Raging Justice wrote:I really feel like physical collecting in the modern era is largely not worth it. I've gotten used to getting my games digital. People stubbornly refuse to admit it but physical is dead and has been for some time. When 90% of game releases require you to download DLC, patches, or updates then PHYSICAL IS DEAD. One way or another you're being forced to download digital content whether you buy physical or not.
There is some truth to that, but there are still games released that have all of the content on their cartridge and disc and/or are still functional without patches or DLC. Didn't SquareEnix even make a big thing recently about how Final Fantasy XVI is all on the disc(s) and that there isn't a day 1 patch? (Not sure if that's true, but I am sure I read about it) Sure, eventually there will be some minor bug that gets patched and there might be DLC, but the game will always be playable with just what is on the disc, assuming what I heard is correct.
Nintendo also do something that practically no other company does. They continue to produce new cartridges for old games that have been revised with the patches applied. Much like they have always done, but it's interesting they still do it in the modern era. For example, my copy of Breath of the Wild was bought at launch and is on version 1, so is missing all the patches. Whereas someone who bought the game in the last few years will have a version that is already up to date and doesn't require any patches. They even released a complete edition in Japan that has all of the DLC on it as well as all the patches (it also also supports English).
Overall though, I have learned to embrace digital too and don't stress too much about patches and DLC etc. I get that there's this belief that games are carved up during development to create DLC and that games are now shipped "broken" and fixed later, but at least the patch system is quick and convenient to the consumer. I remember back in 2000, two or my favourite games were released: WWF No Mercy on the N64 and Metropolis Street Racer on the Dreamcast. No Mercy had a horrendous save bug that meant you lost all your progress randomly every couple of days (or sometimes even within a couple of hours). Metropolis Street Racer (initial PAL release) had a ton of bugs, with multiplayer races not working properly, the single player mode's kudos system not working properly and it being impossible to unlock all of the vehicles and tracks. We had to wait months for fixed copies to be produced and had to deal with the publisher's customer services in order have your copy exchanged for a "good" new copy. That took months and months and some people just never even bothered.