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[ManaByte]

Regarding Nintendo, I once again have to say that their commitment to physical and complete-on-medium is amazing.

It’s not really amazing when you understand that Nintendo always uses a proprietary format (even on the Wii and Wii U) that they control 100% so they have a massive source of profit by charging third parties a big tax just to produce games for their platform.

It’s been like this since the NES days and it’s the key reason why Yamauchi nuked the Sony partnership.

 

[angrod14]

Regarding Nintendo, I once again have to say that their commitment to physical and complete-on-medium is amazing.

Even at Christmas 2023, my son received a Switch game (Mario Wonder) from my mother at her house when we visited -- and he was able to open it, plug it into his actual Switch a few minutes later, and start playing.

No messing with his grandmother's awful wifi, no nonsense about digital code redeeming, no time waiting for install, etc. I hope Nintendo never changes on this point. The all-digital and monthly subscription approaches can be one business model, but there should and can be an alternative model that thrives and never budges from its commitment to physical.

Agree 100%. I'm not much of a Nintendo guy, but I have a Switch and some physical games for it. I really appreciate the no-bullshit of the cartridges, it's plug and play. Everything's there, no need no sign-in, no account shit, no download shit, no taking memory shit, it plays straight from the cartridge. They also aren't prone to scratches or rotting like discs, and they take much less space.

It's not perfect, you still find DLC bulllshit even in their major releases (MK8, Luigi's Mansion 3). And the games still have some patches, but we're talking megabytes and I have never noticed a single difference between the patched and unpatched versions.

 

[rofif]

So, First party Sony games sell as little as 40% physical, but the others are more digital?

First party sony titles sell up to 70% physically.

 

[TaroYamada]

Regarding Xbox, the physical section at my walmarts and at my best buy have been reduced pretty dramatically vs. PS/Nintendo. But they are still carried.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

First party sony titles sell up to 70% physically.

mckmas8808 says as low as 40% though?

 

[mckmas8808]

mckmas8808 says as low as 40% though?

On some games it can go as low as 40%. Depends on the game. But that's not a big deal.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

On some games it can go as low as 40%. Depends on the game. But that's not a big deal.

I don't really see there being any long term future for physical. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, for all the reasons that are repeated every 3 days when this topic comes up again and again (this forum is obsessed with trans people, physical media and starfield). But, it would seem to me, that if the worst share that digital gets on first party is 30-40% and the best it gets is 60% and that that is the best share that physical gets, then I don't think that Sony are likely to see a future in it either.

 

[mckmas8808]

I don't really see there being any long term future for physical. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, for all the reasons that are repeated every 3 days when this topic comes up again and again (this forum is obsessed with trans people, physical media and starfield). But, it would seem to me, that if the worst share that digital gets on first party is 30-40% and the best it gets is 60% and that that is the best share that physical gets, then I don't think that Sony are likely to see a future in it either.

But ask yourself a few questions. Or better yet ask yourself these questions, but also imagine Sony asking themselves these 10 following questions......

1. Why have 40-60% of our customers decided to NOT buy our 1st party games digitally, but chose to by the physical game?
2. What is it costing us (financially) to support physical media?
3. What will it cost us (PR-wise) if we get rid of physical media (when we know half of our games or more are sold physically)?
4. Do we want to be a company that's "anti-choice" when it comes to game delivery?
5. What will retail stores do if we remove the ability to play physical media on the PS6?
6. How do we make up for all the gamers that have PS4 and PS5 discs, when it comes to backward compatibility?
7. Why hasn't Nintendo considered getting rid of physical media?
8. Do we expect the Switch 2 to not have physical media in it?
9. Do people expect us to get rid of physical media, just because our close rival Xbox is?
10. If we get rid of physical media with the PS6, will this be better or worse for Xbox?

 

[thismeinteil]

The Xbox brand just becomes even more irrelevant. And their next console is supposed to be digital only. Yea, good luck with that.

 

[Shadowstar39]

This shit bothers me. As a new owner of an Xbox x, the greatest thing has been playing old Xbox and 360 games (I never owned any Xbox). Games that ms delisted (asshole move) and which means if this console dies my collection will only be playable by whatever used overpriced series x is available. Especially if they are going all digital.

It also means they can jack the prices up. It means no buying a game down the road for a fraction of the cost. It means no one trading games in for money to buy new games. Couple that with kids playing only gaas. We are fucked. Single player, physical games are doomed. I am glad I have bought my share of steam games. I was hoping to sail into retirement in 25 years with tons of games to play.

I bought mortal kombat 9, the first two splinter cells, batman arkham origins, battlefield bc 1 and 2, graw 1, and silent hill downpour, because they were all delisted. Yet they were on the store last year. In the future this won't be possible, no more buying games and playing them years later. I enjoy older games more than most newer ones. They are taking this away. And for what? A few shelves, to put what? They will loose customers. Also why get rid of online sales?

As for movies, I find used gems at antique stores, how is that going to work in a few years? It won't. There will be movies that you can't get as they get delisted from online. Then you can't buy physical as it won't exist. What happened to the EU being against this sort of shenanigans or did they get bought out too?

This whole thing the movie and games industry wet dream. They couldn't do it with Xbox one always online Drm so they go this route and take physical away. The cunts.

 

[Shadowstar39]

If MS are smart they will have an optional disc drive like Sony gives for the newer model PS5. Phil has always talked of game preservation and backwards compatibility as one of their biggest positives. Taking away physical will ruin that for many owners who have built their existing libraries with physical games. Also, some of those games only work with the disc in the drive to launch the BC version. Therefore MS going all digital makes no sense and after being called out with the leaks Phil was quick to say things have changed. Yes they have and he knows they need to at the very minimum do what Sony is doing. Not having physical games in stores would destroy mindshare and lower their numbers even more sales wise. They can’t afford to do any worse than they already are.

He was only doing that because of lack of library. Notice how they keep delisting tons of Xbox and 360 games off the store. Notice how they aren't adding anymore bc games. As someone who has the system primarily for backwards compatiblity, it sucks. It means he's full of shit.

 

[Moriarty1889]

He was only doing that because of lack of library. Notice how they keep delisting tons of Xbox and 360 games off the store. Notice how they aren't adding anymore bc games. As someone who has the system primarily for backwards compatiblity, it sucks. It means he's full of shit.

You sir are 100% correct. Phil is definitely full of shit and has ruined the brand imho. Hardware has become irrelevant for them as they are again getting trounced this gen sales wise. Now the game sales have fallen off a cliff and it’s all because of gamepass. People wont buy what they can rent. The numbers speak for themselves.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

This whole thing the movie and games industry wet dream. They couldn't do it with Xbox one always online Drm so they go this route and take physical away. The cunts.

Sony and Nintendo are doing no such thing though. The majority of their sales are still physical, especially outside the North America region, and they will continue to offer games on physical media. I am willing to guess with 100% certainty that Switch 2 will still have a cartridge slot which takes game carts, and if I were a betting man I would take the bet that the PS6 will still have a disc drive you can put physical games that will continue to be sold into.

 

[Shadowstar39]

There's no money in it. Every game store in my area is either out of business or hanging on by a thread.

They exist, they are usually booths or storefront rooms in antique or flee market stores. I got my last switch joycons (monster hunter ones that aren't in retail anymore) from my local as well as tons of Xbox 360 games and ps2/ps1 and a stack of wii games. They are also selling strategy guides of ps1 games with the original disk. Example tomb raider 1 with the guide in a big clear bag. They are always packed. The problem is kids won't know what physical games are and even this will die out as they can't be bothered with "old stuff from the biggot era of toxic masculinity, physical media, and the male gaze..." lmao... Sad but true. Our kids are fucked, if they even play anything other than fortnite and roblox.

 

[nick776]

You sir are 100% correct. Phil is definitely full of shit and has ruined the brand imho. Hardware has become irrelevant for them as they are again getting trounced this gen sales wise. Now the game sales have fallen off a cliff and it’s all because of gamepass. People wont buy what they can rent. The numbers speak for themselves.

Countless people on various forums all agree that Phil needs to go. One would think that someone at Microsoft reads social media and would get the hint also. It takes neither talent nor genius to "buy up" studios as Phil has done. All it takes is a large sack of cash, which Microsoft has. Talented leadership (i.e. not Phil) would, instead, take that sack of cash and use it to bolster existing talent and build unique IP to compete with the likes of Sony and Nintendo. As I have said, I am a BIG Microsoft fan but am troubled by the fact that Microsoft had to "fire sale" the Series X last month just to move units. I would suspect that it is likely that PS5 still beat Series X sales throughout December in spite of the deep price cuts. Any other industry would clean house with leadership if something like that happened with a product, not Microsoft though.

 

[Jesb]

So what happens to the bluray format?

 

[nkarafo]

This has nothing to do with Physical VS Digital. It's about having DRM or not.

A physical disc that has DRM inside it has no difference than your average digital store game that also has DRM. There are already many PC games released in physical discs, even before the digital store age, that have outdated DRM and are pretty much useless now. Those discs can only be used as place mats, unless there is a pirated exe/crack released to circumvent/remove the DRM. Which will also make the disc obsolete anyway since the installed files can now be copied/backed up and played without the disc.

A digital copy of a game that doesn't have DRM can be copied/backed up infinite times and you can play it offline now or in 1000 years, assuming there is a compatible hardware/emulator that can run it. See GOG games.

I understand this applies mostly for PC games but i bet there are some examples on consoles well.

So basically, the disc/digital issue is only about the storage medium. What really matters for preservation is when the game executable works or not. And that's a DRM issue.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Perhaps with the cross-gen Xbox games as they ship the Xbox One code on the disc most often than not, but that's not the case at all for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch physical games.

I don't understand why some people are so attached to the idea, it's like some kind of regurgitated propaganda some people continue to reiterate. Most games work fine without internet.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Those are movies, not games.

Sadly, the games section at my Best Buy do not really look much different from that.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I’m really wondering what will happen to Microsoft’s already questionable hardware sales if they truly decide to get rid of the ability to play physical discs on their new XSX or the next generation XBox. Like they need to allow Sony and Nintendo to have an obvious advantage over them.

 

[demigod]

Countless people on various forums all agree that Phil needs to go. One would think that someone at Microsoft reads social media and would get the hint also. It takes neither talent nor genius to "buy up" studios as Phil has done. All it takes is a large sack of cash, which Microsoft has. Talented leadership (i.e. not Phil) would, instead, take that sack of cash and use it to bolster existing talent and build unique IP to compete with the likes of Sony and Nintendo. As I have said, I am a BIG Microsoft fan but am troubled by the fact that Microsoft had to "fire sale" the Series X last month just to move units. I would suspect that it is likely that PS5 still beat Series X sales throughout December in spite of the deep price cuts. Any other industry would clean house with leadership if something like that happened with a product, not Microsoft though.

And put someone more competent, are you mad? Us ps fans hope he stays.

 

[demigod]

Sadly, the games section at my Best Buy do not really look much different from that.

Its the holidays. My Target didnt have much either.

 

[Putonahappyface]

I'm surprised it took so long. Who the hell still buys their physical media in stores? Usually the sorting is horrible and you can't find anything. Who the hell would prefer that to buying your stuff in an online store like Amazon?

 

[Aenima]

im in the UK and i dont know anyone whos got a physical game, outside of switch, for years.

Well duh, thats what happens when you dont know anyone.

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

This has nothing to do with Physical VS Digital. It's about having DRM or not.

A physical disc that has DRM inside it has no difference than your average digital store game that also has DRM. There are already many PC games released in physical discs, even before the digital store age, that have outdated DRM and are pretty much useless now. Those discs can only be used as place mats, unless there is a pirated exe/crack released to circumvent/remove the DRM. Which will also make the disc obsolete anyway since the installed files can now be copied/backed up and played without the disc.

A digital copy of a game that doesn't have DRM can be copied/backed up infinite times and you can play it offline now or in 1000 years, assuming there is a compatible hardware/emulator that can run it. See GOG games.

I understand this applies mostly for PC games but i bet there are some examples on consoles well.

So basically, the disc/digital issue is only about the storage medium. What really matters for preservation is when the game executable works or not. And that's a DRM issue.

Finally, a correct and intelligent take on the topic

 

[Heart_Attack]

I believe 2024 will be the last year when we can buy Physical Games at Walmart/Best-Buy/Target other than the AAA Playstation/Nintendo games. We'll own nothing and be happy.....

 

[flying_sq]

Man, I am going to miss their blu-ray sale. Great chance to buy Criterion or HBO collections

 

[wolffy66]

The ROI has to be much higher on digital sales. They will all go digital only as soon as their player base allows it.

 

[BlackTron]

people probably won't care but there may come a time when the game you want to play on your Xbox or PlayStation may not be available even though you bought it. It hasn't happened yet - some games have been removed from sale but if you own them then you can still download them - but who knows what may happen in the future

This happened to the very first digital game I ever purchased that motivated me to type a credit card number into a game console.

Yes, it was on Xbox. Sure I was unlucky, but that really drove home that you don't own this stuff from the outset

 

[old-parts]

So what happens to the bluray format?

Nothing.

Optical media is a dead end technology, there has been no replacement for Blu-ray with various attempts having failed realizing there is no money to be made.

The movie industry needs a new physical media system akin to small SD cards or the like with built in players in TV's/tablets/phones etc so everyone has a player instead of buying a disc player to just play the media, that might have save movie/tv shows in physical form.

Game consoles still could use a physical media system but they prefer not to, Nintendo for example still believe in media but Xbox and Playstation are moving away from it (anything thinking Playstation wont is delusional).

 

[Putonahappyface]

im in the UK and i dont know anyone whos got a physical game, outside of switch, for years.

I'm in the UK and know at least ten people that buy physical games and even more who buy physical films.

 

[acm2000]

I'm in the UK and know at least ten people that buy physical games and even more who buy physical films.

physical movies? are you and your friends in your 70s?

 

[midnightAI]

I'm in the UK and know at least ten people that buy physical games and even more who buy physical films.

While I don't agree with movies,for games, yeh, because in the UK you can get any game at launch cheaper physically. I got Spider Man 2 for £56 for example.

 

[Rubik8]

I wouldn't be surprised if Gamepass price shoots through the roof once they've weaned people off physical games though.

I think that was their plan from the beginning.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

This shit bothers me. As a new owner of an Xbox x, the greatest thing has been playing old Xbox and 360 games (I never owned any Xbox). Games that ms delisted (asshole move) and which means if this console dies my collection will only be playable by whatever used overpriced series x is available. Especially if they are going all digital.

It also means they can jack the prices up. It means no buying a game down the road for a fraction of the cost. It means no one trading games in for money to buy new games. Couple that with kids playing only gaas. We are fucked. Single player, physical games are doomed. I am glad I have bought my share of steam games. I was hoping to sail into retirement in 25 years with tons of games to play.

I bought mortal kombat 9, the first two splinter cells, batman arkham origins, battlefield bc 1 and 2, graw 1, and silent hill downpour, because they were all delisted. Yet they were on the store last year. In the future this won't be possible, no more buying games and playing them years later. I enjoy older games more than most newer ones. They are taking this away. And for what? A few shelves, to put what? They will loose customers. Also why get rid of online sales?

As for movies, I find used gems at antique stores, how is that going to work in a few years? It won't. There will be movies that you can't get as they get delisted from online. Then you can't buy physical as it won't exist. What happened to the EU being against this sort of shenanigans or did they get bought out too?

This whole thing the movie and games industry wet dream. They couldn't do it with Xbox one always online Drm so they go this route and take physical away. The cunts.

I liked the Xbox for similar reasons, but this isn’t some brilliant plan. They are dying out there.

But still, without physical disc slots or future generations or others companies playing nice…the whole thing kind of unravels.

It is convenient for them to embrace subscriptions while their business dies. They didn’t actually want you to buy the thing you weren’t buying, they say. Until no one buys anything.

 

[Putonahappyface]

physical movies? are you and your friends in your 70s?

I just like to make sure the content I watch looks and sounds the best and hasn't been removed or altered via a digital service provider.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I honestly can't imagine any retailer deciding to pull out on one platform over the others. I'd imagine if it's going to pull out, it's going to pull out entirely. Which, I don't see happening. If it does, then color me shocked. Especially since Walmarts are all over the place, and pretty damn plentiful. So people that don't want to order online, or want something immediately can usually just go grab it there ASAP.

And honestly, with how Walmarts have been holding onto video game inventory for YEARS, I really don't see how this would change anytime soon. I mean, Walmart has done very little to change, improve, or adapt their company. So the wheels keep on turning.

physical movies? are you and your friends in your 70s?

I mean, I just bought the LOTR Anniversary Remastered Blurays because I love those movies, and the price wasn't bad. Just funny that around the same time Max randomly removed Return of the King and An Unexpected Journey's Extended Editions from streaming when I was attempting to watch them, so, I grabbed my discs and watched them like I wanted to. Rather than just saying, "Welp, guess I just won't because I can't."

There are things that physical can do that digital can and will never do, like sticking around as long as you have it in your possession. Which is pretty huge for someone that loves something, wants to enjoy it when they want to, and don't want it to go anywhere.

 

[acm2000]

I just like to make sure the content I watch looks and sounds the best and hasn't been removed or altered via a digital service provider.

i will forgive you for your physical sins because thats a good selection of movies, the funkopops almost had me rethinking my decision tho ngl.

 

[Putonahappyface]

While I don't agree with movies,for games, yeh, because in the UK you can get any game at launch cheaper physically. I got Spider Man 2 for £56 for example.

You can pick up some crazy deals on 4k films, especially the steelbooks at a fraction of the price.

 

[Putonahappyface]

i will forgive you for your physical sins because thats a good selection of movies, the funkopops almost had me rethinking my decision tho ngl.

Leave the dolls out of it.

 

[midnightAI]

You can pick up some crazy deals on 4k films, especially the steelbooks at a fraction of the price.

Oh, agree that it can be cheaper, but I just think the majority now just wait until it streams, whereas with games me, and everyone I know buys games physical because its cheaper at launch to do so (which is the opposite of what the person was saying when they said everyone they knew in the uk buys digital only)

 

[Putonahappyface]

Oh, agree that it can be cheaper, but I just think the majority now just wait until it streams, whereas with games me, and everyone I know buys games physical because its cheaper at launch to do so (which is the opposite of what the person was saying when they said everyone they knew in the uk buys digital only)

Taken from another thread.

"I really like the series Pistol by Danny Boyle and I've watched it twice already on Disney+. Guess what? It has now been removed so I can no longer watch it. I'll never part with physical media never!

Fuck you Micky Mouse."

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

I sold around 150 Switch games that I was done with or knew I was never going to get to, considering my backlog. Some rare and out of print. I literally made over $10K USD.

Am I going digital on consoles any time soon?

 

[Dutchy]

I'm not surprised. It's actually laughable how much store space/advertising Xbox gets here in Europe.

I worked in retail for a bit during the One S era and the amount of overstock our stores would have and keep was infuriating. The brand was nothing but an eye sore for both workers and even customers.

This only got worse with first party titles appearing on Game Pass day 1 and I can only imagine it will get even more bad.

 

[mckmas8808]

I don't understand why some people are so attached to the idea, it's like some kind of regurgitated propaganda some people continue to reiterate. Most games work fine without internet.

Microsoft literally pays people to spread propaganda like that. Either through cash\digital payments or through access. This is a known thing.

Nothing.

Optical media is a dead end technology, there has been no replacement for Blu-ray with various attempts having failed realizing there is no money to be made.

The movie industry needs a new physical media system akin to small SD cards or the like with built in players in TV's/tablets/phones etc so everyone has a player instead of buying a disc player to just play the media, that might have save movie/tv shows in physical form.

Game consoles still could use a physical media system but they prefer not to, Nintendo for example still believe in media but Xbox and Playstation are moving away from it (anything thinking Playstation wont is delusional).

So why does Sony have the physical disc add-on now? And do you expect the PS5 Pro to have a disc model?

 

[midnightAI]

Taken from another thread.

"I really like the series Pistol by Danny Boyle and I've watched it twice already on Disney+. Guess what? It has now been removed so I can no longer watch it. I'll never part with physical media never!

Fuck you Micky Mouse."

And movie studios are confused as to why piracy exists (not the only reason of course)

(Also, Pistol is awesome)

 

[thismeinteil]

And put someone more competent, are you mad? Us ps fans hope he stays.

What are you doing, man? Don't let the cat out of the bag. The reverse psychology has been working great so far on MS and Xbox fans, that's why he's still there. So...

Yea, they need to definitely fire Spencer, now! He's horrible! Phew.

 

[Bond007]

Cause Gamepass is essentially a rental service- why bother buying anything when you can come on and off Gamepass as you see fit?
Havent purchased an Xbox game in years- i don't need to. But i sure as hell don't own what i rent.

 

[kiphalfton]

I think that was their plan from the beginning.

Probably.

The conversion rate has already been nerfed for Xbox Live Gold/Game Pass Core (i.e. now at 2/3 ratio if setting up new subscription), so it wouldn't be surprising if they need it yet again or just do away with conversions altogether.

That's how most people get Game Pass cheap anyways, so not like it's doing Microsoft any favors having people snatch up keys from elsewhere (primarily key resellers and/or other countries using VPN).

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Its the holidays. My Target didnt have much either.

Sadly, it’s like this year round at my Best Buy though. Even the physical games section behind the register where they keep the new releases in front of my Best Buy seems to be rapidly shrinking as well.