VanceIX said:
A lot of people are steadfast against digital games, but I'm not quite sure why at times. From what I can see, digital games are much superior to their physical copies. I'll list some common arguments, and try to rebute them.
1. "I want the ability to sell my games when I'm done with them, or at least be able to play it on another console!"
From what I understand, a lot of people who make this argument don't actually sell a good portion of their games in the first place. Even if you do, I would think that the cheaper price of digital games would make up for that easily. For example, I got a $20 game (Ni no Kuni) for $5 on a PSN sale the other day. Dark Souls 2 was also available for $40, which is a bargain compared to the price of the physical edition. Microsoft also has talked about implementing a large variety of sales for their digital games. Just look at Steam: You can get a hundred games for less than $100 if you wait for sales or get humble bundles. You just can't save that kind of money with physical media.
Also, Sony, Microsoft, and Valve all let people have multiple devices that can have a game at once. Many people seem to believe that a game is tied to a console, and once you no longer have that console, you lose that game. What they don't realize is that, with the exception of Nintendo, everyone's digitally purchased games are tied to an account, meaning you can have multiple systems with the same game, as long as you log in to download it. Sony allows you to have two consoles with the same game, and you can activate or deactivate consoles as you go along. That means you can log into your friend's PS4 and download the game there, and then just log off when you leave.
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From your statements I can't help but conclude that you don't know anyone in the game collecting community or know anyone that's made real profit from their game collection. My game collection alone pays for my games and has paid for my consoles as well as my gaming PC. The last games I sold were a never opened mint condition version of God of War and God of War 2 special edition for $1000. Granted that was to another collector that absolutely wanted those games, but that's the point you can always find someone to sell something to if ya look hard enough. That's why I always buy two versions of the game. One I never open and keep in perfect condition straight from the developer and never from stores and then one to play.
I even got a great deal with a friend of mine that runs the local arcade. He's got a great arcade at the mall, has tons of machines and has a nice set up. He charges customers $20 bucks and they can stay pretty much all day. He's got a nice section in the back with just about every console and game. When I beat a game or get halfway done with a game I sell it to him for $25 which is more than local game stop would give me and he lets me play there any time I want for free. So even if I don't beat the game right away or I want to play the game again I know where it's at and can play it just about any time I want. He's got good insurance and keeps good stock so if a game ever goes missing the insurance replaces it right away. Which is a lot harder to do btw for the much older nintendo and sega games. A few years ago they had some games stolen I think it was like 3-4 nintendo games that got stolen. He was able to convince their appraiser that the games had a high value because of their rarity and a buddy of mine that had decent quality versions made a few grand for himself and it was paid for by the insurance company. The funniest part imo was a few months later the same games were found in decent condition at a pawn shop not far away for $40. My friend that made a few grand from selling those games talked the guy down and got the games back for $15.
So you want to know why people hate digital games so much? It's because they have no real value. The second they are purchased they become worthless. The only value they have is entertainment value and that is subjective and ultimately meaningless to anyone with enough creativity and intelligence. Physical games are a commodity period. You keep it in good condition and it increases in value over time and the more rare it becomes. Ya do things to it that make it more rare like add autographs of the devs or include rare artbooks from the game and it increases the value even more. I can't speak for every part of the world but here in America you can always find eccentric rich people to buy rare items at a high price. That's the beauty of capitalism. So many people dislike digital, especially collectors is because digital is not a commodity. It's just code that can be easily copied or deleted. It can never increase in value and only decreases in value over time. That's why steam games are so cheap.
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy digital only. I am saying tho that it can never be digital only. It should always exist along side physical games otherwise a lot of people lose a lot of money and a good commodity pretty much gets destroyed. Digital is really good for indie developers tho. I will buy indie digital games because it's a good investment in them. I'll take it a step further tho when I like the company and get in contact with the developers and shell out a bit extra for a physical copy. Indie developers are usually really accommodating. Like The Fullbright Company for example, I was able to get a signed physical disk of Gone Home which is going to be worth a lot to someone someday. So yeah that's why people that make money off their games like I do don't like digital only. There is no money in it. Frankly I think every person should ask themselves before they make a purchase of any kind one question, that question is simply "Can I turn this around and make some kind of profit off it?". The answer for digital only is no and at best is an investment gamble into the devs.
