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Would you be interested in physical game cases that just had digital codes to redeem for their respective platforms?
- Thread starter CubeApple76
- Start date
Wow, I think so many people are underestimating how this could result in cheaper prices for games at various retailers. I don't care about the case but retailers discount physical games more than digital. Physical games retailers buy from the publishers and then discount over the year for various reasons such as clearing them out. It would apply to this scenario, I know I have done it for MK11 on Switch and various PC games.
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If I'm buying a physical copy of something, it's because I want the game preserved forever on a physical format, unaffected by license agreements or digital alteration for the foreseeable future.
Giving me a case with a code for a digital product is literally useless to me.
Giving me a case with a code for a digital product is literally useless to me.
people say they would not be interested yet they routinely buy physical copies of games that are virtually broken pre-patching, so I suspect many would begrudgingly buy download codes in a box/case if it was the only physical option.
Nah, it's not the same thing and games aren't as broken on the disc like you try to make it sound like they are. A vast majority of the games will function just fine. That doesn't mean they don't get improved with patching, but they aren't some broken unplayable mess either.
No, if I am buying a physical game, I want to buy a physical game. That's why I hate the Switch game collections where they have a game on the card and the others for download. So annoying.
If I am willing to go digital, I will just do that.
If I am willing to go digital, I will just do that.
Or maybe it's the best of both worlds; physical pricing, digital convenience.
I still have the original "code in a box" console game release. GTAV: Lost and the Damned. It's a cardboard box with a map. It was carried exclusively at GameStop for a short time. When it came out it was criticized as being pointless. "Who would want to own a box with a code in it?"
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No.
Why would I want that?
If I wanted digital I would just buy digital, not a case with a paper in it.
Why would I want that?
If I wanted digital I would just buy digital, not a case with a paper in it.
But this already kind of exists with console game keys? Like in some countries you can buy cards that redeem specific games -- these don't typically go on sale nearly as much as physical copies (and I think Sony mandated them eventually removed from stores in favor of psn credit gift cards, for example). I get that these are usually activated/generated at checkout and so are basically wholly digital goods, but why would you think this would be different in the world where its just put in an additional layer of packaging?
Also you can get physical-ish pricing with digital convenience already with sales. PS5/series feels like a bit of a step back but psn and xbl both regularly had very substantial discounts on large titles not too long after launch, and on PC thanks to cheaper regions and resellers you'll get sometimes ludicrous discounts far ahead of launch.
The appeal described in OP seems also quite tied of an ascribed attractiveness of the physicality of collecting physical products but admitting digital is more convenient.
This is not even getting into all the digital disadvantages around game sharing, resale, etc.
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No, that's a terribly wasteful use of plastic for the sake of indulging some collector mentality.
To those mentioning physical pricing -- I'd be fine with B&M selling digital codes, but put them on cards or something.
To those mentioning physical pricing -- I'd be fine with B&M selling digital codes, but put them on cards or something.
Physical discs have to take up a minimum amount of shelf space. They have to be sold or sent back to be destroyed to make sure unsold copies don't get shifted to the grey market. That incentivizes clearancing/discounting to avoid costs of returning to manufacturer.
With digital codes it will get streamlined to the point to be the same as gift cards - codes don't get activated serverside until they get scanned at the register. When shelf space becomes a concern they'd switch to cards just like gift cards. The issues with unsold inventory don't exist anymore, publishers can simply tell retailers to toss/destroy unactivated cases/codes, and there isn't the same pressure on the retailer to discount.
Currently digital game cards are activated at the register when sold where as codes contained in physical cases are pre-activated codes that are not activated at the register when sold. So that's a current key difference in how it's done which means inventory on these are done differently which means how they get discounted works differently. They also count as a physical game so physical game sales that deal with something across the board, such as B2G1, B1G50%, etc apply to these.
Also, another point since you brought up Sony is that after they removed game specific digital codes, sales on individual games disappeared except on PSN compared to a wide variety of deals or even pricing errors that happen for other platforms. There's been plenty of Xbox digital deals at other retailers that beat out the Microsoft store, yet you couldn't get those same deals on a PlayStation platform because of what Sony did. So Sony made things worse for consumers as far as deals are concerned.
Digital discounts still don't match up to physical sales though. They've gotten better but they're still typically behind and happen later. Physical still has a big edge in deals. Heck, just this morning I bought Bravely Default 2 for $30 which hasn't been anywhere close to that price digitally. Every year during Black Friday, there's constantly people whining about how the digital deals don't stack up against the physical ones too.
Honestly, there's a market for this, sure.
I'd prefer to actually get the game as physical media too but if it has to be digital then there being some way to represent it on my shelf is better than nothing.
I feel like most of the backlash in this thread is from people who don't get into the whole "video game shelf" thing but I get enjoyment out of my collection.
(This would also make gifting digital games for holidays an easier thing, plus it would help out retail stores on that front)
I'd prefer to actually get the game as physical media too but if it has to be digital then there being some way to represent it on my shelf is better than nothing.
I feel like most of the backlash in this thread is from people who don't get into the whole "video game shelf" thing but I get enjoyment out of my collection.
(This would also make gifting digital games for holidays an easier thing, plus it would help out retail stores on that front)
Yep.
The main point of physical is when the console stores go down you still have a full working version of the game. A download code is junk on the shelf but really just a digital game.
It's also a reason I seek out later copies which have all the patches applied too.