64% prefer discs to digital


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I'll go digital whenever possible. No more looking for the damn discs, no more having to download patches, no more having to re-install if you manage to botch the core files with mods - Love it.

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i generally prefer steam purely because of the lack of hassel with patches and what not.

games im not to bothered about, which ever is cheapest, though steam is always the first place ill look.

as for music and films, i definately prefer physical over digital.

i feel although i just payed for a torrent, and its got to the point where ill only buy a digital copy is if for some reason it's not out on vinyl, cd or elsewhere...

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Possibly 360/PC versions, but many PS3 games come with higher resolution/bitrate videos and/or HD audio.

Given that most multiplatform games are identical between platforms in every facet, I'd have to imagine that's for a very select few games and not "many" games. But I'm sure there are some that perhaps have higher quality pre-recorded cutscenes if a developer wanted to take full advantage of Blu-ray. Just curious for reference, do you have any examples of downloadable games that are much different?

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Given that most multiplatform games are identical between platforms in every facet, I'd have to imagine that's for a very select few games and not "many" games. But I'm sure there are some that perhaps have higher quality pre-recorded cutscenes if a developer wanted to take full advantage of Blu-ray. Just curious for reference, do you have any examples of downloadable games that are much different?

Quite a lot of PS3 multiplatform games do 7.1 HD audio (of which some are downloadable through Steam/etc)

http://boardsus.play...es/m-p/38092572

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When it comes to video games (on PC), I prefer a digital content delivery, BUT I'd go for it if all game publishers agree to use ONE CENTRAL content-delivery system. I don't feel like having 5 different ones because each company prefers to use their own, and in turn I have 5 extra programs on top of the 5 games I just bought...

As for music and video, I am down for digital content delivery AGAIN, assuming there is no DRM and there is no limit to how many times it can be downloaded.

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Quite a lot of PS3 multiplatform games do 7.1 HD audio (of which some are downloadable through Steam/etc)

http://boardsus.play...es/m-p/38092572

No disrespect, but that doesn't answer the question.

Having above-stereo audio doesn't automatically mean there's a large difference in file size or anything similar. For example, many of the PSN games listed as having 7.1 audio have the exact same file size as their Xbox 360 counterparts. I mean, I'm sure there certainly are some games that wouldn't be as conducive to digital distribution, but I really don't see any good examples at the moment. What I'm saying is that I'm sure there are literally hundreds of PS3 games that could be distributed digitally with not a single negative consequence in terms of quality.

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It really depends on the game for me. I generally do prefer to have the paper manual and box though, especially for Nintendo or Squaresoft/enix stuff.

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Quite a lot of PS3 multiplatform games do 7.1 HD audio (of which some are downloadable through Steam/etc)

http://boardsus.play...es/m-p/38092572

The difference between 5.1 and 7.1 when it comes to in game audio doesn't exist in the actual audio files, only in the way the directional and effects processing is done on the console/computer.

For cut-scenes yeah, if they're pre rendered there's a different audio track, for live rendered ones, the same applies as for in game audio.

on the other hand, as for 7.1 itself, the guys who want to sell high end amps through our store straight out told me there's no need for 7.1, it won't give any better directional audio than 5.1. same as the older style thx style side speakers are pretty much abandoned because they don't provide any better audio experience than regular 5.1 rear speakers. The only really useful 7.1 that actually provides a benefit is dual front speakers in two heights for the added vertical directional audio.

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I only buy physical discs and only when they have gone down to the $20.00 range. I do not mind waiting until the game has gone down in price before I get it but I will never buy a download only game.

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Games are 100% identical on every single service I've ever heard of.

Depends.

On Steam, Crysis is only available as 32-bit while the retail copy also supports 64-bit. Mirror's Edge only had one map pack released and the Steam version didn't support it. There's also a bunch of games that have had higher version retail patches than are available over Steam. So while Steam is convenient, it doesn't always give you the same 100% experience as the retail copy. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I can almost always buy the physical disc for less.

As for music, when I buy digital I buy mainly from iTunes and 7digital as both are DRM-free. I've bought some TV shows from iTunes as well but only because the DRM is easy to remove. I'd never archive a format that was DRM-laden.

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I generally prefer the physical product over the digital one. Let me tell you why.

True, I could probably get a game for almost half-off by buying it online. True, I'm probably doing my part to save the environment, along with a healthy patch of the Amazon, by not getting it in that high-gloss cardboard box with the raised lettering. And it's true that I'll get to enjoy it sooner if I'd simply downloaded it right off of Steam.

But you know what? I actually enjoy getting out of the house - it's a great change of pace from my daily grind. I live about four blocks from the nearest Gamestop, and I'm on a first-name basis with the manager and assistant manager. I like to stop in for coffee at the nearby Sunoco before going into the store. I'm a window-shopper at heart. I like to take a stroll every now and then, and get the blood pumping out of my brain and into my legs for a change. Not to mention, the space maximizer above my computer desk would look pretty spare if all my games existed solely on my hard drive.

So to sum up, if I'm looking for something good to play on my days off, I'm going to have a damn good time looking for it.

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Depends.

On Steam, Crysis is only available as 32-bit while the retail copy also supports 64-bit. Mirror's Edge only had one map pack released and the Steam version didn't support it. There's also a bunch of games that have had higher version retail patches than are available over Steam. So while Steam is convenient, it doesn't always give you the same 100% experience as the retail copy. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I can almost always buy the physical disc for less.

As for music, when I buy digital I buy mainly from iTunes and 7digital as both are DRM-free. I've bought some TV shows from iTunes as well but only because the DRM is easy to remove. I'd never archive a format that was DRM-laden.

Crysis only supported 32-bit on Steam because they were lazy and chose not to provide a changed .exe of the 64-bit executable file for Steam. Similarly, Mirror's Edge's map pack wasn't supported because EA chose not to support it -- probably just wasn't compatible with the recompiled executable. And those really aren't any major difference -- the experience is going to be 100% the same as the retail copy you buy out of the box.

As far as buying the physical disc for less -- sometimes. But most of the time I find just as good a deal on Steam.

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I am 50/50, I both buy online and in shops. Recently I bought (sorry rented, Steam in reality is a longterm rental service, you don't own the games bought there) a bunch of games on Steam sales, but I buy store games on sales too. Sometimes I see a sale on Steam, and check local stores and find that the same game is as cheap and may have been that for longer than the Steam sale.

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I prefer the highest quality...and you only can get the highest quality on physical.

Not true.

Digital all the way for me as well. I see the 64% shows the direction I have been stating, people are moving to more and more digital.

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I prefer discs over digital unless the game is only digital.

+1

I prefer to own a Physical copy of products as I like to have shelves of things to look at, lol.

But also, digital products are great now on the platforms we have, and on PC it will no doubt be fine, but in the future and we move to newer consoles, and then newer consoles, what happens if I want to play, say, Flower and the PS5 store doesn't have every single download from the PS3, or I go back and play Shadow Complex on whatever the next or next next Xbox is called and MS doesn't support the 360s Live or such other things creep up for the consoles we own now.

I'm just throwing out possibilities of what could happen and I hope such problems wont arise, but I prefer the safer option for what I am spening my money on, and if a Physical copy is a little more than a Digital version, then I would probably go for it and know I then have that copy and that if something happens to it, it would be my fault, lol.

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I've got a better question. I have a bit of an investment (might be an understate) in both Steam and Audible Audio. The likelihood of either going bankrupt at the moment might seem out of the question, but it could happen. Maybe a not so simple restructuring of the company. Under new management, assuming they simply augment the terms and conditions or after a bankruptcy where are all your games or Audible Books?

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+1

I prefer to own a Physical copy of products as I like to have shelves of things to look at, lol.

But also, digital products are great now on the platforms we have, and on PC it will no doubt be fine, but in the future and we move to newer consoles, and then newer consoles, what happens if I want to play, say, Flower and the PS5 store doesn't have every single download from the PS3, or I go back and play Shadow Complex on whatever the next or next next Xbox is called and MS doesn't support the 360s Live or such other things creep up for the consoles we own now.

I'm just throwing out possibilities of what could happen and I hope such problems wont arise, but I prefer the safer option for what I am spening my money on, and if a Physical copy is a little more than a Digital version, then I would probably go for it and know I then have that copy and that if something happens to it, it would be my fault, lol.

In the case of XBL, it was designed to be backwards compatible. Only when they shut down XBL 1.0 could you no longer download the DLC for games, and it didn't matter if you had an original Xbox & physical copy. It's gone forever.

As the years have gone on though, game cases, manuals, box art etc have all got worse. I'm not as "attached" to them as I once was so I really don't mind not having them with DD. Especially when most manuals these days are 99% legal crap and a page for controls if you're lucky.

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im definitely a part of that 64 percent, but lately with the steam deals...

for me its where i can find the cheaper deal. If it's around the same as digital of even 10-15 percent more i'll go for the physical copy.

IMO, downloading digital gives me the same satisfaction as pirating (As bad as that sounds) because for what i paid for i don't have anything in my hand that equates to the money i just spent on something.

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No disrespect, but that doesn't answer the question.

Having above-stereo audio doesn't automatically mean there's a large difference in file size or anything similar. For example, many of the PSN games listed as having 7.1 audio have the exact same file size as their Xbox 360 counterparts. I mean, I'm sure there certainly are some games that wouldn't be as conducive to digital distribution, but I really don't see any good examples at the moment. What I'm saying is that I'm sure there are literally hundreds of PS3 games that could be distributed digitally with not a single negative consequence in terms of quality.

It does when it's HD audio.

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It does when it's HD audio.

HD audio is a lot more bandwidth then people think, and im not even including the lossless that you see on most blu ray's nowadays...

and maybe i'm wrong, but i thought the 360 didn't support 7.1?

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