Disc, Cart, or Download?

[TurtwigX]

Well, the title says it all, do you prefer your games on a cartridge, a disc, or as a downloadable? Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages
My favorite is to have it on a cartridge. Every single cart I've owned has had no problems no matter what I've done to them, and they all work perfectly today. If they don't work, all it takes is a little blow in to the slot and it's brand new again. The most problem I've had with one is the dying R/B/Y G/S/C R/S/E battery, although R/S/E wasn't as much of a problem as the other 2 Gens. Most cartridges are small and easy to carry around without a case and make portable gaming comfortable and smooth.
I don't really enjoy discs because they have to handled with extreme care. One problem touching the read side of one and you have to go through a lot of wiping and cleaning so it'll work again. And if it gets scratched, it's all over, buy a new one! And then the laser issue with consoles, it just dies out and my discs become useless if I don't get the system repaired. None of my handhelds had a problem with that at all.
Downloads I don't like for just 2 reasons. 1- A GOOD game will take up TOOOOOO much space. And for things like Steam, you need an INSANELY good computer to run them at good speeds. Well, maybe not insanely, but it's insane compared to my computer. 2- For downloads... again, for a good game, they'd be, like, quite a bit of cash that I'd have to use a credit card for. Which I don't own because, well, I can't. That or I could buy a points card to redeem, but isn't the point of a download to be conveniently bought in your own home? And then there's retail games marketed as downloads as well. It's still retail price, and there's no way I'm registering that much money. And if I'm going out to the store to buy all those cards, WHY NOT JUST GET THE CART OR DISC FOR IT?

[Fubab_107]

I'm not that picky. But I prefer my games to be physical. Doesn't matter if it were a cartridge or a disk, as long as I can physically hold it.
I am alright with downloadable, as you can see most my PC games are downloaded off Steam, but sometimes I get the odd feeling that if the company who hosted the downloaded game went under, I'd lose my ownership of it. At least with a physical copy, I still have that feeling of "I own this one."
It's also very satisfying to look at a shelf and see a massive collection of cartridges and disk cases... Kinda like mini trophies that mean nothing. or a satisfied purchase. (In most cases.)

[Cat333Pokémon]

I prefer physical copies over games of downloaded ones. The nice thing about downloads is being able to play them without managing media, but the file sizes often kill it for me. While I literally have terabytes of hard drives lying around, it seems that the devices that require drives take special ones, like the Xbox 360 (classic 360 drive or an external formatted specifically for use with the 360) and my laptop (IDE), and those are the devices, after my desktop, most likely to involve me playing games via downloaded copies.

Also, downloaded games are worth absolutely no money. While games are an awful investment unless you can predict what will become a rare cult classic, at least physical copies have some value.


As for the cartridge/disc split, that's a tough one. As I take good care of my games and keep all discs in their cases when not in the console, I don't care for the most part. Even with many games having load times, it doesn't bother me. Discs allow much more content, so it's to be expected that they'll take more time to load.

However, there is one thing that matters for me: saving. Cartridges carry the save files over, either via battery (eww!) or flash memory. I hate battery backup, but with flash memory having completely replaced it in the last decade, I don't need to worry about that issue. If you use a game with a friend, both of you have to share your save data on the cartridge. With some games that have only a single file, you need to erase the file (or overwrite) before you can start over, which could be devastating, like with Pokémon. Discs, on the other hand, either save to a memory card or to the console's internal memory. With memory cards, you can easily start a new file by using a different card. With both memory cards and internal memory, you can use a game with a friend and not worry about sharing save files.


With that, I'm not voting. (Please add an "Any physical media" option, referring to both cartridge/disc being equal.)

[Creepachu]

i prefer my games on a cartridge, simply because they are smaller than disks and are less prone to scratching and damage. Downloads are great, but if my system has an error and deletes the game, I have to buy it again.

[Quadcentruo]

There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these game holders, as we know:

Disc advantage - Can hold a fair amount of space. Difficult to lose.
Disc disadvantage - Can be scratched and rendered unreadable. Longer load times.

Cartridge advantage - Fast/instant load times. Easy to store somewhere.
Disadvantage - Easy to lose.

Download advantage - No need for storage. Can have multiple games on a system without switching anything.
Disadvantage - Can eat up space in HDD. Hard drive failures means having to redownload everything.

I personally don't have a preference. As long as I have the ability to play a game that is given to me, whether it be download, disc, or cartridge, I don't mind having it.

[Yoshi648]

I'm with Cat and Fubab on this one. While I do admit I do have a bunch of downloaded games from Steam (thank you sales ) I highly prefer actual cartridges/discs.

Digital games are nice for small ones (like the games from Xbox Arcade), but for everything else I want something physical I can actually hold and see. With those I get the enjoyment of looking at my shelf of games and going "Yeah, I OWN these". Can't really do that just looking at a list of games though your system's menu.

The main thing that really concerns me with digital downloaded games is, what happens to their availability in the future? If I want a 20 year old NES game, I got plenty of places I can go to get a copy of the game. Now what is going to happen 20 years from now when I discover some Xbox 360 Arcade game that looks interesting? Is Microsoft still going to have their servers up with a way to get this thing that's a few generations behind? And with that Fubab said, what happens when this stuff gets taken offline?

As for the disc/cartridge thing, I'm similar to Cat on this one. They both have their advantages and disadvantages but as long I have something I can hold and say "I own this" then I'm good.

[Velociraptor78]

In order of preference; Cartridge, disc, download.
I was born a bit too late to enjoy the cartridge craze of the early Nintendo systems, the Atari, and Sega, so I always felt that I should enjoy them more than the others, since they are essentially history. They're also more durable than discs.

Discs are the medium I've had the most experience with. They hold a load more data than a typical cartridge would, and are more mass-produced. However, as noted previously, discs are more accident-prone and are easily broken by scratches or a short drop from a coffee table.

Downloadable games, although the most convenient for me, also are my least-favorite. Since you don't technically 'own' the games, they can be taken away from you at any time, for any reason.

[The Spirit of Time]

I like to have my PS3 games on optical discs, because I like showing and organising the cases on a shelf. However, most of my games are downloaded. This is mainly due to price, since the there is a vast difference between the price of the downloaded games and the physical ones, and since I pay from my own money, I look for the cheapest.

[DiamondEdge]

Of course, I perfer Physical Copies over Digital ones, but Cartridges just have that sheer Nostalgia factor for me. Yes, they take effort to get them to work right, especially with older consoles, but that just adds that little ounce of accomplishment when it DOES work. Ever you get a "Disc cannot be read" message on a Disc-game, it's just annoying to fix as you're not guranteed a surefire success in the ten seconds waiting for the disc to boot up AGAIN.

...I'm looking at you, Pokemon Channel.

[BigN64]

I prefer actual cartridges/discs. Having physical copies of my games makes me feel more secure plus they have more value. If your old system breaks, then you can just simply play your games on your replacement system. Plus, with physical copies, you can always get the game anytime in the future.

Downloads require a very fast internet connection (which I don't have) for large games plus huge hard drive space. With digital downloaded games, if they get taken offline, then future gamers won't be able to get them. Last but not least if your system breaks, then you could possibly loose your digital downloads (unless if they're linked to your account or if the company transfers them to your replacement system).

Digital downloads do have advantages over physical copies. They're less likely to get damaged and they're cheaper.

In the end it's all personal preference.

[GalliumGrant]

I like Physical Copies a little better (specifically cartridges), personally. Knowing that I bought a physical copy of a game feels more satisfying than buying a digital copy. That, and physical copies aren't as likely to be restricted to one game system or CPU.

I do enjoy Digital Copies because they're more portable, however. It means you don't need to carry a bunch of Physical Copies around as often. Other than that, I can't say anything about Digital Copies.

[Twiggy]

I don't really have a preferred storage method for games, per se, but even with my cramped SSD, I do prefer digital downloads, since my room is already cramped... don't want extra game DVD cases sticking around. Besides, my MacBook Air relies on an external drive for disc-based media.

As for my 3DS... well, I don't really care.

[Eagles]

Personally, I just like the nostalgiac part of Cartridges and how they all had different shapes and sizes, and remember when there used to be n64 carts all over the place in gamestops... idk. Plus, discs are so much more fragile and vulnerable I've grown a complete hate for them. Don't have much against downloads, but I have a slow computer... soya.