What we really think about Physical vs Digital Games.

If new games stop being printed physically and publishers go all digital, will you stop buying and playing new games, or continue to buy them even though you can't get a physical copy?

My Video Gear & Equipment:
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Background music by Metal Jesus Rocks and the YouTube Creator Audio Library

[ryanburnside]

I've got enough of a physical backlog to last me a lifetime.

[kurtistharp]

One uncomfortable part of this discussion that hasn't been mentioned and nobody seems to want to address this particular elephant is that these companies are actively discouraging ownership. This goes beyond video Games; car dealerships are quick to lease a vehicle without any discussion of buying the vehicle. Companies that will buy your home with no questions asked will take homes off the market so that there's none for the average person to purchase it is the systematic active discouragement of ownership of any kind and it should be resisted to The Bitter End. And if you think it doesn't affect you, it does

[Alexisar]

I love seeing Mark from Classic Game Room being part of the community again, Thanks for inviting him, he needs a push to keep his great channel rolling again.

[Vimm]

Nobody here has pointed this out. While I prefer physical games to exist, the problem with digital games isn't necessarily because they are "digital'", the problem is the DRM and the proprietary platforms that give control to corporations, potentially resulting in your games ceasing to exist if they go out of business or refuse to honor your purchases for any reason.

[TheGebs]

Thank you SO much for having me! Great question from Ian and Ramon. Well done guys. Great episode

[fargoretro]

I like Classic Game Room. Time to watch more Classic Game Room.

[harryskippedlegday]

I keep hearing this narrative that physical games are no longer physical and require a download however 90 percent of my ps5 collection play without an Internet connection and while the day 1 patch usually improves the performance and graphical features it is optional for the most part with the game still being fully playable off the ps5 disc without an active connection.

I think people just see the automatic update and think it is required, but have never actually disconnected the console from the Internet and tried their discs.

[JimboJammy]

My one big concern is there becomes no competition. At the moment I can shop around for a copy of a game and get the best price. If it's only on a single digital store, you'll end up playing 60 - 70 for every game regardless of its age, other than the odd sale. It's already like that.

[jeremyzeeky]

Outside of the medium of games, Funimation shut down and refused to honor digital purchases at all. So your digital libraries with these companies can always go away for any reason, at any time.

[MetalJesusRocks]

It was a thrill and an honor to get Mark from Classic Game Room to finally appear on my YouTube channel. For many of us old school retro gamers, his channel was the biggest review channel on YouTube. I was so bummed when he walked away cuz the dude is just so funny and knowledgeable. Getting him to be a part of this was awesome, as were all the other creators. Make sure and check out their channels!

[drumcrazyozzy]

It's all about control... keep the physical alive... convenience is an illusion....

[ericorenato]

This discussion is in the movie community too. I was buying just digital games and movies and when I moved from Germany to Portugal I lost 60% of my catalogue because they were digital. Stopped buying digital media

[tomgreen]

I have more physical games then I have hours left on Earth.

[ShiroiKatana]

No physical, no buy.

The market will only go digital-only if you let it.

[ObiWanBillKenobi]

Classic Game Room makes the real point: The question is not physical versus digital. The question is: Can the game and system function fully and entirely without contacting the Internet to access an external server? If the answer is no, then the physical game can still be taken away from you at any moment after purchase.

[PaidProgramming-thtp]

Cool to see Classic Game Room Mark on the Metal Jesus show. I think he is right and it is a shame because old physical media had both artistic appeal as well as the reliability of knowing you actually owned and could play those physical games without needing permissions from anybody.

[RhodesToPopCulture]

Digital is fine when its on sale like the usual 75% off we see often. No way in hell am I paying £60+ for a digital file. At least with the physical I can lend it to a friend or trade it in later. Digital games should be loads cheaper than they are.

[haym]

The main problem is our government hasn’t kept up with technology. There aren’t any laws protecting the consumer on on-line purchases. If there were a law requiring the seller to always provide a way to our purchase then I would be way more comfortable with on line purchases. We also need a way to sell our games to someone else if we want to.

[PlayStationAddict]

I saw a comment today that said "I just purchased Rise Of Ronin digitally and I dont like it. I wish I would have bought it physically so I could sell it to you." This was a conversation between two people that really shows why physical is so important. Without ownership we have no control.

[ACBehning]

"you'll own nothing and be happy" ~ Ida Auken - 2016 WEF