Point is gaming industry has no interest in pushing Blu-Ray since its better for them to go fully digital(saves money), like it or not its the digital era so dont expect them to push something which doesnt benefit them at all.

Yeah! I'd blame myself for not putting them in a fire-proof safe! Fortunately, my sliding glass door to the balcony is right next to them so I can just toss everything over in to the bushes below.

Funny they're still releasing them on disc's then, eh?

He's a college drop out like that other loser, Bill Gates. Look at where they are now....

...Wait, what am I saying???

They are for now, but discs are kinda dying media as far as PC is concerned, most new PCs dont even have disc drives anymore.(am talking stricty about PC here i know its diferent for consoles)

I know they don't. But it doesn't stop them looking at other potential physical medias (especially for their physical collectors editions). I remember the days when the gaming industry and the hardware industry used to drive each other forward to make new innovations. It is a sad state of affairs that it has gone a bit stagnant and stale the last few years in that regards. Guess that's the console era for you, kills innovation

Again, all the dangers you mentioned can be found in the real world too before the digital age. People can share personal info arbitrarily and carelessly the old fashioned way by leaving personal items in public places or giving them to strangers. This has more to do with people's carelessness, and not necessarily has to do the digital age.

Merchants of all kinds, past and present, have found ways to obtain names and addresses for marketing purposes, so this isn't unique to cell-phone and tech companies. It is an age-old practice to obtain names and addresses to sell things, and it is never gonna to stop happening. At least with Internet companies, there are usually easy ways to opt out such programs. Keep in mind that those people intend to sell, not to steal, and those people serve an important function for our economy to function. Better worry about those who do intend to steal, such as those who hack into computer systems to steal info.

Many of the safeguards against fraud in the social media age are the same as those before it: check your credit card usage, check your credit report regularly, beware suspicious mail (electronic or paper), beware computer viruses.

It's ok to be cautious. But there is cautious, and there is overly paranoid the way you are. You can be cautious, and still enjoy the benefits of the digital age too, you know.

Regarding my point about IDs, your driver's license has your name, address, license #, and your photo, which is more than enough info for a criminal to use for fraud. Sometimes you don't just flash your ID briefly to someone. Sometimes you need to hand it over, and it may be out your sight momentarily, such as in a bank, or at a building's security checkpoint. Same thing with credit cards. After giving it to a waiter, it may be out of your sight for a few moments, and info HAS been stolen that way.

You do make my point though. It is about personal responsibility. You have to be careful always. Don't get me wrong. I don't avoid our digital age at all, I am just not a fan of putting my personal information out on the "cloud" and providing it to arbitrary digital entities. I have one credit card that I use exclusively for online purposes where I have no control. I never give out my phone number and use my business address and phone for just about everything.

Fortunately, many States are moving away from your address being on your DL so that is a good move. Personally, for ID purposes, I never use my DL except when providing it as required to law enforcement. I exclusively use my Federal ID for all other purposes which does not include any information other than my Federal ID #, name and photo.

And NEVER allow your credit or debit card out of your sight. EVER. Of course that is why I always pay for my meals at restaurants with either cash or with that one credit card (with a very limited limit) to be used.

I agree that I am somewhat paranoid, but I prefer to think of it as prudent.

One more thing you need to realize is that by being on the Internet you are already "in the cloud". Your PC, or whatever device you surf the web on, is already visible to everybody on the Internet, and, thus, is susceptible to the same risks of getting hacked as any device. If any Fortune-500 company can get its computers hacked into, your computer can be for sure. My point remains the same: you can't worry about these things.

Regarding your CC being out of your sight, again, I'm not overly concerned, since CC companies have definitely upped their security measures in recent years. One concern is that most of the security measures are made *optional* only, meaning customers have to be knowledgable enough to (a) know the features are there, and ( know how to turn them on -- both of which are iffy for most people. And CC can't make those features mandatory since that would inconvenience and confuse a lot of people. I hope the millennial generation will be more alert about these things and treat security measures as second nature.

I'm old enough to remember that credit card receipts used to show the FULL CC# for all to see. We have definitely come a long way from those days.

Oh, I don't disagree with you and I do agree that they have been making efforts to improve security and, I too remember those days of full CC #'s and carbon copies (OYE!).

Of course I realize that, when I am on the internet, I am susceptible to a hack and am very careful on that account. I do not, however base my life on the digital model. I do not store my documents and personal files anywhere that is accessible to anyone but myself.

Unfortunately, as someone who employees hundreds of millennials, and you can deny it all you want kids, they are, on the whole, completely oblivious to the dangers of exposing your life and your personal information to everybody, all the time. Either that or they just don't care.

As I said in my initial critique. I will definitely suffer from a terminal case of schadenfreude when the inevitable happens, as I always do when my predictions come true.

One problem is that they are the first generation raised in the social media age by parents who weren't. We just have to wait a generation or two, so that parents who understand these things start to raise their kids. As I said, this needs to become a second nature, and it will be.

While I agree, I still fear for a future where you bear no responsibility for your own privacy and safety, where everything is outsourced to someone or some other organization and you are fully dependent on their efficacy.

Oh well... my kids are in their 30's now and almost as paranoid as I am, so, at least I'll be dead before the sh** hits the fan.

Prolly 3 or 4 discs. My copy of Dragon Age: Inquisition sitting next to me is (very surprisingly) 4 dual layer DVD's and their all containing game data. 3x8GB and 1x6GB of game data. The installer wouldn't work but you can open the compressed files with Winrar so that isn't a big deal. Simply copy each of the 4 parts (1 on each disc) to a single location on your HDD and extract the data from any one of them to where you want the game installed and have Origin verify the files by having Origin download/install the game to the same location. This saved me from downloading over 26GB of data which would've taken many hours to complete (I had to download the patches & free DLC of course).

You can't do that with Steam physical releases because Steam games seem to encrypt the data or something, preventing archival programs from opening the compressed files.

That sounds like a challenge! Encryption is just pretend security. Let's find out local codebreaker! As long as it isn't illegal, of course. Wouldn't want that.

I agree with the OP, was very disappointed there was no indication under "system requirements" that you need to download over 20GB of data before game play. IF I knew this, and why do I have to go on the internet to learn this???? I would not have bought the product, but too late now, Bethesda or Zenimax have my money now right?

Far Cry 4 retail version for PC has 3 DVD's with most of the content on it. If Ubisoft can do this and its also a 30GB size game, then why can't Bethesda? too arrogant eh?

Got so annoyed with this lack of clear communication about downloading over 20GB of data NOT indicated on the cover of the retail DVD version, I lodged official complaint with our consumer affairs dept. This is a BIG problem for folks on limited/metered internet connections. Yes, we are out here in the REAL world... Even if my local regulatory body can't do much about this, it will go into the stats about electronic entertainment products with deceptive or inadequate "system requirements".