Every game I have ever purchased for the PC has been in physical form. I’ve never purchased a game through steam, or any other digital download service. With a possible few exceptions for indie games which struck my fancy, but that was merely because these games cannot be found on store shelves.

With the upcoming release of Diablo 3 I was forced to revisit my standpoint on this topic. Which version should I purchase? What are the benefits (if any) of owning physical over digital, or vice versa? I dispense my findings to you now.

Here are the facets I considered:

• Diablo 3 First Play Convenience
• Diablo 3 Materials
• Longevity of Diablo 3 Gameplay

Diablo 3 First Play Convenience

The oncoming storm that is the Diablo 3 release date of May 15th presents a few hurdles. Consider: Ok, the 15th is now, and the game is out now, so I want to play it NOW! Do I really want to stand in line with a bunch of sweaty nerds talking about their WoW raid last night? No, I do not. Do I want to stand outside for 1-2 hours waiting in line to spend money on a game, then drive home and have to wait for the game to install, and hope that my DVD drive isn’t finicky with the disc? No, I do not. On the other hand, do I want to sit at home and make an online purchase, install the game, and be ready to play as soon as the servers go live? Yes, I do.

Diablo 3 First Play Convenience awards 1 point to going Digital

Diablo 3 Materials

There is something awesome about instruction manuals, bonus art, proudly displaying the game box beside my PC, and just having something… anything physical to represent my purchase and serve as a reminder of the game. This has been my primary motivation behind purchasing physical copies of games in the past. The interesting thing is that upon examining this more closely, I realize that the box and materials just become one more thing I have to sort through when looking for a different game. I look at / read through the materials once, and that’s it. When I move on to a new game the materials either get placed back into their box and lost in the abyss that is my gaming storage container, or they get randomly spread to the wind only to be found again on those rare occasions when I’m moving or re-organizing. And usually, at this point in time they are destroyed and ruined, so they get tossed in the garbage.

The Unreal Universe
A Book on Physics and Philosophy

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Pages: 292 (282 in eBook) Trimsize: 6" x 9" Illustrations: 34 (9 in color in eBook) Tables: 8 Bibliography: Yes Index: Yes ISBN: 9789810575946

Diablo 3 Materials awards 1/2 point to going Physical

Longevity of Diablo 3 Gameplay

Although this is the final point I examined, I believe it is the most important. Purchasing games digitally has one main advantage: you own a digital version of the game which you can download and install at will. Unless blizzard goes KABOOM (or KABLAMMY) you’re going to be able to revisit this game for years to come. With most games, this isn’t that big of a deal. There are a rare few games which I revisit over the years. With that being said, Diablo and Diablo 2 are both on that list. I’ve probably purchased 3 copies of Diablo 2 over the years due to lost / damaged discs, loaning the game to a friend because I wasn’t playing it, etc. By purchasing Diablo 3 digitally I will be able to (I hope) install the game on my grandsons computer and tell him that these were the games I grew up playing. In a future with 3D video gaming ROOMS, and physically interactive environments he will probably not be as interested in Diablo 3 as we are.. but I will be. I anticipate playing this game for awhile, then revisiting it every few years when the penchant to hack & slash the demons of hell strikes me again. And, even after Diablo 4 hits on May 15th, 2025, I believe I will still want to revisit the classics every now and again.

Essentially, what this decision boils down to is: is it worth the potentiality of multiple $60 purchases for a few throw away materials? Nope.

Longevity of Diablo 3 Gameplay awards 1 point to going Digital

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In summation, I’m going digital for Diablo 3. The only thing the physical version had going for itself (in my opinion anyway) was the materials. And I can always go pickup a physical copy if I feel I just have to have them. Otherwise, I’ll probably be able to read through everything at a friends house. Or better yet, grab digital copies of the mats after someone decides to scan them in and share them.

What do you think?

Diablo III | Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks

I’m very excited for Diablo 3.. I can still remember sitting at my brothers computer playing the first Diablo and living every second of it. I also remember playing Diablo 2 way too much when it came out. I’d reach a point where I would get tired of muleing all of my items instead of actually playing the game and levelling up, so I would take a few months off and when I would start playing the game again all of my accounts and characters were deleted, so I would get to start over from scratch. Both games, Diablo and Diablo 2 were amazingly fun for me, so you can likely imagine how psyched I am for Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks

You may be wondering about the posts title. Well, as the game hasn’t been released as the time of this post, I have no Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks to share with you. However, the reason for this post is to announce my intentions to share Diablo 3 Tips and Tricks with my readers. In keeping with the other sections of my blog, I will be encouraging my readers to share any Diablo 3 Tips they happen to come across, so that I can pass them along to everyone else.

Stay tuned, and let me know if you would like to share anything regarding Diablo 3.

Diablo 2… again!
Well, my friend made me decide to reinstall Diablo 2 again. There goes my spare time for the next few weeks! Usually when I play I enjoy either a Sorceress or a Necromancer… but this time I chose an Assassin. After playing a rogue in World of Warcraft to level 80 I wanted to know where Blizzard got their inspiration. I see a few of the elements from the Assassin in the rogue, some of the terminology is the same, and the roots of what was to become the combo point system. Now I’m left wondering, will they include an assassin/rogue type character in Diablo 3? The assassin was added to Diablo 2 via the Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction (LOD) expansion pack. I believe we will eventually have offered to us an expansion pack for Diablo 3… however, I hope they include this type of character in the initial release of the game. Perhaps a “thief” class.

Diablo 3 Character classes
A quick peek over at Blizzards Dialbo 3 website reveals that which has been known for many months, 3 classes have been unveiled. Barbarian, Wizard, and Witch Doctor. While these three classes are excellent, and the Witch Doctor seems like a really fun option to explore, I’m left wanting more. Obviously this is common amongst those who are anticipating the games release… this is evident through the myriad of posts appearing in Diablo forums all over the net. Alas, Blizzard is most likely saving the rest of the character classes for either a beta testing release, or the full release of the game.

Diablo 2: The good and the bad.
There are many strong points about Diablo 2. However, for each strong point there is a weakness. Diablo 2′s loot system has long been the target of criticism. Loot dropping to the ground ripe for the clicking by any and all in the game does not bode well for the slow clickers. This leads to anger and eventually leaving the game. I can say this, because this has been the reason for me quitting the game each of the past 5 times. But somehow, it draws me back in. I know the game inside and out, the quests, the bosses… the only thing left for me to experience is end game with a few of the other classes. The lack of ability to reapply your stat and skill points is a MASSIVE drawback to Diablo 2 and is sure not to be the case in Diablo 3. Another sore spot with Diablo 3 players was the ease with which they could acquire money. This eventually leads to money being obsolete as it is rare that you can find gear for sale that is an actually upgrade over the rare and unique drops that come with normal gameplay. Another thing that I really like about Diablo 2 was the dynamic map generation. Each time you load a game and visit an act, the layout is different. This increases re-playability in my mind because you are not able to easily get used to the navigation and layout. Unlike the dungeons in World of Warcraft things change. The map can usually be revealed with the use of a maphack (against the rules of the game) with great ease, which is a little annoying because it allows cheaters to more quickly find their way, and gain loot more quickly. Another positive of Diablo 2, and hopefully Diablo 3, is the ability to solo content. I enjoy being able to group up to take down a boss, or achieve a goal, but making it mandatory to enjoy the finer points of the game is just silly. Sometimes I like to play alone, and don’t feel like dealing with people. If Blizzard releases Diablo 3 and makes the group aspect a must, it will be sure to annoy me, and may limit the amount of time I actually stick with the game.