The Digital vs Physical Games Debate Is Getting Out of Hand

[@PKInTheUniverse]

What is it you love most about physical games or digital games?

[@cooladee]

Physical: I can put them up on eBay for several times more than what they are worth or scam some old dude at the flea market. Digital: It is easier to pirate. It is easier to download digital games and copy them than going through every physical game and copying them. Though they don't make good treasure to bury in the ground in a chest. I can bury them in a file in my computer. Argh!!! Shiver me timbers!!!

[@BanditsBest686]

@@cooladee LOL scam some old dude had me smiling

[@PKInTheUniverse]

@@cooladeeheck yeah !

[@PKInTheUniverse]

@@BanditsBest686👴🤣

[@dinorocker8647]

Well I'll tell you, video game companies today are doin' away with physical media, it's intentional, they don't want people to own games anymore, they want people to buy games ON LOAN, which means they can take 'em away any time they feel like it, I own a Steam Deck (which I love) but it sucks 'cause I don't get to own any of the games I have on it, anymore It's all about power and control over customers, Nintendo for one has been erasin' their roms of their classic games from back in the day which means eventually you won't be able to play the original Super Mario Bros on Switch anymore cause they'll probably get rid of it from their Switch store, so yeah that's why I'm for physical gaming.

[@humblemudgames]

honestly, I didn't appreciate physical media enough as a kid, and so a lot of my stuff from my childhood I no longer have. nowadays, I have a much bigger appreciation for physical media, but even then I advocate for a mix of digital and physical media. I only have so much space. nothing beats. looking through a shelf for your next experience,but Steam/GoG sales are pretty awesome too.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Absolutely! It’s great to have a mixture , we really don’t have to choose .

[@b4rs629]

True true. I'm the same way. Pc - digital (ps5 & xbox games) Switch - physical series x - gamepass, cloud saves, cross-progression (between xbox & pc), backwards compatiability for older discs, 4k movies

[@ld9387]

Physical games are just licenses these days. If every game came out with a physical collector's edition that included the entire game, patches plus dlc, I'd choose physical. But that's not the case unfortunately

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Physical games with DRM are definitely just a license these days . That’s one thing that GOG does right, you could burn all your PC games from GOG to discs if you wanted to and make as many copies as you want to for your own personal use.

[@b4rs629]

Well said. That's my main gripe with physical copies. I wished every game got a reprint /w dlc on it like Cyberpunk 2077, pokemon violet, pokemon shield, etc... ^ I try to support the games that do this as much as possible... even if I already have accesss to it on my pc.

[@erikjohanson3929]

In regards to Physical Media, I like having physical stuffs I can plug in and play without installing them has it's charms. On the other hand, as big as my physical game collection is, my Digital Collection on the PC completely dwarfs it, and I can install it on just about any PC I want.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

They definitely both have their advantages and disadvantages for sure.

[@b4rs629]

True true. I still buy physical copies as long as I don't have to download anything. It's no wonder the switch is dominating the past 7 years.

[@MasterSystemMarceau]

One of your best videos. Both itch io and GOG are the way to go. Physical and digital with DRM both have a limited life, sadly.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Thanks brother! Yeah, there really is something to be said about games that you can just transfer to different places again and again. People talk about games being lost, but if people are downloading games, somebody has those games.

[@ogre706]

Thank you for this much needed and balanced take. Sometimes it's difficult to take Team Physical's anti-digital ramblings seriously because many of these guys tend to have shelves and shelves of videogames they don't even play. The hoards of titles on shelves and the refusal to address any of the drawbacks of physical media makes their position come off as insincere, and it comes off more like they are trying to defend their poor spending habits. It's tiresome to keep being referred to as a "corporate sheep" that "owns nothing" by these guys because I enjoy having a 3DS loaded with tons of my favorite titles digitally on a MicroSD card. Some of us don't want shelves full of crap. And some us especially DON'T want to pay some greasy reseller eBay $100+ to play a certain title because it's deemed to be "rare" or whatever.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Yeah, some people are a bit much. I don’t understand what imaginary person is making them choose between digital and physical. There’s no reason we can’t have both.

[@b4rs629]

True. I'm a 50/50 guy Pc - digital switch - physical series x - gamepass, cloud saves, cross-progression, backwards compatability, + 4k movies I see the value of digital and physical on a case by case basis depending on the game / console / dlc / requires good hardware or runs on a toaster switch... I weigh all my options before buying games.

[@joe-lewisjavonnelson1523]

While I prefer physical games, I’m not against getting a digital title. I usually get the later if: 1. The Physical version is too expensive. And/Or 2. If I find it more convenient to digitally download the game compared to getting the physical copy and dumping the ROM somewhere else.

[@SidneyRJames]

Yo!! What game is that at 2:55? I literally paused the video just to comment this.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

The game is called “Flower” I’m not sure if it’s still on PS3 but it’s definitely on steam

[@cooladee]

I just noticed that the record that the guy in the thumbnail is holding is your record.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I’ll make a record of that

[@PaulWerkema]

GameStop's twitter turning into a troll account is pretty funny.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Yeah, I don’t know who’s doing their social media, but they’re just mostly pissing people off

[@mtshark7]

Well said PK!😊

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Thank you, sir!

[@matthewblankenship7968]

Gaming will be all digital one day …music CD s went all digital and cassette tapes …I don’t really care cause I’m not a collector ..I’ve played thousands of games .. I have hundreds of physical copy’s of games …as I get older I have given them away to family and friends ..I have the memorize that is what matters ..

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I don’t think we’ll live to see the day It all goes digital. There’s still too many people who love the novelty of physical media. Walmart and target are still selling vinyl records in their stores. It will become more niche over time , and maybe modern gaming itself will go all digital. But physical media for the legacy systems will be difficult to kill.

[@b4rs629]

@@PKInTheUniverse True. I don't think physical media is gonna go away 100%, but what I have noticed since it's becoming more niche... is that if you don't buy it right away now days... it may not be there tommorow especially with new releases. It's becoming extremely hard for the average person to collect & own the things they love. These have been some of experiences I missed out on the Resident evil 4k collection limited edition when it released... a couple years later they finally reprinted it, but in that time-frame scalpers were marking it up on ebay & amazon. I now have it in my collectiong since it got reprinted. I also missed out on final fantasy pixel remaster 1-6... when I found out about it 2 days later... it was sold out... thankfully they reprinted it... and now I have the ESRB copy. I also missed out on the final fantasy 7 intergrade... because I don't own a ps5... despite it being available on pc... I would like a physical copy for my xbox series x along with FF rebirth. I also missed out on code lyoko dvd release... a $20 collection... is now on ebay for $1000... for old kids show... I'm sick of the scalpers when it comes to physical media I also missed out on the mighty morphin power rangers blu-ray... $20 movie... now going for $100 on amazon... fucking scalper resellers Graphics cards - between 2019-2023... scalpers were ruining gaming for millions of people Ps5's - we all know the greedy bastards used bots to buy up everything tv shows - they go out of stock so damn fast if you don't keep an eye on it. Clothing / shoes - this pisses me off because it's a neccessity and goes out of stock online so fast. It truly feels like if you're not paying attention to a wide variety of youtubers with physical media... you're going to miss out on a bunch of stuff... it's annoying because money is infinite and money ain't mathing enough to keep up when you're into physical media between movies, music, & video games. Feels like I'm living in a world of hyper-consumerism of fomo buying..

[@cooladee]

The man with the everchanging hat and occasionally no hat is missing!!!

[@PKInTheUniverse]

He's everywhere and nowhere.

[@cooladee]

He's a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

He took the midnight train going anywhere

[@cooladee]

Great video! Much better than the filth that other KZbinrs put out.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Glad you liked it! I had fun making this one . The editing takes twice as long though when I'm not on camera. But it's fun to Switch it up once in a while.

[@JonKratz]

Let's go!!!

[@JonKratz]

Good editing! It's great for my add to keep my attention. I think that's why I loved when you changed all the camera angles in an older video.

[@JonKratz]

DUDE! Amazing video! You nailed this topic! And again the editing was entertaining! Thanks dude!

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Thanks brother ! I’m drinking an IPA 🍻

[@JonKratz]

@@PKInTheUniverse oh heck yeah cheers to that! Have fun!!!

[@MIKandJEAN]

At 54 years old next month I'm too old to care. Enjoy while it lasts because it's us that won't be around forever. 😉

[@PKInTheUniverse]

💯!

[@b4rs629]

True. People need to live in the moment more.

[@VideoGameXDomain]

I tell everyone this.

[@BanditsBest686]

i heard a guy make the debate hed rather pay for physical then use FREE emulation, cause a hard drive could fail and you lose all your games.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Ha! I'm pretty sure a 2nd or 3rd hard drive would definitely be cheaper with a decent computer over spending the kind of money some people do on a gaming collection. People want to have stuff they can look at and hold, which I think is totally valid. I just wish they'd be honest about it. There really isn't a wrong way to play games. What matters most is what you are getting out of it.

[@BanditsBest686]

@@PKInTheUniverse yeah id agree no wrong way. but look at the adjective "play" - lol (i know its a verb but i had to do that classic line if you know you know), alot dont play..they just want to populate a shelf cause thats what their idols are doing

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Yeah. and it's a catch 22. Older, more responsibilities , more money, yet less time to play. It's all about moderation. I miss the days of being able to go to the video rental store and just rents some games. Emulation ( legal and dubious) has replaced that.

[@BanditsBest686]

@@PKInTheUniverse i was telling another guy theres so much crazy stuff out there now like homebrews, translations people made of japanese exclusive games etc some they do make on carts or you can get someone to flash a eeprom but the most obvious way to enjoy these is emulation/flash cart aka you cant get a physical copy readily.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Yeah, there’s just too many games. It’s impossible to keep up. And it’s never been easier to try to make a game.

[@cooladee]

If I had a dollar for every dollar I got scammed at GameStop with, I would have all of my money back.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I absolutely kick myself for how little I got for my game boy player for GameCube with the disc when I traded it into GameStop back in the day before I knew better

[@cooladee]

I am glad I never traded anything at GameStop.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

They used to give a little more for trade-ins back in the day, but it still was really low. Sadly at the time I needed the money more than I needed this stuff.

[@cooladee]

People really need to stop putting everything into two groups of physical and digital. Everyone needs to just lump them together as what they are, video games.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

💯!

[@gothpotato]

I prefer owning things that I paid for

[@b4rs629]

@@gothpotato Same. I just treat it on a game by game basis now days. I've been 50/50 guy since I made the jump to pc 16 years ago. PC Demanding hardware titles - Satisfactory, cyberpunk 2077, Games /w dlc- digital (sims 4, civilization, age of empires, Forza Horizon 4, 5, ) Games that require online connection - digital (diablo 4, cod bo6, rust, .. etc) Games with multiple editions that aren't available physically - digital (ac valhalla ps5 games - digital.. mainly because I don't own a ps5 atm Switch Nintendo exclusives + old game ports - physical Sqaure enix ports on switch - physical indy titles on switch - physical (even if they cost more than pc... I'll still buy it, but not all the time just depends how much I care about a game) Niche indy limited copies - Cassette beasts from super rare games Series X Gamepass Backwards compatability for older games like SSX 3 on the xbox 360 (magical) (og xbox-to current gen is a great selling point for me Cloud saves / cross progression / play anywhere titles between pc & xbox 3ds & wii Backwards compatible for pokemon ds & 3ds titles + gamecube games Indy games - all depends on platform it's available on, cost, & how bad I want it physical vs digitally, or how it plays etc Reprints /w dlc on them (Diablo 3 eternal collection - offline enabled, Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom liberty, Pokmon violet / shield /w dlc) - physical Movies & tv shows - physical Music - digital (as much as I want a cd collection... I don't miss tracks skipping while I'm walking or exercising... my new hatred lvl now is stopping mid-song due to internet connecton lol) This allows me save space on my shelf for games that are truly 100% physical while still enjoying the convience & savings of digital sales on pc or take advantage of gamepass on my series x to test out a bunch of titles... before I consider buying them.

[@jayme69]

I've always tended to collect about a dozen physical games for each console I own and the rest are digital purchases on the more modern consoles (Seventh Gen & up). This is mainly because back in the day that was typically all I could afford and as time has went on I've just stuck with it. The Evercade is the only exception but that's probably because of the affordability of the carts (and they numbered them, lol). I like my physical games but if a friend wanted to borrow or even keep any of my games, I'd be fine about parting with them because if life has taught me anything, it's don't hold onto stuff too tightly. I've also got a fairly substantial collection of VHS/DVD movies and there's a fair few tapes that have given up the ghost and a good few DVDs that have suffered disc rot. As you say, nothing lasts forever, just enjoy it while you can :-) Keep up the awesome work PK!

[@PKInTheUniverse]

Yeah it’s good to curate a collection and focus on quality instead of quantity. I’m glad I refocused my Evercade collecting , the numbers are definitely a trap . Exactly, we can’t take it with us so might as well enjoy while we can.

[@PragmatikReviews]

It will all be done one day lol but I'm never gonna shame digital people wanting digital media. they probably have so much space in their house lol

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I’m definitely jealous of all the space people have in their house. I love my gaming library, but sometimes I look at the shelves and I’m like, what am I even doing here? They both definitely have their advantages and disadvantages.

[@b4rs629]

As an extreme minimalist physical media enthusiast.. it's awesome, but I have to sacfrice some of my extreme minimalist ways to enjoy my hobby in the process. I still buy physical switch games & 4k movies, blu-rays, & dvd, but I'm a lot more mindful of what I add into my collection. Quality > Qauntity. Sold / gave away all my furniture. I cut my life down to 50 items... and hit the reset button on adding things into my life. I re-added some things I once owned back into my life, but they're in much better quality now dvds into blu-ray dvd into 4k for my favorites It allowed me to add nicer dvd sets into my collection... things that I never had in my porevious collection South Park on blu-ray Scooby doo movies / shows on blu-ray The 100 on blu-ray digimon s1-4 on dvd pokemon indigo league power rangers s1-15 the walking dead collection on blu-ray beavis and butthead aqua teen hunger force Continuum on blu-ray king of the hill Futurama He-man: masters of the universe Buffy the vampire slayer Sabrina the teenage witch (90's version) Cartoon network: power puff girls, courage the cowardlyt dog, foster's home for imaginary friends, ed edd & eddy, dexters laboratory And so much other cool shit. Streaming has pushed me back into physical media... because I refuse to pay price increases just to avoid ad's and shit & things I love going out of print & being removed from streaming simultanously and seeing prices spikes because of it on the physical end. I put the discs into binders and put the cases in a storage bin in the basement because I lack the space to display them all on a shelf with pride.

[@picturesofsandwichesfor5minute]

Physical sandwiches are better than digital sandwiches.

[@PKInTheUniverse]

I’d still love to try a digital sandwich

[@picturesofsandwichesfor5minute]

Lick the screen while watching one of my videos. It tastes like the real thing!

[@PKInTheUniverse]

🤯