Gamers Becoming More Confident in Digital Purchasing

[News Portal]

According to a recent survey performed by the NPD group, consumers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of digital purchases. Just over a third of gamers would rather buy their games digitally than receive a physical copy, a number that is reported to be up by 10% compared to 2011. The survey took place over three weeks and included 8,500 participants. 40% of those surveyed admitted to owning at least one title in both digital and physical formats.

Source: IGN

Read full article by GON News

[jonlee]

isn't it also because physical copies tend to me more expensive then digital?

and the fact you can easily find digital copies cheaper outside of australia

[GroggDogg]

ive only bought a handful of store purchases in the last 6 yrs, and its primarily console games and limited editions like rage, and because its 30 gigs and although i have unlimited downloads it would of taken hours to download

[F6310]

isn't it also because physical copies tend to me more expensive then digital?

I also prefer the convenience of digital (ie. Steam) I am forever finding space for old game discs.

[Nekosan]

Preloading is what did it for new release purchases IMO, no reason to go to the store if your copy of x-game is downloaded and ready to go a week before release.

[meji]

I think digital purchasing would really take off over here except we still have a rather underwhelming broadband network and we still have many plans with caps which is a limiting factor, who wants to download a 30gig Max Payne Digital if it will blow their cap and that download will crawl along at 128k when the cap is exceeded and then prevent the further download of digital content? (128k - arbitrary number)

[Nekosan]

I think digital purchasing would really take off over here except we still have a rather underwhelming broadband network and we still have many plans with caps which is a limiting factor, who wants to download a 30gig Max Payne Digital if it will blow their cap and that download will crawl along at 128k when the cap is exceeded and then prevent the further download of digital content? (128k - arbitrary number)

Everyone I know is either with node and it's unmetered or with a TPG style ISP on a 400GB plan, it's not really an issue unless you're on a **** phone line like I am (and I still manage to preload everything i buy).

[Devourer221]

I think digital purchasing would really take off over here except we still have a rather underwhelming broadband network and we still have many plans with caps which is a limiting factor, who wants to download a 30gig Max Payne Digital if it will blow their cap and that download will crawl along at 128k when the cap is exceeded and then prevent the further download of digital content? (128k - arbitrary number)

Everyone I know is either with node and it's unmetered or with a TPG style ISP on a 400GB plan, it's not really an issue unless you're on a **** phone line like I am (and I still manage to preload everything i buy).

I'm on a 60gb cap with internode >.<

[Mugsy]

I personally prefer to buy the physical copies whether it be for my PS3 or PC:

a) if anything happens to the system, I can reinstall faster than waiting for the download to complete. Trying the Diablo 3 Beta, which took all day to download, made me realise how much I prefer having the physical copy.

b) You can usually resell the physical copy for some money back. Can't do that with digital. One time use online passes on the PS3 and attaching an activation key to a battle.net account for Diablo 3 is diminishing the ability to do this (OK, for the former scenario, it'll be a hassle for the second hand purchaser to buy an online pass from PSN).

c) In the case of PC games of yesteryear like having the boxes on my shelf. The Diablo 3 CE managed to fulfill this preference for me.

[Nekosan]

I think digital purchasing would really take off over here except we still have a rather underwhelming broadband network and we still have many plans with caps which is a limiting factor, who wants to download a 30gig Max Payne Digital if it will blow their cap and that download will crawl along at 128k when the cap is exceeded and then prevent the further download of digital content? (128k - arbitrary number)

Everyone I know is either with node and it's unmetered or with a TPG style ISP on a 400GB plan, it's not really an issue unless you're on a **** phone line like I am (and I still manage to preload everything i buy).

I'm on a 60gb cap with internode >.<

So am I, 99% of the steam content you download won't be metered.

[10dollars]

I'm also on a 60GB cap, on a Telstra exchange.
Most things I DL from Steam are unmetered. But there have been a very select few items that weren't, so for those month(s) I was very careful on my downloading

I'd totally rant about prices, but I wont.

[Novocaine]

I always try for digital copies of everything now. Games/music/TV/books etc. I love not having a bookcase full of discs and books taking up space. Though one day my HDD is going to die unexpectedly and I am going to cry.

[Novocaine]

60gb is enough for 1gb of usage a day plus a 30gb worth of games every month. I managed it for the most part until I just got my line upgraded.

[Nekosan]

60gb is enough for 1gb of usage a day plus a 30gb worth of games every month. I managed it for the most part until I just got my line upgraded.

Which god did you pray to for this mythical Telstra line upgrade?

[Novocaine]

Dunno man, it just happened. I'm with Internode though. I was on a reach plan for a long while, and then they finally upgraded me to a DSL2 exchange.