Towards the end of the video I mentionned Cyberpunk 2077 not having a true physical release, as the retail box seem to only contain a digital download. However, as +RandomName45 in the comments mentionned, the full game is available on GOG without DRM, meaning that anyone who has all the game files (from the GOG purchase) will forever be able to play the game without any online service required. Many games are available without online DRM even today, so if you wish to not be tied to an online service, it may be a good idea to look for games on platforms such as GOG. They may not come with a disc, but at least they will be preserved for years to come

The downfall for me was when I bought COD:GHOSTS and the included download code was faster than installing the 4 DVDs the game came with. If PC adopted bluray(and then 4k blurays which are 100gbs) physical would be alive and well on PC.

I miss those good old days when everything was physical, just with video games, but music and movies as well

Even before Steam was mandatory, some other games were asking you for Games for Windows Live since 2007, which was way worse. That was the actual beginning of the end for physical PC games. And sure, it wasn't that many games that required GFWL, but they were some of the bigger and popular titles.

Last physical PC game I bought at launch was probably Half-Life 2: Episode 1. But, not being able to play games with a one time code? Quick trip to Game Copy World for the crack will sort that bad boy out :D Quite a staple when you wouldn't be bothered to put the disc in as proof every time you wanted to play it too!

A bit weird that you talked about Cyberpunk 2077 but didn't mention GOG at all? Yes, it's an online service, and its servers can eventually be shut down, the thing is, you can download and save your Cyberpunk 2077 installer to a disk/flashdrive/sd card, essentially preserving your game forever because installing it doesn't require internet connection. The only problem is that most big publishers completely ignore GOG, probably trying to avoid piracy. Funny enough, Sony (!!!) released a couple of important titles on GOG, such as Uncharted 4 and God of War (2018).

@DoughnutMasterStudios

4 ай бұрын

Wow, I had no idea about Cyberpunk being on GOG (in retrospect, I should have talked about GOG and other platforms for DRM free games, but for some reason it never got on my mind...) Thanks for letting me know! I would put an annotation on the video if it weren't for KZread removing the feature. I will put a pinned comment with this correction. Thanks again

The last time I bought a physical PC game disk was two weeks ago at an op-shop (Charity/Thrift store), and it was a chance find of NFS Most Wanted 2005: Black Edition. I skip every modern game I see there, or at other similar places like trash and treasure markets. The biggest recent example was Ghost Recon Wildlands and many others all being sold for AU$1 each. A great price, but for something that couldn't be played at all. I am often reminded that this was the main reason why I preferred console games and pre-DRM games, aside from not having a GPU until 2018 or so. Having a box copy of Half-Life 2 for most of my life but not being able to use it because of Steam's single use codes might have contributed to this mentality too. Speaking of Angry Birds, I got a disk of Bad Piggies from a market. It could be played, but only the initial content was available. Any updates to the game were not available for download, and support only suggested buying their new games instead. There has been only one exception that I've ever seen, which was Arma 2 and it's expansions. It could be played in it's entirety from disk without DRM, but later gained the option of redeeming a digital version on Steam using the original CD Key after Gamespy was shut down.

at least we have multiple game stores, third party key sellers for those stores and piracy, so the situation isnt as dire as all digital consoles

@niplob

4 ай бұрын

Keys are worse than piracy, please don't use keys... They are made with stolen credit cards and fraud, there's whole hour long videos of interviews from companies explaining why it's worse than piracy

I bought Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 back in september of that same year on DVD (many, many disks that took forever to install), because online wasn't a viable for me option at that time. It still looks for the first game disk whenever I start up the sim. Last year I also bought a used copy of Command&Conquer Generals with the Zero Hour expansion on DVD. It doesn't need online access at all, and was activated with the code in the package.

04:17 the problem is not that ppl don't add optical drives, the problem is that modern cases do not have trays to add optical drives in the first place and accommodating one will be a pain in the ass...with that being said there is an even easier and cheaper alternative to that, external disk drives via USB. They also burn disks and have a good range of speeds on them so that solves the issue.

gotta love that old Canadian fiver. Reminds me of my childhood a bit

Awesome video man 🔥

On PS, most people prefer disks for single player games and they just reselling them after finishing. Some games doesn't have full playable game on disc, but that's quite rare. On modern Windows older disk DRM is not able to run at all. As long as there are online piracy scene we are safe. Don't get me started on stealing or something, by getting legit game from some guy, original developers doesn't get a penny.

A "relatively" recent good physical release of a PC game is Minecraft: Story Mode. If you get the Season 1 The Complete Adventure and the Season 2 Season Pass discs you can play all episodes without an Internet connection and install it too fully offline. It's completely DRM free, you don't even need the disc in your disc drive. It also had a GOG release, so maybe that's why it doesn't have any DRM

I love pc gaming,I been playing pc for over a decade but this is the reason why I also hate it. I bought a xbox 360, I have been collecting for it now and I love I just throw my game in the disc. It runs and I play it.

I have a GREAT collection of physical PC games! Still got my Windows NT, Windows 7, and old MAC computer to play them all. I have every SIMS game & extentions made physically! LOVE SimCity 4 Deluxe!!

Last PC disc I bought was Spongebob the Cosmic Shake in mid 2023

Along with the points in the vid the lack of control in general is worrying. Digital games can be f'ed with in a number of ways whether that be censorship, added shoddy DRM (Capcom recently did this), shoddy patching in general. Music licences can runout causing a game to be removed from digital storefronts altogether or the devs can just simply choose to remove the game for whatever reason they want... So that if you don't have a digital-only game in your library at that point you've no chance of at least tracking down a physical copy later e.g physical PS2 copies of GTA VC & SA still being available despite Rockstar yanking the digital versions in lieu of their "Definitive" Edition... Accounts can be hacked and/or banned, meaning you lose everything etc. Physical media has problems too but the best way to ensure preservation and control is a combination of both (emulation plays a massive part here too). If you're going to buy digitial for PC and have the choice then GOG is by far the better way to go...

This is why GOG is a win!

I don't trust online games or services for reasons like this. What if I invest a lot in these games and the servers get shut down? What if I want to play them and the internet is not working?

Imo Steam is the worst thing that happened to gaming. Sharing games is fucked, offline play is needlessly difficult. Yea man, you have sales and shit, but I really strongly prefer buying stuff on GoG.

20 years ago

I just bought some physical pc games online for cheap steam keys lol

Bought a physical game 5 days ago💀

Nah, PS5 games can be played offline but you need an internet connection to be able to install them The disk is just a "physical key"

steam is never shutting down why should they

@TheJiloo

4 ай бұрын

Never is a long time, its shutting down sooner or later.

Steam is drm. I dont like it