PSVita Physical or Digital game buy?

[thabani33]

If all Vita games were available in both retail and psn download format. Between the two mediums which one do you prefer?

I prefer physical copies over digital because:
(a) I like to look and appreciate the box art.
(b) I like to play the game instantly after making the purchase instead of waiting for download to finish.
(c) I like to glance at my game collection with pride at the shelf, unlike digital copies which are just code I cant see.
(d) I like my Vita game memory card slot to have a purpose.

 

[matt best]

I do both. I prefer physical but its more convenient to sit on my but at home and by a game. I have a collection of about 13 physical and 10 digital right now

 

[thabani33]

I do both.

I also do both, but I prioritize physical first.

 

[matt best]

I like having the stack of games there but i like being able to just buy a game of the ps store as well. But its the memory card prices that shy me away from buying more digital. Well that and you can find better deals on physical copies

 

[piffdabiff]

I own 2 physical games and over 20 digital. We don't have a game store in my town so that's the main reason why I almost always buy digital.

 

[PsychoDon904]

I prefer both also. Though since i have PS+ i got free digital games plus there is some good game discounts every now and then.

 

[Buramu]

I think the EU passed a bill that says that all digital content can be sold on, so Sony will have to find a clever way to facilitate that. If they find a good mechanism for transferring digitally bought games to someone else I will go all digital.

 

[L_O_S_T-C_A_L_I]

I research the size of the game and cost versus the cost of memory. Some games you can only get via PSN, and some games go on sale way to cheap to pass up. I typically save my memory for PSN games, music and movies.

 

[thabani33]

Some games you can only get via PSN..

Yes we're aware some games are psn-only, however the question is: IF all games were available on both which would you go for?

 

[Tsupra1822]

I prefer a physical copy, like having space on memory for other stuff. I do a lot of research before I buy a game and always have gotten the physical copy cheaper than the price of the download version. Plus if I want to sell it its all good.

 

[phatBattalion]

For me Physical first. if there is none available, I will then only resort to a digital version (like Plants Zombies, etc.)

I would prefer to see my accumulated game collection anytime, than when stored digitally on a memory card can be corrupted and would take too long to download again.

 

[Marck]

Physical, so I can trade that shit when i'm sick of it.

 

[Mamba]

Physical for now, since memory cards for the vita are still expensive.........

 

[halljames]

I like both. I generally get physical for story based adventures, games that once finished will probably not go back to, and really large games. Digital for smaller, replay able games, or ps+ freebies.

It's not the price of the memory cards that put me off, it's the size limitation. Until you can get 64 or 128 gb cards, swapping out smaller cards is too much of a pain.

 

[Saikun]

I'm for digital content and the progressive extinction of physical formats. Mostly because it would save a good amount of plastic waste and pollution. I agree with buramu that a platform to trade these contents is needed. I really can't get why is not possible already in Steam, for example.

 

[Ezra]

Call me an old school gamer, but I can't shrug off that feeling I had when I was younger, stepping into my favorite shop in my hometown on a late afternoon, having long chats with the passionate clerk (who happened to be the owner as well) and browsing carefully through the magnificent yet not affordable stack of exotic cases and gadgets. My eyes were fulfilled.
Digital delivery cannot have the same magic touch. To be honest, neither the big franchise retailers do have it anymore.

I agree digitals are coming up strong and they will wipe the physical copies someday; but as of today, I stick with the physical game whenever I can, especially because digital prices are not competitive enough and often don't legitimize the saving in the production process.

 

[thabani33]

I agree digitals are coming up strong and they will wipe the physical copies someday..

Not a chance. There are areas/regions that don't have/will never have proper digital delivery/access. Companies will never abandon retailers because that would be cutting off part of their market.

^ another problem to consider is that digital distribution is expensive for us consumers because it gonna cost you a lot of storage space and money to contain all your game related data, even as we speak, storing a chunk of vita games is becoming expensive (thanks to vita propertiery memory cards which devour my wallet). Retail distribution will never phase out.

 

[Ezra]

Not a chance. There are areas/regions that don't have/will never have proper digital delivery/access. Companies will never abandon retailers because that would be cutting off part of their market.

^ another problem to consider is that digital distribution is expensive for us consumers because it gonna cost you a lot of storage space and money to contain all your game related data, even as we speak, storing a chunk of vita games is becoming expensive (thanks to vita propertiery memory cards which devour my wallet). Retail distribution will never phase out.

I think data storage isn't too much of an issue: the ratio hardware-space/storage is very convenient if compared to the physical support required for the same software content. Retailers are the turning point. Since it's a multimillion dollar market, our ordinary GameStop won't allow the whole software to go digital in a blink. Maybe retailers will slowly fade into downloading stations (because that's where royalties happens) and gadget store (from an "augmented reality" point of view), who knows.
Still, I'm inclined to believe that digital market will eventually overcome.

 

[Buramu]

Not a chance. There are areas/regions that don't have/will never have proper digital delivery/access. Companies will never abandon retailers because that would be cutting off part of their market.

Lol... 5 more years and physical will go the way of the dinosaur. Billions of downloaded apps on iOS with no physical copies in existence tell me most consumers out there don't have an issue with going digital-only.

 

[apolloa]

Lol... 5 more years and physical will go the way of the dinosaur. Billions of downloaded apps on iOS with no physical copies in existence tell me most consumers out there don't have an issue with going digital-only.

Well..... for mobile game yes, but not so sure for 40 gig + home console and PC games? I guess it depends on how much fibre optic BB impact is made?