Reasons NOT to buy a digital copy?

[JKDOS]

However, I heard that DIGITAL copies have a higher risk of getting corrupted. ;-;
But this has not happened to me in New Leaf, thankfully. ^^

That's now irrelevant for Switch games. They save to the console, and not the cartridge

 

[Romaki]

I don't think it makes a big difference these days. I'm a physical gal myself, I like to own the things I buy and be able to sell them if ever needed, but the bad days of digital are gone. It'd suck if you had to change your Nintendo account, but there won't be a reason to because Nintendo allows you to pretty much change anything about it.

The only advantage a physical copy gives you these days is being able to share it with many people, especially considering that game cartridges don't hold save files anymore. And of course being able to physically own it, with whatever they put inside the case.

 

[jenikinz]

I went digital because I still had funds in my eshop from cards I bought a while back. I like that I can take my switch out and not have to take all my games as they are already on the console. I do like the idea of having physical because when I get tired of games or if I don't like them I can sell them...but it isn't like I get much for them anyway so that wasn't a good enough reason for me to buy a physical copy. I went back and forth on it and honestly I wish all my games were digital copies because there are some I go to play and then I have to hunt down the cartridge to play it, I find it annoying. Sometimes I want to switch from one game to another when I am out and can't because I didn't take the cartridge with me. I think it is a personal choice and people should go with what makes them most comfortable. I have never had an issue with any of the digital games I have had so I feel no worries with digital.

 

[dizzy bone]

I went digital because I still had funds in my eshop from cards I bought a while back. I like that I can take my switch out and not have to take all my games as they are already on the console. I do like the idea of having physical because when I get tired of games or if I don't like them I can sell them...but it isn't like I get much for them anyway so that wasn't a good enough reason for me to buy a physical copy. I went back and forth on it and honestly I wish all my games were digital copies because there are some I go to play and then I have to hunt down the cartridge to play it, I find it annoying. Sometimes I want to switch from one game to another when I am out and can't because I didn't take the cartridge with me. I think it is a personal choice and people should go with what makes them most comfortable. I have never had an issue with any of the digital games I have had so I feel no worries with digital.

Oh yeah, I’m in the same boat. I wish I had downloaded more digital versions on my switch rather than physical. I had my worries about digital on the 3DS before (even though I’ve never had a problem with it, just horror stories of other people’s town corruption), but I actually felt a little more uneasy when I was constantly ejecting and switching cartridges rather than any digital game I played.

I liked physical for 3DS, but digital just makes more sense to me for Switch. On the 3DS I actually didn’t get round to playing that many games due to constantly putting my time into ACNL, which I bought the 3DS for (I regret not pacing myself and I need to catch up on my backlog so hard lol). But I still had a couple games as physical copies and had no problem switching around for occasionally. But for the Switch there’s 2-3 games that I switch between A LOT. Adding ACNH to that, I’ll likely be playing that for the majority. Knowing that I wouldn’t want to keep switching out so frequently, I got a digital copy for ACNH (and for some of the reasons explained above). I wish my most frequently played games were also digital, but I also would need to buy a bigger SD card.

 

[OldHag]

I buy digital for games like animal crossing that I’ll continue to pick up for a long time and that don’t really have an ‘end’. Physical for games that I’ll play through and be done with — but even then I’ll often get digital.

I find that physical offers benefits only to those who have some kind of collector’s edge, whereas I prefer to keep my belongings minimal and, if possible, uploaded to the cloud. Not to mention that I’d much sooner lose the cartridge than lose/damage my hardware.

So I guess I didn’t really help much with your original question because as far as reasons to get physical go, I don’t have any lol

 

[jcmbangor]

All my AC games are physical copies. I quickly got bored with Happy HD and was happy I had a physical copy to sell quickly at my local used media store. Only got a few bucks, but I used it for some single amiibo cards. Also, having grown up in the age of vinyl records, I still like my album covers with liner notes and cover art. Nostalgia wins every time for me.

 

[Boccages]

I wanted physical at first. Even placed a preorder at my local EB Games boutique. But when the game went pre-purchase-ready on the Nintendo eShop, I bought it on the first day. Why ?
- I do not plan on reselling the game
- I want to play the game the sooner. Midnight launch was the last straw. I did not want to wait until the store opened up on the 20th at 10 AM. I wantto play it 10 hours earlier.

 

[Soot Sprite]

I prefer physical, but I've never been a fan of digital. I bought a bunch of digital games for the 3DS that I can't use now. If you plan on sharing the game or you like to resell them once you're done playing then I would go physical. Plus I'd rather not have to worry about getting a huge SD card to fit all of your games on top of paying full price for a digital game.

 

[Khaelis]

One of the hidden perks of physical:

If your nintendo account is compromised, so are your games. This can't happen with physical copies. Unless your house is compromised... which is very unlikely.

 

[meggiewes]

I've read reports from a bunch of TBT members that their New Leaf digital copy isn't available for download anymore and they need to buy a new copy, probably because of the Welcome Amiibo update, so maybe keep that in mind?

I myself decided to go for both and buy a digital AND physical copy, but I'd argue a physical one is better if you have to chose.

That's strange. I have a digital copy of New Leaf and when the welcome amiibo update came out everything was fine with my copy. Maybe my copy is the strange one.

 

[Magicman]

You could always buy a pack of empty switch boxes ($5) and print out a shiny cover at a print shop (1-5$?)

 

[pocky]

My friend got physical because she brought up the good point that physical copies are forever. Like say some decades from now the eShop goes down forever or maybe you dont have access to the internet. If NH isn't downloaded onto your Switch then you wont be able to play it again, but with a physical copy you won't ever have to worry about that.

That being said I am going digital (but also getting a JP physical)

 

[N e s s]

Hate to say it but the cheapskate in me is considering Physical because I remember how bored I got with New Leaf over time. I might consider reselling later on, but there is also the part of me that's extremely excited and wants to buy it Day 1 via digital.

 

[Lavamaize]

You can resell a physical copy while with Digital you would have to sell the whole console

 

[ViolinShapedObject]

Part of me wants to buy both: digital for my current switch and physical for my AC special edition switch. Which I still need to buy.
I've been fully preparing to give Tom Nook Nintendo all of my money for years just for animal crossing haha

 

[SmoochsPLH]

Yeah, I want a physical for that reason but the amount of times I had to take my ACNL copy in and out of my ds....I was gonna pre-order digital but I just never finish the purchase thinking I'll regret it.

Go with whichever makes you feel more comfortable. I myself am getting physical cause I feel that's the safer option for me and is what I'm comfortable doing even though I can see the benefits of getting digital. I hope you can make up your mind and have fun with the game!

 

[Blue Cup]

There's no real legit reason not to go digital with Switch games unless you're a collector. Your downloads are no longer tied to your console as they have a modern account system in place now. Nintendo isn't going to strip away your rights to download the game. They aren't going to suddenly close up their eShop making it impossible to download your game.

There's a lot of weird hang-ups still hanging around from Nintendo's early attempts in the digital space, and the only real reason for buying the physical copy of the game is just so you can hold a piece of plastic and an easily lost chip of data, which doesn't even store your town data any more.

If it's the artwork you want, there are always dealers on Etsy selling reproductions of the case.

 

[Brookie]

Nintendo isn't going to strip away your rights to download the game. They aren't going to suddenly close up their eShop making it impossible to download your game.

^ THIS. ^ Heck, the 3DS shop is still open! I'm sure it will be fine

 

[silasthevillager]

- I want to play the game the sooner. Midnight launch was the last straw. I did not want to wait until the store opened up on the 20th at 10 AM. I wantto play it 10 hours earlier.

Digitally, it's coming out 9PM PT

 

[Yoshisaur]

Wow so many replies Thank you so much everyone!!

edit: I think I'll buy digital and an empty case if I want to display it!!