Even furthermore, (and maybe I'm just weird), but there is something so special about owning something physical. I feel way better about paying $20 for a vinyl record that I can hold in my hands and have. A digital file I buy doesn't give me that same feeling of ownership nor care. Even though legally it's the same, it's not the same in my mind. It's special to hold something in my hand that's mine.
I prefer everything to be digital. It is so much easier to organize music on my computer than to take up shelves in my room. Plus, I can take all of my media wherever I go on my iPhone. I don't feel any different about physical or digital media. I just prefer digital.
I think you are right in that if physical media just disappeared it would be a big issue. Digital media is not better than physical media in every way. In many ways it is worse. It will phase out slowly, at least in the respects that it has. The issue here is not that digital media is flawed. Hospitals use digital media (PACS) to archive and retrieve images. Their technology is more reliable than that of PSN, and they no longer use physical means, such as film or discs, to move images from one department to another. The image you get from PACS is also a full image that does not lack in quality. Maybe using PSN to rant that digital media technology is not reliable is unfair. On the consumer side, I think the problem is human error. It would seem to be that the lack of accounting for the amount of clients by sony causes your PSN problem. The same concept of human error can be applied to PACS: if the infrastructure is not strong enough, there can be dangerous consequences. I guess what I am saying is that physical media can't die now, but it is dying. Digital media will improve quickly.
Hey Braxton, buy the CD and import it to your computer. You get the portability/convenience of digital and the satisfying feeling of having something physical.
TBH the one thing that kept me from buying digital titles off of Live was their greatly increased price. I can't really justify spending more money on something I don't physically own. I much prefer physical media, even with music.
I honestly never buy anything digitial other than the free games Xbox Live provides, which don't count because i don't spend money on them. I prefer having physical boxes to show off my collection. I'm also too afraid of loosing the title digitally, safer to have it as a disc, in my opinion.
I agree, it is easier to lose a digital file but do you ever get tired of having to physically put a cd into a cd player? Haha I know I sound lazy but its 2014, what the hell. :P
I don't use Netflix I use dvd I don't have Internet and I still use cds and not everybody has Internet so it would be stupid to abandon physical media because like I said not everybody has Internet these companies need to realize this i'm still a fan of physical media no matter what anyone says just saying
This was a very interesting video Quinn. First of all welcome back to RUclips, can't believe two years has already passed since you started your trip to Bolivia and now you're back making great videos again! I think physical media shouldn't be dropped completely because not only are digital download speeds quite slow but also it means the user is heavily reliant on an internet connection. In the event that the Wifi drops or there's an internet cut for whatever reason then players would be unable to download new content. We see this with the recent emerging cloud as a storage solution as well, if people don't have an internet connection, let's say underground or something then they too are unable to access their files. Keep up the great work man and it's nice to see a topical video like this from you! :)
Quinn, Fist of all welcome back. I don't know if you remember me but, I'm Aaron Linson. You did a video on the looktel money reader app for the iPhone 2 years ago. My how times flies by! I'm getting my BA in Sound Engineering so, naturally I have a few comments. I dwell in both physical and cloud media. For school, personal, and my work with Fedora Outlier I still use an external hard drive. I thought I'd be done with those by now. Heck, I still use CD's for school projects. There's something to be said about owning physical media I think. I'll even take it one step further. If technology evolves into something like embedded into certain parts of your skin. I'd still carry around (if still available) a physical device. I still carry around a braille device that's $6,000 because I get GPS, write papers, email, surf the web, etc. So, it's a hard question to answer. I'd honestly say we'll never be able to give it up. Now new generations come along it will be easier for them because they are growing up in a new age. When we're old and gray, we'll be saying the same things our forefathers said "back in my day" physical media etc. I hope my long answer didn't burn holes in your eyes my friend. Check out everything that I've done with podcasting. blindpodcaster.com is the place to go! Can't wait to see what other things you've got to say my friend. Aaron Linson Being Confident in Your Ability, Not Your Disability
I agree with you near completely Quinn. First of all , 10 mb is nothing nowadays , there are people who get 80mbps (yeah THAT megabyte) i get 10-12megabytes per second for $50 per month. I just don't think internet connections have progressed to the point that we could completely drop physical media. Many companies servers simply cannot handle the day one traffic. 95% of the time , a server will crash or be incredibly slow day one. There is always something special about holding something in your hand. Most of my console games are not digital because i like having the game cases. Especially with games that you have invested your time into , its awesome to just pick it up and remember the experience. The other issue is price. With the exception of maybe Nintendo , the majority of videogames are cheaper to buy physically then digitally. Nintendo's first party games usually don't drop in price within a couple of months and when buying digitally Nintendo has a rewards system in place to save you money. Maybe when something like google fiber gets fully integrated in the U.S. we might see a push towards digital media but i don't think that will happen in the near future. This is a really interesting rant but the real push for digital media , i think , will happen sometime in the future. Btw what microphone are you using? Its not bad. Also your video does need a bit more lighting now that i look at it.
Great video man. I think we still have a couple years left for physical media. I get a majority of my media digitally, but there are the occasional games where I want a physical copy.
Quinn! You make a point that many tend to not believe, yeah it's going to take a lot of time till we go all digital. To add man....you're voice! and glad to hear that spanish man!
I personally can't remember the last time I bought any physical media. I game on PC so I use Steam for most of my games, and with all of the digital film and music 'outlets' available, it's more convenient (and sometimes maybe even cheaper) to go digital. Only major issue for me with digital is (as mentioned in the video) when a lot of people pile onto one thing, causing the provider to grind to a halt, but I'd rather put up with that every once in a while than have to keep track of a whole load of physical media.
I don't really play games, so for the most part I consume mostly everything digitally. I just recently got cable internet for the first time (coming from DSL) so I can finally stream HD video and download movies quite quickly. As for music, which is probably the thing I download most, I don't buy CD's but I haven't gone too far on the other end of the pendulum into music streaming services either. I purchase my music or download it from various internet sources and then always keep it as a digital copy on my laptop, phone, and any other device I may have. It's something that's always there no matter what data speed or wifi connectivity I have, and that's a guarantee I like having.
I'm personally on a little under 1MB/s, because I live in a rural area which is a godsend from having 80kb/s 2 years ago (That was a nightmare). Anything over 1.5GB is really not worth the download unless I let my computer sit for about 2 hours or so, depending on the download server. I do have a MacBook Air, so if it wasn't for my external dvd drive I would be downloading more stuff. When it comes to games though, I always buy a physical copy for my 360 unless it's cheaper on their store
there are still some blockbusters around but they're hard to find. When I find one I like to go in and walk around. I have yet to find a movie service that is as good as blockbuster
Jarom Eubanks Just a few franchises that use the name on an existing contract. But Blockbuster the corporation no longer exists, so they're essentially independent.
Tyler Simpson Yup. Their parent (Dish Network) killed off the corporation, but those who franchised and run basically independently get to keep operating until they go bankrupt on their own.
Another issue is the price. It's much cheaper going digital. Especially here in the UK. £59.99 for watch dogs on the xbox store, I purchased it for £44.00 from Amazon.
I don't think we are ready yet, I still go to get my stuff physically, it gets me out and about. That's kind of cool because it also gives me a chance to see what is new. It's nice to have physical copies around when everything goes wonky in the world, I am just picky about what I purchase, and that keeps the physical storage down and then purge things once a year.
You should do some reviews on gaming headsets like turtle beach, skull candy, tritton and others. I always value your input because you know what you're talking about.
I do whatever is convenient for me at the time, so if I have the money and time I go to the store and buy it and if not I download it digitally and once I get home it should be ready to play.
I personally think that Steam does Digital Downloads perfectly. You can pre-purchase the game before hand and when it comes out you can play it from the get go. Downloads are nice and speedy, the sales are extremely awesome, and overall its a good experience.
Never buy online. I always re sell. In Aussie a newly released games costs $99. Physically and in digital stores. But I always buy the disk where I can play the game and sell the game for $50 or trade it for another game. Plus you can always let friends borrow the game.
I consume my music digitally (deezer and soundcloud) but for movies and games almost always physically, also I live in a 3rd word country, Guatemala, and here the internet speed and coverage has been improving in the last years :P
I think that for most things we can drop physical media. Some things (like operating systems) I like to have in physical form but most things I like in a file. Takes up less space.
I really hope they nail this digital media thing. iOS updates experience the same thing. I would HIGHLY recommend (if you can) to wait 24-48 hours before downloading so they can iron out the wrinkles of the release.
I live in Melbourne, Australia and get 100mb/ps down and it's usually never a huge problem downloading large digital media, but I still prefer to buy physical media in some aspects.
I get about 25mb down and 1.5mb up. I live just 45 minutes north of Google Fiber and I definitely feel that its the key to dropping physical media. Internet speeds play a huge role in going completely digital media and I don't see it happening until the next 5-10 years. It would be super convenient and companies would save millions on not producing copies.
physical media I find to be more satisfying and guaranteed to work unless PHYSICALLY broken. If my playback device busts in a digital system, my media is gone, or will take forever to recover. If i have a physical copy, I can just snag another playback device and be right back to where i was.
This is just because the game is new and tens of thousands are loading it. In a few days it fast again. Also, the PS4 actually has this new 'pre-load' feature, so if you preorder a game like a week before release, it will start downloading right away and will be unlocked on release day. That's a way to deal with it if you intend to buy the game on release day anyway. I buy all my games physically, because I mostoy sell them right after I've completed the story.
The problem with digital downloads is eventually your hard drive will fill up and you will need to delete something, where as with a physical copy all you need to do is throw in the disc and play eny game you bought at eny time
I think that we aren't ready for physical media because a lot of people don't have a decent internet connection, if I downloaded a 1GB Linux ISO, it would take me hours on my computer, so yeah, not really happening for me yet, also, how would you play these digital games on a friends console? You would have to use a disk because that's your only option, as your friend doesn't have the game.
Quinn, I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I get around 1.5mb/s actual download speed and I agree with you... we're far from being 100% ready to kill physical media.
I completely agree with you we're no way close to being ready so places in the us max internet speed is 2mb up 6mb down. Companys need more server centers for any thing to truly work correctly
Problem with digital, even beyond all of the logistical problems like internet speeds, is that you aren't actually buying the product. You are buying a license to use it. It is an indefinite rental. Buying an actual copy of the game, movie or album on disc makes that item your property. Important difference. I also like brick and mortar stores, I've never found it awful.
Everything is digital only in countries like US and Uk and some parts of Europe. In most of the other parts of the world the internet is not that fast. So going digital is a long way from now. Also I believe by going digital the major CON is you cannot contact the company directly and just resolve the problems you are facing. Also it depends upon the age groups people like us tends to take risk by going digital but not all the age groups are comfortable with that.
I like to buy all my movies and video games on a physical format, but for music, I like to stream music on Amazon Music, and I like to download music from iTunes
Well, I live in Mexico and my download speed is 10 mbps. I don't play that much video games on my xbox one (mostly Netflix and blueray player). And as a third world citizen I think we're not ready to switch to digital. When Apple comes out with a new update to OSX I'm really frustrated because that means leaving my Mac turn on all the night because If I download it on the day the internet would be slow (giving chances for an error to occur). I recently changed to a new internet provider. Imagine the old one gave me 3.5 Mbps. It was awful, I could watch 720p videos on RUclips, or even download a movie. Many of the population still have those download speeds. It's simply not suitable.
Just a heads up Quinn, Blockbuster is not in bussiness anymore. Personally im 50/50 on how I purchase games movies and music. I still go to gamestop and purchase big titles but for small indie games I use digital downloads. I download music and movies but nothing compares to having a physical disc with the boxart and everything that comes with it.
I agree with everything you said. Heck most the games I have are physical, except for the free games I get from xbox live gold and psn plus. Loved the video, keep the great work(;
Other than what I get for my Wii U, I get everything from Steams Digital Downloads. And it works fast, and i've never had an issue with anything like that.
This is what I think. Considering the file sizes of the games, and considering the fact that most people have slow internet (I have 5mbps down here in Canada), especially in countries in development, I don't think digitalization is the way to go. Low downloads like apps and small games on iOS and Android are good, since they take pretty much no time to install. If we take a game on 3DS or Wii U, a Nintendo game weights at about *2 GB*. It's a difference between PS4's and XBO's 50 GB per game. I am fine at waiting 2 hours to download a 1 GB game on my 3DS. But waiting DAYS to download a 50 GB game, which causes the rest of the Internet to slow down, just no. I personally don't think it's time to make a big jump to digital. I think we should wait until the medium download speed is 1 GB per second, and then we could all switch to digital.
I'd rather have a actual DVD/CD/Book in my hands than just have something that is only Digital. Digital for me is more convenient for things like my Car Magazine Subscriptions and to Buy movies/music but I still like having that physical thing in my hands. I do have a EREADER and I've read everything on it.
I'm in the Philippines and the average down speed is 3 mbit down and if you have this connection you are already golden! Physical media will never die as long as Internet Service Providers provide shitty services.
Very interesting video, Quinn. I'm a huge fan of physical media and I really don't see why everybody is going crazy for digital. I buy blurays, CDs and vinyl, mostly because I'm paranoid, it gives me a sense of ownership. I do, however, buy games digitally, as I'm a PC gamer and Steam is basically the only way to go...
as a pc gamer I never get physical copies of games. Yes the day a game comes out downloads can take a while but some highly anticipated games can be pre-downloaded a couple days prior to its launch so the second the game is released you can play it. This is just one example of a clever way to go about this problem
Downloading all games digitally has worked fine on computers for years. People complain that they can loose digital files easier. It is usually tied to an account so even if you delete it or your HDD dies you can get it back. However it is easy to scratch your game disk and loose your physical game. People say you don't "own" it if you have it digitally but just like with a disk you own a license to it. It is sad that large parts of america don't have fast internet speeds when countries like Latvia, Esotnia, Romania, etc. which are "worse off" than the US have far better internet. I don't remember the last time I bought a physical CD, DVD, or game.
I still purchase things physically. It's better. Not only do you have a collection going on physically on a shelf, but it doesn't take up memory on your console. They're the same price digitally and physically, but in reality it's more expensive digitally because you would eventually need to get a new hard drive. Not only that, but if you have super fast internet and are still experiencing a crazy lag then we are definitely not ready for it.
In my opinion physical media is very much still alive! For instance my home internet speed from Verizon is 3 Mbps. That's the fastest they currently offer in my area and it comes at a pretty steep price. There is no way I could possibly download a full game on my Xbox One!
I know I'm not. I love physical media. I still buy all my music on physical media (either CD or vinyl); I have a nice CD player and a nice turntable, both sound far better than my digital players. Sure, you can download high res content which does sound better... but it's expensive! As for software and games, I dislike downloads, too. Take, for example, OS X operating systems. I remember buying snow leopard the day it came out; in fact, I was one of the first in the store. I came home, Slotted the disc into my Mac Mini, and installed it; the process was super exciting. I couldn't wait to check it out. however... The download is far less interesting. When I upgraded to lion, I opened the app store, pressed a button, and walked off; when I came back, I had lion. It was completely uninteresting. Not to mention it was a nightmare to restore if necessary (I ended up making a USB drive). Many connections simply can't handle these downloads. The companies can't serve them. Even apple haven't totally gotten it right; physical media should be an option for those who want to use it.
I stream movies I rent. When I buy, I would prefer to purchase the item. I am the same way, there is just something about having something physical. There are digital files (movies,music) that I have lost over a period of time due to factory resets and what not. Not only that but I forget about what I purchased and will never get it back. I bought games on my 360 and I cant take them with me. However, I still have a nice collection of old games from my old consoles and even my old cassettes. It's not the same! :/ though it is sometimes convenient!
I feel like they should keep the physical disc's available but still have digital downloads as-well. If they got rid of physical media, I feel a lot of people would be angry.
never was a fan of digital media and never will be i like to "feel" the things that buy it's more exciting that way imagine getting really excited for a video game or something and finally being able to touch it w/ ur hands. i'm just saying that physical media suits me
I buy Digital versions of PC games which works great for me. Physical media is good too but I prefer digital when possible. Quinn, I still love your spanish accent and hope it doesn't fade anytime soon. I also hope you will do a video in spanish like you promised at least a year ago? :)
Even tho i live in a capital city (where download speeds are extremely fast!) it takes me 4 minutes to walk to my local game retailer, purchase the game, 4 minutes back then play straight away! Ironically the people who need the downloads the most are the people who live away from the game retailer, where download speeds are far below average! (and it takes 7 hours to download)
As an answer to this question, I don't think that _consoles_ are ready for 100% reliance on digital media. As a mainstream PC user myself, I think it's the exact opposite, though. Unlike consoles, even ones that, admittedly, are as pretty good as the PS4 and XB1, PC's have the perfect ability to stream any digital goods (be it music to games) in the most optimal time. Consoles aren't completely broken in this aspect, but I still don't think they're completely optimized for an all digital experience, at least not yet.
I usually never buy games online. I like having the physical copy of the game for my collection. I can see 10 years from now no one buys physical media at the store anymore. I usually get my games at best buy or sometimes amazon like a week ago I found a copy of cod ghosts for 24 dollars new on amazon. I am so glad I did not pick it up when it was 60.
Pick up Assassins creed on disk for ps4 and it does the same crap. I think we are stuck with stuff like this regardless of whether or not you bought the disk. They want to push out installers for us and then push their updates. With that said, gamessharing makes digital the way to go. I split the cost of my games this way and can play at the same time and online the same game I'm sharing. With that said, I'm so glad you're back. :)
I don't think fysical media will ever disappear, rather it will stay as an option. Some people just like having a fysical copy of their games and music.
It's funny how large companies (Microsoft and Sony) cannot handle these download speeds, while smaller companies like Valve ( not saying they're small, just smaller in comparison) can handle these speeds with no problem. Thats what many PC users have been doing for years. For many of us, PC game disks are really dead, since they cost more and Steam always has sales/ promotions and great download speeds!
Let's not cast a sweeping judgement based upon the the defectiveness of a single system. Obviously some people are redy and some are not, not everyone must make the transition at once.
Also so far, I have downloaded all my games to my xbox one. I have ghosts, titanfall, madden, forza, watchdogs, and battlefield. Xbox hasn't really given me any problems so far.
Physical releases are better because they are reliable and they are tried and true. You also get more respect when you own a physical copy vs a download, and computer speeds are not a problem when you use it, vs a download,which can take forever.
In another 5-10 years I would say yes, but today, no. More improvements need made with internet availability and connection speed across the entire country.
possibly we COULD be ready. However we need better inernet connections around the globe, or at least in the first world right now. we need cheaper hard drives that are bigger (storage space wise) and smaller (physical size). Also regarding your comment about physical stuff: i am 15, people my age usually love digital stuff and can never put down devices. i am like that too. however, i do prefer physical books over E-books and kindles. movies and games and stuff should be downloads but books are just a whole lot better physically. you cant download that new book smell. ;) but seriously, we are ready to become digital only, but some people prefer the older way things were done
Even furthermore, (and maybe I'm just weird), but there is something so special about owning something physical. I feel way better about paying $20 for a vinyl record that I can hold in my hands and have. A digital file I buy doesn't give me that same feeling of ownership nor care. Even though legally it's the same, it's not the same in my mind. It's special to hold something in my hand that's mine.
I prefer everything to be digital. It is so much easier to organize music on my computer than to take up shelves in my room. Plus, I can take all of my media wherever I go on my iPhone. I don't feel any different about physical or digital media. I just prefer digital.
I think you are right in that if physical media just disappeared it would be a big issue. Digital media is not better than physical media in every way. In many ways it is worse. It will phase out slowly, at least in the respects that it has.
The issue here is not that digital media is flawed. Hospitals use digital media (PACS) to archive and retrieve images. Their technology is more reliable than that of PSN, and they no longer use physical means, such as film or discs, to move images from one department to another. The image you get from PACS is also a full image that does not lack in quality. Maybe using PSN to rant that digital media technology is not reliable is unfair.
On the consumer side, I think the problem is human error. It would seem to be that the lack of accounting for the amount of clients by sony causes your PSN problem. The same concept of human error can be applied to PACS: if the infrastructure is not strong enough, there can be dangerous consequences. I guess what I am saying is that physical media can't die now, but it is dying. Digital media will improve quickly.
Hey Braxton, buy the CD and import it to your computer. You get the portability/convenience of digital and the satisfying feeling of having something physical.
ilikebreakfastcereal also sound quality
TBH the one thing that kept me from buying digital titles off of Live was their greatly increased price. I can't really justify spending more money on something I don't physically own. I much prefer physical media, even with music.
I honestly never buy anything digitial other than the free games Xbox Live provides, which don't count because i don't spend money on them. I prefer having physical boxes to show off my collection. I'm also too afraid of loosing the title digitally, safer to have it as a disc, in my opinion.
I agree, it is easier to lose a digital file but do you ever get tired of having to physically put a cd into a cd player? Haha I know I sound lazy but its 2014, what the hell. :P
I agree with you there, but discs aren't as reliable as having it stored digitally, as discs can scratch fairly easily.
Yeah, thats another reason that I rarely use physical media.
***** You can have both. Just copy them to your computer. Reburn the disk when the first one dies.
I don't use Netflix I use dvd I don't have Internet and I still use cds and not everybody has Internet so it would be stupid to abandon physical media because like I said not everybody has Internet these companies need to realize this i'm still a fan of physical media no matter what anyone says just saying
I understand you Tj.
I will always want a physical copy, especially when it comes to music.
This was a very interesting video Quinn. First of all welcome back to RUclips, can't believe two years has already passed since you started your trip to Bolivia and now you're back making great videos again! I think physical media shouldn't be dropped completely because not only are digital download speeds quite slow but also it means the user is heavily reliant on an internet connection. In the event that the Wifi drops or there's an internet cut for whatever reason then players would be unable to download new content. We see this with the recent emerging cloud as a storage solution as well, if people don't have an internet connection, let's say underground or something then they too are unable to access their files. Keep up the great work man and it's nice to see a topical video like this from you! :)
I totally agree, we are not ready to give up physical media yet, and for many reasons, including the one you mention in this video. Cheers.
I don't believe that physical media should ever be completely dropped until viruses, glitches, and hackers are vanquished. Never, basically.
Awesome video and I totally agree with you, it's too early to completely move away from physical media, but we are slowly getting there ... :)
Quinn, Fist of all welcome back. I don't know if you remember me but, I'm Aaron Linson. You did a video on the looktel money reader app for the iPhone 2 years ago. My how times flies by! I'm getting my BA in Sound Engineering so, naturally I have a few comments. I dwell in both physical and cloud media. For school, personal, and my work with Fedora Outlier I still use an external hard drive. I thought I'd be done with those by now. Heck, I still use CD's for school projects. There's something to be said about owning physical media I think. I'll even take it one step further. If technology evolves into something like embedded into certain parts of your skin. I'd still carry around (if still available) a physical device. I still carry around a braille device that's $6,000 because I get GPS, write papers, email, surf the web, etc. So, it's a hard question to answer. I'd honestly say we'll never be able to give it up. Now new generations come along it will be easier for them because they are growing up in a new age. When we're old and gray, we'll be saying the same things our forefathers said "back in my day" physical media etc. I hope my long answer didn't burn holes in your eyes my friend. Check out everything that I've done with podcasting. blindpodcaster.com is the place to go! Can't wait to see what other things you've got to say my friend.
Aaron Linson
Being Confident in Your Ability, Not Your Disability
This really felt like a missionary lesson/fireside! haha great video.
I agree with you near completely Quinn. First of all , 10 mb is nothing nowadays , there are people who get 80mbps (yeah THAT megabyte) i get 10-12megabytes per second for $50 per month. I just don't think internet connections have progressed to the point that we could completely drop physical media. Many companies servers simply cannot handle the day one traffic. 95% of the time , a server will crash or be incredibly slow day one. There is always something special about holding something in your hand. Most of my console games are not digital because i like having the game cases. Especially with games that you have invested your time into , its awesome to just pick it up and remember the experience. The other issue is price. With the exception of maybe Nintendo , the majority of videogames are cheaper to buy physically then digitally. Nintendo's first party games usually don't drop in price within a couple of months and when buying digitally Nintendo has a rewards system in place to save you money. Maybe when something like google fiber gets fully integrated in the U.S. we might see a push towards digital media but i don't think that will happen in the near future. This is a really interesting rant but the real push for digital media , i think , will happen sometime in the future. Btw what microphone are you using? Its not bad. Also your video does need a bit more lighting now that i look at it.
Great video man. I think we still have a couple years left for physical media. I get a majority of my media digitally, but there are the occasional games where I want a physical copy.
Quinn! You make a point that many tend to not believe, yeah it's going to take a lot of time till we go all digital. To add man....you're voice! and glad to hear that spanish man!
Defiantly agree with Quinn! Good video man!
Quinn Keep up the good work! Still the same man when you left, and will continue to be the same man as year start to pass!
Great to have you back, Quinn*
I personally can't remember the last time I bought any physical media. I game on PC so I use Steam for most of my games, and with all of the digital film and music 'outlets' available, it's more convenient (and sometimes maybe even cheaper) to go digital. Only major issue for me with digital is (as mentioned in the video) when a lot of people pile onto one thing, causing the provider to grind to a halt, but I'd rather put up with that every once in a while than have to keep track of a whole load of physical media.
I don't really play games, so for the most part I consume mostly everything digitally. I just recently got cable internet for the first time (coming from DSL) so I can finally stream HD video and download movies quite quickly.
As for music, which is probably the thing I download most, I don't buy CD's but I haven't gone too far on the other end of the pendulum into music streaming services either. I purchase my music or download it from various internet sources and then always keep it as a digital copy on my laptop, phone, and any other device I may have. It's something that's always there no matter what data speed or wifi connectivity I have, and that's a guarantee I like having.
I'm personally on a little under 1MB/s, because I live in a rural area which is a godsend from having 80kb/s 2 years ago (That was a nightmare). Anything over 1.5GB is really not worth the download unless I let my computer sit for about 2 hours or so, depending on the download server. I do have a MacBook Air, so if it wasn't for my external dvd drive I would be downloading more stuff. When it comes to games though, I always buy a physical copy for my 360 unless it's cheaper on their store
Blockbuster doesn't exist anymore...
Well he's been pretty much disconnected from the world for the past two years, so how was he to know?
there are still some blockbusters around but they're hard to find. When I find one I like to go in and walk around. I have yet to find a movie service that is as good as blockbuster
Jarom Eubanks Just a few franchises that use the name on an existing contract. But Blockbuster the corporation no longer exists, so they're essentially independent.
Tyler Simpson Yup. Their parent (Dish Network) killed off the corporation, but those who franchised and run basically independently get to keep operating until they go bankrupt on their own.
Another issue is the price. It's much cheaper going digital. Especially here in the UK. £59.99 for watch dogs on the xbox store, I purchased it for £44.00 from Amazon.
I don't think we are ready yet, I still go to get my stuff physically, it gets me out and about. That's kind of cool because it also gives me a chance to see what is new. It's nice to have physical copies around when everything goes wonky in the world, I am just picky about what I purchase, and that keeps the physical storage down and then purge things once a year.
You should do some reviews on gaming headsets like turtle beach, skull candy, tritton and others. I always value your input because you know what you're talking about.
I do whatever is convenient for me at the time, so if I have the money and time I go to the store and buy it and if not I download it digitally and once I get home it should be ready to play.
"de vez en cuando" - that was so cute! I understand because it is very similar to my mother-tongue, Brazilian Portuguese: "de vez em quando".
I personally think that Steam does Digital Downloads perfectly. You can pre-purchase the game before hand and when it comes out you can play it from the get go. Downloads are nice and speedy, the sales are extremely awesome, and overall its a good experience.
Never buy online. I always re sell. In Aussie a newly released games costs $99. Physically and in digital stores. But I always buy the disk where I can play the game and sell the game for $50 or trade it for another game. Plus you can always let friends borrow the game.
Dang! Why do games cost so much? Here in the America a new game is only $60.
Down here we get ripped off on everything.
Steven Nguyen well you have to take into account importing costs.
Because Australia sucks thats why
I'm glad you're back! :)
I consume my music digitally (deezer and soundcloud) but for movies and games almost always physically, also I live in a 3rd word country, Guatemala, and here the internet speed and coverage has been improving in the last years :P
I think that for most things we can drop physical media. Some things (like operating systems) I like to have in physical form but most things I like in a file. Takes up less space.
I really hope they nail this digital media thing. iOS updates experience the same thing. I would HIGHLY recommend (if you can) to wait 24-48 hours before downloading so they can iron out the wrinkles of the release.
I live in Melbourne, Australia and get 100mb/ps down and it's usually never a huge problem downloading large digital media, but I still prefer to buy physical media in some aspects.
I get about 25mb down and 1.5mb up. I live just 45 minutes north of Google Fiber and I definitely feel that its the key to dropping physical media. Internet speeds play a huge role in going completely digital media and I don't see it happening until the next 5-10 years. It would be super convenient and companies would save millions on not producing copies.
physical media I find to be more satisfying and guaranteed to work unless PHYSICALLY broken. If my playback device busts in a digital system, my media is gone, or will take forever to recover. If i have a physical copy, I can just snag another playback device and be right back to where i was.
This is just because the game is new and tens of thousands are loading it. In a few days it fast again. Also, the PS4 actually has this new 'pre-load' feature, so if you preorder a game like a week before release, it will start downloading right away and will be unlocked on release day. That's a way to deal with it if you intend to buy the game on release day anyway.
I buy all my games physically, because I mostoy sell them right after I've completed the story.
In romania, I have a 200 mb/s internet for 15$/month... :)
mai avem si la digi 1000mbps
Why dont they give us that in the US
+AppleHelpRomania i only get like 84/94 in the US. lol
The problem with digital downloads is eventually your hard drive will fill up and you will need to delete something, where as with a physical copy all you need to do is throw in the disc and play eny game you bought at eny time
I think that we aren't ready for physical media because a lot of people don't have a decent internet connection, if I downloaded a 1GB Linux ISO, it would take me hours on my computer, so yeah, not really happening for me yet, also, how would you play these digital games on a friends console? You would have to use a disk because that's your only option, as your friend doesn't have the game.
Quinn, I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I get around 1.5mb/s actual download speed and I agree with you... we're far from being 100% ready to kill physical media.
I don't think we're ready. I know I'm not and probably never will be. I will always prefer physical media over digital. Great to you have back, Quinn.
I completely agree with you we're no way close to being ready so places in the us max internet speed is 2mb up 6mb down. Companys need more server centers for any thing to truly work correctly
Problem with digital, even beyond all of the logistical problems like internet speeds, is that you aren't actually buying the product. You are buying a license to use it. It is an indefinite rental. Buying an actual copy of the game, movie or album on disc makes that item your property. Important difference. I also like brick and mortar stores, I've never found it awful.
Hopefully it never gets to actually dropping physical media!
Everything is digital only in countries like US and Uk and some parts of Europe. In most of the other parts of the world the internet is not that fast. So going digital is a long way from now.
Also I believe by going digital the major CON is you cannot contact the company directly and just resolve the problems you are facing. Also it depends upon the age groups people like us tends to take risk by going digital but not all the age groups are comfortable with that.
Not a problem on PC ;)
I like to buy all my movies and video games on a physical format, but for music, I like to stream music on Amazon Music, and I like to download music from iTunes
Well, I live in Mexico and my download speed is 10 mbps. I don't play that much video games on my xbox one (mostly Netflix and blueray player). And as a third world citizen I think we're not ready to switch to digital.
When Apple comes out with a new update to OSX I'm really frustrated because that means leaving my Mac turn on all the night because If I download it on the day the internet would be slow (giving chances for an error to occur). I recently changed to a new internet provider. Imagine the old one gave me 3.5 Mbps. It was awful, I could watch 720p videos on RUclips, or even download a movie. Many of the population still have those download speeds. It's simply not suitable.
Just a heads up Quinn, Blockbuster is not in bussiness anymore.
Personally im 50/50 on how I purchase games movies and music. I still go to gamestop and purchase big titles but for small indie games I use digital downloads. I download music and movies but nothing compares to having a physical disc with the boxart and everything that comes with it.
I agree with everything you said. Heck most the games I have are physical, except for the free games I get from xbox live gold and psn plus. Loved the video, keep the great work(;
I think when google fiber is available everywhere(which should take a few years or so) we will be able to be fully download-only.
Other than what I get for my Wii U, I get everything from Steams Digital Downloads. And it works fast, and i've never had an issue with anything like that.
Welcome back man. When are u going to make an all Spanish video?
Internet's a lot cheaper in Finland. We get 350Mbit/s download for 60€/Month. 4K or huge downloads aren't an issue really.
This is what I think. Considering the file sizes of the games, and considering the fact that most people have slow internet (I have 5mbps down here in Canada), especially in countries in development, I don't think digitalization is the way to go. Low downloads like apps and small games on iOS and Android are good, since they take pretty much no time to install. If we take a game on 3DS or Wii U, a Nintendo game weights at about *2 GB*. It's a difference between PS4's and XBO's 50 GB per game. I am fine at waiting 2 hours to download a 1 GB game on my 3DS. But waiting DAYS to download a 50 GB game, which causes the rest of the Internet to slow down, just no. I personally don't think it's time to make a big jump to digital. I think we should wait until the medium download speed is 1 GB per second, and then we could all switch to digital.
I'd rather have a actual DVD/CD/Book in my hands than just have something that is only Digital. Digital for me is more convenient for things like my Car Magazine Subscriptions and to Buy movies/music but I still like having that physical thing in my hands. I do have a EREADER and I've read everything on it.
I'm in the Philippines and the average down speed is 3 mbit down and if you have this connection you are already golden!
Physical media will never die as long as Internet Service Providers provide shitty services.
Very interesting video, Quinn. I'm a huge fan of physical media and I really don't see why everybody is going crazy for digital. I buy blurays, CDs and vinyl, mostly because I'm paranoid, it gives me a sense of ownership. I do, however, buy games digitally, as I'm a PC gamer and Steam is basically the only way to go...
as a pc gamer I never get physical copies of games. Yes the day a game comes out downloads can take a while but some highly anticipated games can be pre-downloaded a couple days prior to its launch so the second the game is released you can play it. This is just one example of a clever way to go about this problem
I do really like that idea. Hopefully Sony and Microsoft implement it.
Snazzy Labs they have. One of the first games it's available for is Destiny. If you pre order it you can download it before hand.
thats true, they said that you would be able to play games while you download your game, correct me if I'm mistaken
Physical media won't die as long as cloud services are subpar.
Super glad you're back. But man is the change in your voice really jarring.
We're not ready
Downloading all games digitally has worked fine on computers for years. People complain that they can loose digital files easier. It is usually tied to an account so even if you delete it or your HDD dies you can get it back. However it is easy to scratch your game disk and loose your physical game. People say you don't "own" it if you have it digitally but just like with a disk you own a license to it. It is sad that large parts of america don't have fast internet speeds when countries like Latvia, Esotnia, Romania, etc. which are "worse off" than the US have far better internet. I don't remember the last time I bought a physical CD, DVD, or game.
woah you're back, it's been two years already??
I prefer physical media honestly. I like having the box and disc for the games i play/ movies I watch ,the only thing I download is music.
I still purchase things physically. It's better. Not only do you have a collection going on physically on a shelf, but it doesn't take up memory on your console. They're the same price digitally and physically, but in reality it's more expensive digitally because you would eventually need to get a new hard drive. Not only that, but if you have super fast internet and are still experiencing a crazy lag then we are definitely not ready for it.
In my opinion physical media is very much still alive! For instance my home internet speed from Verizon is 3 Mbps. That's the fastest they currently offer in my area and it comes at a pretty steep price. There is no way I could possibly download a full game on my Xbox One!
ALL media is physical. When you go download-only, you store everything on a hard drive. Which is physical.
BAM!
I avoid digital downloads when ever possible.
I know I'm not. I love physical media. I still buy all my music on physical media (either CD or vinyl); I have a nice CD player and a nice turntable, both sound far better than my digital players. Sure, you can download high res content which does sound better... but it's expensive!
As for software and games, I dislike downloads, too. Take, for example, OS X operating systems. I remember buying snow leopard the day it came out; in fact, I was one of the first in the store. I came home, Slotted the disc into my Mac Mini, and installed it; the process was super exciting. I couldn't wait to check it out. however...
The download is far less interesting. When I upgraded to lion, I opened the app store, pressed a button, and walked off; when I came back, I had lion. It was completely uninteresting. Not to mention it was a nightmare to restore if necessary (I ended up making a USB drive). Many connections simply can't handle these downloads. The companies can't serve them. Even apple haven't totally gotten it right; physical media should be an option for those who want to use it.
I stream movies I rent. When I buy, I would prefer to purchase the item. I am the same way, there is just something about having something physical. There are digital files (movies,music) that I have lost over a period of time due to factory resets and what not. Not only that but I forget about what I purchased and will never get it back. I bought games on my 360 and I cant take them with me. However, I still have a nice collection of old games from my old consoles and even my old cassettes. It's not the same! :/ though it is sometimes convenient!
I am sticking to physical media when i can, i refuse to buy games via download unless its the last resort.
I feel like they should keep the physical disc's available but still have digital downloads as-well. If they got rid of physical media, I feel a lot of people would be angry.
I still buy physical CDs. Buying digital copies just doesn't feel... the same
never was a fan of digital media and never will be
i like to "feel" the things that buy it's more exciting that way
imagine getting really excited for a video game or something and finally being able to touch it w/ ur hands. i'm just saying that physical media suits me
For me
Movies - yes
Video Games - Somewhat
Hey Quinn what music streaming service will you switch to now that MOG is dead? You should make a video where you discuss all the options out there.
10 mb/s really isn't fast at all. My internet is 45 mb/s down. For business grade internet 10 mb/s is very slow.
I buy Digital versions of PC games which works great for me. Physical media is good too but I prefer digital when possible. Quinn, I still love your spanish accent and hope it doesn't fade anytime soon. I also hope you will do a video in spanish like you promised at least a year ago? :)
Even tho i live in a capital city (where download speeds are extremely fast!) it takes me 4 minutes to walk to my local game retailer, purchase the game, 4 minutes back then play straight away!
Ironically the people who need the downloads the most are the people who live away from the game retailer, where download speeds are far below average! (and it takes 7 hours to download)
Should've downloaded games on steam, at least then you can monitor the download and you have more control over it
As an answer to this question, I don't think that _consoles_ are ready for 100% reliance on digital media. As a mainstream PC user myself, I think it's the exact opposite, though. Unlike consoles, even ones that, admittedly, are as pretty good as the PS4 and XB1, PC's have the perfect ability to stream any digital goods (be it music to games) in the most optimal time. Consoles aren't completely broken in this aspect, but I still don't think they're completely optimized for an all digital experience, at least not yet.
I prefer having the actual Physical Media in my hands. To me, i can put it on a shelf and show it to people. That's just me!
I usually never buy games online. I like having the physical copy of the game for my collection. I can see 10 years from now no one buys physical media at the store anymore. I usually get my games at best buy or sometimes amazon like a week ago I found a copy of cod ghosts for 24 dollars new on amazon. I am so glad I did not pick it up when it was 60.
Pick up Assassins creed on disk for ps4 and it does the same crap. I think we are stuck with stuff like this regardless of whether or not you bought the disk. They want to push out installers for us and then push their updates. With that said, gamessharing makes digital the way to go. I split the cost of my games this way and can play at the same time and online the same game I'm sharing. With that said, I'm so glad you're back. :)
I don't think fysical media will ever disappear, rather it will stay as an option.
Some people just like having a fysical copy of their games and music.
Still buy my CDs because I'd rather have a cd in my hand than downloaded songs on my iPhone. Keep buying CDs!!!
Interesting point about Bolivia, if the western world stops using physical media and replaces it with web based content, what happens to them?
It's funny how large companies (Microsoft and Sony) cannot handle these download speeds, while smaller companies like Valve ( not saying they're small, just smaller in comparison) can handle these speeds with no problem. Thats what many PC users have been doing for years. For many of us, PC game disks are really dead, since they cost more and Steam always has sales/ promotions and great download speeds!
Let's not cast a sweeping judgement based upon the the defectiveness of a single system. Obviously some people are redy and some are not, not everyone must make the transition at once.
I buy physical media and download but I prefer buying physical dud to some downloading issues that are possible.
physical media all the way!
No issues dl content. But I like a disk and cover art if same price. Is that old school?
magnetic tape for life.
Also so far, I have downloaded all my games to my xbox one. I have ghosts, titanfall, madden, forza, watchdogs, and battlefield.
Xbox hasn't really given me any problems so far.
Physical releases are better because they are reliable and they are tried and true. You also get more respect when you own a physical copy vs a download, and computer speeds are not a problem when you use it, vs a download,which can take forever.
In another 5-10 years I would say yes, but today, no. More improvements need made with internet availability and connection speed across the entire country.
Snazzy.
Thank goodness steam users don't suffer from this, using steam for about 3 years and i haven't gotten anything like that.
possibly we COULD be ready. However we need better inernet connections around the globe, or at least in the first world right now. we need cheaper hard drives that are bigger (storage space wise) and smaller (physical size). Also regarding your comment about physical stuff: i am 15, people my age usually love digital stuff and can never put down devices. i am like that too. however, i do prefer physical books over E-books and kindles. movies and games and stuff should be downloads but books are just a whole lot better physically. you cant download that new book smell. ;) but seriously, we are ready to become digital only, but some people prefer the older way things were done
With my home internet speeds, physical media is still the majority of what I purchase