Yesterday, we heard Sony boss Guy Longworth say that the "vast majority" of gamers still prefer physical copies .
And we believe it. However, Sony has also made it clear that they believe in a digital-heavy future, as all PlayStation 4 titles will be available as digital downloads. At the same time, not all games will be available in disc format. And as time goes on, newer generations continue to bury the old and embrace the new, so digital domination is basically inevitable.
That being said, when you first bring home the PS4, will you be playing a disc-based game, or will you be downloading it from the PlayStation Network? I'd rather just pop in Killzone: Shadow Fall and play it, rather than waiting for it to download (which, depending on Internet connection, is gonna take a while ). Plus, being an old-school gamer, I always think part of the fun of bringing home a new console is bringing home some new games with it. And those games are in boxes, damnit.
I really don't intend to buy many games off the PSN, unless I'm forced. But I wouldn't be surprised to find that I'm in the minority on that.
All physical, was looking to pick up Killzone and Watchdogs as my first PS4 purchases. Can't wait.
Those are my Day 1s as well. And I'm the same way Ben, part of the fun that comes with a brand new console is having copies of the game right there with it.
That said, if Vita's remote play is as great as they say, having all or nearly all of my PS4 games saved on the hard drive is a pretty huge incentive to go digital. And hasn't Sony said you'll be able to start playing the games shortly after the downloads begin and before it finishes? Not sure if that feature is set yet, but it's apparently on the way. I do worry about clutter, too. But I LOVE my physical games collection. Decisions, decisions…
Same. Though I may wait before picking up Killzone, I'd get Watchdogs and the last bit of money(Which I have very little of) would go for getting PSN+ which would get me Driveclub.
Because I want my money in order to get MGS5 when it launches, and I shall obtain it on PS4. I'd rather get and play MGS5 on PS4 at its FULL ability, showing me truly what the Fox engine is capable of, than it being limited on PS3 hardware. Especially if PS4 runs it 60FPS somehow….HNngnng
Since DriveClub is supposed to be free on day 1 for Plus subscribers then technically yes. If it's a matter of me actually paying money then no. I'll buy physical disks whenever possible as long as possible. They'd have to offer Steam-like (75% off)sales before I'd consider doing otherwise.
exactly, same here. Only digital purchases I do are the free Plus games.
For digital games I'd spend a maximum of 30$, but it would probably have to be a bundle, and I'd still want a physical copy.
Yup, I can't tell you how nice PS+ has treated me lately. I got a great many games on the cheap. I just can't pass up on deals like Tomb Raider bundle for $20.xx, or Portal 2 a while back was also $20.xx. My digital library increased a bit due to PS+.
idk. The old school me says NO but the logical side of me says digital is the way of the future. can't beat 'em join em.
why is digital the logical future? Long slow downloads & zero benefits for the consumer is the future?
The only reason I'd buy digital is if that was the only option or if it was a ridiculously discounted .
For me its the only option. Here (Costa Rica) games cost twice as much on phisical. Digital media is graet for me! loving the future hehe
I will buy physical as long as it's available. I want to have a game library one day, and digital is trying to stop me every step of the way.
Physical for major releases and digital for the small stuff just like now with my PS3… unless it's free thanks to PS+.
near my place i think the games are cheaper then $60.But play GO is an Awesome option
Last edited by Kiryu on 6/24/2013 10:44:45 PM
My first purchases will be Knack and Watchdogs. They will both be physical media. I prefer to actually hold something, that I purchase, in my hands.
Last edited by Shepherd Book on 6/24/2013 10:51:30 PM
Those are also my two initial games. Definitely physical. Call me a troglodyte and I won't argue because I know it's true, but I love me so actual discs. I also like physical manuals with lots of info on story and skills and items, but those seem to have gone the way of the dodo.
The only games I buy digital are the ones that I can transfer to my Vita like Suikoden, Wild Arms, Dino Crisis, Final Fantasy VII, etc. All my other digital games were given to me as a Plus member.
Nope.
I'm more interested in the GaiKai service than digital downloads.
My first game will definitely be a physical copy. I will probably download a few demos from psn and anything plus may offer, but that's all I plan to have at first as far as digital goes.
Killzone and Watchdogs are gonna be my first purchases. Discs of course.
No chance
no digital here unless its free.
My sentiments exaclty!
Almost definitely. I'm moving this way right now, but by the time the PS4 arrives, my plan is to go digital only.
So far I'm thinking Infamous second son will be my first ps4 purchase and I'm hoping it has a collectors edition to rival the infamous 2 collectors edition.
All physical for me! Hm… I wonder which game will have the honors of being the first collectors edition for ps4.
"pop in Killzone: Shadow Fall and play it, rather than waiting for it to download (which, depending on Internet connection, is gonna take a while)"
Remember guys, only a percentage of the game needs to be downloaded before you can play it. So it might not be long before you can play the game!
My first purchases will be Killzone Shadow Fall, Battlefield 4, and depending on the reviews, I might get Watch_Dogs. Yes, all physical. I want to sniff the inside of the case every time I remove the wrapper. Also, I sometimes hide my money in the cases of games. Can't hide your cash if you ain't got no cases!
I sometimes hide money in cases as well. Where do you live again?
Virginia
Do free to play count? :p Digital if they do otherwise physical like normal nobly those indie games that aren't in stores I will buy digital unless Sony really does something about the download speed on their end.
When i pre-ordered my ps4 (only 40 dollars left) I only opted for the basic bundle. The console and spare controller.
I di this with the hopea that either Dust 514 or DCUO will be able to be downloaded and played on the next gen system.
It was just cheaper for me to do it that way.
But I am looking at BF4 also.
Physical. I'll buy physical copies of games until we're forced into digital download.
Physical, but I have no clue what game that will be with the thin offerings, Second Son if it comes soon enough.
Thin offerings? Im having struggles deciding which games to get at launch! Kz and BF, or CoD and AC, maybe Drive Club and Knack. Theres more but those are the games I really want to try.
I couldn't decide either, so I chose not to.
Now my launch line up is:
KZ:SF
Watch Dogs
ACIV:BF
BF4
I believe that The Order will be a launch title, so that too.
Same with Diablo 3
It will be a very busy autumn. Along with GTAV (at least it's coming out in September) and Beyond for the PS3. PS4 titles I'm interested in:
Killzone: SF, Knack, BF4, Watch Dogs, NFS: Rivals, The Witness, Wolfenstein. That doesn't include anything else Sony still might reveal in August at Gamescom!
I'm not so sure The Order will be a launch title, I'd expect a title releasing with the PS4 would have shown an in-game demo rather than just a trailer (I could be proven wrong at Gamescom though!).
Yup, thin I say.
All physical unless it's only available on PSN. My 500gb ps3 only has 20gb left due to all the free and highly discounted ps+ games in the last year.
Ooooh Noooo Digital! I wont ever support that because space is and will be an issue especially with CoD map packs being so large.
9 out of 10 times i will buy the physical version of a game over the digital. id even go as far as to say 19 out of 20 times.
only because there is a rare occasion where i do get the digital version.
mag was an example of this. the only actual game i have sold this gen, and i sold it so i could buy the digital version. that game is online only and the disc will be worthless when the servers go down.
Now that you mentioned it, I did buy Warhawk from the PlayStation Store rather than retail because of the same reason: it is an online only game and once it stops being supported, it doesn't matter if it's on disc or not.
I go either way. I enjoy the convenience of digital, but the hard drive space they use adds up pretty quick. On the other hand, there is a high risk – at least for me – for damage being done to my discs. For one, my 16-month-old son is very resourceful at getting his hands on them and, two, my wife (try as she might) just doesn't have the same respect for physical media (of any kind) that I do. So… I support physical and digital, but wouldn't go 100% either way unless I had to.
For me it depends on one thing and one thing only: The price. If the digital alternative is the cheapest then sure.
But all experience so far tells us digital will *not* be the cheapest alternative.
Yea and I just dont get that.
They do it because they can. 🙁
It's long since products were priced based on cost. It's priced based on how much the dealer think the market will pay. And when potential customers see the game in the virtual store, just two button presses away from getting it there and then, well that temptation becomes bigger than to save a few bucs and have to wait for the post to arrive.
With physical copies it's different: There the retailers compete on price to get customers. One retailer is not that much different or easier to use than the other, so it's all about price. That's why physical copies drops in price faster and deeper.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/25/2013 5:58:57 AM
I will always prefer physical over digital. The small restrictions put over the digital copy of a game are enough to make physical copies much better. Let's say you have a list of downloads with some really good games but to make some room, you have to delete a few games. One day you have to get rid of your internet connection due to money issues or some other kinds of problems that force you to lose your internet connection and then you want to play that game you bought and you can't download it! Of course you could always go to a friends house with your console and download it there, but there's a whole bunch of annoyance clinging to that. Then there's the whole deal where you can only download the software onto so many systems. For the most part this isn't much of a problem, but there have been cases where people have used up their system cap and lose that purchase forever. There's also the fact that if you breach Sony's user agreement, they have right to ban your account, taking away any and all of your digital purchases without any kind of refund or replacement of software. If I were somehow to lose my account, it wouldn't hurt me much since I have bought 95% of my games as physical copies but imagine if a PS4 user buys their whole game collection as digital downloads at $60 a pop for a year or more and then Sony were to ban their account. They will lose their whole gaming library and have to purchase all those $60 games all over again, not to mention rebuild a trophy collection (or at least their PS4 collection assuming they sold their PS3 in order to get their PS4 or bought most or all of their PS3 games as digital downloads).
My launch lineup is already too big. It will all be physical media.
Honestly, this shift towards digital is pre-mature. If the generation after the next one is all digital, then we will see a huge drop in console sales. The world isn't ready and it won't be, not for a decade at least. Even then it probably won't be.
I don't think people really understand how disadvantaged the majority of the world is when it comes to broadband infrastructure. Plus we have seen with this DRM crap that there will always be a need for physical media.
It's easy to be naive and say "digital is the future" when you live in a country with fast internet and huge data. it may be the future, but that future is further away than you think.
It's going to be a mix for me, as long as the price for digital is right I will probably buy some digital games, but most of it is going to be physical games.
I think most of my digital games will be indie games. love me some indie games.