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[Pop]

That's the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. It sucks and blows at the same time.

Impressive

 

[Majormaxxx]

Extremely anti consumer because this kills the resale possibility. Will have to wait, forever, for a digital sale. Goddammit

 

[MikeM]

PC is already digital and you can play it on gamepass for less than 20 bucks. Not sure what the physical demand will be but it has to be low.

Thats likely my plan.

Cannot wait for physical to be gone, if only so we don't have to have the same points laid out over and over.

Less options. Yes- thats great for everyone…

 

[Gobjuduck]

Good.

Digital is the future. Physical games have felt archaic for two generations now (especially Xbox and PS games).

I feel like many complaining here have no problem buying games on steam. And plan on buying starfield on steam rather than Xbox, lmao.

 

[StereoVsn]

You buy physical on PC? where from my dude?

On PC with Steam codes there are a multitude of key sellers. There is a lot of competition so you can get decent prices.

You can't resell the codes, but you already normally aren't paying $70-€80 for a game.

Well, it's different if you want EA/Ubi/MS game on Steam since you can't buy Steam codes for these games on legit websites.

There are a few sites that sell Xbox/Win Store codes, but they are rare and prices normally suck.

So in conclusion, its always good to have options. Having physical option on Xbox means you can often get cheaper prices on release, especially in Europe, and also can resell the game or buy used. The shit MS is trying to pull with Starfield is anti-consumer.

 

[Puscifer]

You buy physical on PC? where from my dude?

You don't, but I can crack my collection and take it with me. I can purchase keys from different markets and not just the Sony/Microsoft store. I like physical on consoles because I have options, and they're intentionally sabotaging those options to make digital more appealing and it's bullshit.

 

[rapid32.5]

remember cheaper games than physical promise with digital-only during 360-era days.

 

[Puscifer]

Good.

Digital is the future. Physical games have felt archaic for two generations now (especially Xbox and PS games).

I feel like many complaining here have no problem buying games on steam. And plan on buying starfield on steam rather than Xbox, lmao.

We have options on PC and Valve is so hands off and soft with the Steamworks DRM that they made it attractive. I can download those games crack them and take them elsewhere, meanwhile Microsofts DRM on Xbox is bold in it's intrusiveness, Sony much less so I'll give them that but given their constantly changing stance on backwards compatibility and soldered components with the PS5 I can't trust the longevity of my collection to them.

Am I weird for wanting to hold onto physical media? Yeah definitely. But I also don't understand why companies are sabotaging it intentionally for people who do choose to go that way and why consumers cheer them on for doing so.

 

[keraj37]

It is a no buy from me then.
I will grab it when it hits $5 though.

 

[Gexxy1]

I feel like many complaining here have no problem buying games on steam. And plan on buying starfield on steam rather than Xbox, lmao.

Steam games go on sale more often and are cheaper on average even without sales (Omori: $20 Steam, $30 PSN: Marfusha: $8 Steam, $12 PSN, etc). You can also get refunds for any reason. When consoles start doing that maybe you'd actually have an argument.

 

[Majukun]

for being a AAA release they are sure being cheapskates

 

[OCL]

Good. Kill physical already.

Fucking weirdo

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

There is literally no reason for MS doing this other than to be cheap in skipping payment of Blu-Ray licensing fees & discs (a company near $3 trillion in market cap can't afford this?), and also wanting to force people into an all-digital ecosystem future (one that primarily benefits them).

It's slimy, it's greedy, it's petty....and it REALLY sucks for those of us who still have to work with data caps, or people who literally can't get higher-speed internet options because they're either in some remote rural area or they're in a district that a crappy ISP has monopolized to prevent competitors from offering alternatives. And I think that reality exists for a good deal of gamers in places like America.

Companies like Microsoft seem to think everyone lives in NYC or LA, and that couldn't be further from the truth.

for being a AAA release they are sure being cheapskates

Yep. Maximizing profit margins by removing options for the paying customers.

But you can already see the apologists trying to get out ahead of this.

This sucks. Even though it will be on Game Pass forever I need to own a physical copy of all BGS RPGs. It probably doesn't really matter. I feel the same way about Halo but who knows if my box contains and actual disc of Infinite since I've never opened it.

Will it? They could always pull a Disney and start removing their own content periodically, and put it into a vault.

Considering MS have already done many things people swore they'd never do, I wouldn't be surprised if certain 1P games eventually get pulled off the service at least momentarily. I'm talking different from stuff like older Forzas getting delisted, mind.

 

[existensmaximum]

Impressive

I can't take credit for the expression; it's a Bart Simpson quote!

 

[solidus12]

So much for games preservation, huh Phil?

 

[marjo]

I will never pay full price for a game I can't resell, loan out or give away.

 

[Hypereides]

Whenever or if the digital-only people get their wish, then I hope for their sake being under complete subjugation to publishers will be worth it.

 

[balls of snow]

Eh, steam has forgone disc for a millennia at this point.

Maybe a hot take but if they’re going to go this route - just sell the game as digital only and eliminate the product on the shelf altogether.

There will probably be a big historic franchise doing this soon. Maybe Rockstar is toying with the idea with gta 6, you already going to be playing gta online forever anyway.

 

[PaintTinJr]

Sounds like something the EU could and should fine them heavily over given the acquisition is still pretty fresh and this is clearly an anti-consumer consequence of the acquisition, because Zenimax could never afford to pull such a move because of the lost sales from consumer pushback.

 

[mrmustard]

Steam games go on sale more often and are cheaper on average even without sales (Omori: $20 Steam, $30 PSN: Marfusha: $8 Steam, $12 PSN, etc). You can also get refunds for any reason. When consoles start doing that maybe you'd actually have an argument.

You can get every Xbox game cheap from Turkey, Brazil or Argentina. Takes 1 minute. Also PS games. You can preorder Spider-Man 2 for around 30 Euro from the Turkey store.

 

[Northeastmonk]

So much for games preservation, huh Phil?

I see why people want physical. It’s the physical evidence of the video game industry. Arcade machines represent a golden era of video games. Having a ROM of that isn’t the same experience, even though it’s easier if someone wants to play the game. Companies switched from paper to digital storage lockers in the cloud. Our medical and insurance information is all stored somewhere. A lot of people opt out of getting snail mail sent to their house. A game can be coded on a PC with no physical parts beyond the computer it’s made on. My guess is the same logic is being used with digital games. Your health records beyond your birth certificate and your social security card (NA citizens) are on some server out there. My guess is that Phil sees it like the big archive of video games from Ready Player One. They’ll reserve space for those games. Which in reality, is not a bad thing. It’s better than nothing.

 

[hyperbertha]

weird? I get being pro-digital for its conveniences and the general pyric victory/defeat of discs often needing massive patches on day one, but why be anti-physical? What's in it for you to be against those who want boxed copies?

He wants everyone to own nothing and be happy. It's for your own good

 

[cireza]

Dumb. Being able to resell is the only remaining advantage of physical, if you put a code instead of a disc, then it becomes impossible.

Let us resell our games FFS.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Ah, MS counterattack to Sony is ditching discs to not pay bluray royalties!
Take that Sony!
/jk

 

[Trogdor1123]

Stop buying plastic that ends up in our oceans. We don't need more plastic. What a fucking waste of resources.

Wtf are you talking about?

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Enjoy the empty box

 

[6502]

10% of planets have life, but 0% of cases have discs....

 

[Topher]

icerock

 

[Majormaxxx]

They want people to either pay full price or subscribe to game pass. That's why the disc was eliminated. Bastards.

 

[PaintTinJr]

Dumb. Being able to resell is the only remaining advantage of physical, if you put a code instead of a disc, then it becomes impossible.

Let us resell our games FFS.

It isn't the only advantage. Physical lets you see the true state a game shipped in, so revisionists can't say the Last Guardian didn't ship with a 60fps mode for instance.

Even my physical copy of NMS allows me to replay the game in its original AA state - which I actually liked - even if the game game has been massively expanded and improved to AAA.

All digital is gatekeeping to the documenting of history. No one should be able to rewrite historical evidence, and that's why I just don't subscribe to that digital future. Anything worth being created will have an offline physical version IMO

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I will never understand people who gleefully champion for fewer end user options and more corporate control over the products they purchase

I'm just surprised people have the energy to make the same posts every time an end to physical is mentioned.

At this moment in time, given the number of day one patches, online integration, acceptance of terms and conditions that goes on, I'm not sure that this represents any extra corporate control, aside from not being able to trade it.

But, this is also said every time, so having triggered the irony meter, I'm off!

 

[Gobjuduck]

You can also get refunds for any reason.

Xbox offers basically the same refund policy.

When consoles start doing that maybe you'd actually have an argument.

Discounted games doesn’t hinder my argument at all.

 

[adamsapple]

Steam games go on sale more often and are cheaper on average even without sales (Omori: $20 Steam, $30 PSN: Marfusha: $8 Steam, $12 PSN, etc). You can also get refunds for any reason. When consoles start doing that maybe you'd actually have an argument.

Consoles already do that tho.

 

[twilo99]

Physical copies are pointless.. waste of materials, effort, net negative environmentally

 

[Chukhopops]

Sounds like something the EU could and should fine them heavily over given the acquisition is still pretty fresh and this is clearly an anti-consumer consequence of the acquisition, because Zenimax could never afford to pull such a move because of the lost sales from consumer pushback.

lmao what?

Tons of games are sold physical without disc or especially cartridge those days, I don’t think that’s illegal in any way.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

There is literally no reason for MS doing this other than to be cheap in skipping payment of Blu-Ray licensing fees & discs

There's an environmental positive in not making more plastic discs. So that's one possible reason.

 

[93xfan]

Oof. That's disappointing for sure.

Looks like we won't be able to resell the game if used.

Does over 100GB even fit on current Blu-ray? I haven’t kept up.

 

[Majormaxxx]

Physical copies are pointless.. waste of materials, effort, net negative environmentally

They are not pointless as you can save money if you wait to buy later.

 

[The Stig]

just like the spiderman 2 special edition too. v. disappointing

 

[PaintTinJr]

lmao what?

Tons of games are sold physical without disc or especially cartridge those days, I don’t think that’s illegal in any way.

We aren't talking about company choice, because financially this makes no sense, much like cancelling the PS5 version made no financial sense. This was a $7b acquisition that had to meet approval from regulators and this is anti-consumer and a negative of the acquisition. The EU would be well within their rights to force Microsoft to change their stance or fine them a large amount to discourage such anti-consumer actions for high-end AAA games, where expectation is to physically own a version on the disc and all the advantages that brings to consumers.

 

[nightmare-slain]

Good. They should just rip the bandage right off and make it 100% digital. If boxes only have a code in it then why even bother? It's a waste of materials. Just force everyone to buy it digitally!

Next gen is 100% going to be all digital and I can not wait!

 

[PaintTinJr]

There's an environmental positive in not making more plastic discs. So that's one possible reason.

Only if you own the reality of no physical sale. This is both bad for the environment and the consumer, just arsehole boardroom decision making from people that should be nowhere near our hobby, which is an artform.

 

[GHG]

Xbox Play Anywhere | Xbox

Play your games wherever you want with Xbox Play Anywhere.

www.xbox.com

That's the windows store version, not the PC version.

 

[nightmare-slain]

I don't know about you but I'm not stupidly throwing game discs in the ocean.

If for some reason I can't sell a physical game for 5$ or give it to somebody who would appreciate it for free I'll just put it in the recycling bin like the shitload of plastic that comes from food containers. This is the worst excuse against physical ownership of games I've read.

Putting stuff in your recycling bin doesn't mean it doesn't end up in the ocean or landfill.

Physical media is a complete waste of material and should be banned completely. We have too much plastic so if we can reduce usage then we should. The less trees we need to cut down the better. There is no point in physical games anymore so that's one thing we should get rid of ASAP.

 

[Nydius]

Physical copies are pointless.. to me.

Fixed that for you.

If you want to bend over and spread your cheeks wide for companies to take advantage of, you’ve already got the choice to do so.

As for the environmental moralizing, I’ve already discussed that several posts back. Take that up with manufacturers. There’s no reason games couldn’t ship in cardstock Digipaks like CDs do. But that’s not a valid reason to demand the rest of us give up what few consumer protections we have.

Edit

Physical media is a complete waste of material and should be banned completely. We have too much plastic so if we can reduce usage then we should. The less trees we need to cut down the better. There is no point in physical games anymore so that's one thing we should get rid of ASAP.

This is the most naively idiotic thing I’ve read today and the day is only half over. Of all the issues with plastic recycling, physical games and video aren’t even in the top 10. Probably not even the top 25.

 

[LordCBH]

There's an environmental positive in not making more plastic discs. So that's one possible reason.

These big corporations don’t care about the environment, but they like it when people think they do.

 

[LordCBH]

Physical media is a complete waste of material and should be banned completely.

Kindly fuck off. Thanks.

 

[Ristifer]

The hilarity that comes from people thinking corporations actually care about the environment. Believe me, they don’t. And their elimination of discs makes zero difference.

 

[rofif]

so yeah. If you can't own it might as well play it on gp for 1$

 

[DeepEnigma]

The Environment™