The publisher THQ Nordic released a press release the other day
announcing that many of their future games will have a physical
release.*

You remember physical releases, right? You'd go to a store, pick out a
box with a game in it, take it to the register, hand over your cash,
and then lug your purchase back home where you'd stick the disk into
your computer to install the game. But there were some advantages;
you'd get a nice manual and the game - due to being delivered via disk
- was free from any DRM.

This isn't what THQ is offering. You're getting a box, sure, but it
likely will just include a pamphlet with a Steam key (it may or may
not have any media to install the game from, but given how few PCs
have optical drives I wouldn't bet on a DVD). You won't be able to buy
the things in your average game store, assuming any still exist in
your area (they'll only be available in THQ's own shop in Vienna, and
'selected retail partners'). And a manual? Well, maybe... but it's not
guaranteed. These aren't typical 'physical releases' but special
collector items for people with more money than sense.

So the whole thing is a gimmick, designed to... well, not trick people
(since THQ is being forthright about the details), but to tap into the
nostalgia of physical releases and desire for games unencumbered by a
publisher's apron-strings controlling when and how you can play the
game.

But - the previous four paragraphs notwithstanding - it's not THQ's
announcement I wished to discuss. Honestly, the only novel thing about
it is that they have planned physical releases for so many of their
games; other publishers have pulled similar stunts, but not for their
entire future catalog. And good on THQ Nordic; if that's something
they can get people to pay for, why shouldn't they make that an
option?

But it all does lead to the question: are physical releases really
something we want anymore?

I mean, let's assume we're in a world where not only PC games still
released on physical media, but that they weren't being sold at a
premium, and that there was a shop nearby were you could easily pick
the game up. Would you, today, go out and buy a game on physical
media? As much as I love the format, I can't say that I, myself,
would.

Of course, there are certain factors that might encourage me. A really
nice manual is... well, really nice. A lack of online DRM is similarly
beneficial. But these features were increasingly rare even when PC
games were still being sold on DVDs; too often, all you got was a
pamphlet telling you how to install the game and the program still
demanded to phone home before you could play it. Meanwhile, the
physical release requires me to physically buy the game, use media to
actually install the disk, and then store that media somewhere safe.

Digital releases - for all their other disadvantages - are just easier
to install, store and play. It's to the point that I am repurchasing a
lot of games I already own on disk just so I don't have to worry about
pulling out a CD-ROM.

So, no, I can't see the appeal of physical media anymore. As much as I
love a nice box, it's just not worth the other disadvantages...
especially since that nice box is pretty much the ONLY thing the
physical release will have going for it. Hell, these days I'd rather
the manual be in PDF format too, so I can read it on my tablet.
Meanwhile, these new physical media games will still be DRM
encumbered, will cost more and will require more effort to acquire and
install.

No thanks.

So, how about you? How appealing is a physical release of a game to
you? Would you buy one? Would you pay extra for the option?

* Don't believe me? Read it here!
https://thqnordic.com/article/thq-nordics-boxed-pc-games-are-facing-strictly-limited-future

On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 14:04:51 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>So, how about you? How appealing is a physical release of a game to
>you? Would you buy one? Would you pay extra for the option?

I love owning physical boxes and manuals.... for older titles. I
purchased many games on Ebay over the years just to have the
packaging.

But modern games, I am not really interested. I am fine with Steam for
them.

On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 14:37:52 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 14:04:51 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>So, how about you? How appealing is a physical release of a game to
>>you? Would you buy one? Would you pay extra for the option?
>
>I love owning physical boxes and manuals.... for older titles. I
>purchased many games on Ebay over the years just to have the
>packaging.

>But modern games, I am not really interested. I am fine with Steam for
>them.

Playnite (a sort of uber-game launcher) cured my need for physical
boxes. It lets me assign cover art to each game in my library. For a
lot of my games, I've taken pre-existing scans, cleaned them up, and
use that in lieu of the generic covers offered on Steam/GOG/etc. I'm
not really into the physicallity of the boxes themselves - I don't
really get much from holding them - as much as I am the box copy. I
LOVE reading the marketing on the back of the box describing the game
and the features the developers (or their ad-team, at least)
considered important.

Besides, boxes take up more room than I have available at the moment.
I have a herd of PCs that are already stealing all my shelf-space; I
just don't have room for /packaging/.

;-)

On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 18:55:01 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Playnite (a sort of uber-game launcher) cured my need for physical
>boxes. It lets me assign cover art to each game in my library. For a
>lot of my games, I've taken pre-existing scans, cleaned them up, and
>use that in lieu of the generic covers offered on Steam/GOG/etc. I'm
>not really into the physicallity of the boxes themselves - I don't
>really get much from holding them - as much as I am the box copy.

I do get something out of actually having them physically. Digital
versions of the boxes just won't do it for me. Again, I only feel this
way for older titles, not newer ones so I am sure nostalgia is playing
a heavy role here.

>Besides, boxes take up more room than I have available at the moment.
>I have a herd of PCs that are already stealing all my shelf-space; I
>just don't have room for /packaging/.

I have no more room either. This is probably a major reason I have not
purchased a physical release in some time.

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 18:55:01 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
> <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> >Playnite (a sort of uber-game launcher) cured my need for physical
> >boxes. It lets me assign cover art to each game in my library. For a
> >lot of my games, I've taken pre-existing scans, cleaned them up, and
> >use that in lieu of the generic covers offered on Steam/GOG/etc. I'm
> >not really into the physicallity of the boxes themselves - I don't
> >really get much from holding them - as much as I am the box copy.

> I do get something out of actually having them physically. Digital
> versions of the boxes just won't do it for me. Again, I only feel this
> way for older titles, not newer ones so I am sure nostalgia is playing
> a heavy role here.

For me, I don't want these dang online digital DRM craps. Also, the game
shouldn't change so much after years like WoW. WoW's original CDs are
useless now even to reinstall!

> >Besides, boxes take up more room than I have available at the moment.
> >I have a herd of PCs that are already stealing all my shelf-space; I
> >just don't have room for /packaging/.

> I have no more room either. This is probably a major reason I have not
> purchased a physical release in some time.

Same, but I kept a few.
--
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On Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 11:14:23 AM UTC-7, Ant wrote:
> Mike S. <Mik...@nowhere.com> wrote:
> > On Tue, 27 Jun 2023 18:55:01 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
> > <spallsh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >Playnite (a sort of uber-game launcher) cured my need for physical
> > >boxes. It lets me assign cover art to each game in my library. For a
> > >lot of my games, I've taken pre-existing scans, cleaned them up, and
> > >use that in lieu of the generic covers offered on Steam/GOG/etc. I'm
> > >not really into the physicallity of the boxes themselves - I don't
> > >really get much from holding them - as much as I am the box copy.
>
> > I do get something out of actually having them physically. Digital
> > versions of the boxes just won't do it for me. Again, I only feel this
> > way for older titles, not newer ones so I am sure nostalgia is playing
> > a heavy role here.

> For me, I don't want these dang online digital DRM craps. Also, the game
> shouldn't change so much after years like WoW. WoW's original CDs are
> useless now even to reinstall!

Yeah, I'll pay a little extra for the GoG version if there is one and it doesn't
have some form of DRM.

> > >Besides, boxes take up more room than I have available at the moment.
> > >I have a herd of PCs that are already stealing all my shelf-space; I
> > >just don't have room for /packaging/.
>
> > I have no more room either. This is probably a major reason I have not
> > purchased a physical release in some time.
> Same, but I kept a few.

I just had to dump most of my physical games when I moved, so no, I don't
have room for some empty box either. I do have on drawer full of my
favorites, and that did come in handy when my son wanted to play FO3
as that's all I had it on.

- Justisaur

On Wed, 28 Jun 2023 13:01:21 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 11:14:23?AM UTC-7, Ant wrote:
>> Mike S. <Mik...@nowhere.com> wrote:

>> For me, I don't want these dang online digital DRM craps. Also, the game
>> shouldn't change so much after years like WoW. WoW's original CDs are
>> useless now even to reinstall!

>Yeah, I'll pay a little extra for the GoG version if there is one and it doesn't
>have some form of DRM.

The problem is, modern 'physical releases' still come with online DRM.
Some don't even come with media, and instead just a pamphlet with an
erroneously named 'CD-Key' to plug into Steam (or wherever). You're
literally paying extra just for cardboard.

Were modern physical releases offering a DRM-free version, that would
be a different story but that's not what you're getting.

I wonder if my original Half-Life 2 CD-ROM would work...

(my 'favorite' was some Ubisoft release - I forget for which game -
which included a 'physical release' that had all sorts of gewgaws and
tchotchkes, but not the actual game. To get a license to install the
game on UPlay, you had to buy an entirely different version. Oh,
Ubisoft. ;-)

>> > I have no more room either. This is probably a major reason I have not
>> > purchased a physical release in some time.

>> Same, but I kept a few.

>I just had to dump most of my physical games when I moved, so no, I don't
>have room for some empty box either. I do have on drawer full of my
>favorites, and that did come in handy when my son wanted to play FO3
>as that's all I had it on.

Heh, the "what game boxes are you still hanging on to" is a topic that
comes up every year or so. The few I have remaining are folded flat
and unceremoniously stashed in a drawer somewhere (a location so
terrifyingly inexact that I had to rummage through all my closets to
figure out exactly WHERE those boxes were hidden before I could finish
this sentence. Turns out they are on the same shelves I've stashed all
the manuals. Phew, mystery solved).

(Also, I rediscovered my Duke Nukem 3D mousepad, which I have decided
is a necessity for my Win9x computer. ;)

On 27/06/2023 19:04, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Of course, there are certain factors that might encourage me. A really
> nice manual is... well, really nice. A lack of online DRM is similarly
> beneficial. But these features were increasingly rare even when PC
> games were still being sold on DVDs; too often, all you got was a
> pamphlet telling you how to install the game and the program still
> demanded to phone home before you could play it. Meanwhile, the
> physical release requires me to physically buy the game, use media to
> actually install the disk, and then store that media somewhere safe.

The lure of physical releases for me wasn't the install disk but instead
the manual. Do games generally even come with, or need, a manual any more?

On Fri, 30 Jun 2023 10:33:27 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

>The lure of physical releases for me wasn't the install disk but instead
>the manual. Do games generally even come with, or need, a manual any more?

Mostly the same for me. I am slightly nostalgic for diskettes but I
really want physical releases for everything else, especially the
paper manual.