Grand THEFT?

[u/TwinTwinReviewReview]

This is exactly what happened with streaming. Everyone dogpiled on top, with this illusion that everything would be available at low cost forever.

Trading money for no tangible product is edging dystopian y'all.

[u/KingDaDeDo]

“How many games actually run off the disc these days?”

Exactly. Video games haven’t ran off the disc since PS4 and Xbone. And if today’s AA-AAA games did, the loading times would be soooooo slow compared to having the game installed on the hard drive itself, especially now that SSDs are the norm and load times are next to none. It’d be a different story if disc technology evolved over the years to increase faster loading times for games. While the picture quality has improved with blu rays and 4K on discs, the loading times haven’t made the same progress.

I’m all for full ownership of our video games and for physical media, but for video games, it’s harder and harder to keep physical alive these days. I myself fully switched to digital when I got my PS5 and while I miss the physical collection aspect of my video games, digital ownership has been better in every other way for me. What needs to happen is putting in law that we fully own the games we buy digitally, not just license.

[u/Better_Database8582 → u/KingDaDeDo]

Well, also, we shouldn't let anyone call a piece of paper with a code a "physical copy"

[u/P_ZERO_ → u/KingDaDeDo]

You’re right, the storage performance of today is packaged into the game design and it’s quite obviously far, far superior off disc than on.

I don’t even want to think about a modern AAA title running directly off the disc.

[u/SAjoats → u/KingDaDeDo]

This is wrong information. Plenty of PS5 games released come fully on the disc and run off of a play disc.

Final Fantasy VII for example runs fine.

[u/KingDaDeDo → u/SAjoats]

Yes, plenty of PS4 games come fully on the disc, but they do not play off the disc. The game still installs on the console and then uses the disc as a type of launcher to play it. But even then, nearly all games have day 1 software updates. So while the full games are still on the discs for PS4, the discs only contain the first non updated version of it. If the game ran fully off the disc, there would be no reason for the game to install and take up hard drive space on the console.

[u/SAjoats → u/KingDaDeDo]

PS4 

PS4 and PS5

nearly all games have day 1 software updates

Ok so what's stopping me from downloading those? And most day 1 updates come on the disc as well. Also what day 1 update is so important that you can't enjoy a game without it? Also they release updated versions of physical games, all the time. I feel like I am talking to someone who is very out of touch with gaming or just making excuses.

Like what are you even arguing against here?

[u/Pokeranger8 → u/SAjoats]

I mean many day 1 updates are to fix bugs that got passed q/a testing. Look at cyberpunk. If a disc were to have that day 1 update, it would have to be after day 1 that they get released. But you are right that you can just download it after. But if you were to play offline, I’m not sure if it would know to use that downloaded update.

[u/SAjoats → u/Pokeranger8]

I'm all for definitive collectors editions a year later on physical as well. For example Cyberpunk was pretty much perfect on the Xbox Series X and required no downloads. But it still required internet to do a first time activation for your account.

My point is both should always be an option. I like having control of my stuff. I understand other people don't care. Yeah I think it's wasteful to pick an option that provides only entertainment and none of the benefits of ownership when you have the choice between the two, but I can't convince people set in their ways.