Do you still buy discs?

[Inspireless Llama]

I saw a Baldur's Gate collectors edition picture on Discord today, which comes down to purchasing a physical edition of a game and I wondered, how many people do still buy disc versions of games when available, and what kind of games still offer disc versions for PC?

I personally feel like it's only the limited edition versions that come with dics really. My last purchase of a disc version was of Cyberpunk 2077 (I think it was basegame only, but with a special case for it) and a download of Cyberpunk 🤔 .

What do you guys think? Do you still purchase disc versions, would you buy disc versions and what is the last disc game you remember purchasing?

 

[Johnway]

its come to the point that its neigh impossible to get new PC games where i live as all the game stores are gone or don't stock PC games. The ones that do are the old charity stores, amazon or cex and anything good usually costs an arm and a leg in cex.

Personally i've long since stopped buying pc games on disc as i just don't have the room. The last game? i think it was the evil within 2 but i'm not sure.

 

[Colif]

Its also a question of: Do you have a disc drive in your PC?

A lot of new cases don't have a slot for them now, and many people don't bother buying external ones either. I don't have anyway of using one now. Its bad enough with music cd's, have to use my mums old PC that is starting to struggle, to rip a cd onto a USB just so I can put it on this PC.

But if you just collecting them because they collectors editions and already have them on digital, thats a different question.

 

[Alm]

I buy PS5 and Switch games physically if I can save money or if I have a voucher. I think platforms like steam are better for game longevity than cds as they keep games compatible with newer systems and cds can get damaged over time.

 

[ZedClampet]

To my knowledge, there is nowhere in my city to buy new, physical copies of PC games unless Best Buy or Walmart sell them occasionally. I miss the days when CompUSA and Best Buy had several rows of PC games, but even though I kind of miss that, I wouldn't buy them now. I don't want my games on a fragile disc that I have to preserve like a museum piece on a bookshelf. Plus, they would be priced ridiculously like console games are.

You can, however, get used PC games all over the place. but I never do. I did buy a $15 external DVD player, but only to watch old movies I had on DVD.

I don't remember the last game I bought a physical copy of, but it was probably in the early 2010's.

 

[Zloth]

I bought X:Rebirth for cheap via some distant seller going through Amazon in late 2014. By getting the game registered before the expansion came out, I was able to get the expansion for free.

Now, I can't even use discs. I need to get a cheap CD/DVD external, though, I've got some old music CDs that I forgot to rip.

 

[Brian Boru]

what is the last disc game you remember purchasing?

Thanks for the excuse to drag out the disc wallets
Last one is Civ5 vanilla, so that would be 2010.

would you buy disc versions

No, I would actively avoid them, too many drawbacks as others have mentioned. Same with movies or TV shows, which is what most of my wallets are filled with.

Do you have a disc drive in your PC?

Surprised to see I do—then again, the PC is 2017 vintage. It's a real flimsy small tray, which I've probably never used.

I could be wrong, but if I recall correctly, a lot of the cases you guys post images of don't even have open fronts anymore, more mesh or solid panels. So it would take some DIY to wrangle an optical drive in there, and of course could upset the airflow balances.

buy a $15 external DVD player

Yeah, that's the obvious way to go—same with floppy drives, I got an external ~5 years ago to read some old 3.5".

some old music CDs that I forgot to rip

Me too—and those movies. What are the preferred ripping apps these Win10 days?

 

[Frindis]

What do you guys think? Do you still purchase disc versions, would you buy disc versions and what is the last disc game you remember purchasing?

The last disc was a boxed Civilization 2 that I bought from a flea market. The one before that was the collector's edition of SWTOR.

Its also a question of: Do you have a disc drive in your PC?

A lot of new cases don't have a slot for them now, and many people don't bother buying external ones either.

Mesh for me, so I went for visuals and more dust. Every six months or so I take my PC outside and air dust it. It's like Christmas to me.

 

[Colif]

open fronts anymore, more mesh or solid panels.

I see mesh as pretty open compared to my last PC that had a solid front

I can see through to back fan from the front... if you look past a radiator (I had to take mesh off to achieve below, this isn't normal front of case)

But I think I understand your point. it doesn't have anywhere to put a cd drive. A few cases used to have slots in roof so you could top mount them but those are hard to find to point people start threads on TH asking for cases that have drive slots now.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I have a boxed DVD of StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty, the last boxed game I bought that had a disk in it. I tried to buy Far Cry 3 and Metro 2033 from Amazon on disc in 2012 but both just had Steam codes printed on a piece of paper in a DVD box. After that I stopped bothering.

I have a USB external DVD drive in the drawer, and an internal one in the cupboard as well. Neither have been used in a few years.

 

[Brian Boru]

I think I understand your point. it doesn't have anywhere to put a cd drive

Yep, that's what I meant
All my cases before this one has 4-6 large [5.25"?] drive bays on the front, so it was weird at first when I inherited it.

 

[Colif]

My previous PC had space for 5 drives, I only used one of them. I didn't know cd drives were becoming a thing of the past.

I think I used the Blue Ray drive a total of 5 times in 5 years. So that told me I didn't need it this time around.

 

[Johnway]

Speaking of drive bays, yes my pc i built i bought a DVD+RW it was cheap and my worry was that OS would come on a CD and needed to install it. But these days you can easily download the iso onto a usb stick and just get a key. Since buying the dvd drive, i haven't needed to use it at all...

In my next pc i'm either going to take the DVD drive out or not bother. But for the latter option i'll need to read up on installing the OS and making sure i have a game plan before hand.

 

[Colif]

Most important thing is have a licence. You can get the installers from Microsoft for free.

Download Windows 10

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I should download win 11 and put it on USB... just in case

 

[Pifanjr]

I think the last disc I bought was for Mass Effect 3, though I'm not 100% sure that came with a disc. If not, it's either Assassin's Creed III (I'm not sure I bought a physical version) or otherwise Skyrim, for which I am sure I have the disc (somewhere).

I don't have a disc tray any more though and it's been years since I last used a disc. I'm pretty sure the very last disc I ever used was for Worms Blast.

 

[Colif]

The last game I bought on physical media... was probably a PS4 game. I can't say which as I have no idea.
The last PC game... it wasn't Diablo 3... it wasn't torchlight 2...I had the Age of Conan Collectors Edition, it might be last... its hard to be exact. I think around the point I stopped playing it, I got a PS3 and switched (to the dark side (not to be confused with The Farside)) for about 3 years until I had a PC that could play newer games, and by then everything was digital.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'm pretty sure the very last disc I ever used was for Worms Blast

Ah yes, those medical emergency discs are great.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

Its also a question of: Do you have a disc drive in your PC?

A lot of new cases don't have a slot for them now, and many people don't bother buying external ones either. I don't have anyway of using one now. Its bad enough with music cd's, have to use my mums old PC that is starting to struggle, to rip a cd onto a USB just so I can put it on this PC.

But if you just collecting them because they collectors editions and already have them on digital, thats a different question.

That's a good question. My last PC that had a build in bay was a custom build pc that I bought back in 2016. But that was likely a case that existed already in like 2012. Like a lot of others I do have an external USB dvd player laying arround but I don't use it anymore. If I want to watch DVD's, I watch on my TV anyway, which means I'm playing the DVD using my PS4.

I buy PS5 and Switch games physically if I can save money or if I have a voucher. I think platforms like steam are better for game longevity than cds as they keep games compatible with newer systems and cds can get damaged over time.

No, I would actively avoid them, too many drawbacks as others have mentioned. Same with movies or TV shows, which is what most of my wallets are filled with.

This is something I'm wondering. Why is it that for consoles, physical copies still seem to be so much more popular? Personally, I prefer having my PS4 games physical over digital as well, but it wouldn't work on PC because that would mean I'd have about 700 games on disc. Or is that it? PC gamers tend to have much more games than console gamers?

Most important thing is have a licence. You can get the installers from Microsoft for free.

I should download win 11 and put it on USB... just in case

Imo that's one of the disavantages of not having it on CD / DVD. You need a working OS somewhere to download and install it , only if you're lucky you can buy a WIndows installation USB device somewhere I think. With a Windows dvd it's just put it in the bay and install, no matter how messed up your OS is.

 

[Colif]

Imo that's one of the disavantages of not having it on CD / DVD. You need a working OS somewhere to download and install it , only if you're lucky you can buy a WIndows installation USB device somewhere I think. With a Windows dvd it's just put it in the bay and install, no matter how messed up your OS is.

No, if you lucky you have a friend who can download the media creation tool and make an installer as if the PC you are repairing already had windows 10/11 you don't need to buy it again to reinstall it. Then you can use the USB to do same thing as the DVD and its also a newer version of windows that includes all the updates up until the point it was released.
Win 10 22H2 is latest version on USB
Win 11 23H2 is latest version
think you can actually make DVD if you want... I haven't tried in 6 years since I swapped to using USB.

the installer is free, the licence on PC is what costs the money. If PC already has a licence, you fine. When you get to stage of install asking for licence, you click "I don't have one" and windows will continue install. Once it hits desktop it will check activation servers and confirm you do have one. Or it should anyway. No one knows their licence numbers anymore... or at least, they don't need to if windows is activated.

No idea what version is on older DVD. Start closer to end with USB.

Make one now on a 16gb USB and you won't need a friend.

We have a blue ray drive in lounge. I can't recall last time anything was watched on it. My father used to use it and he been dead for 8 years now. We have a VHS out there as well. Its a time capsule

note: I am a mod on Tom's Hardware, I have been telling people this advice for 5 years or so now. Just adding to credibility

 

[DXCHASE]

No, and thats with PC and console. I have a decent internet connection so downloading them is easier than worrying about a physical disc imo.

Now, i do get phsyical discs if a LE includes it, but never use it. I dont mind also buying old-school boxed PC games (or console) and display them, whether i keep the disc in the box or outside of it, (or even play it if i was inclined to open a sealed PC box from 1995).

Outside of that, discs are a waste of physical resources anymore.

 

[Pifanjr]

This is something I'm wondering. Why is it that for consoles, physical copies still seem to be so much more popular?

Because navigating a digital library with a controller is even worse than just finding the right disc.

You also used to be able to play games straight from the disc, meaning you'd never have to wait for a download to complete, but I'm not sure if that's still a thing with how frequent games are updated nowadays.

 

[Brian Boru]

Why is it that for consoles, physical copies still seem to be so much more popular?

I don't think they are, I know I've seen various headlines talking about how digital has taken over consoles too.

ETA:

 

[Zimbaly]

I would if I could. Sadly everything is mostly digital.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

Because navigating a digital library with a controller is even worse than just finding the right disc.

You also used to be able to play games straight from the disc, meaning you'd never have to wait for a download to complete, but I'm not sure if that's still a thing with how frequent games are updated nowadays.

I think you can't play them directly from disc anyway. What I find weird is that you can't play them without disk either. If I try to play my disc verison of any game without the disc inserted, it won't play. But if I insert the disc, it still needs to download like half the game.

I don't think they are, I know I've seen various headlines talking about how digital has taken over consoles too.

ETA:

Oh interesting! I always felt like there are still alot of people that collect physical editions of console games, but maybe I'm mistaken. I don't know how to google for it, but do you have a overview of PS5's sold versus the digital edition sold as well? Because I felt like the digitial version was less popular but looking at those stats make me wonder if I was mistaken about that.

 

[Brian Boru]

I always felt like there are still alot of people that collect physical editions of console games

I'm not a consoler—except to sad ladies—so I'm not familiar with which are credible reports v not. But what I see around in a quick scan is that if a game is available in both physical and digital, then sales are roughly 50-50. But most console games are digital only.

So your feeling looks to be right, but it's a decreasing market due to supply shrinkage.

do you have a overview of PS5's sold versus the digital edition sold

No. Sony doesn't split its sales numbers, and I didn't find anywhere even guessing at the split.

Aside—recent years' sales of electronic items should be used with care as a guide to customer demand. Because of the chip shortages during the pandemic, there were many finished product supply shortages, so customers bought what was available, which wasn't necessarily what they wanted.

Anyway, supply is going digital, there's just far too much in its favor. For people without internet, they will probably have to use download kiosks in shopping centers to get whatever future games can be played without a connection.