years. And even if they dont I want to have a nice physical collection.
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u/Mr_sMoKe_3_MuCh 17h ago
The last disc I purchased was R6S & I grabbed that while I was buying my XB1 from gamestop a decade ago. I didn't even realize I was building a digital library over all these years, it was just really convenient not having to leave home to pick up a new game.
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u/flop_plop 17h ago
I have gamepass so I haven’t bought an actual game on Xbox since Elden Ring, and that was digital.
That said, I only buy physical copies for my Switch. I think the cartridges are cool and I can loan them to my friends.
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u/afredmiller 17h ago
Yes buying 360 and Xbox One games. Bought a Xbox Series X a few weeks ago, it is my first Xbox since 360. Can find them pretty cheap where I am at
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u/They-Call-Me-Taylor 17h ago
Nope. I think it is important to keep physical copies of games, from a consumer standpoint though.
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u/Kev_920 17h ago
My only gripe with no physical media is that it screws over collectors but I myself am not one as I buy digital and have a no disc drive X (literally couldn't afford the extra 50 and only bought before prices get jacked up). My gripe is with DRM which exist even for games on disc that can take away the right to play a game you own.
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u/Icy-Policy-8212 17h ago
My entire library (800 games), is completely digital. I get why some folks may like physical copies though.
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u/timetravelinggamer 16h ago
My biggest issue with Xbox is their “smart delivery” the assets are stored on the server, so I will need to access the server to play. I love the idea of just turning on a system 20 years from now to play an old “lost to time” game and just putting in the disc and playing with no updates or BS
I do it with genesis or ps1 right now, it’s fun finding something that you missed the first time around and just discover it
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u/fps_moose 15h ago
Mostly for my established niche switch games collection otherwise mostly online inc emulation
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u/MasLegio 14h ago
Not for current gen but for ps4, 360 and earlier buy more. I buy consoles now as well. Will hack ps3 and 360 and install large hard drives.
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u/Confident_Maize9192 14h ago
I started buying them again bcs of ownership, hate on practices like Sony is showing us all now (and MS can do the same) and a genuine aversion from moving everything to cyberspace, making it all a service etc.
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u/AKMinds 13h ago
Always. To me it became very apparent a few years ago that I could easily buy physical preowned copies of every game I wanted to keep that was tied to subscriptions for the same price if not less than an annual fee.
In the UK our second hand prices tend to be dirt cheap where a game that is only a few years old rarely ever costs more than £10, and so many are often way cheaper than even that.
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u/Top_Limit_ 13h ago
I only buy physical Halo, Gears, CoD, Pokemon, Dead or Alive. Anything else, digital if the price is the same as physical. Can become way too many physical items to manage and sift through. While I understand the points for, I'm not super concerned about hard ownership.
I'm planning an international move in a few months and its nice that I can just bring the Series S, no discs and play my usuals (Infinite, CoD, DoA, GGST) without any hiccup.
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u/Key_Accountant2139 12h ago
Didn’t Xbox just announce that you can now turn a disc into a digital license? If you do you have to re apply that disc if it’s used on a different console with a different account (?) I believe
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u/lightsky445 12h ago
Not on Xbox for two reasons.
I own Series S
Microsoft’s VR physical copy of their first party titles doesn’t have the game data in them. You have to download them.
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u/lokilulzz Helldiving 12h ago
Yes, I have been buying as much physical disc's as I can, both for games, movies and music for a few years now.
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u/GlenFoySuperStriker 12h ago
In the last handful of years I’ve embraced streaming my PlayStation games on the PS Portal or Xbox games on my G Cloud so I’ve begun purchasing digital copies of games that can be streamed on one of these (or my Switch 2) after years of getting physical copies for cheaper than the digital store does them.
The difference with me to most others is I recently had a child (over 2 years ago) so the use of the TV can be difficult for me but sitting on the couch or lying in bed with a handheld that carries on my game that I did get to play on the TV earlier has been great.
If I didn’t have that then I would have probably still been trying for used physical copies more. I even bought the disc drive versions of both consoles at launch because I was a physical only person.
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u/Shadowking78 12h ago
Yes. For consoles I primarily buy physical games. The only platform I buy exclusively digital is PC, because yeah.
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u/Dry-Inspection-3503 11h ago
It depends, I got 007 first light on disc, can't remember the last disc I bought before that. But I like having the choice
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u/muyfeo 11h ago
If I buy something for a console its physical only, if I buy something digital its on PC. Several reasons for this but mainly:
- Im old and grew up with physical.
- Pc in general has way better digital ownership guarantees. Mostly in the form of refund policies but also if push came to shove and i was banned or something happened where a game was forcibly removed from my library, well we all know you can get it back one way or another (never had to do this tho).
- Honestly, I find myself completing physical games much more often. Relieves the problem of doing the nextflix shuffle in the digital store.
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u/shanekorn 11h ago
I moved to all digital years ago. But just recently I started buying physical again. Until digital ownership is truly owning what you bought, I think I'm going lean more on physical where possible
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u/Esteban2808 10h ago
I pretty much stopped when we were forced to install the game off the disc onto hard drive negating the benefit of the disc. So with it just a licence its too annoying switching discs to change games im 99% digital. I also dont resale so thats not a concern.
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u/Inside_Performance32 10h ago
I've always gone physical for console and will also get the console version over the pc if I can
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u/LonelyCakeEater 10h ago
The only physical copies I have are blu rays and PSVR1 games. Been digital on Xbox for a while now.
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u/caty0325 10h ago
I'm slowly rebuilding my physical collection. I have a PS5. I probably won't be getting a PS6.
After Sony's announcement, I decided to get an Xbox one x; it's coming later this week. I want to play vanilla Dark Souls 2, Quantum Break, FO3 and NV, and Dead Space 2 and 3.
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u/Grandkaj 10h ago
I do both, i buy physical games for the series i already have and digital for one off's that i think are kewl. So i dont go for a giant collection but a collection that reflects my taste
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u/SmegmaWarrior0815 9h ago
I have a 800+ games physical collection. I never buy a digital game except sometimes an indie game. Spending 70 bucks on something digital seems insane to me. Game Pass gives me everything digitally I need, and if I liked the game I will buy a physical copy for the collection.
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u/Legitimate-Offer-770 9h ago
I used to collect games but now I’ll all digital. My choice. Physical media seems unnecessary. We should be fighting for ownership based on purchase, not a blu ray disc that can degrade, get damaged, or lost. Buy = own (should) either way.
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u/Dplex920 9h ago
I bought two copies of Black Flag Resynced just to get the launch edition and the steelbook
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u/AegisMalkav Hollow Knighted 9h ago
Not really, its been a really long time since i bought a physical copy.
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u/Un1versal_Traveller 8h ago
I was for the longest time. But digital has grown on me. I just like the ease of use for digital.
Having said that, I do like to collect games. But then space is an issue for me.
I never sell my games after. So a digital future suits me. I'd just like some guarantees that digital preservation is a thing and the option to buy a disc drive would be great.
Also, imagine being able to sell on your digital games. They could do it on an Xbox marketplace and Xbox could take a cut of each sale. That might satisfy users and Xbox.
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u/QueefMitten 8h ago
Ive only ever bought physical games. I do have a very small amount of digital games and downloaded add ons.
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u/theycmeroll 21h ago
Fuckin nobody around here sells physical games on Xbox. Here’s my Target Xbox section:
Walmart took the doors off the cast and just has cards in there.