Why is Elite dangerous only sold digitally?

[Monk]

Back in the days of Elite and Elite II / III, games were much more solidly built. There were the odd thing you had to do sometimes but before the net was big, we actually got what we paid for instead of half finished games *cough*bethesda*cough*

That's why the follow up Elites got a bit of bad press lol

Sometimes it seems like forever ago but really it is very recent...remember when you had to go to a dev/publisher's website to download a patch?

 

[Rafe]

What are you talking about? Don't you mean a Seagate?

Wasn't FE2 on Amiga CD32 as well...on a CD (1 not 32)

I seem to remember Watford Electronics were the boys before Seagate turned up... maybe that's just my bad memory though :/

 

[Yaffle]

I seem to remember Watford Electronics were the boys before Seagate turned up... maybe that's just my bad memory though :/

IBM. The typewriter maker. 1973.

(they made pretty good keyboards too. Model M ftw)

 

[Rafe]

IBM. The typewriter maker. 1973.

(they made pretty good keyboards too. Model M ftw)

Before my time. I got my first computer in 78 I think

 

[xondk]

I was thinking about this today and I figured I'd ask you guys, maybe its just because I only started playing earlier this year and don't know the all that has happened with the game but I was just wondering why Elite Dangerous has never had a physical disc available for purchase? This may sound weird but personally I prefer discs and if they ever came out with a collectors edition that had a steelbook or like a statue of something game related, I'd get that in an instant? What do you guys think about this?

Cheaper, easier to control, and generally provides users significantly easier use.

And while I get the collector aspect of it, it just isn't heading that way, even consoles are heading away from discs for the stated reasons, the only reason they really support them and probably will continue is because 'some' people still do not have great internet, but it is a shrinking minority, but that, and the fact that disc based movies probably isn't going away, is the only reason they even have a reader, it is a much easier sell then one without disc drive.

 

[crimzonrazor]

Its probably a simple answer more profit

 

[Gibbon]

I was thinking about this today and I figured I'd ask you guys, maybe its just because I only started playing earlier this year and don't know the all that has happened with the game but I was just wondering why Elite Dangerous has never had a physical disc available for purchase? This may sound weird but personally I prefer discs and if they ever came out with a collectors edition that had a steelbook or like a statue of something game related, I'd get that in an instant? What do you guys think about this?

I have a physical disc version and a digital version. You can buy a disc version in the store. Don't understand the issue here

 

[disintegration7]

Premier Manager had a fun copy protection scheme. You had a wheel with football kits on and you turned it to reveal a code.

FE2s was naff. You were asked from a letter from a word on x paragraph y page. Get it wrong unwittingly and you save the game after...then you dock again and the rozzers confiscate your ship. Game over man and your save is useless!

At least it all came on one disk. Beneath a Steel Sky was ten or eleven...

Ugh, i remember playing Red Storm Rising and F19 Stealth Fighter back on the C64 and they both had a similar copy protection method "enter word x from page y" at the startup screen, but for whatever reason my screen would glitch like 90% of the time making it so that you couldn't read which page you were supposed to get the code word from....infuriating....at least it didn't bork your save as far as i can remember. Anytime i start to get annoyed at a long loading screen or overbearing DRM, this memory reminds me that the "good old days" had their own share of issues (looking at you, 1541 disk drive)