Skyrim was the last physical PC game I bought (and that’s a good thing)

It seems like only yesterday that big PC games were in every store, but the day has finally come when I will buy the last actual PC game ever, and that one, Skyrimwill definitely put a nail in my actual PC gaming history.

I’m on the waiting list for Skyrim

If you’re younger, you may not remember a time before people bought games digitally, or simply ordered them online. When a new game comes out, and you really want to play it, you’ll have to physically go to a store and hope there are enough copies of the game.

Even when this was the norm, I rarely did so. Skyrim was an exception. In November of 2011, shortly after I moved out of my parents’ house and into my own apartment, I went to the store after my half-day job. The mall was on my way home and the game would be on sale that afternoon. I waited in line for about two hours, which is pretty good all things considered, but I at least reserved a copy, and it was fun chatting with other people waiting to buy the same game.

My wife is the same way Elder Scrolls A fan like me, so we were eager to install the game so we could play. With the DVD box in hand, I headed home to begin my Skyrim adventure.

To my shock, the disk was the vessel

Skyrim was the first game I purchased on Steam, and the first game in the history of my Steam purchases. That’s why my Steam account is almost as old as the game.

Although I knew Steam was a digital storefront, I didn’t get broadband until recently. Specifically, I got a 4Mbps ADSL connection, which is good enough for basic Netflix playback as well, but that’s a story for another day.

I created a Steam account, then began installing the game, only to realize that this copy of the game was now permanently linked to my Steam account. In other words, I can never sell this game or loan this game to anyone else. It also turned out that my new copy of Skyrim had a corrupted disk, which ironically wasn’t an issue, since Steam simply downloaded the files from the internet.

I took the disc and box, removed the beautiful map that was included, and threw it in the trash.

Computer gaming has flourished in a digital-only world

At the time, I felt very conflicted about the digital-only thing, but it turned out that my computer at the time would also be the last computer I owned with a built-in optical drive. PC gaming quickly lost track of physical media, and once I got broadband and a Steam account, I started buying games in earnest. I have about 750 titles on Steam alone now, not counting other platforms.

Unlike consoles, downloadable digital games are now the only option, and PC gamers may have been ready for them even before they became a reality. Instead of a pessimistic outcome, PC gaming has boomed, and while I’m sad that the days of boxed PC gaming are over, the ease of access to games at very affordable prices has been a very nice thing.

Only digital games work, because PC games are open

All-digital PC gaming has been a huge success story, and thanks to advances like the Steam Deck, improvements in core specs for non-gaming PCs, and the reduction in complexity of PC gaming, the platform is bigger than ever.

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But I think this largely positive outcome is something you can do only Done on a platform like PC. I’ve long argued that the end of physical gaming on consoles would be terrible for console gamers.

The nature of the open market for PCs means that no retail channel can dominate, and there will always be an alternative way to find and purchase games.

The debate over ownership is approaching its climax

At this point, I think we can say that the overall digital revolution of PC gaming has been a success. However, this does not mean that it will remain successful, and there are still some unresolved issues. One of the most important of these rights is the rights you have as someone who purchases a license to play a digital game. It would be nice to have the option to resell our digital games for one thing.

This is still a huge advantage for on-disc console games, and I’m sure publishers would love to get rid of it like Microsoft tried with the Xbox One.

Steam, along with other online sellers, have clarified the fact of ownership of the game, but the issue has yet to be settled. Not to mention the presence of online stores such as GOG.com Which does not provide any copy protection for their games, which means you can create your own physical media.

Although I rarely use it, I still have an optical drive for my computers, and I still collect physical media, but overall, I feel pretty good about my time so far in the all-digital world of PC gaming.