Ran across this in a discussion about Nintendo’s Virtual Game Cards and Key Cards.
For myself it’s
Physical > Perpetual Digital (GOG) > Key Cards (Switch 2) > DRM Digital (Steam/PS3/Xbox 360) > Account DRM Digital (PS4/Switch/Xbox One) > System Locked Digital (3DS/Wii U) > GamePass > Streaming Games (Amazon Luna/Stadia)
For some context.
While Key Cards are digital they are not tied to hardware which means so long as the servers are still running the game can be downloaded and played… presuming no additional authentication is required.
DRM Digital is bellow that since services like Epic Games, and Steam still require re-authentication from time to time. Though Steam is getting better thanks to the Steam Deck.
GamePass is low because it is the same as Game Rental. You don’t own the game. Good to try never to own.
On that note, physical games with download codes inside don’t even get a place on my list. Got tricked into buying Patapon 2 this way and I always read the games fine print ever since.
I prefer Steam because I like having achievements, gallery of screenshots (I take hundreds/thousands of them for games I enjoy), backlog with notifications when items go on sale, all the forum/groups/review stuff, etc. If I were to pick purely politically, I would definitely choose GOG though. I wouldn’t ever consider Key Cards as that’s just the worst of both worlds (physical vs digital). Physical rarely makes sense, but I’d consider it for some super unique releases, for example a box release with usb of Morrowind + OpenMW + bunch of modpacks preinstalled including stuff like Tamriel Rebuilt etc + some nice physical stuff in the box like artworks or huge worldmap to put on your wall. But I can’t imagine a release like this being even remotely close to legally possible (because it’s a huge salad of licensed properietary paid content and opensource free content under a variety of licenses).