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Mat Piscatella (NPD) - In the US in 2023, physical spending on software for Nintendo platforms accounted > 50%, xbox < 10% and PS ~ 40%
- Thread starter Thick Thighs Save Lives
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Punished Miku
Member
Isnt that what PS5 did?
FrankWza
Member
Same specs and $100 less vs $200. Basically they cut off their own nose by getting cute again.
StereoVsn
Member
Big difference was that PS5 DE had same hardware and unlike MS with XSS, Sony shipped DE in a very small ratio as compared to disk version.
FrankWza
Member
This too. PS5 disc is their "main" and series s is Xbox’s main. Industry repercussions aside, it looks like it also had negative effects on xbox
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Rocco Schiavone
Member
But but nobody wants physical, let It die already. Old gen tech, swapping discs is so hard.
AREYOUOKAY?
Member
It's almost as if... YOU CAN'T FIND ANY XBOX GAMES IN STORES TO BUY TO BEGIN WITH! How do you expect me or anyone to buy them if you don't put them out there? This is Sega Saturn 97/98 levels of self sabotaging their system.
I'm talking about the latest and greatest high quality AAA games also not random shovelware trash.
I'm talking about the latest and greatest high quality AAA games also not random shovelware trash.
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StereoVsn
Member
That’s ok, you can just buy Adorably Digital XSX Next and be happy to own nothing!
Nydius
Member
The Xbox numbers really don't surprise me because:
A) The Series S is the main seller this generation,
B) Game Pass, and
C) Physical copies of xbox games have been dwindling for a while now.
To point C: All of my local big box retailers have been shrinking their Xbox physical shelf space for a year now. Half of what used to be Xbox space is now split between PlayStation 5 and Switch. None of my local stores has carried any recent physical release since Robocop. No Avatar, no Forza Motorsport. If I wanted physical copies, online retail was my only option.
A) The Series S is the main seller this generation,
B) Game Pass, and
C) Physical copies of xbox games have been dwindling for a while now.
To point C: All of my local big box retailers have been shrinking their Xbox physical shelf space for a year now. Half of what used to be Xbox space is now split between PlayStation 5 and Switch. None of my local stores has carried any recent physical release since Robocop. No Avatar, no Forza Motorsport. If I wanted physical copies, online retail was my only option.
Dr_Ifto
Member
Also, the highest selling console in xbox ecoverse has no disc drive. So it makes sense.
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apple_of_enlightenment
Member
Maybe Switch 2 next year then?
Sushi_Combo
Member
Gamepass will save gaming
For real I did the same thing. I havent touched my bookshelf cabinet of blurays in years prob have about 500 blurays a bunch unopened sealed and these are like classic movies worth owning too. It was like hoarding shit.
But but nobody wants physical, let It die already. Old gen tech, swapping discs is so hard.
I've got something for you right HEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FunkMiller
Gold Member
Physical is only dead if we as consumers are dumb enough to just do what the corporations tell us to do. If you want to keep physical media, buy it!
Don't worry, physical is far from dead. It's a few company apologists trying to push that idea because the company is forcing that on them. Physical hasn't died even in music and that shift was decades ago. If you wanted you can still buy your albums on CD today.
Just because MS has possibly stopped publishing physical games, has possibly stopped making a console with a drive, and has had its retail presence dwindle because it rents games from the cloud, they justify those lack of options by suggesting that everyone is doing it and those options disappearing is not an issue with xbox specifically. That's all it is.
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FunkMiller
Gold Member
It's painfully fucking obvious that Microsoft aren't really the big player in the video games industry they should be. A series of catastrophically stupid decisions has seen to that. Which is a good thing, seeing as they are the ones championing the change to digital more than anyone else.
It's clear that the sooner they fuck off from console production and just become a third party publisher, the better off the industry will be.
ZehDon
Member
Well said. Microsoft has heavily pushed its platform digital, and will use the results of said push as justification for why they'll drop physical. "Well, our users went digital all on their own - it's out of our hands". And the apologists will sell that lie with coloured graphs and bolded statistics.
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AREYOUOKAY?
Member
How I wish we could go back to small CD cases. Without manuals there's no point in these larger cases anymore.
Ms trained their audience not to buy games,
I currently subscribe to gamepass because I still have it dirt cheap, but if I play a game on gamepass that I think I actually will want after it leaves game pass, you better believe I buy it physically on switch or playstation
yazenov
Member
True. I can't believe no one at MS saw this coming.
You have many MS fans here claiming that Game Pass is the best value in gaming. Consumers will go towards the path with the least resistance. If I had a dollar for every time someone said "I'll wait for the game to come to Game Pass", I'd be filthy rich by now.
What MS fans aren't aware of is that Game Pass is the best value in gaming because it is currently heavily subsidized by MS and it's not sustainable at the current prices. If Game Pass was the dominant service and it somehow "took off", the real pricing would follow to sustain such "value".
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Oddvintagechap
Member
Won who? They are underperforming everywhere.
bigdad2007
Member
I find it really odd that Microsoft finally got what they wanted back in the Xbox one launch era. People on their platforms have gone digital.
However they now seem to be pulling back from the Xbox brand/console space judging by their recent press.
So my guess is they just got people accustomed to not buying games period and just using game pass. However they have been giving away years of game pass for cheap or even free for a long time now and only recently stopped.
And once the subs stop growing then what? New games don’t really drive new subs like new games drive sales, so you get stagnation.
I feel like in chasing the sub model, Microsoft kind of killed their long term future.
But then again maybe they think it is just easier to make money on Minecraft, Call of Duty, and mobile and just abandon AAA gaming all together. In reality the “hardcore” market is pretty niche at this point and really aging out of the core marketing demo most companies target.
However they now seem to be pulling back from the Xbox brand/console space judging by their recent press.
So my guess is they just got people accustomed to not buying games period and just using game pass. However they have been giving away years of game pass for cheap or even free for a long time now and only recently stopped.
And once the subs stop growing then what? New games don’t really drive new subs like new games drive sales, so you get stagnation.
I feel like in chasing the sub model, Microsoft kind of killed their long term future.
But then again maybe they think it is just easier to make money on Minecraft, Call of Duty, and mobile and just abandon AAA gaming all together. In reality the “hardcore” market is pretty niche at this point and really aging out of the core marketing demo most companies target.
Klayzer
Member
Certainly not to the Xbox ecosystem. Hardware sales are dropping hard each year.
Hudo
Member
I just like cartridges more than discs. Although, granted, you can't decapitate people with a cartridge, which you can easily do with a disc.
That being said, I feel the quality of blu-ray discs has declined; they're too flimsy to use as a decapitation tool, no matter how fast you're spinning them.
That being said, I feel the quality of blu-ray discs has declined; they're too flimsy to use as a decapitation tool, no matter how fast you're spinning them.
AREYOUOKAY?
Member
thismeinteil
Member
You mean the dwindling Xbox market. The majority of the market supports both.
This is the way.
thismeinteil
Member
Funnily enough, vinyl has started making a comeback in music. Kinda funny seeing records and record players on sale at Walmart, again.
Hudo
Member
The Neo Geo modules are well known (and tested) for their usage as armor plates. In fact, NASA once used Neo Geo modules are thermal plating for their Space Shuttles.
This big boy may not be for slicing but I'm sure it can do other kinds of damage.
John Wick
Member
Did they? Both PS5's are identical minus the Blu-Ray drive.
demigod
Member
In his fairytale world.
Punished Miku
Member
This is a basic reading comprehension issue. We're discussing digital vs physical sales and I mentioned that Xbox consumers were convinced to switch to digital in greater percentages than the other systems. I'm not talking about Xbox console sales vs other systems. This is about people who own an Xbox choosing digital or physical and what goes into making that choice. Just look at the comment I replied to that you quoted, slow down, read. Or look at just the title of the thread. No one is discussing amount of units sold. We're discussing percentage of physical vs digital sold per system.
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scarlet0pimp
Member
Can't remember the last physical game I bought on xbox and I buy a lot of games despite having game pass. It was probably modernwarfare 2019 honestly which I did sell to a mate when I realised I liked the game and bought it digital when on sale.
Digital on xbox I quite often get on sale from CD keys or at least purchase xbox vouchers at a discount from cd keys and use xbox reward points to buy vouchers. So I feel like it's quite easy to get a digital game in xbox at a discount, and on top of that if it's a game pass game you get 10% off.
I do buy physical on switch though as the games maintain their value. Digital switch games are too expensice and rarely go on sale, even when in sale they don't drop by much.
Having said that I do not wish for xbox physical to go away I appreciate that some people prefer physical over digital, I still have a stack of DVDs which are not on any digital service that I keep. I think xbox should release a USB disk drive for the series s.
Digital on xbox I quite often get on sale from CD keys or at least purchase xbox vouchers at a discount from cd keys and use xbox reward points to buy vouchers. So I feel like it's quite easy to get a digital game in xbox at a discount, and on top of that if it's a game pass game you get 10% off.
I do buy physical on switch though as the games maintain their value. Digital switch games are too expensice and rarely go on sale, even when in sale they don't drop by much.
Having said that I do not wish for xbox physical to go away I appreciate that some people prefer physical over digital, I still have a stack of DVDs which are not on any digital service that I keep. I think xbox should release a USB disk drive for the series s.
Yeah to the wallet
This big boy may not be for slicing but I'm sure it can do other kinds of damage.
PC Gaming has been all digital since 2010 and no one bats an eye, the truth is that many doesn't care and they don't envision these big ass companies including Valve going bust in their lifetimes.
Gambit2483
Member
PC is a much different beast. It's an open platform for one, has digital games constantly on sale at ridiculous prices, has a MUCH better preservation scene and then there's the high seas.
PC accepted all digital because it was an easy, convenient process. That's just not the case on closed platforms like consoles.
plus pc gaming had absolutely miserable DRM before, playstation and nintendo are buy media, own media, plug in and use media,
pcs were buy games, deal with DRM that could damage disk drives, prevent the game from working, limit installs, all sorts of garbage,
98% of the PC gaming players have most, if not, all of their libraries on Steam, a single company, and they don't think they will ever lose it.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
I expect Nintendo to be the last company to give up physical of the three.
im really curious just how much 5,000,000 people playing a game on gamespass is worth, both to MS and to a Dev. Assuming a dev might walk away with a couple hundred million dollars if the game had just been bought “normally”. I can’t see microsoft paying out that much for 5mil free players 
Mowcno
Member
Yep, with most Sony first party titles having around 65% of their sales from physical copies they're definitely not going to be ditching physical completely anytime soon. Xbox on the other hand...
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SmokedMeat
Gamer™
When the service and prices are so good there’s really nothing to worry about.
But if shit hit the fan and we really wanted something - we can sail the high seas.
Papa_Wisdom
Member
I was thinking about switching to digital last night and switched on my Xbox for the first time in ages. I quickly realised what a mistake that was when I saw the prices of games on there, looking at resi 4 it’s like £55 and I can get it on disk for £25-30. In another few months I’m sure it will I’ll be sub £20. I see the benefits of what digital can bring but it no way outweighs the benfits of physical.
Not only that but the fact that a lot of games once I’m done I have no desire to keep them and have the ability to re sell. I mean by that point I may only get like £5 or something but that’s still better than nothing. Having a massive collection of games does not Interest me anymore. (Arkham origins for example, got it physical, beat it, no desire to return to it so I can now sell the disk and let someone else enjoy it)
Sonic frontiers is £50+ on the store, can get the disk for sub £20 these days.
As for people saying they don’t like having boxes displayed, I put the disks in a cd wallet in a drawer and keep the boxes themselves in a box in my loft.
The only games I have on display are my Dreamcast and sega Saturn collection because there cool as fuck.
If Xbox go full digital I’m out, series x will be my last console full stop, I’ll buy another before there discontinued just in case mine ever breaks so I have a backup then I’m fully switching to pc.
Not only that but the fact that a lot of games once I’m done I have no desire to keep them and have the ability to re sell. I mean by that point I may only get like £5 or something but that’s still better than nothing. Having a massive collection of games does not Interest me anymore. (Arkham origins for example, got it physical, beat it, no desire to return to it so I can now sell the disk and let someone else enjoy it)
Sonic frontiers is £50+ on the store, can get the disk for sub £20 these days.
As for people saying they don’t like having boxes displayed, I put the disks in a cd wallet in a drawer and keep the boxes themselves in a box in my loft.
The only games I have on display are my Dreamcast and sega Saturn collection because there cool as fuck.
If Xbox go full digital I’m out, series x will be my last console full stop, I’ll buy another before there discontinued just in case mine ever breaks so I have a backup then I’m fully switching to pc.
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