I sometimes think I’d be better at Splatoon 2 if I had bought the digital version of the game instead of the physical. I’m not sure, of course, but it seems like the short matches would have been great for a break here or there. Instead, the friction of having to swap out cartridges made me opt for other games whenever I want a quick fix of some online multiplayer. That said, I really wish I’d bought the physical version of Mario Tennis Aces instead of digital. I could have loaned it indefinitely to a friend who was more interested in it than me. The Nintendo Switch has changed how I play games, transforming me into a mostly handheld player, jumping around between different titles. I hadn’t owned a portable console since I was a child during the Game Boy era. These days I’m wrestling with a question we didn’t have back then: Should you go digital or physical for your game collection?

Over the last twenty years, the video game industry has been transitioning away from physical game distribution toward digital storefronts. This is happening in other entertainment spheres, as movies, music, and books have all trended this way too. Several factors have contributed to this shift for games in the previous decades: the launch of Steam, the rise of indies, and the explosion of mobile gaming, to name a few. Digital sales have come to dominate the video game industry overall, and even consoles now have more than 50% of games sold digitally. However, there is a strong push by some vocal consumers, retail stores, and publishers to continue to distribute games in physical formats.

Going digital has several advantages. It might seem like it’s not a big deal to get up and swap out a disc or a cartridge, but the convenience of digital makes it easier to jump between different titles. Not needing to worry about having your games being stolen, or losing those tiny Switch cartridges (or taking them with you on the go), is a benefit as well. In addition, while there is still the environmental impact of servers and digital stores, there’s less manufacturing, plastic, and shipping required for a digital game. If you’re a PC or mobile gamer, there’s usually no option for a physical game. Even on consoles, physical games are becoming less ideal as additional downloads, patches, and DLC can make the original version of the game that the disc or cartridge can actually play outdated quickly, at best.

But, when you own the physical game, you can sell it or let a friend borrow it. In theory, we should probably be paying less for digital games, as discussed in a previous Boss Rush Banter, but we aren’t. Often it’s easier to find a discounted physical console game, although there are digital sales from time to time. However, in the event the digital stores shut down, as many older ones have, if you have a physical game, you can still play it. The issue of ownership and digital rights management can’t be ignored; there’s a whole litany of issues surrounding this beyond the scope of this piece.  

There are a number of other reasons one might decide to go digital or physical, but it’s clear they each have pros and cons. So maybe, like me, you opt for a hybrid model. I tend to buy bigger, single-player games that I likely won’t revisit after I beat them physically, and multiplayer games, or games that might be played in shorter bursts, in a digital format. Even then I’m not always consistent due to sales or whims, but it’s my general guiding principle. 

What about you? Do you think the convenience of digital games is the way to go? Or do you prefer to have a shelf displaying your entire collection of physical games? Let us know below, or come be part of the discussion on the Boss Rush Discord. 

Sources: J. Clement, Polygon