ALLWAYS buying a box version (looks great on the shelf :) of a game online, wait for shipping, install, path, play.

i buy games in store its not really that big of a deal getting out of you chair, and i like the box xD
BUT! who can resist the steam deals, so store and online for me..

used to buy retail but nowadays its all steam for me, way easier, no more messing around with DVDs and such, and you'll never have to worry a game wont work cuz updates get released regularly. and with steam you can easily get extra DLC for any game you own. and its great that steam has sales so often on lots of games, bought lots of games which were sale.

...and dont have to worry about like what i had once. that i bought a game retail and when i was prompted to register during install that the installer gave me the message that the code i entered was already taken, and i couldnt install my game cuz of that and had wasted 40euro on a game i couldnt even install cuz some hacker had used my code already >.>
dont have to worry about getting BS like that with steam ^^

and its great that there's also lots of older games on steam, im a huge fan of older games.
and it feels great to finally own legit copies of all doom- and quake-games and the oddworld series without having to search tons of retail stores in hope maybe one has them \o/

only real rarely i still buy retail, if its a game from a series i really love, i like it more to own original discs of those. or if a retail copy of a great game has added extras like books or such, then maybe.

but in all other cases, steam for me. digital is way easier, less hassle and such. digital is the future

I prefer Steam. Origin sucks.

Yeah, I buy my games off of steam then play then, I use to go to the store and buy my games, back when Diablo 2 was still new and cool, now the only time I get a hard copy of a game, its usually when I get lucky at a thrift store, I've actually gotten pretty lucky a few times so yeah...

Though, I think one of the reasons why nearly all games come out on console before PCs, when it was the other way around, is because theirs just more money to be made when people have to buy a hard copy of the game, the other reason of course is because people steal the game on the PC, though that's the game creator's fault, because of their prices, when they raised the average price for a game from 20 bucks to 50 or 60, which is double the value of any game on the market to date,

I say, the only time games are worth more then 30 bucks, is when it takes you more then a weeks worth of playing to beat a game, with lots and lots of content, that actually keeps you awake for that 168 hours.

and now more and more game developers are making games specifically for consoles and either not making a PC version or doing the worst job porting the game over to PC, its sad really, PCs are better in every way, yet just because they can't buy 6 sports cars and only 5, they are going more and more with Consoles with every year, I guess the best thing we can hope/wait for, is when Consoles pretty much turn into PCs and I don't think that's too far away from now, 3 to 6 years max.

I usually like having the hard copy of a game so I like buying at retail, but there are pros and cons to this as well as using a download service like Steam.

I download cause it is the only way my wife can't keep track of how many games I have.

But there are so many free online multiplayer games now that I barely think in buying games now, good thing about freewares, is that they have lots of users, and that means less bugs and more upgrades...

Last game I have bought was minerwars (a Descent remake), cause it is on "alpha test stage", and I wanna see it fully operational someday soon. My first prerrogative about games is eyefinity.

if u guys have more eyefinity games unknown suggestions, im open to try, so far I have tried:
NFS World, PointBlank, Minerswars, and The BlackProphecy (awesome)

I prefer to have a physical copy of my games, so I usually buy them from a shop, but sometimes I download them.

i have bought an dowlaoded games on steampowered or gametap

I like buying from the store, 100%.
I like having a physical copy of games and programs, and not just downloading the (imaginary?) bits from an online source. (unless it's free of course)

I just buy games on steam now. CDs/DVDs are just too much of a bother. Will probably buy Diablo 3 directly from Blizzard, but could end up buying it on DVD if it's cheaper (it was for StarCraft2). But I get everything else from Steam.

Streaming - are you kidding me? NO F**KING WAY. Bad graphics and delayed response from input devices. I see no benefit here at all, even if cheap.

I just generally choose the cheapest option, if it's cheaper in the store/online stores I'll buy there, if it's cheaper on steam (usually not) I'll buy on Steam...but usually I just buy from Steam if something is on offer, with the exception of Left 4 Dead 2 which I paid full price for and was disappointed in, still yet to complete it.

I usually pirate games I have a feeling will be s**t examples are the recent crysis 2 and homefront both of which im glad I didn't purchase in many ways (expecially homefront, I feel sorry for people who spent $60)

Not being cheap I usually buy decent games made by good developers or multiplayer based games such as battlefield and COD, Dues Ex was the last game I purchased and im glad I supported the company.

To be honest I don't understand how some of you can be anti pirate in some cases, I consider pirating an act of free speech in some cases in the corporate dictatoship world we have no say in price wise, I used to pay $30 for a game, then $45 now $60! soon it will be $90 while developers like COD are making over 1 billion per game they release and we are being punished for not buying the game?

Most game devlopers are not well off, they dont personally see the 1 billion dollars made from some games they get a good salary (probably little under $100,000) but the CEOs and stock holders get most of the money generated.

Retail back in the days, now just Steam.

The last game I bought in a store was Half Life. 100% digital now.

I prefer to buy from the store because I like having physical media and all of the goodies that come with physical media. But I can't ignore a deal on steam when I see one...bought 4 or 5 games in the Summer Camp Sale a few months ago and continue to purchase discounted games on steam.

With regards to going to the store. I like waiting to get there and in line to buy it...just adds to the excitement, walking out the store with a big, fat smile as enough to say "aw, yeah...I'm going to be pwning it UP".

Not a fan of the piracy. As a 3d modeller in my 3rd year of uni I will rely on a strong industry when I graduate. Not all games are multi player, they are designed to tell a story just as a film or album might. People should understand there is a business there and if you steal their business it will mean less choice in the future which is regrettable.

If I'm in a store for something else, and I see a game I want dirt cheap, I will get it there, same with used console games, and some new console games, but I always make sure to check online first to see if Amazon, or Ebay has it cheaper, if so I will get it from there, also for a lot of my PC games, I will wait for Stream to have a good sale on them, and get them that way. Streaming games with something like OnLive does not work too well on my connection, and I don't like the fact of a monthly fee for the service, plus having to pay full retail or near retail to stream it, as I with my work schedule I don't always have the time to finish a game in the allotted rental times on OnLive.

Multiplayers I buy on game stores, Single Player games I pirate.

GOG and Store...
I love the Special Editions from the Store, with action figures or extras Figures from the game.

And i like the DRM-Free from GOG Games... XD

I buy my games with steam. Easy and no more the trouble of switching DVD's

I have a slow network. so i like cd's. I like rather tp preorder or buy online. + most games u can activate on steam ore origin so u get the best off both worlds

Phil101:

When I first saw streaming technology I thought it was the one of the best future proofing ideas ever and kind of got dollar/pound signs in my eyes as a 3d artist myself. Then looking at all the cons it seems its just too ahead of its time, depending on where you live.

For example here in England, for what ever reason the last government fell asleep on broadband infrastructure so the average speed in the UK is about 1MB on some less than stable old lines. Fiber optic broadband has only reached the major cities and even there the average speed is 20mb. Having seen how streaming technology works there is not market for it in England while our broadband speeds are slow and unstable. In order to get the best out of streaming games you need speed and stability in order to play the game properly.

Now if I was in South Korea I bet it would be amazing. On a side note, if its the future I can see companies like Novatech and Ebuyer not being very happy since it cuts out the need for expensive uber rigs. Anyway that's my opinion, have a good day :)

Steam! for the most part as well as DESURA for mods and some others that Steam just does not carry, Plus Origin now because of Crysis2 and Battlefield3. I have a few Boxed versions that I just seen out and about at good prices so picked them up. But I think downloading them on STEAM seems to be about the best choice, it keeps up to date with patches automatically which is a big plus! I mean think about it most don't know there is a update unless they have a problem which most do at some point, but then you have to find the patch hope to god it gets along with other programs. Example of this was GTA IV (I own both Steam version and Boxed version) The boxed version was a pain in the butt to install, it would go through the rockstar install thing then update to windows live games, then it would do a few other updates but it would always crash when going into the game after selecting PLAY! I finally had to call Microsoft, which of coarse was not a fun thing as they had me uninstall all kinds of crap, Graphic drivers being one of them which was a pain because I run multi monitor and it messes up my desk top (those that have multi will understand) Then they had me take out ram sticks and re-seat Graphic cards and a bunch of stupid stuff, Then they had to get all the codes (which should of been first BTW) and had me uninstall all kinds of programs again (more than at first) all to find out the Internet explorer 9 was the problem!!!! I am not going into what had to be done there but trust me it was NO FUN! Now with the Steam version on other PC, I bought it installed it and played it with in hours of buying it, a few of the same updates from windows live games and it played with out a problem at all! Plus if you do have one (problem) you click and fix it that simple. Other Online companies like Origin should have the same service as Steam IMHO, Plus I like being able to install in multi locations and picking up at the same save point, that has to be about the coolest part to it.

*Cough*pirate*cough*

I only pirate games to try them. If I like them, then I get them on Steam.

Amazon/Steam

A little of both. Games that are not sold in stores, I am generally forced to use Steam and such. I myself like having control over the media instead of putting trust in an online dealer, and I certainly don't stream games, nor will I in the future.

To an extent, I'll stick to the old ways.

I mostly get them Online, cause my games usually has online multiplayer options.
Dont have much time to go to the store, unless files are too big to be downloaded,
only in that case I care enough to go to the store.

But since I have eyefinity I have been discovering free online multiplayer games with options to pay for extra features like weapons and in-game cash. But I never go through those cause I feel like a lame player who needs to buy fancy toys, so I better preffer to be like all the others broke but skilled players

I would like to buy that lamborghini Diablo on NeedforspeedWorld Though'

Smartphones? Naaaaaaahhh.
I love smartphones but gaming is not their best usage, I do have games in my android but they are very silly games cause when it comes about to FPS or eyefinity nothing compares to a PC, and Xbox are for macs users

I go to store i don't need a ride i have that thing called legs :D Sometimes i buy online but only box versions.

Download, primarily through Steam or Good Old Games. I used to do it retail, went through the waiting and patching, but FUCK THAT SHIT.