These are on the assumptions that one currently has a choice to "own" their games, even if it DRM or wall gardened on a console.
How important is "owning" your games to you?
- Thread starter Box
- Start date
I owned a lot of physical games, so it is pretty important.
Subcription is trash, I only sub to PS Now to platinum games I don't want to own and well, they give me a good deal for basic tier so I gonna stick with it
Subcription is trash, I only sub to PS Now to platinum games I don't want to own and well, they give me a good deal for basic tier so I gonna stick with it
Because there are games on disc from companies that don't exist anymore, something physical would be nice. Perhaps in the realm of a functional PS Classics mini console but not gimped in some fashion. Idea downscaled, but can they compartmentalise the "disc drives" into something where it's a bit of a nitch plug and play idea. I want to play this old PS3 disc, let me slide in the PS3 disc component over here, annnd a secondary stop gap way for physical BC.
And just throw up as many iso's etc onto the PStore/PS+ as possible via re-liscense etc.
I cut a weird way, I think. I value the access to the BC more than the physical medium, but don't believe streaming/subscription is the best way to leverage BC.
And just throw up as many iso's etc onto the PStore/PS+ as possible via re-liscense etc.
I cut a weird way, I think. I value the access to the BC more than the physical medium, but don't believe streaming/subscription is the best way to leverage BC.
If I buy it, I own it forever. Thats the way it should be. It should work on my console forever. Especially offline
If I ever owned a game and somehow lost access to it, I wouldn't feel remotely bad about getting it from a shady website.
Very important. I don't want my gaming to depend on a company that has full control over my games. People skip the Terms of Service when creating these accounts but you'd be surprised at what you accept when creating an account. You don't own your account and these companies retain the right to close your account at any time for whatever reason. They can even make something up. That goes for all digital storefronts. Difference being, on PC you can back your games up.
I've dabbled in subscription services but each time I ran into a game I really liked, I had to get it on disc.
I've dabbled in subscription services but each time I ran into a game I really liked, I had to get it on disc.
Last edited:
Owning the things you buy is important and you shouldn't let someone take that right from you due to some law stipulations.
It used to be very important to me but games release incomplete or buggy these days that it doesn’t even really matter anymore sadly. It’s still important to me but not as much. I did buy an import of the FF Pixel Remaster for Switch and it feel nice to have all 6 games all on the cartridge. Stuff like that I’ll always support but it’s rare.
Last edited:
Even owning the physical disc doesn’t promise you future usage so it’s hard to feel like that’s even the correct way to go about things. That said, if I buy 30 games, on average about 2 or 3 of those I feel good enough to take the extra step of physical disc ownership. Everything else I’m okay with committing to digital for as long as these companies will allow me.
It does. Unless you mean those games that come on disc, but only partly, while you have to download the rest of the game and that is VERY rare and mostly on Xbox... for now at least.
Its been a while since I checked but I was under the impression you couldn’t play disc games without an online check.
The only time I purchase digital games (except for rare circumstances) is when they are on sale. Everything else I buy physically, and often will pay a premium to get a physical version instead of buying digital (e.g. Grandia, Pixel Remaster on Switch). I trust Steam fairly well, but 9/10 I will buy a physical console edition of a game to have a copy forever, knowing if I want it on PC I can pirate or buy it very cheap in the future.
For me, what isn't important is the idea of "owning" the game as in having a tangible asset that can survive in case my gaming platforms go bankrupt or whatever. Games can mostly be replaced easily. What's important is that once I purchase it, I am free to do with it as I please. That's what kept me on PC and away from consoles for a long time, because consoles are subject to the whims of the platform owner and they can just take away your library or even your hardware at moment's notice because of their terms of service. The idea that someone else still has their grubby fingers on my stuff even after I paid money for it rankles. On Playstation I endure it because they do their best to stay out of my way and the games are top notch. I won't suffer an Xbox because even after I paid money for the system, they insist on stuffing ads and bullshit in your face at every turn.
Very important. There’s something tangible to having a physical collection that will never be matched by browsing a download list on the console itself. That’s the sentimental reason.
I think we’re also moving societally in the direction of intangibility in general. Our media, and even something as simple as our physical cash is more and more being replaced by internet accessed ones and zeroes. Thing is, those directions come with a lot of drawbacks.
I find myself advocating for physical much more as a result, just wanting the option to stick around, before we find ourselves in something like a streaming only future.
I think we’re also moving societally in the direction of intangibility in general. Our media, and even something as simple as our physical cash is more and more being replaced by internet accessed ones and zeroes. Thing is, those directions come with a lot of drawbacks.
I find myself advocating for physical much more as a result, just wanting the option to stick around, before we find ourselves in something like a streaming only future.
I don't like the physical collection it doesn't add much, and it makes me feel like a cave man to have to crawl to the console to switch the game, make sure I put the old one in the right box. Harder still is to keep it in order when you have kids.
On PC I moved to digital a long long time ago, like 90s ago, for a while I even pirated the games that required physical discs because I didn't want the clutter.
On PC I moved to digital a long long time ago, like 90s ago, for a while I even pirated the games that required physical discs because I didn't want the clutter.
Changing discs takes like....30 seconds tops.
And I don't like the wall full of game shelves stuff either, so I keep them all in a box in the back of my closet. No clutter and even with it out of the way, it still takes me barely any time. But I'm also the type of person that never plays more than 1-3 games at a time.