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CCIP · 03-15-10, 07:02 AM

I used to be a hardass for hard copies. Now most of them are sitting in my parents' basement, while I haven't got enough storage for them

I have to admit, I'm no Steam enthusiast. Their system has its faults (although looks like heaven compared to UBI DRM and DOES provide something which could be called good online service features). But I've now had 4 (and a half, due to major upgrades) different machines on which I operated my steam account since 2006 and it's honestly proved to be more reliable and convenient than my actual discs.

If hard copies of games these days came with good supplements, I'd probably be more keen to defend them, but honestly, as far as media formats go, I no longer really see the superiority of the CD/DVD as a digital media format, as compared to a stable online platform like Steam. They're just as potentially unreliable and a jewel case isn't much nicer to look at than a .jpg file.

But I'll totally go an extra mile for a game that actually ships with good physical supplements. I'm the same way with music these days - as with games, I don't really pirate anything, but I've now gone mostly to buying digital-download music from independent labels/online services (i.e. not iTunes - which in many respects is similar to Steam). On the other hand if an artist can put together a good package with supplements, I am glad to invest a little extra in it. Sadly it's rare these days, but it's gradually becoming more and more common. Bring on more LP-sized box sets!

03-15-10, 07:02 AM	#12
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	I used to be a hardass for hard copies. Now most of them are sitting in my parents' basement, while I haven't got enough storage for them I have to admit, I'm no Steam enthusiast. Their system has its faults (although looks like heaven compared to UBI DRM and DOES provide something which could be called good online service features). But I've now had 4 (and a half, due to major upgrades) different machines on which I operated my steam account since 2006 and it's honestly proved to be more reliable and convenient than my actual discs. If hard copies of games these days came with good supplements, I'd probably be more keen to defend them, but honestly, as far as media formats go, I no longer really see the superiority of the CD/DVD as a digital media format, as compared to a stable online platform like Steam. They're just as potentially unreliable and a jewel case isn't much nicer to look at than a .jpg file. But I'll totally go an extra mile for a game that actually ships with good physical supplements. I'm the same way with music these days - as with games, I don't really pirate anything, but I've now gone mostly to buying digital-download music from independent labels/online services (i.e. not iTunes - which in many respects is similar to Steam). On the other hand if an artist can put together a good package with supplements, I am glad to invest a little extra in it. Sadly it's rare these days, but it's gradually becoming more and more common. Bring on more LP-sized box sets! __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)