A Nintendo community
by the fans!
           
  Forum main
 + 
Are you going mostly digital or *snap!* physical for Switch? [roundtable]
 
I'm kind of torn.

Digital would be pretty darned nice for a portable device. The games would be much more accessible, and you'd be less likely to lose a whole case of them (learn from my mistake people) at once. But the space on the device is limited. 32gb isn't going to take you very far. That said, SDXC cards are fairly cheap, and constantly getting bigger and cheaper. So this may not be much of a factor in the long run.

Physical has the advantage of (probably) not needing to install. PS4 and Xbone games take up tons of space, regardless of whether you go physical or digital, such that a 500gb fridge will be filled up in months, with a 2tb drive not lasting much longer, especially when you have a paid online subscription which comes with monthly digital downloads. And patches eat up waaaay more space. Which brings a few things to mind. First of all, there's a greater onus on the publishers to ship games that are already polished and completed. 15gb Day One patches are not going to fly for many Switch-ers, at least until they get an SDXC card. Also, how about DLC and patches? Can today's big Western third-party games or service games even exist in this type of ecosystem? Perhaps, if they assume that the user will have extra storage. Maybe Overwatch and DOOM could come bundled with memory cards, like Animal Crossing on the Gamecube!

Oops, back on track. At least for Nintendo's games, going physical should allow that 32gb last for quite a while. Also, Nintendo's games (and even games on Nintendo systems) usually hold their value quite well, whether due to demand or limited print runs or whatever. So physical games have a lot more actual value. Particularly since digital versions are usually priced similarly, and are oftentimes even MORE expensive. I might be able to unload my sealed Rayman Legends, grab the Switch version, and pocket some of the change. Mario Kart 8DX seems pricey to some MK8 owners, but trading in your Wii U disc will offset quite a bit of that price.

Another wrinkle is that Nintendo hasn't mentioned the details of their new account system yet. It's possible that, for the first time (without staging a fake robbery), you could leverage one digital copy of a game like Mario Kart 8 across multiple Switch systems. That's big. However, I still can't see Nintendo allowing this. In that scenario, what's to stop people from account-sharing? How does Sony control this? By limiting the installs? Maybe Nintendo could check the geographical proximity? Or only allow it when the systems are in the same room? I dunno. That's another discussion, I guess.

To conclude my stream-of-thought rambling, I plan to go digital for pretty much all of the multiplayer stuff and physical for everything else. For me, convenience trumps value. Convenience and the slickness of being able to throw down in Mario Kart, Smash, Bomberman, etc. at a moment's notice, using only the system in my pocket/bag.

I'll try to last as long as I can and then pick up a 64gb or 128gb card when the fridge starts to overflow. And maybe upgrade it later, when the SDXC cards get cheaper.

I'm still torn about Puyo Puyo Tetris, though. Apparently, only the Switch is getting a physical version, due to licensing issues. That thing is guaranteed to be a collectors' item! Y'know, like Rodea The Sky Soldier!

URL to share (right click and copy)
01/18/17, 05:21    Edited: 01/18/17, 05:30
 
Why not sign up for a (free) account?
   
 
PogueSquadron said:
I've learned my lesson with WiI U. A multi-player game like Mario Kart or Splatoon, I'll probably want digital. Single player stuff, I'm probably OK with physical. Very happy I got Mario Kart and Smash digitally.
Same here. I got Mario Maker digitally but Splatoon, Smash, and Mario Kart physical and I wish I had the digital versions.
01/20/17, 17:36   
PogueSquadron said:
I've learned my lesson with WiI U. A multi-player game like Mario Kart or Splatoon, I'll probably want digital. Single player stuff, I'm probably OK with physical. Very happy I got Mario Kart and Smash digitally.

Well said. Agreed.
01/20/17, 18:10   
Y'know what? I take it back. Because of a ridiculous deal at Best Buy, I went physical on everything. Also, I bought EVERYTHING.

I might be missing out on the convenience of purchasing digitally, but, on the other hand, I shouldn't need to buy an SDXC card until next year at the earliest!
01/21/17, 00:16   
Always physical when I can. I like having the option of selling games and getting the money back out of them if I want to. They're also generally cheaper.
01/21/17, 00:29   
@Mop it up
That is all true, but convenience is a powerful drug. Just look at the Compact Disc! Poor little bugger...

Speaking of CDs, I can't believe that hoary old 44.1 kHz, 16-bit standard is still the maximum quality that most music is delivered in.
01/21/17, 00:33   
@Anand If I played games on the go then I would probably think differently. But I don't.
01/21/17, 00:36   
  Forum main
 +