Boxed vs Download 2015 Edition

Boxed vs Download 2015 Edition

  • Digital Games

    Votes: 47 57.3%
  • Boxed Games

    Votes: 13 15.9%
  • Depends I Buy Both

    Votes: 22 26.8%

  • Total voters
    82
I do miss having all the boxes on my shelf and all the 'feelies', but I do prefer a digital version of the game itself. Love being about to just grab the file from my server and install, not worrying about discs, etc.
 
Joined
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I was sorta okay with all digital…I'd come to peace with it. Then I won that D:OS Kickstarter Edition box. Every time I walk by that bookshelf and see it there on the top shelf, it gives me a really genuine sense of joy.

Been out of town, so a little late in replying, but this is why I like boxed games. I really wish I had saved all of my old game boxes - I still have the manuals, but I moved a lot when I was younger and thew out the boxes. I would have a wall to rival Matt Barton's featured on Matt Chat. I also liked the extras, such as the cloth maps in the Ultima games or even a real manual, not just a pdf.

These days I buy mostly digital, but I would prefer to buy boxed if they could match the digital sale price. Even if you get the boxed version, many times all you are really getting is the Steam or Origin key, you just load from DVD instead of downloading. Some titles aren't available though and more are going to all digital. I know I recently purchased Alien Isolation and there is not a boxed version for the PC, at least in the US.
 
Joined
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Tennessee, United States
I'll be waiting on my Boxed PoE Collector's Edition for a while it seems (hasn't shipped yet) but looking at the digitial Collector's Book, it makes me envious of people who pledged $250. Very well-written 116 page backstory on the world, Bestiary, and more.

Solidly put together media will always have its place. Less so the boxes solely with a leaflet and DVD inside.

...oh nevermind on that waiting on shipping part, woohoo.

Hi,

We thought you'd like to know that we shipped your items, and that this completes your order.

If you have any questions about your purchase please contact us at http://www.paradoxplaza.com/support

Please do not reply to this message.

Your order was shipped via USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Medium Box, and is estimated to arrive March 30, 2015 - March 31, 2015.

The following items were included in this shipment:

1 x Mouse pads for the Pillars of Eternity game (POEMOUSEPAD)
1 x Pillars of Eternity Tee - Medium (POE-TSHIRT-MD)
1 x Collector's Box for Pillars of Eternity (POECEBOX)
1 x Thank you Postcard for Pillars of Eternity (POEPOSTCARD)
 
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Joined
Nov 10, 2008
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Florida, USA
I say digital all things considered.

One of the reasons I stopped playing PC games a few years back was that it was annoying as hell to have a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM constantly in the drive spinning at super high speeds, due to its intolerable whining.

I don't like that digital mostly forces you to invest in a closed platform where your games can be taken away for you and are only a "service", but if all the boxes you're going to get be mostly DVD cases with one small useless sheet inside, they might as well shove them.

All in all I don't even think it's a good idea to get attached to "boxes". Honestly every time I got a "special edition box" I looked at it and the trinkets for 3 minutes and forgot about it. It just seems like a huge waste of money to me for something that doesn't matter.
 
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All in all I don't even think it's a good idea to get attached to "boxes". Honestly every time I got a "special edition box" I looked at it and the trinkets for 3 minutes and forgot about it. It just seems like a huge waste of money to me for something that doesn't matter.

Can't disagree with that, but it depends on what you consider worth it.

In my case it's 1-3 years between I find something interesting. I did buy a CE of TW2, mainly because I liked the Geralt bust. (Did I mention that he wears a tie with MRI pictures of a knee?). I didn't find anything sufficiently interesting in the upcoming TW3 CE pack.

After TW2 I bought the CE of ESO, with a nice statue of Molag Bal.

Other than that, nothing. I did not buy any CE of Skyrim, despite including a dragon figurine, I found that too expensive.

So I don't think I'm too attached to boxes. Only occasionally.

pibbur who actually misses the days when he looked at MRI images professionally. And who has scored 43% on the MIT nerdity test.
 
All in all I don't even think it's a good idea to get attached to "boxes". Honestly every time I got a "special edition box" I looked at it and the trinkets for 3 minutes and forgot about it. It just seems like a huge waste of money to me for something that doesn't matter.

I always feel a strange compulsion to tease people for spending hundreds of dollars on special editions that come with a free toy. I don't know why. It doesn't exactly endear me to this audience, and gets rotten vegetables hurled in my direction.
 
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Waiting for my Pillars of Eternity booty reminds me why I prefer digital now. Good thing that I got a digital key too (well more than a few of them).
 
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
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I always feel a strange compulsion to tease people for spending hundreds of dollars on special editions that come with a free toy. I don't know why. It doesn't exactly endear me to this audience, and gets rotten vegetables hurled in my direction.

Hah!

pibbur who looks for vegetables, fresh or rotten, in his vincity, Can't find any, so in stead he virtually throws a virtual pie at Jack. *SPLUT*

PS. Throwing pies at people was actually the way we Ultima Dragons (Pibbur Dragon included) welcomed newcomers. DS.

PS2. Enter serious mode. I know several people who find it strange that adults spend hundreds of dollars on digital toys, like computer games. DS2.
 
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I prefer boxed, if available. I like getting the whole experience - manual, discs, inserts, extra items and so forth. I also like the box art and seeing the game on my shelf next to 30 year old games. It gives me a good perspective on the history of the CRPG genre. Of course, I also prefer vinyl and CDs for music and printed books over ebooks, so at least I'm consistent.

I do think some of the collector's editions are getting too large and expensive, though.
 
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
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Michigan, USA
Five years ago I said I don't have a preference. These days I really enjoy digital download versions. It is just much easier than maintaining a massive collection of discs. I still have a huge disc folder but I rarely open it other than to get a sniff of nostalgia.

For consoles, however, I still prefer physical discs. I just don't trust MS to maintain my access to those games for very long. I'm not sure why I trust Valve more, but I do. Perhaps it is because they are a company run by gamers, and I assume there is a mutual trust and understanding between gamers. Very foolish of me.
 
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Boxed, of course.

Digital - bits & bytes is to me like a movement of air : It can be gone when the magnetism wears off - or any other, similar thing.

Boxes stay.
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
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I live in a country where buying imported stuff is almost exclusive for rich people, because of: weak currency, inflation, import restrictions and unfair taxes. So, I do choose digital STEAM, GOG, ORIGIN, PSN, you name it. Still, they tax me for about 30% more on every transaction (if it's in foreign currency, that's it).
If I have to buy a game (let's say TW3).

GOG
35.99 (discounted because I have the other 2)
+30% taxes
46.80

STEAM
53.99
+30% taxes
70.20

ORIGIN
35.99
+30% taxes
46.80

PSN
53.99
+30% taxes
70.20

With my current rig, I'll be unable to play the game on PC, I'll need to upgrade to a proper VGA to run it, let's say a GTX960 or better (~us$ 450 street price). And since I don't play those dumbo-bro-macho FPSs, I will not make that investment to play just that game. So pretty much I'm stuck on my PS4.

…And If i want the boxed edition:

$59.90
+$20 Shipping
+50% Customs
+30% Taxes

$170,80

Guess what. Digital PS4 FTW.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
115
Always been a box lover, cant beat that new manual smell... ever.

Saying that, I have purchased alot of Digital lately, but I always feel i'm missing out on the whole "New" game experience doing it. :-/
 
Joined
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Great Britannia
Always been a box lover, cant beat that new manual smell… ever.

Saying that, I have purchased alot of Digital lately, but I always feel i'm missing out on the whole "New" game experience doing it. :-/
Might and Magic 10 has a deluxe box edition. :)

Pibbur who wishes he knew…
 
Of some relevance: PoE $250 tier unboxing http://imgur.com/a/AfQjl#CppH4Ln

Thanks Drithius ! I wonder what my Regular Edition Box will look like.

As for the subject of this thread, I prefer boxed versions, mostly because I like a printed manual, and because it's quite late for me to change my habit of collecting games now that I have about 500 boxed games.

That said, if I was just starting gaming, I would probably opt for digital versions, because it doesn't take space.
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2014
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Laval, QC, Canada
Same answer I would have given last year, 5 years ago ... heck even 10 years ago.

Digital.

Last boxed game I bought was for the PS Vita (a) because it was cheap and (b) because having a couple of physical games allows me to split games between downloads and in the card slot, more available choice.

Last PC physical game? I think Venetica, because that was the only way I could get it.
 
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