Regrets about switching to all digital/almost all digital?

[jmbarnes101]

I've sold off my SNES and N64 collection, having an Everdrive I don't revisit them, except I kept my Mario Karts, Fire Emblems, Smash Bros, and Zelda games since I like those series and my kids like Pokemon. I'll be getting rid of more GBA and DS next.

I do have a bunch of movies, CD's, and graphic novels since I'm not a big fan of digital for those items.

[Tanooki]

And I'll be on the look out for the DS and GBA list.

[Jagosaurus]

Games:
Over the past 2 months I've sold about 1/3 of my game collection and went with flash/ROM carts for 3 systems: M-ED v2 for the Genesis, NES N8, and SD2SNES. Zero regrets so far. I am really enjoying it.

I kept the carts that were personally mine or my buddy's (donated to me) from our childhood. Surprised no one has brought up that it will actually save me money moving forward. I'm viewing it as an investment in addition to a space saver. I'll get to experience games on the actual console I would've had to emu on a PC or pay serious money for.

I would eventually like to go digital via Project PSIO for my PSX games.
RB Thread Link: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 38&t=36503

I'd also like to eventually like to go digital via the HDD for PS2 but it does seem like a bit of a pain, even if you enjoy tinkering which I do. I know we have a few users actively using this. Wish it was streamlined a bit more.
RB Thread Link: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=49034

Looking into soft modding my Wii as well.

Summary: I still like having the consoles plugged into a TV. I enjoy experiencing many games and genres. I am getting over having shelves of costly games if there is an easier, more cost effective route with space savings.

Movies:
The issue with BluRay versus streaming is the bit rate and compression. I was really surprised the first time I rented and streamed a movie via Google Play. I have an excellent internet connection, it did not have to do with speed. Sure, the colors looked great and it was in 1080p but it just wasn't BR picture quality. I don't have surround sound so not much comment on audio compression. Now, is the convenience of no physical item cluttering the house, buying/renting immediately, and it possibly being cheaper worth the trade off?

I'm still physical on movies, but am very selective now about what I buy. I just moved my least watched 50 DVDs to an entertainment center cabinet, hidden away. I thought about selling them but DVD lots on ebay are not going for much unless they're Disney movies which I am keeping for the kiddo. Other routes as discussed are pennies on the dollar.

I might stick to renting movies via Google Play (caveat: not all are available for rent, some are buy only) and if I really like it, buy the BD, or purchase digitally. I like how with Google Play, you can DL to a device. I just know in 5-10 years I'll look at BD how I look at VHS: a cool novelty, but outdated and taking up space. Worth noting I just donated a VCR and 50 VHS tapes to goodwill to clear out clutter as well. Small tax write off. Would that be my DVD and BD collection down the road...?

Music:
To me, MP3s sound close enough to CDs. I'm not an audiophile though. I'm mostly podcast these days so Stitcher and manually DLing MP3s is great. Everything is on my phone and my new truck has a 3.5mm jack now.

Books:
I have a medium sized bookshelf full, but have been pretty good about bringing paperbacks or one read books to Goodwill to avoid clutter and as a small tax write off as well. Mrs. Jagosaurus has been on ebooks for almost 5 years now. I bought her a Nook when they first came out for traveling, and she now has moved to the the Nook app on an ipad. I only buy her hardbacks of her favorite series when I'm out of gift ideas lol . I have been looking into audio books as I love podcast but wow, no cost savings there.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Didn't mention this in my last post - perhaps because it's too "obvious" - but GOG.com and (to a lesser extent) Steam have completely wiped out any desire I used to have to buy physical copies of retro PC games. There's simply no need to pay the high prices and then be hit with compatibility issues and (possible) media degradation.

Of course not everything can be obtained (legally) by digital means, but the GOG.com and Steam selection is pretty damn impressive.

[Tanooki]

Steam doesn't since it's locked still, but GoG entirely does the same for me. I don't buy physical computer games anymore because of both their pricing model (sales) and because I can still make a physical copy all I like so I control it. The only time I bag a physical game is if I find it cheap, used, local, and it is something GOG (or even Steam) lacks but some dedicate fan base made some modern new patch/installer to make it work again today.

I've been selling off crap like crazy for years now, it has been selective much of it going into things I'd really like to own or replace the games with. Lately it has been more down the rabbit hole of not wanting to have dust collecting wasting my space. I'm keeping closer and closer to what I consider to be essentials. I can't quite push myself into flash media, the ownership aspect of the game still means enough to me that if I went pure ALL ROMS I'd never play a damn thing more than a few moments once or twice and move along and there's no satisfaction in that. It's why I still down own one of those little raspberry pi kits on amazon that have everything all there in a nice little box.

[J T]

X-Box Fitness programs are on a path to "sunset". People who paid for these Kinect enabled workout videos will find they are unable to use them starting July 2017.

Its crap like this that makes me very wary of buying anything digital that isn't DRM-free. I didn't pay for any of this stuff, but I've been burned by this kind of shit in the past, so I feel bad for the people that bought these things. It's a stiff reminder that you buy a license, not a product, and you just don't know how long it will last.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/06/n ... ng-videos/

[Tanooki]

I got burned in the past too on a small scale. Years ago Sony before they got into the phone racket with their own devices doing games has put a really badass version of Loco Roco on the T-Mobile network and I paid up in full on that. I put a lot of spare minutes on it when I was stuck (and sometimes not was it was good) but one day the phone broke. I got it replaced, but the data couldn't be transferred, so I went to download and Sony not only took it away from sales but also from current owners to re-download.

Sure it's just one game, but it was enough to sour me trusting DRM bullshit ever. I've had a few close calls too, all thanks to Nintendo and their closed network crybaby crap too. The latest was months ago when I picked up an after market red 3DSXL super cheap, wanted to use it over the New3DS I got no fun out of. I had to basically lie to Nintendo saying my New one broke but had an older one, even then it was up some some faceless arbiter, and thankfully they picked up my NNID and unlocked it. Had they not, at face value, they consider the New3DS and 3DS not the same device and wouldn't allow it because it was going backwards not forwards. I would have lost my ambassador games, various other 3D nintendo/sega classics and a few other items which had me furious.

And in the past they did burn me a couple of times in their pre-NNID era with the DS, lost a few things due to a system breaking and me not paying more than it was worth to fix it. They literally can flip a switch on their server and allow you access again to what you buy(as Sony does by users doing it on PSN) and they at Nintendo lock you out in some control freak fit of their own design. It's why if I know I can get a game that's not DRM tied on a console, handheld, or computer I'll do that first, and if I can't it better be VERY cheap or the only way to ever get it and I best really want it which is rare.

[J T]

For me it was Direct2Drive and Impulse. They were once noteworthy digital game stores for PC titles, but they couldn't compete with Steam and eventually went out of business, or more accurately were sold, then the buyers (Gamefly and Gamestop respectively) failed to keep the companies afloat.

I have lost a few games through this whole process, though there were periods where it seemed as though I had lost them all. Direct2Drive, I just found it, is actually back again and I have access to most of my games after a long hiatus, though to their credit even before that I was able to download a lot of independent installers after they first shuttered and got bought by Gamefly. Impulse is gone, and Gamestop pulled the plug on the life support they provided for a few years.

The negative side of these experiences, combined with having Steam temporarily block my access to my huge library of game licenses awhile back, have led me to focus my digital collecting to DRM-free games. Ocassionally I pay for a cheap license with DRM, but my PC purhases have been very GOG focused in recent years.

[Westane]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, primarily with the goal of console consolidation.

Right now my entertainment center is... intense... My NES, SNES, Genesis (Plus SCD), PC Engine and Saturn are all connected to two chained SCART switches, then to my Framemeister, then to an HDMI switch. The Dreamcast, Gamecube and N64 connect to an S-Video switch, then to the Framemeister, and the Dreamcast also connects to the VGA port on my TV. The PS2, oXbox and PSP are plugged into a component switch, connected the Framemeister. My Xbox 360 and Raspberry Pi 3 are connected via pass-thru HDMI to the Framemesiter. Also connected to the HDMI switch is the Wii U, XB1, PS3 and PS4...

When people visit I have to give them a flowchart just so they can work the TV...

Factor in I'm using three 12-port surge protectors as well as all the shelf real-estate for cartridge games and... yeah... it's out of hand.

I feel like I'm over the physical ownership thing. I used to argue that I was doing it for the kids, so they could have that experience, but once they got to the point where they (3 and 5) started navigating the Plex server faster than my wife, I knew that ship had sailed.

I could sell NES, SNES, Genesis, Saturn, PCE, and Framemeister, plus software, for somewhere in the ballpark of $3,000 which would be more than enough to cover future optimizations. After that, the goal would be something like...

Raspberry Pi 3 - NES, SNES, GEN/SCD/32X, PCE, GB/GBC/GBA, and legacy consoles
UltraHDMI N64 - Plus a flash cart. N64 emulation is... bad
HDMI Modded GameCube - I could substitute a Wii, but I really like the Gamecube
PS2 - Maybe a fat PS3 if I can find one without heating/noise issues?
PS3 - Maybe a fat PS3 if I can find one without heating/noise issues?
PS4
Xbox - At least for now, may nix it completely.
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Wii U

I still enjoy collecting physical PS1/2/3/4, XBox/360/XB1 and GC/Wii/WiiU games, as well as handhelds.

I guess that's not a HUGE improvement, taking me from 15 consoles down to 8-10, but that also cuts out a bunch of switches, old power bricks, etc. I'd just need a good box to run all the HDMI/Component cables through and I should be golden. At this point I may even throw a PSTV and Steam Link into the mix. As for losing the Dreamcast and Saturn, I dunno, I feel like without getting too picky the majority of their best games have been ported elsewhere.

Still, that's a lot to give up, and I'm still not sure if the tradeoff is worth it.

[Tanooki]

Seems we got similarly burned J T with various examples and some positive-ish end results too on some recoveries. I've done the same, it was mind blowing relief when I found GOG Connect was debuted and things I had on Steam came free of charge. I had been back-pedaling on buys for super steep cuts on sales and re-buying stuff to unshackle games from DRM lockdown. Even if GoG was like fuck it one day, I got every game in my account on a backup drive so they'll still run into the future, but I doubt they will die any year soon.