Do you keep physical media for sentimental reasons?

[PersonAndStuff]

So I'm moving and, as part of that, I'm going through my old DVDs to find stuff to purge or burn or stick in a binder. Either because I don't want it or I can stream it or I should just buy it on Blu-ray already. And I'm finding myself hanging on to DVDs in their respective cases because of what it meant to me. Original DVDs for Arrested Development and Battlestar and Six Feet Under. I am become old man.

 

[CountAntonio]

I have a box of 300 CD's that I paid for during my youth that I just cannot scrap. It's just takes up space in my closet but damn did they mean a lot to me. Eventually I'll do it...

 

[corn_fest]

After moving a bunch of times I've come to resent any physical media I still own. When possible I just rip the discs or rebuy stuff digitally.
There is still a place in my heart for books though, even though those are by far the worst to move (sigh.)

 

[Bradford]

Not really, no.

I do have a respectable collection of blu-rays and vinyls but its not for sentimental reasons. I actually use them frequently, so its not like they are just gathering dust.

 

[Kevers]

I'm never getting rid of my physical media.

 

[Slappy White]

No. It's an extremely liberating feeling
For me when I purge old stuff like that. The only reason I still buy anything physical at all is because I still have Gamers Club at Best Buy. I love the convenience of all digital and I also love the idea that I have so many games, movies, etc available to use at the press of a button. Yeah the worries of an all digital future cause some concern but not enough to over weigh the positives for me. I have absolutely Zero sentimental thoughts towards pieces of media.it probably helps that I sold off a huge collection of dvds and games years ago.

 

[NealMcCauley]

I still have the flipper dvd of T2 Ultimate Edition since it was my first dvd.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

No, I keep my Blu rays because I still think the sound and picture quality is better than streaming.

 

[TMC]

After moving a bunch of times I've come to resent any physical media I still own. When possible I just rip the discs or rebuy stuff digitally.

Click to shrink...

Yup, this is pretty much me. It was incredibly liberating getting rid of a large part of my physical collection. I had 5-6 large boxes of it that I carried with every move. I moved into a smaller place last year and I didn't want to utilize all my closet space with those boxes that I never even opened from the first time I moved.

I made over $2,500 selling plenty of old physical media consisting of Gamecube games, 360 games, PS2 games, steelbooks (games and movies), Disney/Pixar Blu rays that I never opened, box sets, etc.

I put the Blu rays and games I wanted to keep in a binder and sold the empty cases. I trashed all my DVDs that weren't box sets.

 

[nded]

Some, yeah.

 

[Deleted member 17627]

Definitely with some games, yeah. Persona 5 I'm keeping, despite getting The Royal in March, because playing the original got me through a really hard time in my life. That being the case with some other titles that I have too.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I sold it all for pot. I'm not joking.

Spoiler

Worth

 

[Deleted member 6949]

I keep a copy of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves on VHS because it gave me my first hand job.

 

[Azurik]

I rid myself of physical media years ago and gone all digital/ streaming. Don't need clutter/ dust collectors around the house And feel a bit better doing a little bit for the environment by not buying plastic.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

Got rid of most of my physical media, apart from hundreds of books of course.

 

[Z-Beat]

I keep my VHS tapes around for sentimental reasons. Most of what I own can be found on blu ray or online (especially the Disney movies) but I'm never giving that shit up.

 

[MrBS]

I've got a room full of media that I'll probably never look at again. Not so much sentiment as it is laziness that prevents me from donating to the local thrift store. One day I'll get around to it.

 

[Fatoy]

No, except books. I had a lot of DVDs and quite a few BluRays, but when my wife and I had kids and moved house again, I sold them all - along with my Neo Geo AES collection. I just couldn't justify the space for things I never used, and the money ended up paying for some furniture, so it was the right choice.

Technically I don't 'use' my books, either, but I'd find them much harder to let go of - especially the first editions.

 

[cosmickosm]

I have a bunch of DVD's and Blurays that are sitting in the closet. I have a feeling whenever my wife and I move we'll probably sell them.

I have a few hundred cd's and a couple cases of vinyls also taking up space, but I will never part with those.

 

[Douche McBaggins The 4th]

I have 500+ blu rays. Stuff not on netflix horror movies and when i want the quality experience of uncompressed glory.

 

[LosDaddie]

The only physical media I keep these days are comic books.
Specifically, in the omnibus format.

I'm completely digital for movies and music. Next gen of consoles will be digital-only for me.

 

[Unaha-Closp]

I've kept books, cd's and dvd's. VHS got binned. The books, cd's and dvd's are however in boxes so if they went would I notice? It's only every now and then I think I want to see or read or hear something from the boxes. But VHS had to go. Was too archaic. Shame as I probably had some music shows taped off TV from back in the day with live performances from bands I liked but I was never going to hook up a VHS, the days of scart cables are long gone.

 

[Aaron]

I've sold a lot of retro games. Some I regret, the most recent one that stung was Sonic 3 on Genesis (earliest game in my collection, as far as I'm aware, it was the copy my parents bought me for Christmas in '97). Ultimately they're just toys, though. It happens.

A cousin of my fiancee's let me have the gold cartridge Zelda 1 and 2. We were talking NES right after the Classic came out (which they also had), and he dug them out for me. He refused to take any money for them, although I did leave a $20 in their house. I don't even know if they work, I have an FC Twin I've always meant to test them out on, but it doesn't really matter to me that much.

I've also kept my Saturn and Dreamcast. Saturn because I know if I ever got the itch to play any of the games I have again, the secondhand market prices for those are ridiculous, so I'd rather hang onto them. Selling games has usually been something I'd resort to when I came up short for bills, I consider the Saturn stuff a "break glass in case of emergency" type of thing. The Dreamcast is actually my third, I bought it on Craigslist from a guy who claimed it belonged to Tim Walz (then-Congressman in Minnesota, now the Governor). Whether it's true or not, I can't part with it just based on that alone, it's definitely a cool conversation starter.

As far as movies... VHS I don't have anything. There's some stuff at my parents' house, like old DBZ tapes and whatnot, but if they were ever chucked out I can't say I'd miss them (I own the entire series on Blu-ray now anyway). My fiancee has a few VHS tapes that belonged to her grandma, though. I have a ton of DVDs and Blu-rays, I've been meaning to thin out the collection somewhat, but I know there's a handful of movies I would want to keep even if they're available on streaming. I just like the idea of permanent ownership, especially if I know it's something I'm going to revisit.

I never had that many books, but my fiancee has a ton and I've kept the few I've had over the years. We have barely any CDs.

 

[GARlock Spiral]

Somewhat.

I don't trust a lot of streaming media to keep anything permanently on their service, so if I want to keep it, physical a go go.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Less and less. As I get deeper into my thirties I find that I just don't care as much about having physical junk around. I'd rather convert it to cash.

I'll always have physical copies of the Mass Effect series around, Final Fantasy CEs, some other favorites. But I can see my physical connection slimming down to almost nothing, eventually.

 

[Wackamole]

Yes. But at some point i will try and make someone else happy with it. Or sell it.
Just gave away all my old Wii stuff to a friend with young kids. Also sold some PS4 games that i would normally keep forever.
I rather see people enjoying it. I just don't want too much stuff and collecting and hoarding is a disease, i found out.
It feels really liberating to let go of stuff. Also sold all my old other consoles and games. Was surprised how much money some of these games were worth.

 

[Teiresias]

I don't keep mine for sentimental reasons, since I frequently look through my physical media collection and determine what to keep and what to get rid of, but rather physical media is a way of ensuring (absent total failure to have a playback device) I have access to that content without being at the mercy of a publisher's whims.

I don't feel like it's necessary to have all of this out and available to me at a second's notice, so it doesn't necessarily take up space being "displayed" so I don't feel cluttered by it, but that's obviously dependent on what kind of storage space you have available.

People often talk about how "freeing" it is to not have physical media, which I get, but I equally like knowing that if I wanted to free myself from any number of subscription services I would definitely not be hurting for things to watch or play once I've cut off those monthly bills.

 

[Jmdajr]

Must be. I never use them.

 

[lunarworks]

I kept a small selection of CDs and DVDs. Mostly stuff I've had signed.

 

[Pargon]

Ripped it all, and now the discs live inside a few binders that are easily stored away. Recycled the original packaging.
I have enough media in my collection that is unavailable for streaming, has previously been available and no longer is, or has moved from one service to another I don't subscribe to, that I'm glad I still have it.
It's higher quality, and available without internet access too. A lot of content has 5.1 on the disc and only streams in stereo, or has a higher quality audio track than is available for streaming. There are bonus features and commentaries that you don't get on streaming either, but I don't particularly care for most of those.
I don't care for the discs themselves, and wish I didn't have to keep them, but they do serve as a backup in case something happens.

 

[Tanerian]

I have a large DVD collection of great movies that I hold onto just incase.. even though I know I would pirate the movie and watch it on my PC, or on my TV from my PC long before I went and fetched the DVD of it.

 

[thesoapster]

Crysis because I know in my heart that nothing will run it.

 

[Deleted member 9241]

Around 2001 I ripped my collection of around 1000 CDs to a HD and then sold them. It was right on the cusp of them still being worth something. I think I got $3.50 per disc, on average if I remember correctly. Some of the more unique sets went for as much as $30-40.

My dad buys CDs now for .10 each at garage sales and Goodwill stores. Sometimes even less.

EDIT: Oh shit, I have 6-7 comic long boxes from the early 70's up to the early 90's. I definitely keep them around strictly for sentimental reasons.

 

[Huey]

Depends. I keep my game library because they've tended to accrue in value - the whole thing is worth 5000 or so now (and most of that value is Saturn games).

My old dvds that are redundant with new blu rays I've just never gotten around to selling them. But they are a good reminder to never upgrade to another physical format again.

 

[Roge_NES]

Yeah, I had a big blu ray collection but started downsizing a couple months ago, some movies I had only I played once and some were even still sealed.
I just kept what I really wanted and that I want to watch in a higher quality than streaming.

 

[Sobriquet]

Comics and vinyl, yes. I should really get rid of my CDs, DVDs and games though. I have no idea why I still have them.

 

[Laserdisk]

Quality reasons.

 

[Yourfawthaaa]

Comics and vinyls, Yes.

Every now and then i'll purchase a CD as well depending on the artist.

 

[StrangeRoboMemory]

Very rarely...for some reason I still have an Evangelion import soundtrack that I bought in high school (twenty years ago). Can't bear to throw it away.