Will the next gen be digital only?

[Sergen]

I never want to see gaming go fully digital, too many games get delisted on the PSN Store with no alternative way to buy that game and it's annoying when it happens on a game that you would have been interested in. You'd also be at the mercy of whichever company owned that console's network and if they decided to shut the whole network down you'd have a lot of money down the drain as there'd be nothing you could do about the digital media you own. At least if you look after a retail copy of a game you can safely keep it for the rest of your life, but if Sony or Microsoft or Valve ever decides to shut their entire gaming network then you'll never get to touch those games again. Digital media is the reason why if I ever see Sony announce shutting PSN for the PS3 console without any alternative ways to get the games, I'll leave PSN behind completely and move to a different platform. 

[acasser]

The trend is clearly towards a larger percentage of the market going digital.  In certain areas, there are significant trend lines towards games being more "episodic", where games are released in small pieces over time instead of one massive chunk all at one time.  I don't see why either of those trends won't continue or even accelerate -- the economics simply make more sense for a lot of companies to go that way because it sidesteps a lot of the overhead costs.

 

Some companies will remain on the physical side of things, but it will get harder to justify for smaller releases.  There will be a niche for companies like Limited Run Games, and I for one will continue to patronize them as I'm very preferential to having a physical copy of the game, but I think that they'll continue to have a small corner of the market and it won't grow.

 

As for companies like GameStop?  It's economic Darwin-ism at its' finest:  adapt or die.  Companies like Sony and your favorite game developers are under no obligation to consider GameStop's feelings or financial plan and probably won't.  In fact, they might prefer to cut GameStop out of the business entirely or at least as much as humanly possible.

[Wavergray]

35 minutes ago, Feral said:

The Xbox One is the third Xbox console so it would be 4 & 5.

That's why I said Xbox Two and Xbox Three instead of Xbox 2 and Xbox 3. ?

Edited July 24, 2018 by soultaker655

[Lady_Galleth2]

Going full digital is very profitable. I highly doubt anyone here will quit gaming if every console goes digital only. Also all sales are direct. No more "used" game buying. Those money dont go to dev/publishers. Places like Gamestop can finally go byebye. GS makes their money from used game sales, not the actual new games. Those profit is sooo minimal its sad. 

 

But not going to see it happen with PS5, its too quick too sudden change still. But maybe Ps6 or even not till 7. 

[DaRe]

Personally I like physical copies of console games and digital copies of PC games, but where I see the trends going from here are in favor of digital. I don't believe physical copies will be phased out completely for another while, at least another generation or so, but as cloud systems and distribution of digital copies continue to progress, it's only a matter of time before physical copies become something special instead of the norm. I might do some research on it and see if my thoughts on this changes, but as a semi-casual gamer like myself, I see myself leaning towards digital over physical (especially with PC games, because Steam,UPlay, Blizzard app, etc.).

Edited July 24, 2018 by DaRe

[GoldenShaka]

I will quit gaming if industry goes all digital. Considering the amount of free time I have for gaming I have enough content on my backlog for the rest of my life lol

Edited July 24, 2018 by GoldenShaka

[sh4d0wzcs]

I think they'll phase them out somewhat but still keep limited collectors editions around for the collectors.

[ExHaseo]

No, for a few reasons.

1. Because if governments are working properly, and PSN/XBL stays the way it is, it should be illegal. Each console would have a complete monopoly over their games, and would be able to set prices however they want. In order for digital only to happen, there would need to be multiple ways of getting games, without any kind of partnership with Sony. Like the way Amazon does. It would have to be like Steam, where multiple sites can get and sell codes for Steam, as well as without DRM, and create competitive pricing.

2. People would revolt. There are still too many people who buy physical games, and with tensions rising thanks to shady "DLC"/Loot Box practices, going completely digital would be business suicide.

3. If one company goes completely digital, the other wont, just to have a leg up on their competitor.

4. Sony has tried it before, and failed miserably. I doubt they'll be willing to do it again.

5. Both companies would have to invest in much bigger HDD at launch, which would cost them money, and raise the price of the console. Things that have been proven to deter customers, especially at the beginning of a console generation.

6. We all saw how people reacted to MS not letting people play used games. So both MS and Sony would need to develop some kind of loaning system or trade in system, which would be expensive, and not to their benefit.

7. Not everyone has good enough internet to download all of their games. Around the world some people have limited amounts of data/bandwidth they can use per month. These people wouldn't be able to get a digital only console, which would lose companies money.

 

Maybe if all of the companies banded together to condition people into thinking digital was always better, and a system was setup like Steam so that 3rd parties can sell keys at competitive prices, and if internet gets better and more accessible throughout the world, they might have a chance of doing it in the PS6+ generations, but it's still too early. It wont happen anytime soon, and if a company tries it they will be digging their own grave.

[Valyrious]

2 hours ago, Chingon_Player said:

Going 100% digital would be suicidal, i don't see myself downloading a 100 GB (Next Gen Size) game

Suicidal, you reckon?

Sure. PC seems to do just fine as a predominantly digital market. Don't think anybody on PC gives a fuck about physical games anymore.

Might be time people give up on their cheap plastic case and their printed cover art. They don't even include manuals anymore, for pete's sake. If you're buying a game to trade it or sell it when you're done with it or bored with it, maybe this hobby is too expensive for you.

[mecharobot]

Yeah, not happening unless the store becomes international. As it is, it's definitely not anywhere close enough to carry a system for me. Good point about the delisted games as well. I somehow managed to end up with one in my list already. I'm not sure about quitting gaming or anything, but I would probably go PC and possibly retro systems if the perks I have with Sony just stop existing.

[TJ_Solo]

13 minutes ago, Valyrious said:

Suicidal, you reckon?

Sure. PC seems to do just fine as a predominantly digital market. Don't think anybody on PC gives a fuck about physical games anymore.

Might be time people give up on their cheap plastic case and their printed cover art. They don't even include manuals anymore, for pete's sake. If you're buying a game to trade it or sell it when you're done with it or bored with it, maybe this hobby is too expensive for you.

 

 

Well that's PC. They have Steam, GOG, and GMG offering excellent services and prices that beat regular stores. Plus it took years for it to happen. It was not a magical event based on hardware releases.  PC didn't suddenly force gamers to go digital. They made the option appeal more. Sony, MS, and Nintendo's stores don't match what Steam does.

So yeah, it would be suicidal for consoles at this point.

[Valyrious]

1 minute ago, TJ_Solo said:

 

 

Well that's PC. They have Steam, GOG, and GMG offering excellent services and prices that beat regular stores. Plus it took years for it to happen. It was not a magical event based on hardware releases.  PC didn't suddenly force gamers to go digital. They made the option appeal more. Sony, MS, and Nintendo's stores don't match what Steam does.

So yeah, it would be suicidal for consoles at this point.

Sure thing. So I guess console games never go on sale. Why didn't I think of that? 
It's going to be a dark day when all digital is the only option for people. Not that I feel it's going to happen right away in the next generation. But it's not far off either. There are warning signs that physical media is on death's door. Either adapt to it, or be like the other ridiculous children in here that are threatening to stop gaming period if they don't do physical games any longer.

I think it's actually hilarious how some people hold their physical media on such a high esteem. I'm aware that licenses can be revoked, or removed from respective e-stores. I can name at least 3 games that you can't even find on the PS store today. But there's risks for everything. Someone could break in and rob your precious physical collection and sell them for pennies on the dollar at a pawnshop. Of course it's not likely to happen, but if we're going to talk about bullshit hypotheticals, you might as well acknowledge that there's downsides to physical as well.

I think the rise of old school games becoming rare and valuable has brainwashed this generation of gamers into thinking that every game now is precious to them. If you keep it sealed 20 years for now, it's going to be as valuable as a brand new SNES, right? Wrong. But that's the mentality that people have with physical media. It's just a bluray disc in a very cheap case, but you think it holds ultimate power for some strange reason.

PC gamers have gotten over the phenomenon. I daresay even the console peons will one day as well.

But can you name me more than 3 games that you can't download on the store right now? Go on, show me and everybody else that digital is such a disaster to the future of gaming.

I'm all ears.

[TJ_Solo]

 

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So I guess console games never go on sale. 

They sure do. Every retailer has sales. That tangent doesn't change the fact that Steam and GOG offer more with their PC titles than regular stores could while console stores aren't doing the same.

 

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I think it's actually hilarious how some people hold their physical media on such a high esteem

 

I haven't weighed in on physical media directly. My comments were discussing the reasons Steam replaced regular stores as the goto for PC gamers. There was 0 sentimentally, it was all about $$$.

 

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I daresay even the console peons will one day as well.

 

When the money says so.

 

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Go on, show me and everybody else that digital is such a disaster to the future of gaming.

 

I am not the sort to deal in extremes or absolutes. If I were, I'd end up with nonsense arguments like the ones in your comments.

[Dreakon13]

7 hours ago, Valyrious said:

Might be time people give up on their cheap plastic case and their printed cover art. They don't even include manuals anymore, for pete's sake. If you're buying a game to trade it or sell it when you're done with it or bored with it, maybe this hobby is too expensive for you.

 

6 hours ago, Valyrious said:

I think it's actually hilarious how some people hold their physical media on such a high esteem. I'm aware that licenses can be revoked, or removed from respective e-stores. I can name at least 3 games that you can't even find on the PS store today. But there's risks for everything. Someone could break in and rob your precious physical collection and sell them for pennies on the dollar at a pawnshop. Of course it's not likely to happen, but if we're going to talk about bullshit hypotheticals, you might as well acknowledge that there's downsides to physical as well.

 

I mean sure... you can make just about anything you don't care about, that aren't the bare essentials of living, sound trivial.  Trophies are trivial.  If they went away tomorrow, do you think people around here would care?  Gaming as a whole is a trivial thing, and if the industry as a whole shut down tomorrow... the people who don't care about gaming would find it "hilarious" that gamers hold the hobby in such high esteem. ?  Don't be so dense.

 

I guarantee you can't come up with a single reason why digital is better for me.  To me, it's literally just getting less for the same amount of money in many cases.  I get why someone might tolerate or accept that, but why support it?  So much so, you feel the need to childishly mock the alternative without any real provokation?

 

Besides, the PSP's digital shop was taken down, and the only way to access games was through the Vita's backwards compatibility.  The Wii's eShop was a fairly high profile instance of a digital storefront being taken down.  Many, many games have left Steams storefront for one reason or another with a recent example of a popular game being Alan Wake.  It certainly does happen, even if the PS3 has been safe from any massive de-listings (I wouldn't know since I don't really participate).  All it takes is the evolution of PSN to surpass the technology of the PS3 a few years after they stop supporting it, for them to justify letting it go.  Pretending it's "bullshit" that's super unlikely to happen (ie. a robber not only robbing my house but singling out my cheap plastic as something worth taking) is almost as delusional as you seem to think collectors are.

 

 

6 hours ago, Valyrious said:

I think the rise of old school games becoming rare and valuable has brainwashed this generation of gamers into thinking that every game now is precious to them. If you keep it sealed 20 years for now, it's going to be as valuable as a brand new SNES, right? Wrong. But that's the mentality that people have with physical media. It's just a bluray disc in a very cheap case, but you think it holds ultimate power for some strange reason.

 

You're not entirely wrong.  Back in the olden days, when gaming wasn't as popular and there were only a handful of games worth playing and a lot more obscure crap, having a sealed copy of one of those games 20 years later would be incredibly valuable.

 

Since there are great games coming out every other week now, it's harder to keep people's attention on the "classics" long enough to actually make them worth anything significant to them.  Not to mention digital as a whole having contributed to the throwaway culture we live in (which is a shame depending on how strongly you feel towards gaming as an artform).  Great movies watched once on Netflix and delisted the next month.  Great games played once and deleted from hard drives, forgotten in the depths of "the cloud".

 

It's coming back in a sense with groups like Limited Run Games, Special Reserve Games, IndieBox publishing formally digital only games in limited runs for collectors.  Those games actually maintain their value and in some cases have gone up considerably since their runs.  IMO, they're the only things worth keeping sealed for that reason (assuming the person cares about resale).  Otherwise, I'd venture people keep their games sealed moreso to protect the aesthetic and integrity of their collection more than increasing their value... since the other half of this is that these "cheap cases and Blu Ray discs" actually look pretty cool sometimes and it's the sort of thing people would like to have in working order for a while.  For example, I tend to hunt down deals for sealed copies of recent games I'm interested in on eBay... and I typically don't open them until I play them.  Because why should I?

 

I'm not sure why I'm answering you honestly though, should probably just start belting out dense hyperbolic retorts about things I don't like or understand since that seems to be about the amount of energy you're putting into it.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Dreakon13

[eurogilvin]

Is true that digital games are taking command, and for physical release I could see as a an example the collector's edition for Hitman and Child of Light (that I can remember now) and Telltale games that are getting a physical release that contains a voucher code to download the game. I think this could make sense for editors and developers as well as fans, although not so much to videogame stores.

Probably everything will remain the same, with microtransactions as counterbalanced to pre-owned games.

[Dreakon13]

33 minutes ago, eurogilvin said:

Telltale games that are getting a physical release that contains a voucher code to download the game

 

Not that it matters but just to clarify, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong... the season pass discs aren't one time use voucher codes.  The disc is all you need to access the content, though you'd download the additional episodes from in the game itself.  Like an update almost, instead of traditional DLC.  Technically you could buy a used copy and still have access to everything.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Dreakon13

[Beliar4]

I can download Indie title. Never bought digital AAA and never will (excluding ps plus).

[soniq]

It will happen eventually but also slowly. PS3/360 introduced digital console games, which really took off with PS4/XBO. Microsoft and EA introduced subscription models and Sony offers streaming with PSNow. I imagine that both of these models will gain more traction with the next gen, especially if the performance of streaming can be improved. I'm looking forward to it, as it will kill the whole preorder bullshit and we'll be able to play every game day 1, similar to how Netflix offers the complete season to every subscriber on the same day.

[Kapika96]

No.

[Dreakon13]

16 minutes ago, soniq said:

I'm looking forward to it, as it will kill the whole preorder bullshit and we'll be able to play every game day 1, similar to how Netflix offers the complete season to every subscriber on the same day.

 

So wait... paying upfront (in the form of a subscription) for an unnamed selection of games, is better than paying upfront for games you actually want?  How is it better than "the whole preordering bullshit" exactly?

 

EDIT: Which, by the way, I find it difficult to see how something completely optional like preordering a game is "bullshit" anyways.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Dreakon13

[xMiseryJokers]

i only buy digital if it is the only option so i hope not aha already got the digital only problem with the vita next year

[Conker]

I, so hope this never happens, its just something special having a physical copy of a game and plus you will always have it unlike digital games which basically once are delisted, unless you bought are gone and you never have the opportunity to play it.

 

Also if physical did go then wha, all game stores would be basically useless and would pretty much close and then you'd have people out of work, which is not something you want

 

Physical FTW  

[angelgrievous]

no

[Sagaan]

Not by the ps 5, mbe at ps 6 or 7, still 2/3 of the ppl prefer disc over digital ( same as i do ). Or i hope it never happends  

[MosesRockefeller]

I think next gen is too soon for physical media to go away. Other posters have mentioned the business problems that would create.

 

That being said, I buy a mix of digital and physical, and I would not mind an all-digital future. I think it's weird that several people have said they won't play modern games if digital is the only choice. Games are games... are you buying to play the game, or only to look at the box it comes in? I wouldn't stop buying music if CDs completely stopped production (they haven't by the way).

 

Also, I thought the "delisting" argument was interesting. That's a licensing issue that is not a digital-only problem. I can't think of any cases where the publisher was able to continue selling new copies of the game physically, when the licensing expired. The reason physical is still an option in those situations is because of the used games loophole. Technically, they aren't allowed to sell new copies digital OR retail. Obviously digital purchases make that problem more pronounced, but it's really a licensing issue. Also, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can't delete digital games off your hard drive. While obviously the options are more limited if you have one of those affected games digitally, it's not as bad as it might seem.