• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PlayStation 5 owners prefer boxed games to downloads

I'm physical wherever possible.

I like shopping for a cheap physical game.

Also, I don't like the idea that Sony or Microsoft can disable my account at any time, and I potentially lose access to all my games. Consumer law is much more clear and helpful to the consumer regarding physical purchases than digital accounts.

I like selling unwanted games back. Previous copies of FIFA, F1 etc all go back once I've upgraded. On that note, I always buy the copy before the most recent release. Once F1 2022 comes out I buy F12021. Can you do that with digital games?

The advantages of digital are all things I'm not that bothered about. Others will have different priorities, and for them digital makes sense.

That said, digital is certainly the future, so I will be less invested in this hobby then.
 

ParaSeoul

Member
Still getting physical in 2022 and beyond
00-story-image.gif
 
Last edited:

GreatnessRD

Member
I'm physical wherever possible.

I like shopping for a cheap physical game.

Also, I don't like the idea that Sony or Microsoft can disable my account at any time, and I potentially lose access to all my games. Consumer law is much more clear and helpful to the consumer regarding physical purchases than digital accounts.

I like selling unwanted games back. Previous copies of FIFA, F1 etc all go back once I've upgraded. On that note, I always buy the copy before the most recent release. Once F1 2022 comes out I buy F12021. Can you do that with digital games?

The advantages of digital are all things I'm not that bothered about. Others will have different priorities, and for them digital makes sense.

That said, digital is certainly the future, so I will be less invested in this hobby then.
Clapping Applause GIF

I hope you're protected at all cost because this was a word.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I'm physical wherever possible.

I like shopping for a cheap physical game.

Also, I don't like the idea that Sony or Microsoft can disable my account at any time, and I potentially lose access to all my games. Consumer law is much more clear and helpful to the consumer regarding physical purchases than digital accounts.

I like selling unwanted games back. Previous copies of FIFA, F1 etc all go back once I've upgraded. On that note, I always buy the copy before the most recent release. Once F1 2022 comes out I buy F12021. Can you do that with digital games?

The advantages of digital are all things I'm not that bothered about. Others will have different priorities, and for them digital makes sense.

That said, digital is certainly the future, so I will be less invested in this hobby then.
Nicely said and true
 

Xeaker

Member
Never digital unless I am forced like digital only games (Actraiser Remake, Dungeon Encounters recently ...)
 

Three

Gold Member
Digital makes more sense to me for most games because I gameshare with another account so the games are basically half price for us. Really great for online multiplayer stuff.

It's the main reason I went ps5 digital so I'm stuck with digital anyways!
I'm slightly in the same boat. The lack of couch coop in games means I have 2 TVs hooked up with two PS5/PS4s so that I can play couch coop in games that are only online coop. I buy digital so that I can gameshare between the machines.
 

killatopak

Gold Member
I always go physical for mine but good for those who prefer digital as well.

Whatever’s cheaper or works the best for you. More power to you.
 

Susurrus

Member
I'm slightly in the same boat. The lack of couch coop in games means I have 2 TVs hooked up with two PS5/PS4s so that I can play couch coop in games that are only online coop. I buy digital so that I can gameshare between the machines.

This is something I never really thought about. Guess it is a very specific and niche situation but ya if I'm in it in the future, like when my kids get older, this is actually a good idea, at least for multiplayer games of this situation.
 

AndrewRyan

Member
Digital only for PC and Switch, physical only for Playstation. Don't feel bad about digital on PC since they'll be playable for decades, someday you'll play current games on watches. Switch is worth it only cause it's portable. Sony lost my trust with PS3 digital so it's physical only for them, though PS+ is the primary source of games.
 
Sorry for linking to that website, but this kind of thing is why I dislike physical games.

 
Someone on rllmukforum

"I had a similar frustration the other day with Sony, I owned all the first batch of Pixeljunk games, shooter etc and can't download them to my PS5, I have to sub to PS Now or whatever it's called to play digital games I already own."
 
Someone else with a hacked account losing all their digital purchases.

Sony told him to wait until his (permanent) ban was over.

By all accounts he should get it back in a few weeks, if the replies are anything to go by. Someone else had their account banned despite not using it for years. And one person replying gave up on their account and just made another, losing over $1500 in digital purchases.

 
I must admit that I am someone that prefers to own a physical copy of a console game, mostly for the sense of ownership and being able to see my games library but also so that I can sell them on once I am finished with them. However, I am starting to get a bit annoyed when I want to play several different games and have to swap discs. PS+ (and GamePass on my Xbox Series X) has been very nice in that it offered a digital version of some of the physical disc versions I own, so that is great, but if it wasn't for the ridiculous pricing of digital games on the console store fronts then I think I would buy less physical games, perhaps only the odd collector's edition with a steelbook for the first-party triple-A games.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
Someone else with a hacked account losing all their digital purchases.

Sony told him to wait until his (permanent) ban was over.

By all accounts he should get it back in a few weeks, if the replies are anything to go by. Someone else had their account banned despite not using it for years. And one person replying gave up on their account and just made another, losing over $1500 in digital purchases.

yep. But that argument is for ALL digital stores.
Steam Deck is also technically a digital only store console, way less useful without steam account with games :p
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I'm fully physical on ps5. Let's get physical baby. I get some right deals and as ps5 games get traded in quickly the prices drop swift sticks too. Cex is selling ratchet for like 22 pounds now, and horizon is dropping fast.

I'll always try and buy new but since games have gone to 70 pounds from Sony I'll only get them on a deal new or second hand.
 
yep. But that argument is for ALL digital stores.
Steam Deck is also technically a digital only store console, way less useful without steam account with games :p

I agree - I'm not saying this is a problem which only applies to PSN. I posted it here because this is the most recent thread I could remember in which the issue came up.

That said, from what I've heard, Sony's customer support is just about the worst regarding PSN games. Fortunately I've never had to deal with this kind of issue.
 

Wohc

Banned
I must admit that I am someone that prefers to own a physical copy of a console game, mostly for the sense of ownership and being able to see my games library but also so that I can sell them on once I am finished with them. However, I am starting to get a bit annoyed when I want to play several different games and have to swap discs. PS+ (and GamePass on my Xbox Series X) has been very nice in that it offered a digital version of some of the physical disc versions I own, so that is great, but if it wasn't for the ridiculous pricing of digital games on the console store fronts then I think I would buy less physical games, perhaps only the odd collector's edition with a steelbook for the first-party triple-A games.
At least for Xbox that is no problem. You can get games super cheap on sites like Eneba. Many games go for around 30-35 Euro or so on release. If you buy it on Disc and keep it (for a few months) you actually lose more money. Pretty sure i have also seen the HZD Collection for PS years ago for around 5 Euro, but i think you need extra Sony accounts for every country you buy games from and the selection is smaller.
 
Agreed. Between sales on retail games, buying used, and reselling old games, buying digital is essentially throwing away money.

I have bought all digital only once: on the 3DS. When I eventually sold off my hardware, I estimated that I lost hundreds of dollars in resale value of the games. Never again.
 
Digital purchases of $60-70 games makes it feel cheap to me. Like it cheapens the experience. I bought Spider-Man PS4 day 1 digitally and it took me til right before the PS5 released to get around to playing most of it.
Digital doesn't bother me for indies or VR games though.
 

CobraAB

Member
I have 10 boxed games on PS5. 9 of them were cheaper than they were n the PS Store.

I do have a few PS5 digital games also that I got on sale.
 
Top Bottom