When you get a video game, do you prefer physical or digital copies? Myself, I prefer the physical copies. Sure, the boxes of the games can take up some space, but they’ve slimmed down some in the past couple of years. To me, physical copies are nostalgic — I’m old enough to have been gaming before the online and digital trend of games became available.
While I’ll agree it’s nice to have a collection of box art, I enjoy digital copies. I’ll admit it took me a while to hop on that trend, but it’s got me hooked now. I love being able to want a game, log onto my console, and buy and download the game right then and there. I don’t have to leave the house or get out of my pajamas. I can have the game in a matter of minutes.
Okay, sure, digital copies can be readily available, but cost-wise, they almost never go on sale unless it’s once in a blue moon, and Nintendo has never discounted their premier titles. Physical copies in stores can get all sorts of deals, especially around the holidays when many major games are released. Not only that, but to stick all those digital copies onto your Switch, you may need a decent SD card, and those aren’t that cheap.
They do go on sale once in a while, yeah. And yeah, the SD card can be pricey but I’m willing to invest. Not to mention digital copies have more of an array of games. A lot of indie games come out on the eShop, not necessarily in physical form. So, it’s easier to branch out more and those indie games are pretty easy on the wallet.
Indie games can be fun, I’ll give you that. But, like the other games, they’d all be stuck on your Switch. Physical games give you the ability to share with your friends, as swapping cartridges are simpler than swapping Switch consoles. And if both you and your friend are done playing with the games? You can get some of your money back by reselling the game, and save a few bucks while purchasing pre-owned games. When you’re done with a digital game, it stays on your Switch until you delete it to make room for a new game… if you don’t mind the fact that you had paid for the download in the first place.
First, I would never delete a game… unless it was utter crap. Second, sure, you can resell games and make an extra buck or two depending on where you go. I’ll give you that one, but most serious gamers don’t resell their games. Not that I’ve seen, anyway. They keep them for a collector’s sake. Third, the whole point of the Switch is to take it around with you. Yes, it’s easier to carry a small cartridge around, but people are bringing their Switch’s everywhere now. If you have the game on the Switch, you can play it whether your friend has it or not. Speaking of tiny cartridges, I know plenty of people who have misplaced their games. You can’t play the game if you don’t have the cartridge.
Perhaps you wouldn’t like to delete a game, but if you wanted to download a new title and had no other room on the Switch due to your other downloads, there goes your first point — you’d have to leave the house to buy a new SD card, at least. I’ll give you that the Switch is perfect for carrying around to a friend’s house. Nowadays, one of the joys of being a gamer is connecting with others, after all. Yet, if your friend doesn’t have a Switch dock themselves, it’s not going to be very comfortable staring at the small screen. And are you going to let them borrow the entire console if they wanted to continue playing one of your games? Swapping physical games is a simpler way to connect with fellow gamers. And, if you’re really a serious gamer, you wouldn’t go around losing your cartridges. You’d keep them to resell those that aren’t your favorites when you’re done because gaming is an expensive hobby. Physical games are my choice because they’re cost-effective and simple to share with others.
I’d buy an SD card through Amazon and it would arrive the next day. Problem solved. I’ll take your points but still deem you wrong. I’m going with digital games because they’re convenient and there’s more to offer.
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