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physical games are dead, long live physical games

I know for sure he's got Master of Magic on 3.5 disks because that game crashed every 10 minutes when I played it.
I still have my boxed copy of the CD version. Amazing game. I’m guessing you never updated the game, as it did have many bugs fixed over time. Back then, you had to get the game update from your local BBS or the Microprose FTP site.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
Bought Blasphemous 2 collector's edition. Biggest CE I've bought, it's huge. Expensive as hell but Blasphemous is definitely worth it. One of the coolest franchises to emerge in the last decade.

pR3lw3m.jpeg
awRON2x.jpeg
 

Kupfer

Member
Who's still buying DVDs in 2024?
People on a budget?
I've watched Netflixs' lowest tier quality for some time, despite being "1080p" there is not a huge difference to a good DVD IMO.
Bought There will be Blood on DVD some months ago on DVD and it looks totally fine on my 4k OLED.
 
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near

Gold Member
People on a budget?
I've watched Netflixs' lowest tier quality for some time, despite being "1080p" there is not a huge difference to a good DVD IMO.
Bought There will be Blood on DVD some months ago on DVD and it looks totally fine on my 4k OLED.
I was contemplating hunting down old anime DVDs that aren't available on streaming a while back, what put me off entirely was that they only go up to 480p and 570p (PAL). I couldn't find anything online regarding resolution boost with modern hardware. So even if you're on a budget or buying content exclusive to the format, it just seems like bad investment. But if it works for you, that's a good thing.
 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Bought Blasphemous 2 collector's edition. Biggest CE I've bought, it's huge. Expensive as hell but Blasphemous is definitely worth it. One of the coolest franchises to emerge in the last decade.

pR3lw3m.jpeg
awRON2x.jpeg

How much did that run you? I'm not personally interested but I am glad they are still making these physical editions with a bunch of extras that actually seem nice, as opposed to the standard digital CD download code and a skimpy art book/manual replacement.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
How much did that run you? I'm not personally interested but I am glad they are still making these physical editions with a bunch of extras that actually seem nice, as opposed to the standard digital CD download code and a skimpy art book/manual replacement.

92 dollars, adjusted from my own currency. Yeah, I agree. This particular CE was a step above and beyond, it even includes a full walkthrough guide over the game and a lot of cool artwork (which was what I wanted the most, since I really dig the games art design and wicked iconography).
 

sn0man

Member
Not sure if this is posted anywhere but it seems the Mario kart 8 physical release that had the expansion pass stuff on the cart has a second print revision that includes everything on the cart including the wave 6 tracks that nintendo stupidly left off by releasing it before wave 6 dropped. Seems no download is required. However the annoying thing is you can't tell if it's the 002 version till you open up the game & look at the serial on the back of the cart to check as nintendo didn't update the box art to say no download required so it looks like the version 001 release from the outside.

My patience has been rewarded. Though I’m guessing a complete will come out for Switch 2.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
I still have my boxed copy of the CD version. Amazing game. I’m guessing you never updated the game, as it did have many bugs fixed over time. Back then, you had to get the game update from your local BBS or the Microprose FTP site.
Nope never updated the game back then. We didn't have the net at the time. I dont know if patches were available by mail-in support either. If they were available by mail he didn't do it.

But yes, I heard a patched up version made great improvements.
 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Forgot to post here that I've received my Limited Edition TSUKIHIME A piece of blue glass moon from VGP.

BQYu9Ph.jpg


That said, it looks like the Switch version specifically has started selling out in the US so if you want to get the ESRB physical I'd do it sooner rather than later else you might regret it later on when the price goes to $200 - $300 (I'm already seeing sold listings on ebay for around $150 which is almost double the MSRP).
 

Kupfer

Member
Too bad OTXO, Grime and the bundle are sold out yet. Had to wait for my paycheck and all I got now is Sable.
Well, better than nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
I am convinced that this push to digital is not organic. It's not something that consumers demand, but rather is having forced upon them by businesses who want more for themselves, while giving the customer less. Thats why I'll never stand for it, and insist on getting physical for as long as possible.
You might be onto something here at least when talking about western media, however, both Nintendo and Sony are Japanese companies and physical media is still very strong and present in all shapes and forms on the Japanese market. I think they've even had year-on-year revenue increase for a bunch of physical media stuff, so I'm not too worried about the near to medium term with regards to physical media.

Japan physical media sales in 2023:

CD sales in Japan rose by 7% to 139.095 billion yen (about US$881 million). Vinyl records rose 45% to 6.267 billion yen (about US$40 million). Cassette tapes rose 241% to 212 million yen (about US$1.37 million). Blu-ray Disc/DVD sales of music amounted to 74.469 billion yen (about US$471 million), an increase of 10% year-on-year.

Japan digital media sales in 2023:

Digital music downloads fell in Japan to 10.224 billion yen (about US$65 million), a decrease of 11% from 2022. Streaming music revenue went up 14% to 105.617 billion yen (about US$669 million).

Source


That said, I'm aware Japan is an outlier, but with Sony and Nintendo both being Japanese companies it also means there's a lot of sway coming from Japanese investors and as long as physical media sales in Japan are doing well I think they'll continue providing physical as an option.
 

Kupfer

Member
I waited a long time for this. After believing it has been cancelled, it silently appeared in Europe:

UvqefRY.jpeg


3 short visual novels with retro graphics.
I finished them sometime ago and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Bahnsen Knights in particular was amazing.

Day one for any game of this developer.
Decent pricing as well, thanks for letting us know
 
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Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
So, I think I mentioned a couple of times in this thread about the Scorn Deluxe for PS5 pricing getting really out of hand lately.

FVfFxWK.png


Well, it looks like VGP is doing a reprint, so if you're in North America, you might want to grab a copy if you can.



 

Kupfer

Member
So, I think I mentioned a couple of times in this thread about the Scorn Deluxe for PS5 pricing getting really out of hand lately.

FVfFxWK.png


Well, it looks like VGP is doing a reprint, so if you're in North America, you might want to grab a copy if you can.




On the one hand, it's cool for those who still want the game and can now buy it cheaply, but on the other hand it's a shame for those who supported such a release at the beginning, not knowing that they would later have a little treasure at home.
Stray, for example, was something very special for me, I followed the pre-order very closely because I was so excited about the release, ordered 2 copies asap, 1 to play, 1 to collect.
When I saw what prices were suddenly being asked for the release, I didn't give a second thought to selling it, so I was all the more pleased to have done everything right - then a few months later -> reprint and the game is worth "nothing" by now.

2awoSgb.jpeg


I mean, sure, that's how it can go, but I can understand that one or two day 1 Scorn owners will be a bit disappointed.

It's always cool to have something limited, something special.

That's one of many aspects of collecting physical games IMO
 
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Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
On the one hand, it's cool for those who still want the game and can now buy it cheaply, but on the other hand it's a shame for those who supported such a release at the beginning, not knowing that they would later have a little treasure at home.
Stray, for example, was something very special for me, I followed the pre-order very closely because I was so excited about the release, ordered 2 copies asap, 1 to play, 1 to collect.
When I saw what prices were suddenly being asked for the release, I didn't give a second thought to selling it, so I was all the more pleased to have done everything right - then a few months later -> reprint and the game is worth "nothing" by now.

2awoSgb.jpeg


I mean, sure, that's how it can go, but I can understand that one or two day 1 Scorn owners will be a bit disappointed.

It's always cool to have something limited, something special.

That's one of many aspects of collecting physical games IMO
I've pre-ordered Scorn Deluxe so I'm one those who supported the game by buying it day one. I don't plan to resell anything from my collection (other than occasional duplicates) even if it gets to 5-6x its original price and I know there are others who feel the same.

The scalping is really getting out of hand since 2020 or so and I'll always be happy when a reprint happens even if that means that some of the titles I have in my collection lose value. As long as more people get to own these games I'm perfectly good with that.

If there wouldn't be reprints I would have missed on at least half a dozen rare games I really, really wanted in my collection as NO way I would've paid the scalping price to get them from ebay or random 3rd party sellers on Amazon (imagine paying $150 for a PS4 copy of Outer Wilds months before Annapurna & iam8bit announced they'll be doing a retail release on PS5 and Switch with all the updates and DLC included on the disc/cart).

I can empathize with your Stray experience, but reprints do happen (or new, more complete SKUs from different physical distributors get released years later like with Outer Wilds). In my opinion, it's not worth purchasing any of these special editions from iam8bit, LRG, and the like, banking on them gaining value over time. Only buy it if you truly want it in your collection; that's my approach to collecting.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
PlayAsia is once again running their usual 3 games for $100 sale starting from today till August 6.

a_013393.jpg
Great deal as usual, but worth pointing out that there are a lot of pre-orders in the mix this time. Which is great, but also worth noting that Play Asia will hold all games until the last game on a single order is released. So if you get three pre-order games, they won't ship any of them until the last one releases. I've been burned by that before.
 

Kupfer

Member
I've pre-ordered Scorn Deluxe so I'm one those who supported the game by buying it day one. I don't plan to resell anything from my collection (other than occasional duplicates) even if it gets to 5-6x its original price and I know there are others who feel the same.

The scalping is really getting out of hand since 2020 or so and I'll always be happy when a reprint happens even if that means that some of the titles I have in my collection lose value. As long as more people get to own these games I'm perfectly good with that.

If there wouldn't be reprints I would have missed on at least half a dozen rare games I really, really wanted in my collection as NO way I would've paid the scalping price to get them from ebay or random 3rd party sellers on Amazon (imagine paying $150 for a PS4 copy of Outer Wilds months before Annapurna & iam8bit announced they'll be doing a retail release on PS5 and Switch with all the updates and DLC included on the disc/cart).

I can empathize with your Stray experience, but reprints do happen (or new, more complete SKUs from different physical distributors get released years later like with Outer Wilds). In my opinion, it's not worth purchasing any of these special editions from iam8bit, LRG, and the like, banking on them gaining value over time. Only buy it if you truly want it in your collection; that's my approach to collecting.

This is also a healthy approach.

I read my post again and I think you can understand it in a way that I sold Stray because of the high price. Just for clarification, I did not, never scalped anything. The thing with the 'second thought' was that I didn't think about selling at any point and was all the more pleased to have the game in my possession.

I also don't sell any games or hardware from my collection, because then it would get smaller, that is not how collecting works ;P
 
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Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
This is also a healthy approach.

I read my post again and I think you can understand it in a way that I sold Stray because of the high price. Just for clarification, I did not, never scalped anything. The thing with the 'second thought' was that I didn't think about selling at any point and was all the more pleased to have the game in my possession.

I also don't sell any games or hardware from my collection, because then it would get smaller, that is not how collecting works ;P
Yeah, I think I misunderstood that part a little bit, so it's cool to see that we're on the same page about the scalping situation. I wanted to add that I always try to buy the games I'm interested in physically first and then digitally during a deep sale for ease of use, especially now that I also use my PS Portal quite often and it's kind of a pain to swap discs (I sound like one of those digital only bros while saying this 😂). Well, last year I made an exception to this rule with Alan Wake 2, but you know what I mean. 😅
 

Killer8

Member
On the one hand, it's cool for those who still want the game and can now buy it cheaply, but on the other hand it's a shame for those who supported such a release at the beginning, not knowing that they would later have a little treasure at home.
Stray, for example, was something very special for me, I followed the pre-order very closely because I was so excited about the release, ordered 2 copies asap, 1 to play, 1 to collect.
When I saw what prices were suddenly being asked for the release, I didn't give a second thought to selling it, so I was all the more pleased to have done everything right - then a few months later -> reprint and the game is worth "nothing" by now.

2awoSgb.jpeg


I mean, sure, that's how it can go, but I can understand that one or two day 1 Scorn owners will be a bit disappointed.

It's always cool to have something limited, something special.

That's one of many aspects of collecting physical games IMO

I am glad that a reprint is happening. I was sitting on a still sealed copy of Scorn. Part of me wanted to keep it sealed and sell it on eBay for an insane price - you would be mad not to.

Now that the prices are dropping off a cliff back to a sane level, i'm actually inclined to unwrap it and play the game. Which is what it should really be about.
 

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Just received my copy of CYGNI: All Guns Blazing plus some Japanese imports that I've ordered a few day ago from Amazon JP including this Limited Edition of Touhou Luna Nights which surprisingly was very cheap (around €25).

I also have another order from Amazon JP coming later this week, a couple of north american imports, a pre-order and Gravity Rush Remastered for PS4.

str3U1M.jpeg
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Someone tried to offer me a disc copy of sherlock holmes: crime and punishment for ps4 as a straight trade for a ps4 pro. He kept saying how it goes for over $100 on amazon and that his copy is new (but he sent me a pic of the disc so its clearly opened) lol.

The game can be found for around $15 on ebay. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
his copy is new (but he sent me a pic of the disc so its clearly opened) lol.
That sounds like "Gamestop NEW" - aka, they've opened it up and re-sealed it, but don't worry it totally has never been played before, so it's NEW.

I stopped buying stuff from them a long time ago, only time I'll bother now is if they have something I don't mind getting in terrible physical shape.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
That sounds like "Gamestop NEW" - aka, they've opened it up and re-sealed it, but don't worry it totally has never been played before, so it's NEW.

I stopped buying stuff from them a long time ago, only time I'll bother now is if they have something I don't mind getting in terrible physical shape.
Nah it wasnt even resealed, he just sent me a pic of the open case with the disc in it.

He also said just the case is worth $44 lol
 

keraj37

Contacted PSN to add his card back to his account
Expanding the PSVR2 collection (walking dead: S&S is ps4 disc but unlocks for free PS5 digital version for free)
I preordered disc version of Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate, but it got delayed by 2 months, so need to wait more for it.
EeN3hO6.jpeg


iu
 
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Duchess

Member
Got myself a physical copy of FF7 Intergrade, to go with my physical copy of FF7 Rebirth.

Bummed that the Yuffie story mission isn't on the disc, and comes a download code. Bah.

(originally borrow FF7 Remake off my brother, so I didn't have a copy myself)
 
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