Physical vs Digital Games: Which One Actually Saves Money Over a Year
Digital games are convenient, physical games can be resold. I tracked a year of purchases to see which format really costs less for a typical player.
Grab the deal
The physical vs digital debate usually turns into a fight about convenience vs collecting. I wanted numbers. So I tracked every game purchase in my household for a year, across two consoles.
How each format makes money for you
**Physical games** can be resold or traded in. Retailers also discount physical games faster than digital stores do, especially a few months after launch.
**Digital games** go on sale often in console stores, sometimes deeper than physical discounts for older titles. No trade-in value, though.
My year in numbers
- New releases bought physical, then traded in after finishing, cost me noticeably less on average than buying digital at launch.
- Older games bought digitally during big console store sales were often cheaper than physical copies.
- Games we kept forever, the family favorites, didn't matter much either way.
The pattern
- **New releases you'll finish and move on from:** physical wins. Buy, play, trade in or sell.
- **Older games during digital sales:** digital often wins.
- **Games you'll keep forever:** buy whichever is cheaper on the day.
Things people forget
- **Storage space.** Big digital games eat your drive. Bigger storage costs money.
- **Kids and shared consoles.** Physical games can move between consoles easily.
- **Collecting.** Some physical games, especially limited prints, gain value over time.
- **Disc drives.** Digital-only consoles lock you out of physical savings.
When digital is clearly better
- Indie games, often digital only or cheaper digitally
- Subscription libraries
- Impulse buys at 2 a.m. (I'm not judging)
Where to shop
Amazon, Walmart and Target discount new physical releases within weeks, sometimes on launch day with preorder deals. GameStop handles trade-ins and used games, which is where physical copies earn back their value.
Verdict
Buy new releases physical if you plan to finish and trade them in. Buy older games digitally during big sales. Mix both and you'll spend less than sticking to one format.
Grab the deal
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