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[Lumpyoatmeal]

There's a movement right now in various mediums..


Today physical games look way more valuable than ever compared to digital titles. More developers particularly indie games should support the movement.

 

[cireza]

As far as I am concerned, I never moved away from physical. All my music is CDs. All my movies are DVDs and Blurays. And video-games, the only console where I moved to digital is Xbox. Otherwise I buy physical every time I can.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

I wish it would come back huge, where it litrelly took over and hurt all these fucking streaming services so bad. I'd happily go back to physical for everything if it truly fucked those companies over.

Life is missing the small nuances, my wife and I used to go to BB or Walmart and hunt blurays, see what's on sale to add to the collection, or even going and renting movies... It's something small that younger generations won't know, but it was special and added to lifes little intricacies

 

[The_hunter]

I prefer digital, my house is filled with less junk now.

 

[WoJ]

I've never moved away from it. If I could convince my wife to drop some of these streaming services I would. I need to get a plex or jellyfin server running with the stuff she watches because it's all available on DVD or blu ray.

 

[videogamedude]

most of my videogame purchases are dictated by the availability of a cart

ill spend more for it... if it's a game i want bad enough, and i've had a few beers i might spend as much as $100

 

[VGA-Games]

I'm absolutely a 100% Percent physical Video Game Collector

I'm not buying any Video Games who are on a Game Key Card!!!

 

[MiguelItUp]

Physical media = physical ownership. I get some people prefer digital because they don't want the "clutter", and that's fine. I, on the other hand, want to feel like I physically own something I buy. Not a license or access to rent/borrow it as long as I continue to pay.

I'm a big music fan, so I'm typically buying vinyl of my favorite albums, or new releases I'm excited about. I'll do the same for game collector's editions of games I'm hyped for. Our entire world has been choked by subscription services, and I'm already over it. People do still want physical, and people do still want digital, I just wish there would be a world where both can exist, and people can have options.

 

[HerpDerpstreit]

I still buy Blu Ray for movies I really like. I've been getting more vinyls for music lately.

For gaming the only system I try to go physical for is the Switch/Switch 2. Can share them with my kids and Nintendo 1st party games tend to hold their value in the off chance I would ever want to sell some of them.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Physical media = physical ownership. I get some people prefer digital because they don't want the "clutter", and that's fine. I, on the other hand, want to feel like I physically own something I buy. Not a license or access to rent/borrow it as long as I continue to pay.

The only thing I feel I wouldn't want to return to Is driving around with 100000 cds in my truck omg... It's like a double edged sword I loved collecting cds but I hated taking them in the vehicle with me, I'd make cds but still I had them everywhere. But still If someone said snap your fingers and it all goes back to the old days I would without flinching.. Phones, streaming, all fucking gone I have come ultimately hate it and miss when life didn't have none of it

 

[MiguelItUp]

The only thing I feel I wouldn't want to return to Is driving around with 100000 cds in my truck omg... It's like a double edged sword I loved collecting cds but I hated taking them in the vehicle with me, I'd make cds but still I had them everywhere. But still If someone said snap your fingers and it all goes back to the old days I would without flinching.. Phones, streaming, all fucking gone I have come ultimately hate it and miss when life didn't have none of it

Ah yes, the infamous CD binders, lol.

 

[Miles708]

The only thing digital is better than physical is piracy, change my mind

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Ah yes, the infamous CD binders, lol.

Lol it was so bad omg just had cds everywhere, that's only thing that really makes me appreciate streaming but I hate going against my overall love for physical media

 

[Rocco Schiavone]

I prefer digital, my house is filled with less junk now.

Anyone who calls their own hobby junk should really think about it, regardless of their stance on physical media.

 

[Magic Carpet]

We need to coordinate for the zombie day the world ends.
I'll collect all the games starting with the letter X from 1960's to 1961.
If you can survive the zombies and have a way to copy my games. Your welcome to visit my bunker.
Please bring water, ammo and canned peaches.

 

[analog_future]

The only thing I feel I wouldn't want to return to Is driving around with 100000 cds in my truck omg... It's like a double edged sword I loved collecting cds but I hated taking them in the vehicle with me, I'd make cds but still I had them everywhere. But still If someone said snap your fingers and it all goes back to the old days I would without flinching.. Phones, streaming, all fucking gone I have come ultimately hate it and miss when life didn't have none of it

Could always rip all your CDs to an MP3 player. That way you own the files but still get convenience.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

Could always rip all your CDs to an MP3 player. That way you own the files but still get convenience.

Yea that's about the best way but I'm so far gone from all that stuff, don't even own a CD player anymore and sold my thousands of CDs off but yea. I tho would absolutely start collecting movies again if I felt like a true wave was coming thru

 

[Bondo]

Never moving away from it.
Movies for home theater perks and gaming for ability to distribute in my home or sell. All for convenience? nope

 

[marcincz]

Anyone who calls their own hobby junk should really think about it, regardless of their stance on physical media.

Good written.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Could always rip all your CDs to an MP3 player. That way you own the files but still get convenience.

The true turning point. I remember when iPods were still super expensive and sometimes hard to get, I ended up getting a Creative Nomad Jukebox, and I loved that beefy little chunker, lol.

Yea that's about the best way but I'm so far gone from all that stuff, don't even own a CD player anymore and sold my thousands of CDs off but yea. I tho would absolutely start collecting movies again if I felt like a true wave was coming thru

Yeah, it definitely helped. Or having a CD player that could read data discs and just cramming the disc with mp3s. I miss those advancements in technology where it was like, "Whoa, I have easier access to music, and more of it?!"

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

GLHF.

(Saying this an owner of a very large collection of video game everthing)
Physical media (please read as: physical game media contains a full game experience) is in its death throes right now. Sure limited run games, iam8bit, and other speciality boutiques can do print runs for some games but cannot do the same for games requiring more storage space than today's physical mediums allow.

Physical indie titles and games for older systems are a collectors only reliable route for collection/ownership.

Most folks just steal the content to emulate while waiving a banner of support for a "return to the physical".

 

[Guilty_AI]

I think it'd be interesting if someone made a digital distribution system for physical media. Something like burning games and movies on the fly in stores onto disks or cards or whatever else, maybe specialized home devices or design consoles with such features in mind.

 

[StereoVsn]

I buy blu-rays (preferably 4K) for movies and shows that would rewatch.

I also have physical copies for a lot of console games and GoG copies for others when available. Even dug out my old CD collection.

 

[Skywarp]

I'm still basically all physical at this point. I just like to fully own the thing, yet they do take up a lot of space and can be hard when moving. I understand why a lot of people prefer digital, but I would never want physical to stop being an option.

 

[sliiiiiiick]

I moved around too much in life so now I can't stand physical anything. All my music, movies, and games are digital. The few games I have on disc are really annoying when I go to play because I never know where they are, living in a small place I put things away out of sight.

This digital ownership isn't a problem for me because emulation is king

 

[Chittagong]

In games I don't understand it, given that the physical media is always out of date at best, or just a download code at worst.

For films I absolutely understand physical media, because none of the consumer platforms support lossless 4K UHD. The difference in bitrate between streaming and physical is like 10mbs VS 100mbs. You can get lossless 4K UHD digitally on Kaleidescape, but the selection is super limited.

For music, Apple Hi-Res Lossless killed the case for physical as you get higher bitrates of original masters from Apple than you'd get on physical.

tl;dr - For movies, physical is the way to get the highest quality possible product. For music, physical used to be the way to get the best quality possible, before Apple Hi-Res Lossless. For games, physical is the way to get the absolute worst version of the product.

 

[L'Empereur Relive Da Past]

No joke, I only watch DVD (not Blu-ray) movies via my PS2 or PS3 on a CRT. I don't subscribe to any streaming service, never have. Also, I recently sold my massive 600-700 metal CD collection, but everything is backed up on external drives and I listen to my music on an iPod Classic or via iTunes on my computer. I've been hating current year for the past 15 years or so.

 

[FMN]

I went mostly digital for PS4/PS5 games for about 3-4 years from about 2018-2021 and hated it. Spending $60+ and not owning anything just feels bad.

Books I've always been 100% physical. One of the few forms of entertainment you don't need to look at a screen to enjoy it so why would I?

Movies and tv shows are either physical or found sailing the high seas.

Music is the only tricky one. Most of my listening is when I'm working out so it's hard to find something that works as well as phone + wireless earbuds.

 

[FMN]

In games I don't understand it, given that the physical media is always out of date at best, or just a download code at worst.

For films I absolutely understand physical media, because none of the consumer platforms support lossless 4K UHD. The difference in bitrate between streaming and physical is like 10mbs VS 100mbs. You can get lossless 4K UHD digitally on Kaleidescape, but the selection is super limited.

For music, Apple Hi-Res Lossless killed the case for physical as you get higher bitrates of original masters from Apple than you'd get on physical.

tl;dr - For movies, physical is the way to get the highest quality possible product. For music, physical used to be the way to get the best quality possible, before Apple Hi-Res Lossless. For games, physical is the way to get the absolute worst version of the product.

If you get an actual disc or cartridge, you own that game and can freely sell or lend. They're also generally much cheaper to buy since you have more sellers than just through the platform's store. Physical prevents content being removed too such as the songs being removed from digital versions of GTA.

Digital upsides are mostly just space saving and getting to play it a little earlier on release.

 

[deriks]

I prefer digital, my house is filled with less junk now.

Could be junk to you. My gaming library is a testament of a lot of effort, by gaming and how much I spend on it, and it's cool to see it too

 

[simpatico]

I'm all for physical. Never got into putting hours into an emulator save file.

Nothing from the era of online patches is worth owning physically though. Wish those GOTY copies came patched with dlc on the disc, we know they don't. The only valid reason for sticking to it would be trade-in value. Otherwise it's just the worst of both worlds.

 

[MrCunningham]

The true turning point. I remember when iPods were still super expensive and sometimes hard to get, I ended up getting a Creative Nomad Jukebox, and I loved that beefy little chunker, lol.

Yeah, it definitely helped. Or having a CD player that could read data discs and just cramming the disc with mp3s. I miss those advancements in technology where it was like, "Whoa, I have easier access to music, and more of it?!"

Holy shit! I have that same unit stashed away somewhere. A 30GB version too. I honestly don;t know where it is... my Dad might have it somewhere.

 

[Beechos]

Hoarders delight. I could only imagine the space if all my digital content was physical.

 

[Spukc]

If you head back to cassette's you are fucking insane.. it's shit.

It's like fucking using an petrol engine to power your laptop inside of your house.

Vinyl is dope tho. But most fucking sheit hipsters use dollar store temu sheit to play them..
so no..

For me it's vinyl with a proper receiver setup and kef speakers
4k uhd discs because they shit all over streaming.
Switch and partly switch 2 is the last gen that had true physical stuff no not all of it.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Digital will eventually win but I give physical credit, when you beat a game you can sell it right away

 

[Durin]

I'm on board with this happening, especially for movies/tv since you don't have to worry about patches, and the quality is better than streaming services compressing everything.

Just finished converting my entire blu-ray/dvd collection of 500+ titles to digital. Picture quality noticeably better (audio even more so), set everything up with Jellyfin to remote stream wherever I am with internet, and now I have the convenience of digital with shit I actually own.

More developers particularly indie games should support the movement.

Thing is digital is a godsend of indies, because they can least afford the costs of doing physical games. Best case is you get more of them doing limited runs, and ideally after launch when all the patches can be included so you're not dependent on servers.

 

[IntentionalPun]

These stories always end up being based on extremely underwhelming numbers.

This story as far as I can tell is just based on vibes lol

 

[keefged4]

I used to collect physical games, I had a massive collection, thousands of games across generations until one day I took a step back and really thought about it.

I sold most of my collection and have went mostly digital, but I kept the things I worked hard for the most, like my PAL/JP N64 collection, and a handful of Dreamcast games. There's a few things I couldn't let go of, like my Shenmue stuff and a few megadrive carts too.

I don't regret it tbh. It felt like getting over an addiction.

The only physical media I buy at all thesedays are Switch games, purely because they usually hold insane resell value. Everything else is via Steam.

Outside of games though, The last CD or DVD I bought was maybe 15 years ago?

 

[Guilty_AI]

It's like fucking using an petrol engine to power your laptop inside of your house.

would

 

[dgproject]

Unfortunately I am usually moving to a new place every few years so physical media is becoming impractical, even though I love them dearly, especially comic books and manga.

I am not big into into streaming stuff; internet can be very slow in some countries/ areas, and I do prefer ownerships. Hopefully in the future when I settle down, I will go back to physical mediums.

 

[Taddypole]

I only buy physical music or movies since I tend to rewatch movies and always go back to music, I rarely replay video games.