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  3. Do you still play any PC games on a physical disc? Or, when did you last do that?

Do you still play any PC games on a physical disc? Or, when did you last do that?

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  • T tuckerm

    Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

    PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

    Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

    For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

    I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

    What were (are?) some of your favorites?

    darkdemize@sh.itjust.worksD This user is from outside of this forum
    darkdemize@sh.itjust.worksD This user is from outside of this forum
    darkdemize@sh.itjust.works
    wrote on last edited by
    #6

    I think the last disc-based game I played was Neverwinter Nights 2. Either that or the Command and Conquer Collection. That was probably around 2014.

    T 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • T tuckerm

      Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

      PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

      Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

      For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

      I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

      What were (are?) some of your favorites?

      M This user is from outside of this forum
      M This user is from outside of this forum
      Malgas
      wrote on last edited by
      #7

      Not sure what the last one was, but the last couple PC games I bought physical copies of could be installed from the disc, but also had Steam keys in the box and then didn’t require the disc to play.

      T 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • T tuckerm

        Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

        PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

        Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

        For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

        I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

        What were (are?) some of your favorites?

        🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 K This user is from outside of this forum
        🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 K This user is from outside of this forum
        🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮
        wrote on last edited by kolanaki@pawb.social
        #8

        I haven’t had a disk drive in my PC for over 10 years now. It’s a PITA even finding an inexpensive case that has front bays these days.

        T J 2 Replies Last reply
        4
        • T tuckerm

          Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

          PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

          Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

          For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

          I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

          What were (are?) some of your favorites?

          tropicaldingdong@lemmy.worldT This user is from outside of this forum
          tropicaldingdong@lemmy.worldT This user is from outside of this forum
          tropicaldingdong@lemmy.world
          wrote on last edited by
          #9

          Bruh I haven’t had a computer with a disc drive in like…15 years.

          Last game I played with a disc was disc golf.

          T 1 Reply Last reply
          23
          • tropicaldingdong@lemmy.worldT tropicaldingdong@lemmy.world

            Bruh I haven’t had a computer with a disc drive in like…15 years.

            Last game I played with a disc was disc golf.

            T This user is from outside of this forum
            T This user is from outside of this forum
            tuckerm
            wrote on last edited by
            #10

            I almost went that route, but kept moving my disc drive from one PC to the next just for Morrowind. I didn’t have room for it in my latest build, though (I put in a tower cooler for the first time), so I bought an external DVD drive.

            So, how far can you throw those DVDs?

            1 Reply Last reply
            2
            • T tuckerm

              Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

              PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

              Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

              For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

              I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

              What were (are?) some of your favorites?

              T This user is from outside of this forum
              T This user is from outside of this forum
              thoath@leminal.space
              wrote on last edited by
              #11

              Back in my day :33 we had to download the world’s most prolific marriage ender from 7 different disks over probably the course of 3+ days (wow)

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • T tuckerm

                Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                JayR This user is from outside of this forum
                JayR This user is from outside of this forum
                Jay
                wrote on last edited by
                #12

                I dusted off my old xbox 360 a month ago and played a few games on it. Aside from that, not for quite a few years now.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • T tuckerm

                  Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                  PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                  Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                  For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                  I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                  What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                  SSTFS This user is from outside of this forum
                  SSTFS This user is from outside of this forum
                  SSTF
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #13

                  I buy and play a bunch of old games from an EBay seller who sends both the original disc and a disc with a copy of the game that loads dosbox stuff or whatever else to make it work easily on a modern system without fiddling around. It’s pretty great.

                  I have a bunch of strategy and sim games.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  1
                  • T tuckerm

                    Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                    PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                    Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                    For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                    I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                    What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                    snooggumsS This user is from outside of this forum
                    snooggumsS This user is from outside of this forum
                    snooggums
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #14

                    The last game that I remember that needed a disc to play was Battlefield 1942 and I made a virtual drive with an ISO so I didn’t need to put the stupid disc in every time and listen to it spin up. Current PC doesn’t have a drive at all.

                    While I think a lot of the old box art was neat and all, I don’t miss the physical requirements that took up space and all the manual updates and whatnot. Absolutely love steam’s digital store and if that ever shits the bed and there isn’t an alternate I will just stop PC gaming because the effort to manage all that stuff isn’t worth it any more. Music and movies are the same, the physical media was nice for its time but I don’t need to interact with it to use it anymore.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • T tuckerm

                      Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                      PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                      Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                      For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                      I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                      What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                      P This user is from outside of this forum
                      P This user is from outside of this forum
                      pattymcb@lemmy.world
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #15

                      I finally just threw out my Diablo 2 and xpac discs. None of the computers in my home have optical drives anymore. I only keep the Blu-ray player around for my collectibles, and I rarely risk wearing them out just for a watch

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1
                      • T tuckerm

                        Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                        PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                        Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                        For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                        I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                        What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                        N This user is from outside of this forum
                        N This user is from outside of this forum
                        neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #16

                        Now I want to install a game to a disk and run it from the disk drive, my dad’s old desktop has a drive. I wonder if it can burn dvds.

                        Maybe I could install stardew valley to the disk.

                        T 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • T tuckerm

                          Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                          PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                          Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                          For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                          I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                          What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                          thingsiplay@beehaw.orgT This user is from outside of this forum
                          thingsiplay@beehaw.orgT This user is from outside of this forum
                          thingsiplay@beehaw.org
                          wrote on last edited by thingsiplay@beehaw.org
                          #17

                          The last time I played a PC game on a physical disc? Can I cheat a little bit here? I found a self burned CD from old early 2008 or earlier days. There were a few RPG Maker 2000 games on it, which I downloaded from internet cafes, such as Vampires Dawn (back then, when only a German version was available for the first game in series). And I played a few of them last year with an open source RPG Maker player called EasyRPG, but with RetroArch.

                          So yes, I played PC games in 2024 from a physical disc. But I leave it to you, if you count that. 😄

                          T 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • T tuckerm

                            Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                            PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                            Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                            For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                            I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                            What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                            W This user is from outside of this forum
                            W This user is from outside of this forum
                            whostosay@sh.itjust.works
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #18

                            Diablo 2 battle chest

                            T 1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • T tuckerm

                              Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                              PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                              Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                              For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                              I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                              What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                              H This user is from outside of this forum
                              H This user is from outside of this forum
                              hexarei@beehaw.org
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #19

                              My last physical media was the PC version of Titanfall, played in 2022 or so via USB disc drive. was surprised to find the entire game actually on the disc. Was pretty cool.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 K 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮

                                I haven’t had a disk drive in my PC for over 10 years now. It’s a PITA even finding an inexpensive case that has front bays these days.

                                T This user is from outside of this forum
                                T This user is from outside of this forum
                                tuckerm
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #20

                                Yeah, they definitely aren’t seen as a necessity anymore.

                                However, the Silverstone FLP01 was mentioned in another community around here and I was so tempted to get one. At $150, it’s not exactly inexpensive, and I already have a perfectly good case (Fractal Design Core 500), but man I want one. The “floppy disk drives” are doors that flip down: the top one reveals an optical drive, and the bottom one reveals the USB ports.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                1
                                • T tuckerm

                                  Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                                  PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                                  Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                                  For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                                  I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                                  What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  misery mansion
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #21

                                  I remember finally building a new PC that was halfway decent and wanting to play some quake 3 mods. So this would have been around 2005??

                                  Broadband was here so I wanted to take advantage of that sweet low ping but needed a physical copy of the game for the mods to work.

                                  Even then it was hard to source a game disc but I got it and had a few years of fun playing urban terror… I can’t really be bothered with online shooters now but back then it was simple, quick and fun. There’s too much going on in things like Apex and Overwatch for me.

                                  Also my PC basically has a console setup in the living room and I play with a switch controller, so I’d get destroyed anyway!

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • T tuckerm

                                    Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                                    PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                                    Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                                    For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                                    I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                                    What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                                    S This user is from outside of this forum
                                    S This user is from outside of this forum
                                    schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #22

                                    Last one must have been GTA 4 (I’ve meanwhile bought this on Steam so I can play it without) or Crazy Taxi (came with a cereal box in my childhood).

                                    W 1 Reply Last reply
                                    1
                                    • T tuckerm

                                      Like many people, I’ve been thinking about physical media lately, and how our entertainment items – movies, albums, books – used to be things that sat on a shelf that someone else could see and say, “Hey I like this thing on your shelf.”

                                      PC games were one of those things, once. I have a few. And I’ve scrounged them up from their various moving boxes and parents’ houses to see if they still work.

                                      Does anyone here still play a game from an optical drive? A game where your regularly-played copy isn’t the Steam version?

                                      For me, Morrowind was the last game that I was still playing on a disc. I have newer games on discs, but just played those once or twice and then put them back on the shelf. But I was still playing Morrowind from a CD up until 2023, when it went on sale on Steam for $1, so I bought it. I almost didn’t get it, since I liked the fact that I was still playing a game on a CD.

                                      I plan on taking inventory of which games still work and what it takes to install them today.

                                      What were (are?) some of your favorites?

                                      K This user is from outside of this forum
                                      K This user is from outside of this forum
                                      k0e3@lemmy.ca
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #23

                                      I think it might be Star Craft for me.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • darkdemize@sh.itjust.worksD darkdemize@sh.itjust.works

                                        I think the last disc-based game I played was Neverwinter Nights 2. Either that or the Command and Conquer Collection. That was probably around 2014.

                                        T This user is from outside of this forum
                                        T This user is from outside of this forum
                                        tuckerm
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #24

                                        Nice. I was recently browsing this used bookstore near me, and C&C: Generals was sitting on the shelf in the music CD section, so I bought it. That was what got me thinking about my existing physical game collection.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • L lordnikon@lemmy.world

                                          installed from disc starfleet academy and mechwarrior 2 last week with lutrus.

                                          T This user is from outside of this forum
                                          T This user is from outside of this forum
                                          tuckerm
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #25

                                          Sweet! Lutris is amazing, I tried it for the first time a couple days ago. One of my physical games is Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, which would not run on my Windows 10 PC, but runs just fine on my Linux PC through Lutris.

                                          L 1 Reply Last reply
                                          0

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