Boxed vs Downloading Games

[emperoruriel]

All things being equal, do you prefer to purchase digital downloads or boxed copies of PC games?

There has been a growing industry for buying and downloading games over the internet, like companies like direct2drive, steam, and gamestop downloads.

I just wonder if it would be in best interest to move from retail to buying and downloading games from the internet.

 

[Bengt77]

Steam FTW! I love downloading games. Indeed, there's no clutter. I hate having physical, boxed software copies and definitely prefer downloads.

 

[cg165]

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All things being equal, do you prefer to purchase digital downloads or boxed copies of PC games?

There has been a growing industry for buying and downloading games over the internet, like companies like direct2drive, steam, and gamestop downloads.

I just wonder if it would be in best interest to move from retail to buying and downloading games from the internet.

I like downloading them now. Steam is a great platform for
Games. It's like the iTunes music store but for games. I like how the updates come through steam without you doing anything either. You login and it automatically downloads the updates for any of the games you have installed.

You can also find the downloads cheaper typically since there's no box which only means extra cost.

Oh and you can login through any computer with steam to access your games.

 

[emperoruriel]

Just wondering, I used to play games with my brother. Not as often as before but we still do.

What we used to do was buy a boxed game and install them on 2 computers in the household so we can play multiplayer.

Can steam allow us to play on two computers under the same household at the same time?

I know direct2drive does not allow more than 1 computer at a time

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

^ probably not. game companies are being more anal about their installation per copy policies.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I love having the boxes!

I think it is cool to have real pressed optical media which are decorated so nicely!

 

[The Flashing Fi]

I buy whatever is cheaper. Most of the time, I can find the boxed game cheaper, but sometimes Steam offers great deals (I bought Day of Defeat: Source for 5 bucks).

 

[Bengt77]

I love having the boxes!

I think it is cool to have real pressed optical media which are decorated so nicely!

Love it with music, too, like it with films, but hate it with software and games.

 

[shadownddust]

I like the ability to just have a game when I want it, but there's something special about going to the store, grabbing a game, and thinking about it all the way home. Plus if you're not driving, it gives you time to read the manual.

 

[BayouBengal]

I end up buying the boxed versions of many games due to them sometimes being run on sale much more cheaply than the download version. I've done this with Half Life 2, HL2 Ep1, Orange Box, and CnC 3. For Orange Box it was cheaper for me to buy the physical game than to get Portal, TF2 and Ep 2 all from Steam.

 

[apfhex]

I love having the boxes!

I think it is cool to have real pressed optical media which are decorated so nicely!

I like having boxes for the design work as well (and a physical media copy of the files is nice for backup), but like when a game is available through Steam... it's just so much easier. Especially if it's a game that would otherwise require you to keep the disc in while you play it because of copy protection - ugh.

 

[servognome]

I prefer downloads because they don't require a physical disc in the drive like most boxed games - which makes gaming & travel much easier.
Over the long run it's easier for me to manage, installing games I haven't played in awhile since I don't have to go look for old discs in the closet.

 

[BayouBengal]

Also since PC games have typically next to no resale value in the used market I don't mind the download as opposed to being able to sell a console game.