Poll: Games, download or retail?

[emeraldrafael]

Retail. My friend works at gamestop, so I get brand new $60 games for $5. That beats any steam sale.

 

[s0p0g]

if i can get my hands on it boxed, i'll buy the retail version. most digital copies i have are indie-games, quite a lot of them via steam.
also i have like one or two offers steam made me, that i couldn't resist

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Retail - I love browsing through the game shops, even when I've already planned what game I'm going to buy or don't have enough money. Also I enjoy looking through instruction manuals, I'm the only person I know who reads them.

YOU AREN'T ALONE!!! (/cruise control)

I too am a sufferer of the need to read manuals before playing. It drives my girlfriend mad when we get a new game and I have to read the entire manual before we can play.

 

[superbatranger]

Steam hands down. A game here at retail almost always costs at least 100 dollars.

 

[MisterShine]

Download a bajillion times over. I'm terrible at keeping track of my discs between the months/years between playthroughs of my games. After having to buy Starcraft 4 times and Baldur's Gate 3 times and several others multiple times, I now live happily with the digital age of redownloadable games.

I prefer Steam for this, as they keep them all in one place for me and I don't have to bother with the actual installing process or copying CD keys. Thanks Steam!I'll never not have my games again!

 

[Stammer]

Retail. Always retail. I hate not having a physical copy of the game at all times. The only exception is Steam, but even then I'd rather be able to just own the game myself.

 

[Peter Langdijk]

Retail - I love browsing through the game shops, even when I've already planned what game I'm going to buy or don't have enough money. Also I enjoy looking through instruction manuals, I'm the only person I know who reads them.

Ectualy i love to read the instruction manual, especcialy when installing takes a long time.

 

[MercurySteam]

I go retail, something about getting the case, opening it up and seeing the disc inside gives me a good feeling.

Mm, there aint nothing like it.

 

[PureChaos]

Retail. there are a few games to download i'd like to get but got a few other games to play before i buy another

 

[Space Spoons]

Generally, I prefer to own physical copies of my games, but if Steam's doing one of those crazy 95% off sales, I might cave and by a digital copy instead. Hey, a bargain's a bargain.

 

[Grimsinger]

Download, its nearly impossible to get to a game store while at college. Its in the middle of a historic district, and i have no car, not to mention I dont have to time to take a bus or hitch a ride to the mall. So steam is just so much simpler for me.

 

[akibawall95]

Call me old fashioned but I like retail.

 

[MuppeTeN]

I don't have a decent pc, so i just play on my xbox, so retail, always, plus i get off if i turned them in for the next one.

 

[dWintermut3]

I prefer download.

I can't play Fallout 3 anymore because my dog got ahold of the disk, no such risk with Fallout: New Vegas thanks to Steam!

Also, automatic patching, DLC delivery much nicer than having to buy it on CD or *shudder* Windows Live Marketplace *shudder shudder* and some amazing sale prices.


My second-favorite place to get games is the second-hand bookstore nearby, they often have games that stores couldn't sell that are remaindered to them when they can't send them back to the publisher because of a no-return policy. You won't get the latest-and-greatest that way but I've found some real offbeat gems like Neocron for 2 bucks a copy (bought 12 copies had a year of play for 25 bucks total) and Deadlock 2 for like, a buck fifty.

 

[TheProfesser]

Having the physical copy of a game makes you feel like you own it more then perhaps downloading a game.

 

[Traun]

If the copy is more than Game + Manual then I buy the retail, if it is just Game + Manual I use Steam.

 

[Jelly ^.^]

Here in Australia, most of our ISPs enforce download caps, and our net speeds are an information goat-track instead of a superhighway. On top of that, restrictions on retail parallel importing, regulation and taxes up the arse make buying games at retail prices stupid. Even buying recent pre-owned games is stupidly expensive.

So what to do then? Well, importing directly is awesome. Even with postage included, we can usually get away with a recent title for 30% less than the preowned retail rate. Especially now, with the Australian Dollar worth slightly more than the US Dollar.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

If there is a way to get it retail so that I can get a physical copy, then I will do it. Now I will download if it is game that is exclusively download.

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

i usually buy retail.i like to collect the games and the boxes.