Should You Be Concerned About Buying Digital Only Games in 2019

In this video, we discuss the future of digital-only games vs physical games, and why you should usually go physical when presented with an option.

You can't deny it, we're getting closer and closer to an era where physical games are going to be less common, and digital-only games are going to be the preferred method of media distribution. While digital-only games offer a level of convenience, they also come with risk. What risk you might say? How about the fact that you can only access them for a certain amount of time? How about the fact that you may never be able to re-download them in the future? How about the fact that you don't actually own them?

Before you start thinking that I'm some sort of archaic dinosaur, the sky is falling sort, I absolutely love the convenience that digital games provide. The fact that I can have dozens of games stored on an SD card on a portable device like the Nintendo Switch makes it super convenient, and I don't have to worry about losing physical games when I'm traveling. If I want to change from one game to the other all I have to do is go back to the menu, select my new title, and start playing. It allows me the opportunity to have variety without having to cart around a ton of games, pun intended.

There is a considerable risk with digital-only however. What happens when the digital store that you purchased your game from goes dark? What happens when the license holder loses their license for certain characters? What happens if your console breaks? The answer to just about all of these is that you don't have access to your paid content anymore. For example, if you wanted to go purchase Ducktales Remastered digitally, you can't anymore. While unclear if Capcom lost their license to the franchise, whether Disney wanted them to pull it off of digital distribution, whatever the case may be you can no longer purchase a digital version of Ducktales remastered on any storefront. And that's scary.

Purchasing games via a digital download basically means you're buying an enhanced rental. You have a license to use the game as long as you have it downloaded on your unit, and your unit continues to work. Games that you have that are working today will still work tomorrow, even if a digital store goes dark or a title is removed. However, there is no opportunity to purchase or redownload a title later on once a store goes dark if you need to.

Another factor that should steer you towards physical vs. digital-only is simply the cost. When you pay $60 for a physical game, you get the game, the case, sometimes a manual. When you pay the exact same price for a digital download, general you don't get extra content, you don't get a case, you don't get the physical game. Realistically, what is the incentive, besides portability, for you to spend the exact same amount of money yet not have a physical copy of the game?

I would like to see the video game industry follow the movie industry regarding this situation. I can go out and buy just about any Blu-ray and inside the case will be a code for digital download. Why can I not do this as well with a video game? My copy of Super Mario Odyssey should have come with the option for me to download a digital version, just like my copy of Avengers: Infinity War. It makes too much sense, which is probably why it won't happen.

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[reagandow]

P.s. Gary, I hope you and your family are doing as well as can be expected during this tough time. My heart and prayers go out to you all. God bless.

[larshiggs]

Totally agree with your points here, Gary. Plus having the physical copy gives you so many more rights: you can lend it out to your friends, you can trade it, and you can sell it. You can display it on the shelf and admire and preserve it to be played by future generations. Can’t do that with a digital copy.

[kirkd]

But in today's world...the complete game and bug fixes are not included in the initial physical release. I hate digital, but we are in a hybrid era where most of the game comes physical and the rest is downloaded...same goes for Switch carts.

[CAPCOM]

Sorry for your dad passing at least he's in a better place now.🙁
I agree 100% everything you pointed out and shared with us in this video.There is nothing better than owning your own physical games.Nothing can ever replace that feeling of nostalgia playing Super Mario Brothers on NES for the very first time!☺

[RetroGamingWithEdgarRivera]

That's a excellent my friend topic because last week I was talking some of my friends about the future of video games specially digital games and I said to them that digital isn't everything because with a physical copies you can bring your game and enjoy but with digital is not going to happened. Excellent video Gary. 👍👍😊

[jeffish]

Glad to see you back Gary. Hope you are doing ok. Been praying for you guys.

[forgottengrooves]

I agree about preferring physical vs. digital, but there are some great games like Void Bastards, Ruiner, Milanoir, Head Lander and Abyss Odyssey that are unfortunately digital-only. Yes, Limited Run produced physical copies of some games, but we don't all have deep pockets for what dealers are asking for them now.

[LindaTheGAMERGal]

I had some digital games for the 360 and when the company went under, those games went bye bye. That is why I make sure I do not pay a lot for digital games, in case that happens again.

[unicorntomboy]

I buy all my games Digitally nowadays. The only physical games l I bought this year is Final Fantasy 7 remake.

They are just more preferable to me

[TravirusTheKing]

I avoid Digital copies of games and movie unless it's free, so I prefer Physical copies over Digital.

[ZeroBNG]

Even physical games today will be always online, DRM protected (Denuvo) and half of the game will be DLC locked away behind a user account that needs to unlock that stuff (for money), for which a Server is needed for verification etc.
the last physical PC game i bought that actually still had a disk, downloaded the entire game from Steam anyway, then told me it is not released yet. I got the physical disc in my hand because Amazon send it out early and i can't play for 2 days because it is not released on Steam yet.
So please tell me what is the fucking point in buying physical copies if nothing but a download code for the same online shop is in there? ...i got a plastic and paper case i can put in my Kallax shelf? ...that is about it.


When i take my copy of Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty, it installs fine, and then tells me i'm using an outdated client, i can't even start the damn thing, you need to download the entire game by now from Battle.net, the physical disk on its own is outdated none-functional trash.


...and Consoles are not far behind, we already got an Xbox without a disk drive.

[RetroSho]

Great topic. The game music is a bit too loud and drowns out your voice a bit however. I've always warned my friends against digital media -- essentially if you buy digital you have to be very careful to protect the console itself, especially if the product line goes EOL and is no longer supported. Once they pull the plug on development, you're basically on your own and if you haven't obtained the games you wanted digitally, you'll have a huge hill to climb.

[retrogamer]

I am horrified by the direction modern gaming has went in the past decade. Even if you purchase new physical releases they will be unplayable in the future if you are unable to download the patches and updates. Plus when the servers get shut down many of these modern games are worthless even if you get a physical version. Modern gaming sucks no matter what and things will never get better. There are more than enough retro games released that would last anyone's lifetime, and those will always be playable in the future since they don't require patches and hardware updates. No one should be dealing with all the nonsense going on in modern gaming.

[otiswhite]

I won't ever buy digital games. It leaves you at the mercy of the the console creator. If Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo or Valve ever go bankrupt, you'll lose your entire game library. Console manufacturers can also close down the digital store on their older consoles which prevents you from downloading your games. It's a tactic they can use to force you into buying their newest console. Stay far away from digital.

[JuliusHahaha]

Glad to see that you are doing better :)

[reagandow]

“Let’s get physical, physical, let me hear your body talk”. Ok so it’s not quite the most fitting rendition but when I was 8 years old I thought Olivia Newton John was pretty hot in those 80’s workout clothes. I also loath digital only games. I spend so much money each month on companies like Limited Run, Super Rare Games, and many others that I barely have a chance to keep up on mainstream releases but it’s SO WORTH IT. There’s nothing better then having that disk or cartridge to place in my hands and the fantastical artwork to look at and show to my friends. There’s nothing better then the physical
copy and the story that goes along with it to not only hold in your hand but to keep for ever and if that terrible day must come, to SELL if you absolutely need the money. Can’t do that with a digital game now can you? ;)

[talclipse]

Do a video about the recent Humblebundle bans! They straight up stole games and months of prepaid service from

[IanNewYashaTheFinalAct]

Using Olivia Newton-John for a thumbnail about getting physical [games] + the U2 reference at the end lol


I hope my "digital copy" of Ducktales Remastered still works on my Amazon Fire TV that I got a free download for when I got the Fire TV "Gaming Edition" … I should probably back it up from the MicroSD card somehow …

[jcreazy]

My PS4 and Switch is 100% digital. It's the future of video gaming. I rarely pay full price though, I wait for deals. I'm not worried about the game being pulled from the console, it's rare that it happens. It's more convenient, it doesn't take up space. I also don't care if I don't have access to the game a decade from now, I will have moved on by then. Also, physical games, especially disc based games are subject to disc rot. It's already happening to PS2 and Wii games. I also never plan on reselling the games. I know why people prefer physical but it's just not for me.