You certainly don't own the game any more if you get it on CD. The only difference is that instead of owning the "rights to download and play a game" you own the "rights to install and play a game"
I realize this. We had a big discussion about this back in college when Quake was stored on the Shareware CD and could be unlocked with a keycode (which qcrack was able to generate).
But, I'd rather have it on CD for soooo many reasons.
- With a CD, I can install my game 10 yrs from now even if the game company has gone bankrupt and Steam is a distant memory/
- I don't like having to saturate my DSL connection (I share it) unless I have to, ESPECIALLY just to play single-player content. The game is probably a couple gigs, which means a complete download for each install, or persistent downloads during playing.
- If I reformat my computer several times a year, I don't have to worry about getting "permission" to install the software more times (had to do that with Norton Antivirus). Though, if software activation becomes more common, this might cancel out.
I realize I only "have permission to install the game off the CD," but having the CD gives me more options down the road, and I don't have to bog down my connection even once.
I have more freedom.
Pentium 4 3.06 GHz w/ Hyperthreading + 533 MHz FSB
1024MB PC2700 Crucial RAM
ATI Radeon 9800XT
Windows XP Pro
This comment was edited on Jul 28, 23:02.
"Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you."
-Fry, Futurama