I always buy the physical copy
I always download a copy
I go with the cheapest option
I prefer to buy the physical copy but would download
I prefer to buy the download copy but would get the physical copy
I don't mind either way, LET ME PLAY!
i would download but...i prefer to get it from a shop, say steam went bust? how would you get your games then........i hate steam to be honest but i HAVE to use it for left 4 dead 1 and 2, but yes i would buy only if the price is right.....
The advantage of a physical copy is that you can recoup the price by selling it on ebay. The advantage of download is you can buy games like crysis warhead for £3.74.
I'd vastly prefer a physical copy due to the time factors involved in downloading the multiple gigabyte games that seem to be the norm these days. It's no fun waiting 3 days after purchase for a download to complete (as it took with Aion!)
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This is bunny and friends. He is fed up waiting for everyone to help him out, and decided to help himself instead!
I prefer to download where possible for the following reasons:
i. space taken up by physical media gets silly (especially with "special edition" boxes)
ii. the media will become out of date as practically every game ends up with patches to download anyway
iii. no CD/DVD to keep in the drive
iv. for games where between myself and my wife we have 2 or more accounts, knowing which serial number is associated with which account containing which characters becomes problematic
v. no need to worry about keeping track of serials, or having hard-to-read serials on the back of manuals
~ I have CDO. It's like OCD except the letters are in alphabetical order, as they should be. ~
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Hi matty-hodgson,
Good topic, I was thinking of posting a similar thread but now there is no need!
I ticked the "Would buy Download but prefer Physical copy" as I grew up with the big-box games on the PC. I loved buying them and opening them up to see what sort of extras would be thrown in, more often than not you would find a full manual, detailed map of wherever you were supposed to be and maybe even the odd soundtrack!
I think that nowadays there is very little to encourage me to buy the physical copy, most of the games I buy seem to have DRM which prevents me selling the game even if I wanted to so i have tended to lean toward Steam for my gaming needs. I have made exceptions to this though, I bought the Company of Heroes games on release and also the HL / HL2 games when they came out (not the Orange Box though).
I own all of the Command & Conquer titles individually (not in the "First Decade" box) with the exception of RA3 and also quite a few others that I have likely forgotten!
I find that Steam is a useful way of keeping my games and stuff organised. Don't get me wrong I'm not one to agree that it is better because you "might lose / break the disc" (I have never ever broken any of my games with the exception of Dark Forces which I threw against a wall in frustration, it strangely was able to play though so I couldn't escape!), but rather that I can access all my games from one place and not have to worry about the installers littering my desktop. It's all there under one neat folder.
I think that people who didn't grow up with "big box releases" probably aren't missing much, most of the latest games just have a disc and a Steam Key code! No extras, no manual smell and no giant maps to hang on the wall...
I go by the price mainly when it comes to the Steam / Physical decision more often than not as if there is a really good deal on Steam then there is no point in buying it retail (and I also have to factor in fuel as I don't live near to a game store).
I reckon it's down to how you like your "extras" and whether that "manual whiff" brings back happy memories!
Cheers,
Harv
Always the physical media, because I like the security of a factory produced CD-ROM that's "undeletable". Tend to to wait until the prices come down a bit before buying...
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