How to give up the hard copy in a steam powered world?

seeyouspacec0wboy

While I have made leap to steam and enjoy it's features I have been having trouble giving up buying a hard copy of games I am really into (mostly bigger rpg titles, especially with collectors editions) but feel I should break the habit.

I'm looking to rebuy oblivion as I neer beat it and will be getting the goty edition. I can't decide whether to purchase the nice black box to have on my shelf or get it on steam? I figure it would be nice to have on steam as I won't have to put the disc in to play.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Wolfenpride

I always prefer the box in most cases, i'd say get a hard copy for Oblivion in case you ever decide you want to heavily mod the game, some mods aren't compatible with steam.

Justarius1

My *thoughts* and *experiences* are basically that I always lose/destroy/maim the hard copy of my games, over the course of years - and through 3 format/reloads of my current rig, Steam has provided an easy, convenient way for me to easily get my entire game library back and working in a fraction of the time it would take for me to fiddle with scratched game CDs, etc.

 

So... Steam all the way.  The first time you lose a boxed game in a move you'll thank yourself.

Dnomsed

I still prefer having hardcopy on hand.  I don't always play over the fastest connection so if something goes tango uniform I find it faster to get back in the game if I can load a patch versus download and patch, depending on the game.

seeyouspacec0wboy

If I add games to steam I still have to insert the disc yes?

gainesvilleg

Originally posted by Ozreth

While I have made leap to steam and enjoy it's features I have been having trouble giving up buying a hard copy of games I am really into (mostly bigger rpg titles, especially with collectors editions) but feel I should break the habit. I'm looking to rebuy oblivion as I neer beat it and will be getting the goty edition. I can't decide whether to purchase the nice black box to have on my shelf or get it on steam? I figure it would be nice to have on steam as I won't have to put the disc in to play. Thoughts? Experiences?

 I'm an old-timer and even I prefer digital these days.  In fact I would even pay a tiny bit extra to not have the annoyance of popping in DVDs to play, and my internet connect is fast enough to handle just about anything it seems

In fact I even just upgraded by xbox360 hard drive so I can get more games on demand there as well.

Remember music stores and video stores and soon to be book stores?  Hint:  if you own Gamestop stock it might be time to sell and fast...

Wolfenpride

Originally posted by Ozreth

If I add games to steam I still have to insert the disc yes?

 You mean if you bought it through steam? No it'll just be in your library, but you will have to log in to steam everytime you want to play it. Thankfully if your internet is down, you can still login in an offline mode. I think if you don't keep the client patched up to date though you won't be able to do this.

seeyouspacec0wboy

Nah I mean if I have a hard copy, install it, and add it to steam. But I'm gonna guess the answer is no, ill still need a disc.

Thinking im just going to go the steam route, I bet the GOTY edition comes with a cool map though : /

Evasia

Steam is down fall for PC for many reason, i say buy a real box or you want limitations that steam have and screen your whole HDD and they sell privacy info to third party no thanks.

Donkireal

Originally posted by Ozreth

Nah I mean if I have a hard copy, install it, and add it to steam. But I'm gonna guess the answer is no, ill still need a disc.

Thinking im just going to go the steam route, I bet the GOTY edition comes with a cool map though : /

Yes you can just add the cd key to steam and then you rly wont need the disk ever again. At least that's for steamworks games. Not sure about the rest.

Paradigm68

The sales are just insane though. I picked up Assassin'e Creed, Far Cry 2 & Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, bundled for like 12 dollars or something.

I also like not having to load discs.

Beyond that if there is a game worth 50 to 60 bucks to me, I'll get the box.

seeyouspacec0wboy

Dammit! Almost bought this on Steam tonight but told myself I wouldn't feel like i actually owned the game. I don't want to deal with CD's though. I've got a problem.

Miles-Prower

I can't stand digital copies. It kills me to not actually "Own" something. I want to have a physical copy of the game in my hand so I can say "I own that. I paid for it with my money". I can't touch a digital copy, providing proof of ownership is a nightmare, and dealing with usernames/passwords to download/replace games that you've uninstalled is annoying as sin.

 

With a Physical copy I don't have to feel pressured into keeping a game installed on my computer. I own a Digital copy of Mass Effect 2 and that is a nightmare to download and play. When my hard drive died, I just decided to not even go trough the process of downloading it again. EA Download Manger has to be installed and you have to deal with it to do anything with the game. Steam is no better. It just plasters me with ads everytime you log in and constantly bombardes me with useless features I don't care about.

 

When I sit down to play a game the last thing I'm thinking of us "Jee, I wonder where I can see some Game Ads?" Or "I wonder what my friends on Steam who play games I'm not at all interested in playing; whom I can just call on the Phone are doing?". Bah! Blight take you, Steam!

 

~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!

seeyouspacec0wboy

There it is. Bought it on Steam : /

Phry

Originally posted by Miles-Prower

I can't stand digital copies. It kills me to not actually "Own" something. I want to have a physical copy of the game in my hand so I can say "I own that. I paid for it with my money". I can't touch a digital copy, providing proof of ownership is a nightmare, and dealing with usernames/passwords to download/replace games that you've uninstalled is annoying as sin.

 

With a Physical copy I don't have to feel pressured into keeping a game installed on my computer. I own a Digital copy of Mass Effect 2 and that is a nightmare to download and play. When my hard drive died, I just decided to not even go trough the process of downloading it again. EA Download Manger has to be installed and you have to deal with it to do anything with the game. Steam is no better. It just plasters me with ads everytime you log in and constantly bombardes me with useless features I don't care about.

 

When I sit down to play a game the last thing I'm thinking of us "Jee, I wonder where I can see some Game Ads?" Or "I wonder what my friends on Steam who play games I'm not at all interested in playing; whom I can just call on the Phone are doing?". Bah! Blight take you, Steam!

 

~Miles "Tails" Prower out! Catch me if you can!

not sure where these add's are your talking about.. though my 'default' setup is to display the games i have on startup, could be you have yours set to the 'store'... as for  the security whatever of owning the discs, as the discs themselves have a fairly limited lifespan, and once their damaged scratched or just lose data over time (which they do...) then having a 'digital copy' is an advantage, with steam, your 'discs' never get broken or damaged or corrupted' and you can install the games or uninstall them as you see fit.. the games are always 'there' for you to reinstall whenever you want them,  though i do feel your pain with the EA dlm i kind of put it on the same level as GFWL and XBOX Live... a complete and utter waste of time.. i've already decided never to ever buy any game that had those limitations.. even to the point of getting pirate copies if that was the only alternative to a game i really wanted..  

ograf

I was very skeptical of Steam at first, but it do have some major advantages one which is if you want to buy an older game, if you buy it on steam, you get the compatibility patches.

seeyouspacec0wboy

Well, now that I've bought it I have 7 months to decide whether or not to buy Skyrim on steam : p

Unlight

The only time I buy a box these days is if the game isn't available on Steam or I want a CE.  Boxes only create clutter and open the door for lost or damaged disks.  I'm glad to leave that stuff behind me.  Now when I want to load up a game again after a couple of years, I know it's in my library and I know it's the most recent version.  Modding can be trickier, true, but I've always been able to get them to run once I've tinkered a bit.  Par for the course really, when it comes to mods.

I've been using it for years and I can't imagine managing my substantial games collection without it.

EndDream

I love steam, I dont undertand the problem. It's great to have a digital library of all my games that I can install on any computer on demand at any time. I recently bought Rift for my wife and I and I accidently bought 3 copies. I asked for a refund of 1 and they did it no questions asked the next day. I always opt to buy on steam 1st.

Justarius1

Originally posted by EndDream

I love steam, I dont undertand the problem. It's great to have a digital library of all my games that I can install on any computer on demand at any time. I recently bought Rift for my wife and I and I accidently bought 3 copies. I asked for a refund of 1 and they did it no questions asked the next day. I always opt to buy on steam 1st.

This.  Exaxtly.  It's SO much easier to lose a "box copy" of a game than it is to just d/l it on Steam and deal with customer service if anything goes awry.