Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Analyzing Gaming: Convenience of Buying Online

We've come a long way from going to stores such as Blockbuster for game rentals. These days, you don't even need to leave your house to rent games. We've got services like Gamefly that let you rent video games online.



We've also got a ton of sites that let you buy games online. The full version of almost any game you want downloaded right to your PC. Now that's awesome. I've personally used Direct2Drive a lot. I believe it was one of the first websites to start selling digital downloads for games, and was one of the only places that let you buy PC games online for quite some time.



And of course, let's not forget about STEAM. That is one powerhouse of gaming that won't be slowing down any time soon. You can buy PC games online, directly from the STEAM browser. They've got an insane collection of some of the most popular games released. I've even heard of a certain game designer looking to expand into STEAM.



So, what do you think about buying games online? Do you think it takes away from the social aspect of buying a physical copy? What do you prefer?

35 comments:

  1. I love buying games online whether downloading it or having it delivered. Only problem is I tend to spend more money on things like Steam being that it's so convenient. Great for them, bad for my wallet lol. We live in the cyber age and I for one think it's an awesome thing.

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  2. I'll be honest I don't buy online. The only online things for games I buy are WoW gamecards. Otherwise, I just go to shop and buy my game/order it online or just download.

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  3. Personally, most of the games I've bought recently have been on Steam. The biggest advantages are that you can redownload any game whenever you want. Whereas, old games like Warcraft 3, etc, I have to find my freaking disc AND still have my activation code on it. I love Steam.

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  4. Steam is a good source, but I dont buy much anymore

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  5. I like to buy games from steam, its amazing, you can just bring it to another computer and just log in, no cd key, no activation, not having to worry about scratched disk, or none of that bull shit, I love steam to be honest, but some times, their prices are to much! but I love it when they have games for sale! haha its pretty much a win win, also when you buy stuff from new egg, they often give away digital copies of fear or new release games! its awesome! plus buying online and downloading is more green and efficient that receiving a plastic disk with paper and other recyclables that could of been saved by digital copy and downloaded

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  6. I definitely prefer physically buying a game... theres nothing like talking to a fellow gamer about how they actually feel about the game before buying it

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  7. love the connivence of digital copies, but whenever there's a game I really am looking forward to I'll tend to buy it's physical form

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  8. I prefer waiting in line and stuff, and dancing around when I have that long-awaited copy in my shivering, clammy hands. Physical copies are still my favorite, but then again, I have never used Steam, or Gamefly and stuff.

    I STICK TO MY WAYS

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  9. I never liked waiting in lines, or going outside so yeahhh

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  10. I like the idea of both. Some people like to go out and get games themselves. Others like to have it come to them. Depending on my mood, I like either.

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  11. I love buying games online, it's the digital age, games/boxes are outdated now and not needed at all.
    Cawlin's Twitter!

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  12. I hate buying games online I like the aspect of having the games case

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  13. online purchasing is ok for me... but i still kinda like the feeling of having the game case and disc.
    one thing i don't really like about some games these days is that you have to login and be online to play it even if you want to play it offline (starcraft being one of them)... i remember the good old days when if you had your game disc, you could just play it in any PC/console/whatever you had access to

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  14. Rent... games... online? :o Iiinnnteresting. My life is going to go down the drain.

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  15. I like the online systems, and I use steam a lot. But not if I'm going to buy a full priced game. If I'm gonna throw down 50 bucks for a game, I want the hard copy so at least I always have it. I don't mind spending five or ten bucks on steam though, as I probably won't be playing those games much after the fact anyway.

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  16. I usually buy the hard copy... If I have to dowload 4-8GB to play a game, it better be free...

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  17. I've never used gamefly, have you? Is it worth it? Because I may invest in a membership or whatever you have to do

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  18. @Mr.Awesome: I haven't used it personally, but my roommate did for a long time. Apparently you pay something like $15 a month, and you can rent as many games as you'd like, rotating them in and out.

    It seems like a great deal.

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  19. CDs/DVDs are so easily damaged/scratched/lost. I lose the activation keys and such as well, I like how games like Guild Wars can let me buy an account and thus download the game. Buying hard copies is just not a solid investment for me unless there's no other option.

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  20. Eh activision is a jewish company literally. They are making everything pay as you play what used to be a 50$ game is now a 500$ game over time

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  21. I'm kinda pissed that blockbuster went out of business cause now the option to go there isn't there. Even though I've spent more on netflix than I have on block buster my entire life

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  22. Ahhh, I remember the good old Blockbuster days.

    ...yeah, fuck that. :D

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  23. Blockbuster does game rentals by mail now too actually. Of course who knows how long it'll last now...

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  24. @Derk: Oh, I wasn't aware that Blockbuster was doing it by mail too.

    But I admit, I haven't followed it lately.

    Blockbuster is like the Myspace of rentals.

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  25. I prefer buying games in a store. There's that feeling of buying something *physical*. Plus the act of ripping off the plastic and opening the case for the new game. New game smell. Online buying might be convenient, but I'll take buying it in a store over online any day.

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  26. online biying def! buuuuut for really big games nothing beats the thrill of midnight releases! especially the ones that offer goodies to the early people haha

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  27. I love buying games online... my favorite store is piratebay...

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  28. I like the boxes and manuals, although PC "manuals" are garbage nowadays.

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  29. I prefer having a physical copy. Its just one less thing greedy devs cant take away from me.

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  30. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in the states.
    Happened like last week or something.
    They shouldv'e kept up with the times to ensure their longevity.
    Get with the times or fall by the way side.
    Motto to live by in this day and age.

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  31. I don't think it's a social aspect. I have no qualms with downloading games you purchase online; The problem is when you just own a license or temporary copy.

    If you own a license, it can be changed whenever the company decides and it may be restricted to certain computers, etc.. If it's a temporary copy, then you're paying (usually) a good fraction of the full price for something you can never view again.

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