With digital stores closing, the fight for physical gets serious

[Pariah_Dark]

 

 

 

With Microsoft now officially about to close the 360 legacy store, the big three console holders have all at least considered closing their older stores. Anyone else think it's time for people to have a renewed push to fight for physical games yet?

Edited August 24, 2023 by Pariah_Dark

[TrophyChief]

I'm an advocate for physical games and will continue to support and purchase physical media as long as it is around. Voting with my wallet and letting my voice be heard are some of the things I can do, however, with the direction games are going and the trend of digital goods and purchases I realize more storefronts will be closing and less physical games will be produced. 

[MidnightDragon]

I will support physical as long as I’m able, but digital is clearly the future.

[kidson2004]

Made the switch to digital games during the PS3 era. Will continue to pick up physical games (especially when they go on sale), but in most cases, the digital games go on sale far more often than the physical games. In all honesty, the digital sales REALLY ramped up during Covid. That's what got people more into getting digital games. 

[Dreakon13]

While I'll always love physical media, it's gotten so difficult to see the future in it that I've started selling my collection.

 

It's such a losing battle.  From console manufacturers making console versions without disc drives (soon to be a modular accessory that'll make it even more of a niche as no default option will even include it), to publishers hardcoding required internet access into the discs (ie. literally forced day one patches, always online in single player games, etc), to developers continuing to update and work on their games years after a physical was printed (rendering them almost obsolete or expensive to replace with newer discs).  Even many of these once grassroots limited print publishers (like Limited Run Games, Special Reserve, etc) are getting in bed with the industry leaders and coming out with subpar products that oftentimes forego the principles and mission statements that made them popular in the first place.

 

To put it bluntly, everyone is kinda taking their turns screwing physical supporters lately and they're oftentimes paying a premium for the privilege.  I'm guessing that'll just keep happening or getting worse until physical really does go the way of the dodo.  While I can technically afford it, I just can't really justify putting myself in that position anymore.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Dreakon13

[Zephrese]

9 times out of 10 I buy games (or any media, for that matter) physical, and even when I do get a game digitally I usually try to get a physical copy later if one is available and I like the game enough to justify double dipping on it. If and when gaming goes all digital, that'll probably be the end of the road for me and I'll just focus on playing older games as well as other hobbies. Not going to give greedy corporations more money once they've decided to take the option away from me entirely in favor of having more control over what I spend my money on and what I can do with it afterwards. Unfortunately most people seem perfectly content in rolling over and letting this happen (largely because of an illusion of "convenience" and/or ignorance), but it's not like this industry was going in a good direction overall regardless considering all of the other problems (e.g battle passes, gold/ultimate editions, MTX, etc.) we face thanks to people willfully allowing it and the hobby around it to be ruined. lol

Edited August 24, 2023 by Zephrese

[Burritoprime]

No, I went digital many years ago and I'm never going back to physical dics and I have 0 regrets, it made my life much easier.

 

Edit: in fact I have over 100 ps3 games that will most likely sell when I move to my new house.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Sunnyburrito

[Dangisuckatgamin]

I haven't bought physical in about 2 years. (only reason I did at the time was I had a best buy gift card to use and had just bought the ps5)

I likely won't buy a physical for another 5+ years (if even at all)

[SelectiveGamer]

I don't want an all digital future either.

 

But clearly... the companies have already made their decision and nothing is going to stop them.

[the1andonly654]

Physical all the way. 9/10 games I play these days are digital, due to subscriptions and sales, but I do want the physical option. More importantly, a physical version means that the game continues to exist for everyone even when they've pulled the plug on the digital storefront.

 

A recent Digital Foundry video got me thinking about it. While I'm not someone who wants to play all the games, the fact that a game, good or bad, can only be bought during a specific time period between its release and the storefront closing means that a piece of something that might be called art is lost to time, in a way. Kind of a waste, isn't it? 

 

 

[Chirithy84]

I was born in the 80s. So I am a child of the nineties. And I was used to always buying the games as physical copies and playing them. And I still am
It's just that I no longer have the opportunity to always buy this as a physical copy. I think the two paths can coexist as a peaceful symbiosis, but never that one path becomes stronger. Because then we would have this dilemma again, which is what is happening now.
Yes, I am also someone who likes to download games. But I also like to buy from shops like "Limited Run Games" because of my retro passion.
So, that was my own two euro cents on this post.

 

 

[Ninjise]

I always like the option of having physical, I got into new franchises due to be able to borrow and sell my physical games.

 

That being said it's very hard not going digital when the prices are often much more appealing and being able to buy from home is always a plus.

[AlchemistWer]

Digital games are worth it when has 60% off or even more, but I prefer buy physical games than a digital version of the same game.

[Terra]

Definitely physical, but I will buy digitally if its cheaper

[black__bunny]

I have always been a supporter of physical games, only buying digital when there is no physical copy. This has led me to own quite substantial physical collection for both ps3 and ps4 which, while I love, has brought me to the realisation that I will have to limit buying physical games as I can't justify taking up more space to house a gaming collection. I don't want to part with my collection and so have decided that I will ultimately have to move to digital once I purchase a ps5. I will buy physical here and there, but only for the games I really love or enjoy. 

 

Physical will always be superior to me. I love the idea that I truely own a copy of something that, unless I damage it myself in some way, I can always play it. I also love that if I want to play something years later, I can buy a second hand copy somewhere and will still be able to experience it (unlike digital that is always at risk of being delisted). Digital may the direction of the future, as like myself physical space will always be an issue for people, but I can't see digital as as ever being more beneficial.

[Ashande]

I like physical media, and would prefer to have the option when possible even though my circumstances frequently mean it’s digital or nothing for me. That said, if we go to all digital, it will kill the stranglehold certain types of folks have over games going forward, which I don’t see as an entirely bad thing. “Feel like cleaning up some Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions trophies? That’ll be $200, please. Curious about Little Samson? Cough up a whole paycheck. Oh, you’d like to play Haunting Ground or Rule of Rose? Hope you’re willing to sell both your PS5 and PSVR2 for it, kiddo.” With the recent push for grading physical games, the incestuous relationship some auction houses and sites have with the graders, and the invasion of investors - rather than collectors, preservationists or players - in the field, it’s only going to get worse.

 

Yes, that means that Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo or whoever can roll up the storefront and leave you unable to purchase things. But is there really a functional difference to someone who just wants to play the game if, for example, the Japanese PSN delists Haunting Ground (though you’d still be able to download and play it if you purchased it and paid the much more reasonable equivalent of $29.99), or you have to take to eBay where you’re looking at $300 bids only on up to $2,000 buy now (for a WATA graded copy… 🙄) Some might say “make more money” or “you should have bought it back when it was available,” but not everyone has the first option and the second one applies equally to a digital version. Maybe I won’t be able to buy a disc copy of Alan Wake II, but I know that for the foreseeable future anyone’ll be able to buy it and it’ll stay at the basic price except when it’s on sale.

[RedDevil757]

I used to love the posters and manual art that you'd get with old games. I spent so long looking at the mario all-stars manual as a kid.
 

Those days are gone though. Now it's a plastic case with a disc or cartridge. The full game isn't even always on the disc. It's not on Gran turismo 7. It's a key that enables you to download the game. It's just a total waste to get a physical copy now. Especially with the move to reduce the use of plastic. I'm not poor enough to need to trade games to get new ones so I don't need physical copies at all. Infact I've not purchased a disc since the PS3 days and really don't plan on it. 
 

Digital all the way for me.

[AJ_-_808]

I very much favor physical over digital, but due to the sheer amount of games, I'll trim the fat on my collection every once in a while.

 

I don't usually replay any of them once I get %100, but I enjoy having physical possession of my favorites with (hopefully) custom steelbooks in the future 

 

I doubt I'll ever be on the "digital is the future" boat

[yankee-fan85]

While this is active, I quickly want to recommend the website DoesItPlay. They do offline testing of physical games and report on whether the game is fully playable from the disc/cartridge and runs acceptably. If anyone has concerns about whether a game's disc is a coaster (hello, Call of Duty/Hogwarts Legacy/Gran Turismo 7), that is a great resource to check.

[OutcastGuy50]

Does physical games have more game freezing then digital game that I owned?I switch to digital gaming but not sure it a bad idea.

[zizimonster]

I'm embracing "digital is the future" as long as it is much cheaper than physical.

 

JUST DON'T DELIST GAMES EVERY OTHER DAY! 😅

[Pariah_Dark]

34 minutes ago, zizimonster said:

I'm embracing "digital is the future" as long as it is much cheaper than physical.

 

JUST DON'T DELIST GAMES EVERY OTHER DAY! 😅

 

 

That's another issue. It's not actually cheaper.

 

When games launch on both they literally have the same price.

 

If you want to speak about digital stores having deals weekly that's fine. But that evens out with amazon, newegg, ebay, etc having their deals.

[Jeanolt]

Physical means there's a limited amount of products in the market, making the price go up whenever the market wants, and even more when the years go by. That means that the price in the future will depend in what amount of sales the publisher thought there will be (worsening the situation for small games). Today is impossible for me to, I don't know, start building up a N64 collection. Also, the waste of plastic in those games selling above millons will contribute to the global contamination.

 

Digital means the product will be sold without limit as long as the licenses allow it, and the storefront, which in some cases like Steam goes on forever. That means its price will go lower as the years go by. Despite the poor TOS of Sony is almost impossible to get banned on Steam and other pc platforms, meaning that you won't lose your games. Also, digital means EMULATION, so I can play all of the N64 GAMES THAT I WANT!!

 

Physical looks nice, but is as vulnerable as digital. Both should coexist, but I don't see that much of a difference. It's the old monopoly of physical format that makes it impossible for me to build my N64 collection, so why would I be against other options?

Edited August 25, 2023 by Jeanoltt

[Hitman_Spinksy1]

I made the switch to digital a long time ago but with the world going to shit and the exchange rate of the pound going through the roof (I'm English and live in Sweden) it makes it a lot cheaper to buy physical again on newer games. I learnt this the hard way when buying digital FFXVI. Idk why Sony still thinks it's impossible to move to a different country but yea. 

[Ashande]

2 hours ago, zizimonster said:

I'm embracing "digital is the future" as long as it is much cheaper than physical.

 

JUST DON'T DELIST GAMES EVERY OTHER DAY! 😅

 

Not sure that digital will ultimately prove cheaper. Some folks will shake the pitchforks and holler that the price needs to go down because there’s no physical components and thus the dev/publisher costs are lower, but I’m not entirely sure that swapping the cost of boxes, discs and shipping for the cost of bandwidth, server space and maintenance would actually result in an appreciable difference.