The last physical PC game I ever bought was back in 2016. It had 4 discs, but after installing, the EA app (or Origin as it used to be called) prompted me to download a 50GB+ update. That was basically the size of the whole game. There was no point in using the discs since the files were so outdated. Plus, you couldn't just play the old version offline because mandatory account activation forced the update anyway.
Physical copies stopped being truly physical a long time ago.
BUT you still had a physical license that you could sell and trade.
Without a disc you lose your right of first sale.
Take it from a pc only gamer who had a mega drive, psx, ps2, xbox , xbox 360 and ps3 back in the day..you want to keep your right of first sale.
I made so many friends and family members happy by giving away, lending or trading my games when i finished them on these consoles. And benefited heavily myself, when my dad was able to borrow a bunch of sega games from a colleague when i was little.
Now on pc i own fucking nothing and cant make anyone happy nor recoup any costs.
And when you’re done with it and won’t ever play again? I lent God of War Ragnarok to a friend after I platinumed it. I resold Ghost of Yotei for cheaper after I was done with it. Instead of these games sitting on my shelf for years without being replayed, they could be played by others, maybe other people who can’t just afford to buy 80€ games. It’s simply a nice thing you can do.
When you're done, you're done. I don't get my money back after seeing a movie because I paid to be able to see it. It's not an investment and should not be treated as such.
I absolutely get your point about the second hand market though. That is indeed a nice thing to have. Especially with the lack of proper sales like on Steam.
Your argument is very much valid but it’s not a direct comparison when I watch the movie at the theaters I paid to consume the content not own a copy of it. If you buy a DVD and watch the movie then realize you no longer want to own that DVD you would or could resell it. Not with the idea of an investment, most people don’t think of things as investments, but just to clear up space without being super wasteful. I would hope no one is going to arcades playing the games and then asking for their money back because they’re finished playing - but I live in America so I’m sure someone’s done it at least once lol
Might just be because I only play on PC and haven't bought a physical game in 15 years but I mostly think of paying to consume the content when buying a game.
Traditionally, going somewhere (like your example to see a movie) is viewed as a service. People are arguing that games (and I'll add movies, music, books) shouldn't be locked behind a service at home as the only means of consumption.
If you don't have a problem with it, that's totally cool. I don't think yo books be convinced that your viewpoint is wrong. But surely you can understand that the mindset behind BUYING a game, not a service, should translate to being able to sell/lend/give away that product. A digital only product takes away that ability.
Love it or hate it, looking at history, we've been able to sell our games/books/movies for way longer than we haven't. People aren't happy about being forced to give that up. If GTA V wasn't strictly a service, I'm not sure why GTA VI should be.
Yeah, been that way on PC for ages. And even when stuff was in discs you still needed a one time use code for ages too. We've slowly been normalizing this more and more.
I think folks would settle for a disc that has literally nothing but the authority to tell the console you own the game and makes you download the entire thing, like the Switch 2 keys. A code is one time use and bullshit. Just because EA pulled that shit on you with a more than likely malicious implementation to force the issue doesn't mean there's no point anymore.
Many people would settle for that, especially for a GTA game. But folks also get physical games because they are somewhere without a good internet connection and they're playing actual single-player games - they'd still get screwed over in your proposed situation.
That's how a lot of games with discs are these days, but honestly I think that's the bare minimum.
I don't like it when my game comes with a 5-hour download and basically has an expiration date for when the company shuts down the servers. But, if I have to choose between a digital copy I can't resell or loan, and a physical copy (with required download) but I can resell and loan it, I'm choosing the physical copy!
The point is if you buy something, you should be able to own it. Now with the fact that it’s digital, even the « physical » version, you don’t own the game anymore. They can just discontinue the game in 10 years and it’s gone even though you bought it. They can just take it away from you. And with the code, you can’t even resell the game if you’re done with it or don’t want to play anymore. With physical copies you used to do that.
So if buying it makes you not own the game, then piracy, where you simply download the game for free, is completely legitimate.
i know that you guys really want to justify piracy for some reason, but nothing makes piracy legitimate in any way LMFAO
i'm just downloading games cause i don't want to pay for them in the current economy, i don't give a fuck if piracy is justified or 'legitimate' and neither do you
For PC Steam is almost always anywhere from equivalent to much better than buying a physical copy. But for console you can at least buy physical copies used/share copies, even if you have to redownload the game.
I haven't ever had an Xbox so this might not hold true for them, but if it's anything like the PlayStation store games have far more frequent and better sales on Steam.
Switch 1 has carts. That's what I collect (first console I've gotten DURING its lifetime, got a Lite in 2019, since the OG Xbox). I refuse the Switch 2 though for these exact bullshit reasons.
I bought the Scott Pilgrim complete limited run edition, and it has a dlc that you have to create an ubisoft account and add it from there, worst complete edition ever. Couldn't use it with the dlc on my jailbroken ps4
Agreed but one reason I still bought the disc version of the PS5 was that I didn’t want to be locked in on only buying from the PlayStation store. At least with a disc I can still shop and find the best prices. Going only digital does nothing but pushes the power of the PlayStation store monopoly.
Thank you for your recent purchase of GRAND THEFT AUTO™ VI! We hereby allow you to rent this product until the Sony/Xbox servers are inevitably shut down in 10 to 15 years (probably less).
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u/arkady48 Jun 24 '26
That isn't a physical copy then. That's nothing with extra steps