Do you still buy physical games for PC?

M76

M76

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When was the last time you purchased a game as a retail physical copy for PC?
There is just no point to it. You have to activate it online anyway so it is forever locked to your account. At that point the physical disk and case is just clutter. And they never include any printed content with games anymore, unless it is some overpriced collector's edition.

My last one was GTAV, now 7 years ago I think.
 
I bought elder scrolls online's physical imperial edition in 2014 which had a statue, Steelcase, and big art book hardcover. That was my last physical purchase, which was made for the physical goodies alone. It did come with DVDs of the game, but I had the client downloaded already as I was a closed beta tester.
 
I think one of the COD games was one of the last physical one with media. the last few games I have bought physically just have game codes in the box, Battlefield 2042, Black Ops 3, Doom 2016, Battlefield 1.
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I moved on to digital for PC games. Physical are rare now and most the time it is just a code in the box. For console I always buy physical And will continue to until i am forced to do digital like PC.
 
I think Witcher 1 was my last physical game. But - yeah, I've fully embraced digital for PC.
 
I honestly don't know where to buy physical media for PC games anymore. I find the ease of use and lack of clutter beats out any issues with being tied to a single account

I can't recall the last title I bought as a physical copy (BF2 and Oblivion come to mind), but it was likely the early aughts.

If games started including collectables (in the regular editions, not the $120 collector's edition) I might be game. I'm a sucker for a cloth map.
 
Mass Effect 3 in March, 2012... so almost 10 years now.

I do miss perusing the aisles and looking at the boxes. Also, the smell of the newly printed 100+ page manual. The BIG boxes.

I do not miss the CD install shuffle. Insert Disc 1 to play. With high speed internet, you can have any game effortlessly bought and digitally installed within minutes
 
Mtostly collectors edition type games, some recen ones are Shadowlands CE, Cyberpunk 2077 with some goodies, Metro Exodus CE and some Elder scrolls expac CE.
 
Same old story. Those used to having broadband forget that many do not. How did you acquire the game that needed to be activated? Download from the internet? What if you had no access at all? Near one quarter of American households do not. Has profit on games become so slim a pre-loaded USB key is too expensive? Game development and release so sloppy an online launcher is required to update game nearly every single day?

To answer the question ..... I bought a physical copy of a game about two weeks ago. Max Payne 2. Install and play. No convoluted launcher required.
 
Cyberpunk 2077 was the last one I bought. I purchased the big box collector's edition with the statue. The last game I bought that actually came on a disc was Bioshock Infinite. The time it took to install the game and activate it on Steam convinced me to never buy a game on disc again. I would have been able to install it in half the time by downloading it instead. Thankfully now that it is activated on Steam I can just download it.

If you want to include vintage purchases I've also purchased physical copies of Prey (2006) and Wolfenstein (2009) more recently, since those are not available to purchase digitally anymore. I've been on the lookout for a copy of Assault on Dark Athena recently.
 
Online activation and huge day one patches and growing lack of optical drives, and lack of a real manual (which would be even more inaccurate than the old days anyway) means there's no pluses, only minuses for the game in a box. Maybe if it was on super sale.
 
M76 said:
When was the last time you purchased a game as a retail physical copy for PC?
Click to expand...

It was Starcraft 2 and after that Rage maybe ?

Because of a move and some fighting inbetween the local internet provider (tech destroying competitor cable) I did not had Internet for a while, bought an actual physical game for the first time in a while, tried to play, did not work without Internet, it was over for me after that I think.

By the end it felt like buying a serial number and never using the disk anyway most of the time.
 
Susquehannock said:
Near one quarter of American households do not.
Click to expand...

That sound like a lot in 2022:
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/

77% of adults have actual broadband the percentage for who it would be possible to have it must be significantly higher than that

According to this
https://www.ncta.com/industry-data/84-us-households-have-broadband-internet-access-at-home
84% U.S. HOUSEHOLDS have broadband internet access at home and it would be available for 90% of them
 
Last new physical game I purchased was Wolfenstein 2
I've bought quite a few pre-owned games though from thrift stores. I make sure they're pre-steam era, or before steam became big. If an internet connection is required, I don't buy them. I've actually found quite a few games I've always wanted but couldn't afford due to my measly paying job in high school.
 
I had some Best Buy credit so I bought the ME: Andromeda physical disc...the last time I purposely set out to buy a physical edition was the Dark Souls 2 Collector's Edition for the cool statue
 
I miss the physical game copies, only because when they included a Quest Map, fan literature, etc. It was helpful to have an offline reference for RPG games.
 
M76 said:
When was the last time you purchased a game as a retail physical copy for PC?
There is just no point to it. You have to activate it online anyway so it is forever locked to your account. At that point the physical disk and case is just clutter. And they never include any printed content with games anymore, unless it is some overpriced collector's edition.

My last one was GTAV, now 7 years ago I think.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't know where to find a physical PC game anymore
 
I only get physical games for stuff I put on my Amazon wishlist

I feel like just asking for a Steam Gift card is too impersonal (but it's become harder to find in more recent years!)
 
Last physical game I bought was Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim back in 2011

I stood in the midnight line for the game, opened it up, popped in the DVD disk, and the only file on the DVD was a Steam.exe install file....I kid you not. It still had to download/update Steam itself and the entire game.

I was hesitant of using Steam at first during those times (hence why I bought the game physically), but that's when I officially called it quits and went full digital from there on out.
 
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I think that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was my last physical purchase. But I might bought StarCraft 2 as a physical copy, I don't have any of these boxes anymore though.
 
Oh, I finally found the DVD case for the last game I bought... Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour. That game was fun back in my LAN party days.
 
The last physical PC game I purchased was Neverwinter Nights 2 in 2006.
The stat about 1/4 of American households not having internet (or even specifically "high speed" internet) feels like it always needs context. With the FCC's #'s they specifically only count those living in "rural areas" and a high % of the same population also lives below the poverty line. Some other surveys with high amounts of people sans broadband also include those who don't by choice. They have the option of broadband, but are still using dial-up or have abstained for whatever reason. Could be the cost, could just be lack of awareness or desire. Mobile devices are also conveniently excluded. That's not to say that everyone has access, but more that the figures aren't quite the whole story.
 
I think the last physical PC game I purchased was Battlefield 2 Deluxe Edition or whatever, it came with the main game, the SF expansion pack, the 2 DLCs Euro Forces and the other one.
 
No. Last "physical" game I bought was Battlefield 1, but it contained nothing but a CD key for Origin. It was cheaper to buy that than digital at the time.

The last CD/DVD based game I bought was probably Mass Effect or Rainbow Six Vegas. Both around the same time, I think Mass Effect a few days later.
 
Last physical PC game I bought was for Diablo 3 CE. Console games are digital.
I buy all my Switch games physical so I can trade around between the the Lite and the big one, as well as between mine and the wife's accounts.
 
I don't think I purchased a physical PC game since Battlefield 2 came out. Steam kinda made physical games irrelevant.
 
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