Mummelmann said:
You don't own the game when it's digital? What if I write a manuscript, apply copyright protection to it and keep it saved only on drives, I don't own my own work because there's no physical copy? Yes, I can print it whenever, but the principle is the same. If you purchase a digital product; you own it regardless of whether there's a physical copy, or are you telling me that I don't own my purchased Windows 8 license since there's no disc? My Netflix and HBO accounts aren't mine? The money in my account and not in my wallet is not mine? It's a rather ridiculous suggestion. Besides; physical media doesn't live forever, both discs and carts have limited lifespan. I remember in the old days with floppy discs, they had terrible durability. Physical copies can also scratch or break in various ways, need manual insertion and storage, changing, and still usually require some form of install. |
This is where digital gets interesting. It's very convenient, but as a retro gamer, I don't want to be stuck with no game if the hardware dies or the servers are shut down, etc. etc. Physical media doesn't last forever...but I have had 0 of ~100 cartridges die on me except for the second hand ones that were mistreated by their previous owners. In fact, I've even only had a couple of disc issues, and both of those were second hand too (but I admit my DVDs and CDs are giving me a handful of problems, probably in the 1-2% range.)
If someone would create an iTunes-like experience for digital (that spans multiple generations of consoles - like my TG16 R-Type can be transferred from Wii to Wii U to Switch), I'd totally go for that.
When someone creates a Netflix-like experience for digital (probably where Nintendo's going with Switch), I'll think about it. I prefer collecting but if the price:games ratio is right, who knows?
For me, it's: 1. Carts 2. Discs 3. Digital - but digital could easily be 2 or maybe even 1 with the right platform behind it.
