How do you buy your games?

[obliv]

Pretty much 100% digital. Only time i will consider a boxed copy is if its a steamworks title that i can add to steam and download later if i screw up the disc.

 

[LOCO LAPTOP]

99% Steam 1% Origin. (For BF3 only)

 

[lilfiend]

steam or no go, i HATE having to remember what games i have to reinstall and where i got them from and all that shit every single time i reinstall.

plus steam keeps all my games in one easy spot without 50 different types of drm running in the background (origin/gta4 i'm looking at you)

 

[SockMan!]

100% digital now, though not 100% Steam since I buy quite a bit from GOG (and I purchased some from Impulse before Gamestop bought them).

For me, most of the benefit of having a hardcopy was so that I didn't need to download it - which was very important since I was stuck on dial-up until a few years ago. Now it's not worth it considering few games include manuals or other worthwhile goodies, few stores actually sell PC games to a great extent except recent AAA titles, and the fact that I never buy AAA titles until long after they've been released.

 

[TwistedAegis]

steam or no go, i HATE having to remember what games i have to reinstall and where i got them from and all that shit every single time i reinstall.

plus steam keeps all my games in one easy spot without 50 different types of drm running in the background (origin/gta4 i'm looking at you)

Between steam and origin, you should have anything you want covered..shouldn't be all that much to remember.

 

[Shalafi]

It's no question, everyone seems to be headed in a mostly or all digital direction except for the few who either like to own physical copies (they like boxes, manuals, and the new game smell), collectors editions (for the goodies that come with), or those who have bandwidth caps and would rather install off the DVD to save bandwidth.

Not really suprised, since Steam has been out for a few years, people have gotten used to the convenience of it.

I mean, why go to the store, when you can go through a few clicks to get the game you want instantly and start downloading?

Best of all, pants are optional

 

[Mungojerrie]

Best of all, pants are optional

This ^^^

 

[Superfly3176]

90% digital very few games I buy hard copies of.

 

[Xathgoroth]

100% digital at this point, for all the reasons already mentioned, Steam only, since I can get everything I want in one place.

Only exceptions to the rule at this point would be for Diablo 3, because I'd rather buy a physical copy of a Blizz game for some reason, and Guild Wars 2, which will only be physical at first anyway.

My wife and I play all the same games, so it's extremely convenient from that perspective as well, since it's less boxes taking up space, discs to keep track of etc.

The industry as a whole is moving quickly in the direction of strictly digital, and I'm betting will be there, for PC anyway, in the next five years or so. It's just far more convenient and knocks out the overhead of DVD/manual production costs etc.

So much easier just to download and have when ever you want what you want, when you want it.

 

[Mr_Wrong]

I pretty much just buy from where ever i can get it the cheapest. Sometimes that means a physical copy sometimes digital. I don't really have a preference either way as long as the price it right.

 

[Dan_D]

Almost everything I buy is digital these days software wise. On occasion if I buy a Collector's Edition and I like what's physically in the box I'll go ahead and get a physical copy. Star Wars The Old Republic is the only PC game I've purchased physically in at least the last year, probably longer. For most games though, it's all digital. I haven't purchased music in years in any form other than digital. I can't remember the last CD I bought. I still buy movies physically though. I really haven't warmed up to the idea of digitally downloading them given the DRM, file sizes, etc.I also haven't really found a service I like for getting movies digitally.

 

[ChronoDetector]

Buy digital, have not bought a hard copy for years, don't ever plan to in the near future because online is usually cheaper anyway.

 

[deadrody]

I bought a hard copy of Starcraft 2 because it was cheaper... Other than that I bought the Orange Box as a hard copy Digital is where it's at.

Same here. Bought it used on eBay. Can't remember the last game I bought retail before that. If I don't buy them on Steam, usually I trade for them on Goozex. Made a nice haul over the last year buying older games on sale on Steam that I already own, and then trading them for higher value on Goozex.

 

[Snarl]

I've been basically 100% Digital the last few years (3 or so)

Some of my GoTo's;
- Steam is an excellent Service
- GOG has some classics and worth a hit
- Impulse, used to use this a little more however now it's owned by Gamestop I've been a little leery, may use it some more in the future.
- Origin, not a bad service, Battle Field 3, N'uff Said

Good Poll BTW

 

[Tudz]

Not really suprised, since Steam has been out for a few years, people have gotten used to the convenience of it.

I mean, why go to the store, when you can go through a few clicks to get the game you want instantly and start downloading?

I've never understood this, are people REALLY that lazy? I used to really enjoy the whole process of buying a game, looking it up, seeing screenshots, maybe looking at some review scores, then going down to the shop to buy it.

Me and my friend used to make a whole day of buying a game, we'd meet up, walk down to the shop which was about 30 minutes away (before we had cars), buy the game, grab some lunch, come back and read through the manual while it installed and then play it, or if it was a console game, one person would play while the other flicked through the manual. The whole process of it was quite enjoyable. Even now occasionally he'll ring me up and tell me he's going down to buy X game so he'll drive by my house, pick me up, we'll go to the bottle shop and buy a slab of beer then go back to his place and play it while we get well and truly pissed.

Whenever I hear about the "convenience" aspect of digital purchase I just think "Seriously? People are THAT lazy?".

 

[Gorankar]

You can still look at screen shots, videos, see the meta critic score, or read reviews. It is all just easier now. It is about convenience, and lets be blunt, availability. The B&M stores were already reducing PC shelf space when Steam came along. B4 Steam was popular one half assed shelf was all that was left in many places. Plus digital is never sold out. (well there was the key debacle but that is more like an exception than a rule)

Oh, and yes most people are lazy.

 

[Tudz]

You can still look at screen shots, videos, see the meta critic score, or read reviews. It is all just easier now. It is about convenience, and lets be blunt, availability. The B&M stores were already reducing PC shelf space when Steam came along. B4 Steam was popular one half assed shelf was all that was left in many places. Plus digital is never sold out. (well there was the key debacle but that is more like an exception than a rule)

Oh, and yes most people are lazy.

I didn't mean specifically the screenshots, vids, reviews... I meant the process of doing it and then going to buy it You know, enjoying the journey and all that stuff. I guess I'm just too old school.

 

[SLiGuy]

I didn't mean specifically the screenshots, vids, reviews... I meant the process of doing it and then going to buy it You know, enjoying the journey and all that stuff. I guess I'm just too old school.

So am I then. I remember I was 8 years old when Majora's Mask first came out on the N64; I pretended I was sick so I could skip school and waited for my mom to go to work so that my brother and I could go down to Target to pick up a copy (+ some Sour Patch Kids). Spent the rest of the day taking turns playing it; while he would play, I'd either watch him or look at the box and the manual, and vice versa. They used to pack a lot of cool stuff into game manuals back in the day. Probably one of my fondest childhood gaming memories.

 

[mazdaboi]

starting to buy more digital stuff, since i can dl the game managers (Steam,Origin, etc) and login at any computer to use/play my games when im away. Cloud game saves are helping as well, plus i dont particularly need the extra cases/boxes laying around.

 

[djsb]

Uh, and where are all these mythical game shops that still sell computer games? (Not counting MMOs.) The biggest PC shelf at my local Gamestop is devoted to WoW and Guild Wars expansions. The rest of the shelves contain the same new and used stock that they haven't sold since the early 2000s. And that's 30 minutes away. God knows where I'd have to travel to actually buy games I want. Unless I have a strong nostalgic attachment to a game, or if I know it comes with meaty, interesting manuals (Neverwinter Nights perhaps?) it's just not worth it (or downright impossible) to find and purchase boxed games.

 

[Jellylesg]

Uh, and where are all these mythical game shops that still sell computer games? (Not counting MMOs.) The biggest PC shelf at my local Gamestop is devoted to WoW and Guild Wars expansions. The rest of the shelves contain the same new and used stock that they haven't sold since the early 2000s. And that's 30 minutes away. God knows where I'd have to travel to actually buy games I want. Unless I have a strong nostalgic attachment to a game, or if I know it comes with meaty, interesting manuals (Neverwinter Nights perhaps?) it's just not worth it (or downright impossible) to find and purchase boxed games.

That is, I think, one of the effects of the growth of digital content delivery things like Steam and D2D.

 

[Tigerblade]

Digital only ftw....last game physical game I picked up was Serious Sam 2!

 

[LEVESQUE]

100% digital, since the nearest place where they sell games is at 3 hours, and they never have anything in stock.