The Gaming Industry's Big Secret: 77% of British Gamers Still Prefer Discs

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

winghaven1

I bet physical discs sales skyrocket during christmas as well. 

MaxBacon

Well, I would like to buy the disk and have the digital download.

Just for the sake of having something physical of the game, I don't think we have the same sense of ownership with digital downloads as we do when buying the game disk.

Theocritus

I agree with Max and not only that but it used to be nice to have stores like CompUSA where we could go spend hours looking at box games....Digital download is convenient and easy but it does lack that certain feeling of ownership.

Iselin

I wish I had kept all my old floppies - I could probably make a fortune selling them on Ebay to Brits

SlothnChunk

Sure, most gamers would like to have a physical (as well as digital) copy of every game they own.  But this is merely preference or an if 'all things are equal' scenario.  It's not asking 'in the end which did you actually purchase...the digital version or physical'?  The reality is that it's extremely difficult for brick-and-mortar game stores to compete with wave after wave of significant price reductions via massive periodic sales. 

When it comes to sales in the UK (which indicates actual action not hypothetical question) digital revenues are twice that of physical with digital growing and physical shrinking.

Sovrath

I certainly would prefer a disk.

Talonsin

I like steam for PC games but I buy discs for the PS4.  With discs, I can trade them in if I want to to earn a bit towards the next game and playstation does not allow any refunds from digital content.  Digital distribution for the PS4 has no real advantages.

Octagon7711

I must be the exception.  I prefer digital copies and prefer digital and audio books to physical ones.  That said I still have about a 80 or so disks from Xbox, PS1,2,and 3, and PC games on a shelf I glance at now and then, along with movies on CD and DVD, that I never watch.  I'm very happy with digital only media. 

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Phry

This probably applies only to Console games, for PC games, there isn't a bricks and mortar option, the only way to get physical copies of disks is from online retailers such as Amazon etc. If you go into a Game store in the UK, you will see plenty of Console games for sale, but not PC games, as they don't stock them, the same applies to stores such as Tesco and Sainsbury etc. the larger branches stock console games, but, again, not PC, its pretty much a case of online or nothing, and that i think is why the preferred option, unless the physical copy is cheaper, is to buy digital copies of games, such as on Steam.

Dragnelus

Pc: Digital
Console: Disk 

Kyleran

Sovrath said:

I certainly would prefer a disk.

I want it to come with a substantial paper manual, to go with my graph paper of course.

rojoArcueid

I'm not british but i take discs any day over digital. In fact, i believe that buying a new sealed game disc should always come with a digital backup copy in case your disc gets damaged. You are paying for the new product after all.

I would be more inclined to buy more pc games if they were discs. The digital only model of steam and most pc distributors have spoiled me big time. I only buy pc games on massive holiday discounts or humble bundles.

EDIT: Online only and mmos/mmorpgs are the only exception since you dont really have a game without the servers. I can take those as digital copies.

Phry

Dragnelus said:

Pc: Digital
Console: Disk 

In the UK at least, broadband is easily capable of downloading games very quickly, the same cannot be said for Consoles, they have some pretty excessive download times compared to PC, both Sony and Microsoft seem to have throttled the download rates fairly excessively for Consoles, kind of ironic when you consider that both consoles require either PS+ or the MS equivalent for the dubious priviledge of doing so.

VorpalChicken28

Personally I miss the nice big boxes you used to get your games in, if I showed a picture of my man cave one wall has a mass of boxes that goes from 1989 to 2016 and around 2002 you start to see just CD boxed games and around 2014 there's hardly any boxes at all as nearly all my purchases are Digital, infact the only box on my shelf this year will be my Civ6 collectors edition when it lands.

Sad days  

VorpalChicken28

I'd also add that the amount of games I buy has gone down as well, I still game pretty much as I did 30 years ago (dear good has it been that long) but I just find that there are fewer and fewer quality games to buy

Scorchien

Mtibbs1989 said:

I'd much rather have a physical disc and if you don't you're out of your mind. If the hosting company that provides you your digital content shuts down (Steam) you lose everything as you merely lease it through a digital download and key provided by them.

However, you own the disc and it has the full installation on the disc. You can play the content today, tomorrow, or many years later. As long as the operating systems you're running is able support the product.

First of all chances of Steam shutting sown , less than 1% .

  Second what you say is not true from experience, Stardock sold there Digital platform years ago to Gamestop , All my games transfered thru that transaction .. Then Gamestop shut the digital platform down , you can no longer buy games thru that service  , But all my games are there for me to download and use ...Altho the service is shutdown to anyone else who didnt previously own games

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Moxom914

I prefer disks because i always try to get the collectors edition when i can. i purchased 2 copies of Legion and both were collectors edition. i only do digital on xbone cus my wife gets the same game free. but on our ps4's, its always disk. i can always sell or trade the disk in. 

Phry

blueturtle13 said:

Phry said:

This probably applies only to Console games, for PC games, there isn't a bricks and mortar option, the only way to get physical copies of disks is from online retailers such as Amazon etc. If you go into a Game store in the UK, you will see plenty of Console games for sale, but not PC games, as they don't stock them, the same applies to stores such as Tesco and Sainsbury etc. the larger branches stock console games, but, again, not PC, its pretty much a case of online or nothing, and that i think is why the preferred option, unless the physical copy is cheaper, is to buy digital copies of games, such as on Steam.

Though it has been awhile, the last time I was in London, I visited CeX,Gamesplanet,PC World and Forbidden Planet. All had computer games. I think it just depends on where in the UK you live as to the availability of PC games in physical form. As it does for NA

London is a bit different, and not really representative of the UK, although i am surprised there was even a place in London that had PC games, needless to say, physical copies of PC games are not commonly available in the UK except from an online retailer.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Scorchien

Mtibbs1989 said:

Scorchien said:

Mtibbs1989 said:

I'd much rather have a physical disc and if you don't you're out of your mind. If the hosting company that provides you your digital content shuts down (Steam) you lose everything as you merely lease it through a digital download and key provided by them.

However, you own the disc and it has the full installation on the disc. You can play the content today, tomorrow, or many years later. As long as the operating systems you're running is able support the product.

First of all chances of Steam shutting sown , less than 1% .

  Second what you say is not true from experience, Stardock sold there Digital platform years ago to Gamestop , All my games transfered thru that transaction .. Then Gamestop shut the digital platform down , you can no longer buy games thru that service  , But all my games are there for me to download and use ...Altho the service is shutdown to anyone else who didnt previously own games

Don't assume you will always have access to anything digital.

To assume that your purchases are safe on Steam, Origin, or [insert digital platform here] is merely naive.

yes yes .. lmfao .. the Boogie man might get my games .. lol wtf..paranoid much

MaxBacon

We could get some customized pen-drive of the game of something like that; it has collection value as playability as Disks are no longer what they once were.

I wanna be like those 90's nerds that had their whole closets full of game boxes :proud:

rojoArcueid

Aori said:

For JRPGs, I prefer to have disc copy.

True, I still purchase Playstation 2 discs for my old PS2. The only reson to have them digitally on PS4 is trophies. I'll take a disc over a trophy if its a JRPG.