The Daily Grind: Do you still rely on DVDs or direct download for your MMO fix?

by Lesley Smith Jul 11th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Aion, Guild Wars, Warhammer Online, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind

I have loads of games, probably a bit of a given considering my day job, but I'm terrible when it comes to locating DVDs. Either I put them in the wrong cases (don't we all?) or, thanks to my visual disability, I just can't find them. I do mean that, the case could be sitting in front of me and I just wouldn't see it. Indeed I've not seen the discs for half my PC games since the day I installed them. As a result, and in order to pacify my inner minimalist, I love the way you can just re-download a game using just the internet. Whether it's WoW or Guild Wars, WAR or Aion, digital downloading seems to be the way to go.

So I wonder, readers, do you still rely on DVDs and have all those special collector's editions lined up on your shelves? Are you a minimalist and prefer the simplicity of going to an MMO's website and pressing 'download'? Do you find digital downloads are just faster and hassle free? What about if you're sans internet (let's say there's been a massive storm and you're putting the game on a new hard drive), do you keep the DVDs tucked away, just in case?

Tags: aion, aion-the-tower-of-eternity, aion-tower-of-eternity, direct-download, download, dvds, guild-wars, the-daily-grind, warhammer-online, world-of-warcraft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Tyranor said on 8:05AM 7-11-2009

Well, unless a buy an MMO retail, which I rarely do these days, always rely on direct download..
.Often it's still a hassle though, for both EVE and WoW, it's far earier to download the client from a third party site than using their download clients! I use steam to download EVE cos their client seems so incredibly slow.

mko said on 7:38PM 7-11-2009

Really it's other way around for me. I always gate low download rates at Steam.
It's a geographical thing I guess

SgtBaker said on 8:54AM 7-11-2009

Been using DD's for a while now.
No need for plastic discs anymore...

Abriael said on 8:54AM 7-11-2009

I seriously hate direct download. As such I use it only when I'm forced to (IE, packaged edition not available). It's just an excuse for software developers to give use LESS value for the same price.

crsh said on 10:10AM 7-11-2009

It's publishers' decision, not developers.

Abriael said on 10:12AM 7-11-2009

doesn't really change the point

Then Gabe said on 5:44PM 7-11-2009

Sure, if you consider packaging and the physical disc to be of value. I tend to find them to be cumbersome things that take up space on my bookshelf.

Abriael said on 5:48PM 7-11-2009

They have a cost, and as such they have a value. What you "consider" them is inconsequential. Digital download is just a way for game publisher to give gamers less for the same price, simple as that.

Rascal Prince said on 8:37PM 7-13-2009

Considering that the customer's perception is what determines whether they buy the game or not - it is completely relevant whether that customer perceives value in physical media and packaging.

BaronJuJu said on 9:19AM 7-11-2009

Over the past year or so I've pretty much switched to nothing but Direct Download. I get tired of trying to find room for game boxes around my desk and bookshelves.

Ripster40 said on 9:20AM 7-11-2009

Me personally doesn't matter but I prefer discs for the reason that installation is faster. It cuts downloading 5 gigs of software and instead of waitin 2 to 3 hours to download I just wait for 15 minutes while it installs then wait for 2 to 3 hours while it patches.

RJGiskard said on 9:26AM 7-11-2009

I'm with an ISP that has a download cap (but no throttling or silly 'fair use' policy), so am careful of doing too many multi-gig downloads in a month. If I have a DVD for a game that isn't ancient, it'll always been my first step for install.

Samael said on 10:04AM 7-11-2009

Anything for the computer is DD for me, for some reason I have a shoddy track record for keeping my PC CD/DVDs in place, and I can never find them. On the other hand, my console discs are never out of place and everything is in the right box all the time and I take great care of it. The only two games I have on Disc right now are City of Heroes and City of Villains and the original Baldurs Gate.

mko said on 10:50AM 7-11-2009

Since I get the trial first I get dd. It usually takes more than 3 days however.

Also, due to taxes it is usually about 40% cheaper for me.

John said on 11:00AM 7-11-2009

I always go with the DVD copy. I won't pay the same price for something and get less...just not right.

max said on 11:31AM 7-11-2009

Thanks, I didn't know you could just download GW if you had already bought it. But, I am without an mmo right now, so that is exactly what I just did!

Bryan said on 11:59AM 7-11-2009

DVD copy. Always. Saves on hard drive space, easy to install, no download time/caps etc., artwork is appealing on dvd boxes.

Roy said on 12:17PM 7-11-2009

Personally I try to buy from a site that offers direct download. The last time I pre-ordered an MMO was for WAR and they said they would allow pre-orders to play while everyone waited for the boxes and then 2 days from launch *BAM* they hit everyone with an announcement that they where not going to allow pre-orders to play. That was a pile of %*&$ as far as I was concerned. I went to direct 2 drive and bought the game the day of release, slapped my key in and returned the pre-order.

Ever since that fiasco I've had to re-install WAR on three different computers and every time I was able to go to Direct 2 Drive and D/L the game at a fairly fast transfer rate. I had to just tear my apartment apart looking for the AOC disks after this whole free 14 day comeback deal they have going and man I wish I had the D2D for AOC instead of wreaking my apartment.

Chris B said on 12:17PM 7-11-2009

Direct download whenever possible. Helps keep the room and desk clean, nothing to lose, easy to install on multiple machines, even those away from home, and I find it to be just a bit more environmentally friendly.