Is anyone else holding out for a physical copy just to do a midnight launch?

I've never actually been to a midnight launch. Not once. And I always figured GTA 6 would be the one that finally got me out there, standing in line with a bunch of other fans, counting down the seconds until the store opens. There's something about that shared hype that just seems like a bucket list kind of thing, you know?

But now I'm looking at how everything's going digital and I'm starting to wonder if it's even gonna be a thing. Pre-orders are already live, $79.99 for the standard edition, $99.99 for the Ultimate, and that Vintage Vice City Pack is tempting. But if I go digital, I'm just sitting on my couch at midnight hitting refresh. Not exactly the same vibe.

I know some stores still do physical launches, but it feels like fewer every year. And with the way the industry's been shifting, I'm half expecting the "physical" version to just be a code in a box anyway. That would be such a letdown. I want the actual disc, the map, maybe some little bonus thing inside the case. Something I can hold.

So what are you all doing? Pre-ordering digital and calling it a day, or holding out hope for a real midnight event? I'm torn because I don't want to miss out on the pre-order bonuses, but I also don't want to give up on that experience I've never had. Are midnight launches even still a big deal, or am I romanticizing something that's basically dead?

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

Here in Brazil I did one midnight launch for GTA V. Was crazy energy, but now I just want hit download and play.

crazy energy

ngl that sounds terrifying lol. i'm too broke for $79.99 already and the vintage vice city pack is taunting me, but standing in line with strangers seems kinda magical. never done one

crazy energy

ritual energy. you feel it when the clocks align. eleven nineteen... numbers have weight. remember the hum of fluorescent lights at my last midnight. almost religious.

but the boxes now. empty sacraments. code in a case, no map, no threads to follow. the disc itself is becoming myth. a ghost. what are we even queuing for anymore.

i'm torn between the artifact and the instant. the vintage vice pack whispers, but so does the crowd at zero hour. standing in line... shared delusion. both feel like traps.

the real launch happened already. patterns in the trailers. did anyone catch the overlap. probably not.

crazy energy

I've cataloged zero midnight launch confirmations. Pre-orders opened June 25 at $79.99 and $99.99.

crazy energy

I felt that at the Vice City launch in 2002. Standing outside a strip mall at midnight felt like an actual event.

Now I'm in my fifties with two kids and a 6 AM alarm. Hanging out in a parking lot sounds like punishment. I'd install the disc, download a 50 gig patch and fall asleep on the couch before the intro finishes.

If the physical copy has a real disc and a fold-out map I might grab it the next afternoon. But I'm not gambling on it. These days it's usually a code in a plastic box.

I went digital for $79.99. I'll be in bed when it unlocks. That's the dad gamer special.