We live in the digital age , in which almost all the content we consume reaches us through the Internet , and a good proof of this is the almost disappearance of movies in DVD and Blu-Ray format in pursuit of streaming services . The same thing happens with games, and it comes even further back thanks to platforms like Steam, where we can buy digital games and dispense with physical ones , since in fact optical drives are less and less frequent on PC. On consoles things are exactly the same, and a clear example is SONY that with its PS5 has launched a digital only version, without an optical drive and in which we can only play digital games.
This obvious market trend towards digital and “pay-as-you-go” content via streaming has changed the way developers and especially game distributors do things. Perhaps on consoles it is still more common to have a physical copy of games than on PC, where there is hardly any market, but which of the two options is better and more convenient? We are going to proceed to analyze the pros and cons of each of the formats to try to discern it.
Advantages and disadvantages of digital games
The first advantage of digital games is undoubtedly convenience : you access whatever platform it is, you purchase the game and it is automatically added to your digital library, from where you can download and play it whenever you want. You do not have to place an order in an online store and wait for it to arrive, nor do you have to wait for the tedious installation of the DVD / BR of the games, since in most online platforms the installation occurs simultaneously with the download.
Of course, having a library of digital games also helps you have everything organized in one place and that they do not physically occupy space in your home. Many people like to have a large collection of physical games, but others like their “digital Diogenes syndrome” and see hundreds and hundreds of games in their online library.
Another advantage that digital games provide over physical ones is that you will never lose or break them . Certainly, your account on the online platform could be stolen, you could lose your credentials or the service could stop being active at some point (something that has never happened so far but the possibility exists).
Now, the biggest disadvantage that digital games have is that they take up a lot of space on the hard drive or storage unit of the PC or console, and as a general rule you will have to install and uninstall the games as you need space. For most people this is not a problem, since after all physical games also need to be installed.
The second downside to these games is that you can’t pass them on and resell them on the second-hand market. When you buy a game, it is associated with your account forever, and since the EULA of all online services expressly prohibits selling the accounts, this means that you will not be able to sell it after passing it to you to recover some money.
Advantages and disadvantages of physical games
In our opinion, the main advantage of physical games is collecting : we all love to see a large collection of games on the shelf, even if we have not used them for years and even if they are getting dusty and taking up space. It is mere collecting and is very important to many people.
The second obvious advantage is that when you buy a physical game, there is usually nothing to prevent you from selling it whenever you want or lending it to a friend . There are some exceptions and especially in PC games, since in some cases the games must be associated by force to a Steam account for example, so that the effect after installing it is exactly the same as if you had it digital because even if you have the DVD and the game box, you have actually purchased a game license. This, let it be said, does not happen on any of the consoles on the market.
Other advantages of physical games include, for example, that if they are not multiplayer games you will not have to worry about your bandwidth or Internet connection speed , and also given the decline of this game format, the discounts to buy them cheaper they tend to be more frequent and, in fact, it is not uncommon to see that a game in digital format is more expensive than a physical game.
The obvious downsides are that they take up physical space, can be broken, lost, or even stolen.
Digital vs physical games, which option is the best?
As always, the answer to this question depends on your preferences. From our point of view we would tell you that in the case of PC games, we prefer digital ones because on PC we do not have such limited storage space or Internet bandwidth, and the offer is so great that it can be overwhelming.
Now, if you are a console user then we personally prefer the physical format, more than collecting because those games are not associated with you forever, and you can always lend them, lend them to you, exchange them or resell them when you get bored of them. .
