Digital downloads are a flop.

Eggnogga · Sep 9, 2014

I'm not going to lie... this thread was a pleasure to read. I can (somewhat) understand people's frustrations, but as Bullets mentioned, this wasn't a secret or a conspiracy. They had made it known all along. MS isn't going to ISP check every single person
who is trying to access the game. Making it playable at 12 PM PST assures that they aren't breaking street date. It might be annoying, but it covers their a**es.

Sci0n · Sep 9, 2014

So when it said playable from 12.01 GMT and now its like hours after that covers their ***!

BulletsAlwaysWn · Sep 9, 2014

^^It said 12:01 PDT good try tho.............. no actually that was a pathetic fail...... slap yourself.

Lord Dirt · Sep 9, 2014

digital sucks, been saying it for months now

Nemesis121804 · Sep 9, 2014

Altougth I've complained about it too, I do agree that from the moment the pre-load became availabie it always said 12PST. The pros of going digital just outweighed the cons for me. It really worked out for me because when I went to play (right at 3am I
just happened to wake up then this morning, I guess my subconscious was ready for Destiny) it only took a few moments for the game to start which was much better than sitting around waiting for the disc to install for me(I have very little patience).

BulletsAlwaysWn · Sep 9, 2014

^ I agree completely. My friend pre-order the hard copy it took him about 35 40 minutes to get home and another 35 40 minutes to get the game even ready to play tho it was still downloading which by that time I only had like 30 mins to go so in reality
he only had about a good 20 minute head start on me lol.

Dance CaravanDJ Service · Sep 9, 2014

Another reason they do this is so they don't infringe on the fair playing field offered to retailers. If the west coast made it known that they would unleash access to the game at 9 pm, just so they could appease people in the east at midnight, every retailer
from San Francisco to Vancouver would lose sales. Therefore, Midnight PST is the most logical time to release. Never bothers me, since I would wait until morning to play anyway.

AFBRO · Sep 9, 2014

Imagine how much better off things would be if Microsoft stood behind the all Digital plan they wanted....(digital marketplace for trade-ins, downloads, etc). People didn't want change and Gamestop continues to dominate. I know a lot of rural areas
would have bandwith issues, but hey when was the last time you bought a physical music CD? Digital is the future my friends and although it cost more now (no preorder bonuses, no trade in value, etc) I have gone all digital this cycle with the XBOX One.

CorruptDNA · Sep 9, 2014

Why would anyone download any game? There is zero advantage. At least with a physical copy you can sell it when you are done.

Digital downloads MUST be at least $30 cheaper to make up for the loss of the physical disk.

Nemesis121804 · Sep 10, 2014

Advantages of going Digital(YMMV)

1 - Takes up less space - Personally I don't have a lot of room to store my games and I don't like using CD wallets to conserve space.

2 - Saves money for multi-console owners - I love to get people together and do some good ole fashioned same throwdowns. I used to have two copies of Battlefield 3 & 4, Halo 3 & Reach and Unreal Tournament 3. Now I just buy digital for and only have to pay
for the game once to be able to have my gaming get togethers!

3 - No install waits for Pre-Orders - When I got up to play Destiny yesterday morning it took less 5 minutes for me to be up and running and as an impatient guy that was so AWESOME!

4 - No switching discs - Its a nice feature and I don't care how many people say its lazy, I love it! I work hard, when I'm relaxing playing games by george I embrace laziness!

TEXXSHARKK · Nov 1, 2018

I have to agree with Nemesis here...especially with number 2. Split-screen games are getting more scarce with the next-gen systems, so anyone with multiple consoles will have to buy multiple physical copies of a game if they want to play together. With
a digital download, only one copy is necessary. Does it make up for not being able to resell them? Not sure...but certainly beats having to buy 2 copies just to play online together.

I also have found how much I enjoy not having to swap discs...until you experience that first-hand it really does sound silly.

For me, just having the option is nice. I will buy more physical copies than digital...and probably resell when I'm done with them. But those few games I want to play local co-op (Destiny, Halo MCC, Dead Rising 3, and there will be more) I sure love saving
$60!

Dance CaravanDJ Serv

Another reason they do this is so they don't infringe on the fair playing field offered to retailers. If the west coast made it known that they would unleash access to the game at 9 pm, just so they could appease people in the east at midnight, every retailer
from San Francisco to Vancouver would lose sales. Therefore, Midnight PST is the most logical time to release. Never bothers me, since I would wait until morning to play anyway.

BulletsAlwaysWn

^ I agree completely. My friend pre-order the hard copy it took him about 35 40 minutes to get home and another 35 40 minutes to get the game even ready to play tho it was still downloading which by that time I only had like 30 mins to go so in reality
he only had about a good 20 minute head start on me lol.

Jaximus Decimus

This is exactly the way 99% of digital PC games are released. I don't get to play new games on Steam until 11am the day of release. I think digital games will be just fine.

Going digital is about convenience. You don't have to keep track of discs which can be lost or destroyed, you don't have to worry about swapping games out, you don't even have to leave your house to purchase the game.

Microsoft made it clear from the moment they put the pre-order on their store that you wouldn't be able to play until 12:01am PDT. If playing the game 1-2 hours earlier one time for the entire time you'll own the game is more important to you than the convenience
of a digital game you should have pre-ordered at Gamestop or your regional equivalent and picked up a physical copy right at midnight.

Okoro-1A586B46-DCD5-

Yes, this was a very frustrating realization. Destiny is the first and last game I shall download from the store.

CorruptDNA

Why would anyone download any game? There is zero advantage. At least with a physical copy you can sell it when you are done.

Digital downloads MUST be at least $30 cheaper to make up for the loss of the physical disk.

Digital downloads are a flop.