Newbie question: Download or Disc?

[FatFury]

So I've been out of the gaming loop for some time now and recently, in the last week, bought a PS4. It came with a voucher to download the game “The Last of Us: Remastered” so of course I went ahead an downloaded the game. This got me thinking. Is it better to download games or to purchase the physical disc? What are the benefits of each and how will this effect game play(if any)?

 

[iamthenight90]

all right, to answer your last question, no gameplay changes for ps4.( for ps3 some games digital restricted online features, but not that many at all) it depends on the game realy, there are some games that you say, "man, ill be playing this for like two years" that would be a digital purchase. l did that with the new smash bros for wiiu. games you dont much think will be a hit but you want anyway, because you can trade them in should probably be disc purchases.(although account selling could be something to do. make sure you get allthe free games! ) man, i havnt typed that much since augest

 

[FatFury]

all right, to answer your last question, no gameplay changes for ps4.( for ps3 some games digital restricted online features, but not that many at all) it depends on the game realy, there are some games that you say, "man, ill be playing this for like two years" that would be a digital purchase. l did that with the new smash bros for wiiu. games you dont much think will be a hit but you want anyway, because you can trade them in should probably be disc purchases.(although account selling could be something to do. make sure you get allthe free games! ) man, i havnt typed that much since augest

Got it. Makes sense. GTA V might just have to be a download then lol. I can see myself playing that for s while

 

[Titan]

I always go for a disc, except for special situations (like the free games off PS+ or a game voucher or a Steam sale). Problem with digital is it can be lost easily through corruption, hard drive crashes, etc. And the fine print from Sony says you can only redownload something like what, 3 times? 4 times? With a disc, you just pop it in and play, reinstall, loan it to a friend or trade it in or sell it if that's your thing (though I have never sold or traded in a game). Plus I'm old school. I like having physical copies of everything. It's fun to show off my game collection on my shelf If I went all digital, I'd have to log onto my PS4 and say "hey, look at all this crap in here". Not as big of a "wow" factor.

 

[Alex_68]

I always go for a disc too. I like to have my hard copy which can be borrowed, exchanged or sold as used game.

 

[Negative Zero]

Yep, disc, pretty much for the reasons Titan posted. The playstation store sometimes has holiday and flash sales, though, and you can find games for considerably cheaper than even a used disc. For example, I picked up The Walking Dead for $6 when it retails at $29.99.

So with the exception of a huge sale, go disc.

 

[FatFury]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[don_bidarian]

Always disc, I like to have physical copies which I can lend or sell.
Also internet sucks here and I have a data cap.

 

[ubernood]

Disc, if you lose your account for any reason you lose all of your games

 

[Oberon]

As posts above had all mentioned.

Disc every time.

New releases on PSN are a rip off.
Large games take to long to download,and should you delete it for some reason then download again....oh man. (speeds dependant on country/area/ISP/plan etc but its safe to say many of just havent got a good connection).Speed and bandwidth costs on ISP's are a big factor.
Can sell,trade or loan your games on disc.

I only ever go digital if some games are very cheap,or are on PSN only for download.

I know we are heading for digital download only in the future sometime and I loathe that day,but for now we still have discs so...

 

[Titan]

Yep, disc, pretty much for the reasons Titan posted. The playstation store sometimes has holiday and flash sales, though, and you can find games for considerably cheaper than even a used disc. For example, I picked up The Walking Dead for $6 when it retails at $29.99.

So with the exception of a huge sale, go disc.

Oh, speaking of downloads. A lot of people actually don't know this. When you buy a PS+ game (for the free download), you are getting a license to the game. In the fine print, it does say you can only play it for as long as your PS+ membership is active. The second it expires, they terminate the license and you are no longer allowed to play the game.

I cannot vouch for the viability of what I am about to say (as I don't read the terms and conditions ever ) but maybe someone can shed light on this thing about digital downloads. This just reminded me of it. I heard a rumor from a friend that this similar principle of shutting off games works too for any download. He basically said you are buying a license to play the game and not the game itself. Say Sony and Rockstar have a major legal dispute. Sony can shut off your game and you can not access it. Again, this is hearsay and I don't know the answer. Maybe someone has any idea if this is true or my friend is spewing bull****? This topic reminded me of it and I figured I'd throw this out there as a point of discussion.

 

[Ridge]

I download almost every game. It's easier for a lot of reasons. I like being able to just jump between games without going to change discs. Also it just saves me space.

But, but money!

I'm fine with paying full price for games, and don't believe in used games. So now of these "benefits" of physical games really matter to me.

 

[dskd]

i like disk as you get the cover , but down load can never be scratched

 

[Titan]

i like disk as you get the cover , but down load can never be scratched

Well if you're careful, neither are your disks I think I only ever fatally scratched 1 game in my life and that was the original Gran Tourismo. And it was actually a kid I had over my house damaged it. Little bastard

 

[Alex_68]

i like disk as you get the cover , but down load can never be scratched

True, but it might be corrupted. Scratched discs can also be easely repaired if the scratches are not too deep.

 

[JHBlockk]

So I've been out of the gaming loop for some time now and recently, in the last week, bought a PS4. It came with a voucher to download the game “The Last of Us: Remastered” so of course I went ahead an downloaded the game. This got me thinking. Is it better to download games or to purchase the physical disc? What are the benefits of each and how will this effect game play(if any)?

Hi. I've had my PS4 for a while now and prior to that had an xbox 360 for around six years. There is NO EFFECT ON GAMEPLAY at all if you download. I'll say what I think the pros and cons are.

Pros:

1. Don't have to go to a store to buy it.
(I'm afraid that's about it.)

Cons:

1. Can't sell it on when/if you finish.
2. Could loose it if your hard drive is damaged, although I think games you download get associated with your PSN.
3. Doesn't take bloody ages to download if you have bad internet speed.

I hope my humble opinion helps.

 

[iamthenight90]

c

Hi. I've had my PS4 for a while now and prior to that had an xbox 360 for around six years. There is NO EFFECT ON GAMEPLAY at all if you download. I'll say what I think the pros and cons are.

Pros:

1. Don't have to go to a store to buy it.
(I'm afraid that's about it.)

Cons:

1. Can't sell it on when/if you finish.
2. Could loose it if your hard drive is damaged, although I think games you download get associated with your PSN.
3. Doesn't take bloody ages to download if you have bad internet speed.

I hope my humble opinion helps.

completyly agree. BUT, wwe allstars was a game that denied online if you downloaded it.

 

[FatFury]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think for the most part I'll just try for a disc...expect for those freebies maybe lol

 

[Ridge]

2. Could loose it if your hard drive is damaged, although I think games you download get associated with your PSN.

Any purchases and linked to your PSN, and if you have your PSN set to auto upload save data often you won't even lose your saves. So this isn't really an issue.

 

[Titan]

Hi. I've had my PS4 for a while now and prior to that had an xbox 360 for around six years. There is NO EFFECT ON GAMEPLAY at all if you download. I'll say what I think the pros and cons are.

Pros:

1. Don't have to go to a store to buy it.
(I'm afraid that's about it.)

Cons:

1. Can't sell it on when/if you finish.
2. Could loose it if your hard drive is damaged, although I think games you download get associated with your PSN.
3. Doesn't take bloody ages to download if you have bad internet speed.

I hope my humble opinion helps.

Though you make some great points, as a hardcore disc user, I'd like to put my 2 cents in.....again, lol.

1) That is true. You don't have to go to the store. Though I personally like getting out of my house once in a while and I'm old school, I'd rather go to a store. But that's just me. And what are you afraid of? Talking to the clerk? Just curious

1) If you like to resell your games or loan them to a friend, the downloads does make this part difficult
2) They are associated to your account. But the last time I looked, you can only download them like 3 or 4 times (someone confirm for me?). But here's what I'm afraid of. I'm a guy that likes to play old games at random times. Say 20 years down the road, I want to play an old game. It may or may not still be available for download. If I have to buy a new PS4 on ebay to play that game and I downloaded it, I may not be able to. With a disc, I can get a new PS4 at any point in my life and it will still play. But what else I'm afraid of is if Sony down the line discontinues the PSN and replaces it. Those games I downloaded, I may never again be able to enjoy. With a disc, no worries
3) Agreed.

I love this physical vs digital discussion