The Daily Grind: Do you need the box?

I need the box. There's something which makes it way better than downloading. No Steam (or other services like Steam) for me.

Box, schmox.

I've only bought through download services for well over a year. And, as a result, I never pay more than $15 for a game - and I'm still spoilt for choice.

While download services such as Direct2drive and Steam are convenient and easy to use, sometimes I prefer having the physical disc so that I can get the game installed and patching faster than having to wait for the game to download and install.

As much as i love the bonus items in a CE they usually end up sitting in the draw on a shelf and gathering dust, however with newer games offering more of the bonus items usually aquired via CE ingame the appeal of the CE is still there.

Cost is one notable thing living in Australia that really helps the digital CE shine, i know personally with games like Champions Online, Aion etc, the digital downloads came in a good sight cheaper than their boxed counterparts, the boxed CE's of these games easily run $90-120 where the digital versions offered by steam/d2d came in at $65-80 after conversion.

I can live without a box and a manual, im sure many gamers can, things like art books, comics bonus items really fall down to the person, most games now offer a gammit of in game items based on what version you pre/order so it really comes down how much you want the extras. Given the pricing situation, for me personally digital distribution will always win out, unless the box set offers something that i truely want.

For a non-MMO, I still like to have the box because if the company stops supporting the game I still want to be able to install it. So, either the box or burning an installable copy to CD.

For an MMO, since if the company stops supporting the game that means installing it is pretty useless, I don't see any reason to have a box.

I do admit I like a nicely designed case for a game, but most of the time you don't get much beyond a flimsy paper box and a couple of disks. Manuals are pdf, art is better on downloadable wallpapers than on the box front, and the physical disks, while handy*, are often out of date before they ship anyway.

The only reason I can see for having a box these days is, as you mention, Collector's Editions that come with additional physical items you want.


*depending on your download speeds, having the install help from the disks may be enough reason to get the box.

As the proud owner of a DSL-light connection with 384kb/s dowload bandwidth I'd say: yes I do need the box...

BOX and collectors edition by choice.


And that brings me to Global Agenda and how they managed to not plan on shipping to anywhere else except America and Canada.

I am still interested in the game, but my enthusiasm has dropped like a brick.

I think I prefer having a box version as it often works out cheaper (Here in the UK), however the recent deals on steam have drove me penniless :p For instance, regarding an old game, I can pick up a boxed version of gold edition Morrowind for about £3. On steam it's £3 right now (Was awfully tempting but apparently mods + steam don't go well), but when the sale ends it'll be £12.99. I know which one I'd go for.

I do like Steam, it's the only downloading merchant I'll use simply because you're allowed to download the game as many times as you want (So long as on the same account) whereas with some other services the download time expires after 1/2 years or event 1 time, as well as they have some very tempting offers at times.

Nope - I don't need yet another thing that ends up eating shelf space and gathering dust.

Having said that - I did buy the EVE box just to show support :-)

I much prefer Digital Download, however I will pre-order from play.com as they sometimes offer bonus's I quite like.

Its quicker for me to download a game than travel to the shop to buy it. Plus box's just clutter up my room.

I prefer digital downloads with optional packages of in-game items. Boxes are so 20th century and just clutter up the place.

Because I tend to pre-order anything I'm interested in, and because postal services mean you can never tell when you need to take a day off work in order to receive a delivery, a download ability is a fantastic thing -- at least then I know I can play as soon as the game is available.

The only time I care about the box is if it's a CE or other LE form with physical extras.

I do like having the extras, but I'd be happier if they didn't bother making physical copies of the discs or non-special items.

If I can get the box I do... its called collecting. If no box is available... its a long while before I bite the bullet and buy. Digital purchases are just annoying for those that reinstall several MMOs year to year.

Personally I don't care to have the box or CDs anymore. I'm just as happy to receive a scrap of paper with the account key on it.

What does strike me as slightly odd as that the digital downloads are just as expensive as the physical box. There should be a slight discount in my eyes but I suppose that won't ever occur.

I only buy games on steam when they are on sale. I used to have to buy games the day they came out but now with how rushed companies are to release games it is easier to just wait for a few patch fixes and get it on sale.

After throwing out dozen of old boxes (read 10 to 15+ years old) in my last round of cleanup to get rid of a massive amount of clutter (too lazy to even try ebay), it's digital only for me. Plus it's on average 50%+ cheaper to boot. All digital goodness for me.

Yes!

Because in MMOs every feeling of ownership is stripped from you and sold back to you in the form of a subscription, i substitute the feeling of not owning my characters by owning a box. And i like to collect them.

I'm old School,I love to have my box and booklet.It's like when people say do you prefer cd or Vinyl,optical or Coaxial digital input :)