Topic: Digital or Disc which side of the fence do you sit on?

Since the launch of the PS4 I have been building up my collection of games from the Store. Quickly filling my 2TB drive.

I've been contemplating getting them on disc recently though, digital prices seem to be creeping up. Yes I'm looking at you EA titles. £55 for BF1 where it can be had for £42 on Amazon. I often use a certain cdkey site to with a 5% discount to bring the price of digital down to an acceptable cost (IMO) but with the prices creeping above £50 I'm no longer finding the value in doing this.

I think from 2017 on wards most of my purchases will be retail and not digital.

I'm a retro collector so still like to have the cases to put on a shelf and I hope I don't lose that option someday but I am coming round to digital more often for the convenience.

If you don't mind waiting a few months, you can usually pick up any game for a reasonable price on the PS Store as well. CDKeys are also useful when it comes to buying digital as you mention.

I really really like digital because of 3 main reasons.
1. No media to manage. My Blu-ray rack is full as is. Not having to swap discs is a huge plus too. Unlike movies, digital games are equal quality to physical disc copies of the game.
2. My GF and I can share digital games. This can often mean playing a coop game on 2 ps4 rather than splitscreen.
3. Sometimes, digital games get upgraded to the next gen. I've gotten a few 'free' PS4 games because I had the digital version on on PS3. Many of these were claimed PS+ games.
BONUS: Day 1 digital was nice a couple times. Staying up late to play at midnight vs waiting for UPS to deliver my copy sometimes close to 8pm the next day.

Amazon's 20% discount has me torn lately though. Since Amazon charges me sales tax while the PSN doesn't, it only comes out to a 13% discount, but that's still substantial over time. If it's ever a game series I super love (like Persona or Final Fantasy), I'll try to get the collectors edition through Amazon.

Retail, unless there is a sale on. For me, digital seems overpriced. We have run around the tree on why this is plenty of times, but the end result would be the same...I would spend more buying the games I want (at the time I want) if I bought digital. That's it really.

Either works for me but it's generally always nicer having a box.

Depends, on PC I go digital as there is pretty much no other option these days (even retail is just a code in a box) and price is decent. On console I go for the disc though as I like to collect games (and have the option of selling them if I find I don't like the game). If digital prices were better, though (and I mean significantly so), I am not adverse to digital since physical needs 30GB of patches day one anyway, meaning one day those discs will not work properly anyway.

I currently seem to be buying digital. I don't tend to get many games at launch, although the Dark Souls and the Halo series are exceptions, so I mainly get them in the sales or of the Games with Gold monthly "freebie". I have approximately 120 games installed and of those only about 10 of them are physical. On last gen it was completely the other way round. I do have an issue, like you guys have said above, about the price on new digital games but for convenience you can't beat digital.

100% behind Disc based purchased - where possible!

Its not about the Price (I would pay more for a disc based version), its not about 'trading' or the option to trade in - O haven't traded a game or hardware since I sold my Nintendo Virtual Boy - actually I did trade in/sell a few consoles to buy an updated version but I still own that era of console and ALL the games I bought for it.

I much prefer having something 'Physical' for my money. I really enjoy opening the seal for the first time, seeing the box art and reading the blurb, seeing my collection grow on the shelf and I really like 'collectors' edition with Art-books, steel cases etc too. I also know in the back of my mind, my collection is an asset too.

As a gamer for over 40years, I really don't have an issue of swapping discs to play a game. Compared to the days of tapes, when switching a game meant exceedingly long loading times - so long you could go and have a meal and come back before its finished, switching discs is not that big of a bonus to me.

I lean towards discs wherever possible, but a lot of the games I'm interested in are digital only anyway.

I do like having a physical collection on my shelf, but my PS4 blu rays probably represent much less than half of my games!

Disc. Always disc. It's just better for me to actually have the game in my hands as opposed to only being on my dashboard. Feels like you actually own it.

The only time I use digital is when a game is digital-only (duh), or if it's a retro game I don't have the console to.

Of course, I'll admit physical games aren't what they used to be, with no manuals and whatnot, and it'll die out eventually. I'll adapt, but I'll cry about it.

Digital all the way! No tax (here in Canada) vs 13% for physical. Also I don't need to dedicate any space in my house to store them.

Digital for the most part. I always go Digital on games I'm going to spend a lot of time with like RPG's. I normally pick up games like Uncharted on Disc or if I get a really good deal on Amazon.

Digital completely this gen. must admit don't like being raped on the prices in psn but i decided to go digital this gen so I gotta suck it up.
It is really cool tho not having a load of boxes and disc lying around for my 4 year old or the puppy to maul. At least my ps4 is up out of the way and my 2tb PS4 HDD is filling up nicely. It's fun to just grab the controller and have your whole collection at your fingertips.

Since my bank & wallet has never allowed me to go digital, i'm sticking with retail.
Besides, i kinda love my retail boxes. Looking at them lined up perfectly on my shelves feels so satisfying somehow.

On rare occasion, i do try to get digital. But since it's on another platform/console, i'll just stop right here.

For the most part it depends who has the better deal. This gen I have bought alot more digital games but that's due to the PSN Flash Sales. I can't say no to a good deal. However, I prefer physical but nowadays physical is a joke. Having to install the game anyway, no manuls etc. The only reason I would get a physical copy of game is if I am note sure about it and if I don't like it in the end, I can trade it in for credit towards another game.

I like physical, but digital isn't too bad, I guess.
Considering how small my Wii U and PS Vita memory is, I go physical every chance I get. Also, unless I'm going to sit around waiting for a flash sale, most of the time physical is cheaper than digital. Weird, huh? (o_O )

Steam is a different story though. Steam has so many games and so many sales that I've gotten to the point where I don't even bother with a Steam game unless it is 5 dollars or less because I know it will eventually reach 5 dollars. lol.

Disc all the way,at least i don't have to worry about the game disappearing once the service is shut down or i can sell it if i have had my fill or don't like it

not to mention the fact that digital is more expensive than physical even though there is no manufacturing or distribution costs involved AND no returns or refunds

until digital is priced fairly and you have a return or selling option i will NEVER go digital while i have a physical option

Disc/cart (let's not forget the 3DS and upcoming Nintendo Switch!) for my most beloved game series, e.g. Pokemon, Sonic, Mario...nothing like Collectors Editions!

For everything else? Digital, for the convenience. Handhelds? Good to have everything easily accessible for pick-up-and-play gaming. PS4? How can I change the disc using remote play? Also going digital means I can play my games on either my own PS4 or my partner's PS4 without having to take the disc with me.

Regardless, if one is significantly cheaper than the other I'll go for that option. Or, if storage is an issue (see Vita/PSTV and Wii U), then I'd probably prefer physical.

Retail - the trade ins I have been fortunate to get have been pretty awesome. Last week I bought the new WWE 2k17 game for £8 + a few trade ins. I got those games I traded in for a similar deal over the last 6 months. Just over 2 years ago I sold my x360 with 10 or so games and wound up with a PS4 with 2 pads and 3 games. I can't say enough good things about trading in. Finish a game boom - £15-£30 towards your next one. With digital you get naff all. The big issues as @Tasuki has already mentioned are the day 1 patches and lack of manuals these days. The games we are buying now, wont work without the patch so keeping them for a future collection is pretty pointless. So my decision to trade sharpish is validated. Unfortunately I cant see this lasting as we head to the inevitable digital only future.

I can see the positives in digital though, you always own the game and its more convenient. I use digital alot, but this is always in cheap sales like the walking dead for £5.80 or Bubble Bobble for £4. My Vita only has 2 retail games, funnily both bought with PS4 trade ins, but that has more to do with game availability than preferring digital on the vita.

According to MVC, 77% still prefer physical disc games over digital! That is over 3/4's of gamers. Digital may have increased nut physical isn't going anywhere soon. All this talk about inevitability of a Digital only future is ridiculous. Just because Steam opted to go this route doesn't mean Sony and MS will to.

Digital media is available in other areas of the media and has been for many years - music, movies even books yet you can still purchase physical versions of all of these. Newspapers have been hit the hardest - mostly because the news they carry is 'old' but they are still surviving.

Consoles would lose functionality if they opted to go the 'all-digital' route. Look at how 'successful' the XB1s us with a 4k HDR Bluray player, look at the public disappointment of the PS4 Pro's lack of a 4k HDR Bluray player. Losing the player altogether would lose the function of playing disc based media - something that many people still want. Yes they both have 4k Streaming options but so does my smart TV so that is not as important. I know gaming is the primary function of a console but for many, the ability to play other physical media is important too. I bet many still use their console to play Blurays, DVD's etc.

As someone who has bought at least 2 of each generation of Console for the majority I owned - I owned 3 XB360's, 2 PS3's, 2 XB1's and soon to own 2 PS4's on Nov 10th (not all because of 'breakdowns'), having Physical is a lot easier than downloading each and every one of my games. We have also seen a number of games removed from the digital marketplace that if you owned, would be very difficult to get back. I still have all my games going back more than 15yrs - My son now has my N64 and games though. In many cases, my games have outlasted the console. Digital doesn't always mean you will own the game either. In 10years (for example) they could turn off the servers for this generation and if your 'console' breaks down - you lose that game forever. On disc, you can still play it regardless of server issues or console breakdowns - maybe not 'patched' in some cases but its still playable.

I really can't see Consoles losing physical support - not any time soon. Maybe 20-30yrs from now but to remove 'choice' as well as functionality from consoles would be a mistake.