Future of Physical Media in consoles - end of disks?

[Pemalite]

DPsx7 said:

Conina said:

Where to begin? So much FUD, lies and half-truths!

Duck Tales: Remastered wasn't on sale digitally for a few months. Then it reappeared in all digital stores again after the licencing issues were solved.

Do you also blame the stores or the publisher/developer, when a physical game ain't available for a few months or even goes out of print forever?

People who already had one of the digital versions (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam,... ) kept a valid license and could play it the whole time.
People who already had one of the digital versions (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam,...) could download it the whole time, even in the delisted window.
People who already had one of the digital versions (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam,...) kept a valid license when the game came back to the digital shelves.
People who already had one of the digital versions (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam,...) didn't have any disadvantage due to the delisting.

If you bought Half-Life 2 (or any other of the earlier Steam games) as retail version you could install it directly from disc.

You didn't have to download the whole game, you only had to enter the Steam key for activation.

When Half-Life 2 launched in November 2004, Steam already had an off-line mode and still has it.

 

I never lost it so I made the right choice.

Not an issue, I'll have my copy before it disappears. This is another one of those cases where if I didn't, it's my own fault. Remember digital can be stolen back at any time without refund.

But if you didn't have it, lost your account or HDD, then no luck.

This is 100% wrong. I bought the game and would have installed from disc if given the option. Offline mode does not exist. I have first hand experience from my many attempts to finish the damn game. I will never allow that malware on my system again and probably won't trust anyone who speaks positively of it. Totally lost my appetite for PC gaming.

Did you not read his post?
Your games on Steam never disappear from your library even when they are removed from the store.
When Fable 3 was removed from Steam, I still kept my digital copy, could still download my digital copy, could play my digital copy.

If you loose your account, then you probably need better organizational skills, that isn't the fault of digital distribution, that is your fault. - That is something for you to possibly work on and improve because whether we like it or not... The future is digital, everything is going digital, start securing your digital accounts appropriately, you have had years to get on top of this stuff.

Steam has an offline mode. Please don't lie about this.


Most games that install physically and register on Steam happily install offline.

SvennoJ said:

I'm about as worried about a ban or account hack as much as I am worried that one of my physical discs won't work anymore, very small chance. However my point, and that of others, is that one disc not working anymore is just one disc. Lose access to your account and you lose your whole library, maybe only temporary but until it gets resolved, no access. And who knows, another psn hack is not outside the realm of possibilities.

Seen plenty of structure fires that have destroyed entire movie collections and game collections.
Physical isn't a guaranteed insurance to always have a working copy of your games.

Discs do get disc rot, hardware does fail. And... Shit can happen in life.