Purchasing Games on DVD usually meant you have the game on disk to install so you don't have to waste your internet bandwidth to download, but they also usually came with the disadvantage that your need to insert your DVD every time you want to play a game which is a big hassle. Also the media gets degraded over time even if you don't use it. Once it goes bad, you are screwed since you can no longer play the game. In addition physical media occupies physical space which is another big hassle unless you have a lot of space maintain a physical game library.
Digital platforms like Steam and Origin gives you the benefit of having the game available to you to download and play without changing disks. On the flip side, Games have been getting larger and larger in size and you need a speedy connection in order to download games in reasonable amount of time. Further you need to be online in order to play the game. If your Internet connection goes down, you cannot play the game even if its single player.
Thankfully, with improving internet speeds and access to speedy broadband plans, I have given up on buying PC DVDs and have started opting for digital purchases instead. However, I already have a tonne of PC Games on CD/DVD purchased over the last 15 years.
I decided I would get my favorite games from my game collection to digital platforms and initially I started purchasing digital versions of my some of my games like Mass Effect series.
But after some research, I found that I can add many of my existing DVD games to digital platforms directly without having to repurchase.
Origin
Most EA games on disk can be registered on to your Origin Account unless they are very old.
1. In Origin Launcher, Go to Orign->Redeem Prodcut Code.
2. Enter your Product Key that you got with the disk and click Next.
3. If the game can be added, you will get the game name associated with the product.
4. Complete the steps and the game will be added to your Origin store.
You can install the game and run it without the disk.
I have successfully done this Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition, Crysis 2 and Mirrors Edge all of which I had on disc since a long time.
Steam
Stream also allows retail games on disk to be added to the steam game library. Initially, this was limited to games that originally used steam as the DRM platform even if they are on disc. But now, they also support addition of number of third party games that did not necessarily use stream as the DRM in the disk versions.
The games in list below can be added to steam.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601
1. In Steam launcher, go to Games->Activate a product on steam
2. Click next till it takes you to the Product Activation screen and enter your games product key and proceed.
3. If the game can be added, you will get the game name associated with the product.
4. Follow the wizard and your game is added to steam library and you will also be presented with the option to download the game. You can either proceed to download or cancel.
I have added Bioshock 2 to steam in this manner. This game did not have steam integration in the disk version when I purchased.
Digital platforms like Steam and Origin gives you the benefit of having the game available to you to download and play without changing disks. On the flip side, Games have been getting larger and larger in size and you need a speedy connection in order to download games in reasonable amount of time. Further you need to be online in order to play the game. If your Internet connection goes down, you cannot play the game even if its single player.
Thankfully, with improving internet speeds and access to speedy broadband plans, I have given up on buying PC DVDs and have started opting for digital purchases instead. However, I already have a tonne of PC Games on CD/DVD purchased over the last 15 years.
I decided I would get my favorite games from my game collection to digital platforms and initially I started purchasing digital versions of my some of my games like Mass Effect series.
But after some research, I found that I can add many of my existing DVD games to digital platforms directly without having to repurchase.
Origin
Most EA games on disk can be registered on to your Origin Account unless they are very old.
1. In Origin Launcher, Go to Orign->Redeem Prodcut Code.
2. Enter your Product Key that you got with the disk and click Next.
3. If the game can be added, you will get the game name associated with the product.
4. Complete the steps and the game will be added to your Origin store.
You can install the game and run it without the disk.
I have successfully done this Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition, Crysis 2 and Mirrors Edge all of which I had on disc since a long time.
Steam
Stream also allows retail games on disk to be added to the steam game library. Initially, this was limited to games that originally used steam as the DRM platform even if they are on disc. But now, they also support addition of number of third party games that did not necessarily use stream as the DRM in the disk versions.
The games in list below can be added to steam.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601
1. In Steam launcher, go to Games->Activate a product on steam
2. Click next till it takes you to the Product Activation screen and enter your games product key and proceed.
3. If the game can be added, you will get the game name associated with the product.
4. Follow the wizard and your game is added to steam library and you will also be presented with the option to download the game. You can either proceed to download or cancel.
I have added Bioshock 2 to steam in this manner. This game did not have steam integration in the disk version when I purchased.
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