How much longer do you think physical games will be a thing?

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

So today, or technically yesterday by the time you read this, Sony FINALLY showed off the PS5, including an all digital version.

This has people thinking physical games are on the way out, the thing is that A LOT of people still have shit Internet connections so an all digital system isn't going to work for them so I expect the PS5 Physical version to selk much MUCH more.

IF we ever go all digital I think we are still a couple generations away from that maybe the PlayStation 7 will be the first one with no disc drive but I don't think we are all that close to being all digital.

What do you think? How much longer do you think physical games will be a thing?

Click to read more...

 

[tacogeoff]

I dislike the idea of going full digital.

I have a family and my ps4 is set up as a family management type with my account as a primary. I have to put a timer on for our 13 year old kid or else he would log 18 hours of playtime a day. We didn't really understand exactly how digital sharing worked. So we both have PS plus and I gave him money to buy us Modern Warfare, he dwnld it and now it sits on my screen with a big lock on it bc i am the primary account and he isn't. so we tried to switch his account to primary so i could play the game as well but it wont let us because i am the manager of the family management...………..should of just bought a physical disc to avoid this headache ha.

 

[The Macho King]

First- thanks for saving the Lightning's season.

Second - I'm already full digital except for like four old games I never got rid of. There may always be some niche of physical copy purchasers (similar to movies/music), but on PC for instance, I haven't bought a physical game in probably more than 10 years.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I dislike the idea of going full digital.

I have a family and my ps4 is set up as a family management type with my account as a primary. I have to put a timer on for our 13 year old kid or else he would log 18 hours of playtime a day. We didn't really understand exactly how digital sharing worked. So we both have PS plus and I gave him money to buy us Modern Warfare, he dwnld it and now it sits on my screen with a big lock on it bc i am the primary account and he isn't. so we tried to switch his account to primary so i could play the game as well but it wont let us because i am the manager of the family management...………..should of just bought a physical disc to avoid this headache ha.

I didn't know you could set a timer on your PS4

 

[The Crypto Guy]

A decade ago i would never want a all digital. I enjoyed selling my games back to Gamespot. But unless you sell the game back within a week, you only get a few bucks so it's not even worth it. Digital is the future.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

First- thanks for saving the Lightning's season.

Second - I'm already full digital except for like four old games I never got rid of. There may always be some niche of physical copy purchasers (similar to movies/music), but on PC for instance, I haven't bought a physical game in probably more than 10 years.

I don't think you can buy Physical for PC anymore can you? I haven't even seen a physical PC game in about 7 years.

But PC and console are VERY different things

Also you are Welcome

 

[robertmac43]

I really like having the physical disc, makes it a lot easier to go back and play older games.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

A decade ago i would never want a all digital. I enjoyed selling my games back to Gamespot. But unless you sell the game back within a week, you only get a few bucks so it's not even worth it. Digital is the future.

I never understood why anyone would buy a gamw just to resell it.

Digital might be the future but there are A LOT of people that still have shit Internet connections so an all digital system isn't going to work for them all digital to me is still a decade or more away

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I never understood why anyone would buy a gamw just to resell it.

Digital might be the future but there are A LOT of people that still have shit Internet connections so an all digital system isn't going to work for them all digital to me is still a decade or more away

Why wouldnt I want to get some money back? I'm not going to play the game anymore so it will just sit there and collect dust.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I used to be pretty vehement on wanting the physical copy, but over the last 5 years I have changed. Main thing being that I can get games tax free on the PS Store....Also my disc drive died on me 2 or 3 years ago lol.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Didn't the Xbox One plan on doing this leading up to launch? I remember it was their game plan, until they received a lot of push back from consumers alongside businesses like EB Games. I think it's bound to happen at some point, but it would make more sense to happen after HDD storage has increased exponentially or gets a lot cheaper.

I think another good question would be: if games are strictly digital, do companies like EB Games and Gamestop go out of business?

 

[tacogeoff]

I didn't know you could set a timer on your PS4

yup. if you set up a family management plan on your ps4 settings. I wish I didn't have to but the kid is ridiculously addicted to video games/electronics in general and it really effects his mood and attitude towards family members and life in general if he plays to long.

 

[Hammettf2b]

I never understood why anyone would buy a gamw just to resell it.

Digital might be the future but there are A LOT of people that still have shit Internet connections so an all digital system isn't going to work for them all digital to me is still a decade or more away

Games still require internet connections for updates. Go ask people playing the new COD if having a disk has worked out for them.

Digital is the way to go for me. Don't have to worry about release times of games from a store. No tax. All my purchases are saved on my account so I can go back and play it anytime I want. I will definitely be looking into getting the digital version of the PS5.

 

[Papa Francouz]

The Switch will be the last console I collect games for. Probably. Maybe not if Nintendo comes out with another amazing console with a ton of great games, but we'll see.

Digital is the way to go from here on out. It works fantastically, and has been working fantastically, for PC gamers. With things like Steam sales, GOG sales, Epic Games handing out free games - if that's how companies handle their product in a digital-only marketplace, then I say extend that out across the entire industry. Anything that benefits the players is a good thing, in my opinion.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

The Switch will be the last console I collect games for. Probably. Maybe not if Nintendo comes out with another amazing console with a ton of great games, but we'll see.

Digital is the way to go from here on out. It works fantastically, and has been working fantastically, for PC gamers. With things like Steam sales, GOG sales, Epic Games handing out free games - if that's how companies handle their product in a digital-only marketplace, then I say extend that out across the entire industry. Anything that benefits the players is a good thing, in my opinion.

PC and console are VERY different things

 

[Papa Francouz]

PC and console are VERY different things

Yes, I know, but the marketplaces, if they became similar, would be a lot better for the consumer than how the console game marketplace currently is.

And yes, I know your whole argument revolves around people having shitty Internet access, but how much of that is self-inflicted? I have talked to a lot of people that don't realize they're bottlenecking their own speeds due to their outdated routers. Hell, a friend of mine was complaining about pulling down 10 Mbps a few months ago, I told him to get a better router, and now he's pulling down 300+ Mbps regularly with the same ISP package.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Didn't the Xbox One plan on doing this leading up to launch? I remember it was their game plan, until they received a lot of push back from consumers alongside businesses like EB Games. I think it's bound to happen at some point, but it would make more sense to happen after HDD storage has increased exponentially or gets a lot cheaper.

I think another good question would be: if games are strictly digital, do companies like EB Games and Gamestop go out of business?

EB games is owned by gamestop so yes if one dies so does the other

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I will go all physical until it's no longer an option. I really love having the physical copy of a game that I can hold and look at.

In the future when I have children I want to be able to show them some of my games from my time and I don't want to rely on a digital database or having to log-in, I like having the physical copy and physical hardware to play them on.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I like the idea of decreased production materials being used on game disks and cartridges. The only thing I think I’ll miss from a system with no disk-drive is that my system can’t be used as a DVD/Blu Ray player.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

I only prefer physical games for two reasons. One, I can re-sell them on Craigslist (for first party Nintendo games this is especially important as they maintain their value). Two, the Switch's available space is brutal and I only own a 64G SD card, so having games on a cartridge is a huge bonus rather than needing to uninstall other games to play a new digital game.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Forever. You can't re-sell digital games for those who do that and in some cases you can't return them either. There's a lot to be said for collectors items as well.

Also some games aren't forever. Scott Pilgrim's been de-listed for years. I'd pay a good chunk of coin for a physical copy of that game, which doesn't exist.

Digital games are a good idea, but they should never be considered a permanent solution.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Forever. You can't re-sell digital games for those who do that and in some cases you can't return them either. There's a lot to be said for collectors items as well.

Also some games aren't forever. Scott Pilgrim's been de-listed for years. I'd pay a good chunk of coin for a physical copy of that game, which doesn't exist.

Digital games are a good idea, but they should never be considered a permanent solution.

Collection purposes aside, why wouldn't digital be a good permanent solution? We are seeing the solution when it comes to media and have been for years now. DVD/Blu Ray has turned into streaming services. Music stores hardly carry physical CD's anymore. We are moving to a digital age.

 

[Ceremony]

It's very easy to spot the people who don't watch Jim Sterling videos



I don't like the idea of paying a lot of money for a console, but only buying licenses to play games on it that exist for as long as the company providing it wants to keep doing so. I say I don't like the idea, I don't want to be part of a system built solely on that premise.

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm not against digital in principle. It's superior to physical if it's treated with the same parameters as physical-- "Here's a file of the game that can be played by any console-- all you have to do is download a copy, back it up as you see fit, do whatever you want with it." That would be perfect. However, it's the controls, ownership, and restrictions that console companies retain with them that are the issue (but it's getting to the point that they can technically do the same with physical if they want to anyways, since everything's online now).

Streaming creative works, however, I think is trash in principle as well because it turns the whole business into having a mindset of mindless consumption rather than appreciation, which personally I don't care for.

 

[Hammettf2b]

I'm not against digital in principle. It's superior to physical if it's treated with the same parameters as physical-- "Here's a file of the game that can be played by any console-- all you have to do is download a copy, back it up as you see fit, do whatever you want with it." That would be perfect. However, it's the controls, ownership, and restrictions that console companies retain with them that are the issue (but it's getting to the point that they can technically do the same with physical if they want to anyways, since everything's online now).

Streaming creative works, however, I think is trash in principle as well because it turns the whole business into having a mindset of mindless consumption rather than appreciation, which personally I don't care for.

Can't you do that already? My buddy let me borrow his old PS3 and all I had to do was sign in and I could d/l all my old digital games.