While Sony and Microsoft are actively trying to get gamers to turn to downloading games, over buying physical copies in store, a recent UK survey found players still prefer to buy a disc than get a digital copy. It should be pointed out that the gap between the two is not all that big and it appears a few changes to Internet speeds could bridge that gap.
In the survey, conducted by Broadband Genie, 39 percent of gamers said the preferred to buy a physical copy, rather than download a game. 25 percent said they preferred to download their games. Perhaps most interesting is that a whopping 36 percent claimed they don’t have any preference. That third number is interesting mainly because it feels like the gaming community can be a pretty polarized and decisive bunch.
Take the situation unfolding with 343 and their current lack of a physical copy of the collector’s edition for the upcoming Halo 5. There are enough people there that want a physical copy, the company is thinking about reversing course and offering a physical copy when none were previously planned.
When talking about what is keeping more people from wanting to download a game, 59 percent reported lag, either playing a game, or long download times. The survey did not go into detail as to what was to blame for the online issues, though it should be pointed out that more than a few gamers were reporting download times upwards of 99 hours after the recent release of Batman: Arkham Knight. Even with the online problems arising with a vast majority of gamers, the report also found that a full half of all respondents engage in online play. 65 percent of those said they play between one and 10 hours online.
