[xenocide]

I see no benefit in buying a retail phyiscal copy of a game when it comes to PC Games. And to quickly debunk your accusation that I don't take care of my stuff, I have plenty of games kicking around from the 90's that are still in excellent condition. I take great care of my stuff, but shit does happen. I have a physical copy of Warcraft II, but it's pretty beat up between moving around between houses, being packed and unpacked, and just other people being around my PC.

Just about every game I would want to play (aside from Blizzard games) is available on Steam, and usually cheaper than elsewhere. I also have noticed that there are almost no retail stores that will allow you to return a PC game. With Steam, you actually have a pretty good chance of getting a refund for a game if you don't like it.

So I'll repeat, given all the facts, there are no notable benefits to buying a physical copy of the game instead of buying it through Steam. I also think the general opinion of the PC Gaming community is that Steam is a welcome entity. It seems as though nobody is really going to convince you otherwise, so this topic seems rather pointless.