Poll: So pc gamers . Do you still buy your pc games at retail stores?

[Omnific One]

I got Bioshock 2 for about 4 dollars 6 months after release at a retail store. That's the last retail purchase I made. Skyrim is the only other physical purchase since then and I'm getting that from Amazon. D2D, Steam, and Impulse for my other PC games.

 

[Jamash]

I don't actually buy any games from an actual physical shop that I have to go into, but I still buy all my games in a physical, boxed form from an online retailer.

I occasionally buy games from Steam when they're on sale, but for new releases it's cheaper and quicker to buy a physical copy from an online retailer.

 

[Paularius]

When ever i can.
If theirs a game coming out i want i normally pre order it in GAME and pick it up the morning its released.
I just like having the disk with the contents on it.

 

[INeedAName]

I buy my favourite games, the ones I expect to be playing for a long while, in stores, mostly for the pleasure of owning the boxes.

I think the last physical copy I bought of a game was Human Revolution. The next one will most definitely be Skyrim.

 

[ffs-dontcare]

I usually try to buy physical copies (whether by retail store or via Trademe, our local auction site) because I don't want to be too hard on my broadband data cap. Also, I like having the actual boxes for a neat display in my room. You'd need to have some sort of mental deficiency in order to actually have a problem with people wanting a physical copy for that reason.

That being said, however, I have nothing against resorting to buying my games via Steam or Good Old Games. In fact, I've gone on a bit of a splurge recently and gotten myself the Max Payne series, STALKER: Call of Pripyat and the original Deus Ex, all on Steam. I love their deals. And on Good Old Games, I went and bought all my fondly remembered classics that were available, even the ones I already own (and still have) physical copies of!

If retail game stores get phased out, I hope hobby shops still sell PC games alongside their Magic: The Gathering packs and Warhammer miniatures/paints. That would be awesome.

The last few games I bought retail copies of are Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tribes: Vengeance and Dawn of War II: Retribution. They sit proudly atop my shelf.

EDIT: 616th post, in the name of Richard, Roger and Roland!

The only PC game i've bought at retail in the last 6 years was Starcraft 2. Figured since the first game's disc lasted me 10 years, the sequel should last just as long. I looked at the disc once, registered my copy on battle.net, then downloaded the game client.

I won't lie, this definitely made me snicker a fair bit.

 

[Haz88]

The last PC game I bought retail was Starcraft 2, and that was for the art book and Starcraft 1. I never owned it, just borrowed it from friends.

 

[LeeHarveyO]

I would much rather have a hard copy of a game than just downloading it.

 

[Bran1470]

Oh god no. We aren't living back on the year 2000

 

[Kroxile]

the last pc game i actually went into a store and bought was shivering isles... if thats any clue

 

[snowbear]

I don't go out of my way to buy from either. I usualy buy mine from amazon, play, gameplay wherever is cheaper.

I used to use steam untill I realise they often shaft everyone outside of the usa on unlocking the game. I just dont get why sometimes they make us wait an extra day or two just becuase its not out in the us yet. That said I still use steam for small impulse buys with the awesome offers the put on.

Origin however I will not buy from due to charging £10 more for a game when you dont even get a hard copy, that to me makes no sense what so ever. How can some digital files cost more than something thats been run through a factory, had the packaging manufactured, then shipped to retailers, added the retailers profit margin on top. Sure they have server cost but thats it. So no dice there.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

I use steam almost exclusively. However I did get Battlefield 3 from a store because I refuse to pay £40 on EA's website.

 

[xsoenx]

Retail is anachronistic. The PC market is ready to effectively phase it out, so it disappoints me when people so readily cling to this silly idea of still "wanting a box" or wanting physical media for some unearthly reason-- it is as if they are perpetually existing in the 90s/early 00s.

some people still like to collect games, like have a copy standing on you shelf.
i buy most PC games Retail still since they are cheaper for most part here in Denmark than Steam and Direct2Drive

 

[Stealthfighterx]

Sometimes I order online, but most of my games I get from steam. Also I usually activate the game on steam anyways, so I might as well have received the code instead.

 

[TheLoneBeet]

I like the physically own them so most of the time yes. I've only bought a few games through digital download because of things like early access or a discount.

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

I use steam and GOG and on the very odd occasion Impulse but on occasion I will buy retail simply because of the goodies in the box (but not collector's editions) like maps or a proper manual. There are a few series that I have only bought retail for this reason ie. Elderscrolls series, GTA, Fallout, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

I still remember the good old days when games came out with full colour manuals that were more than pamphlets, cloth maps (like the Ultima series) or other knick-knacks. The price of those games in those days was still around $50 but you got something more than a CD in a paper sleeve and a black and white pdf file you had to print yourself.

 

[Outright Villainy]

My internet is horrendously bad, so yeah, I do mainly for the convenience. There's usually a shit selection in shops though, so it just ends up being Amazon.

 

[Jelly ^.^]

I live in Australia, I don't buy any games at retail places and prices.