View: https://twitter.com/LimitedRunJosh/status/1712554666838704169
It would make sense considering Xbox's leaked upcoming consoles but damn if it wouldn't be sad to see. Physical media dying is bad news in every industry.
Following today's Best Buy dropping physical movies, Josh Fairhurst shares he's heard rumblings about Wal-Mart dropping physical Xbox games
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View: https://twitter.com/LimitedRunJosh/status/1712554666838704169
It would make sense considering Xbox's leaked upcoming consoles but damn if it wouldn't be sad to see. Physical media dying is bad news in every industry.
More tweets by Josh, adding context
While true, physical media is drying up. Even as a distant third in the console wars, there are millions of Xboxes out there, and the biggest brick-and-mortar retailer in the country deciding that it's not worth it to have them taking up shelf space is bad news. At "best" (if you're a fan of physical), it's only bad for Xbox. However, we know Xbox is toying with dropping physical, hybrid cloud stuff, and is pushing the Series S nowadays (and may be putting out an all-digital Series X going by leaks).
I mean those plans were leaked directly by Microsoft themselves it is already confirmed.
I know, but those slides were from 1-2 years ago so there was (maybe a small) chance that those plans could've been adjusted since then.
It wasn't long ago that physical game were the best $/ft2 in stores. Not they are quickly disappearing
Of course it's happening. If you believe this is only a Walmart and Best Buy decision then think a little harder about it.
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I can understand the xbox. I'm a huge supporter of physical media but I've considered selling all my xbox games and buying them digital or physical on other platforms. I actually hate the way Xbox handles physical media. I don't see PS5 or Nintendo section going anytime soon.
You hate to see it. The past few years have really sped up the timeline of physical being phased out.
First party Nintendo games are increasingly becoming the only guaranteed huge sellers in physical games retail. The "dawn of the final day" of physical games will be a single shelf in the electronics department with copies of Mario Kart 9 on it.
I'm surprised they're still hanging on as it is. Went to a Best Buy last week to look at Legos, looked like the late stages of Circuit City.
5 years from now, I fully expect the "video game" section of stores like Walmart and Target to be more of a "Nintendo" section, with a single rack of currency and subscription cards for everything else.
I mean just look at the Gamstop/Amazon sales from the past weekend, most of them were physical Xbox copies being sold for dirt cheap compared to PS5/Switch copies, could mean something could mean nothing.
I mean, nobody has to think hard about it lmao. Physical is hanging around but it was always going to eventually wind down. It's not going to fully go away though. Retailers like Best Buy and Walmart have more use for that store / warehouse space with other stock that sells better so it makes sense they'd get rid of them.
You're probably joking, but there are actually pretty well done Xbox displays at retail stores in Japan.
My local target gaming section has looked abandoned for at least a year or so.
I have t bought a physical game in ages. Not a conscious decision, just easier to go digital for me. Shame for people that don't have the hd space or download speeds. I get that it probably makes financial sense but still a bummer. More options are better.
Still remember being a kid and buy physical games. Either the ticket at toys r us or them opening the slots at Walmart revealing all the games behind it. I'm old.
I have t bought a physical game in ages. Not a conscious decision, just easier to go digital for me. Shame for people that don't have the hd space or download speeds. I get that it probably makes financial sense but still a bummer. More options are better.
Still remember being a kid and buy physical games. Either the ticket at toys r us or them opening the slots at Walmart revealing all the games behind it. I'm old.
Best Buy's doing what?! They're the main way I get my Blu-rays and such for the movies I want physical copies when they're on sale.
View: https://media.giphy.com/media/13CSvyHEOwoUM/giphy.gif
physical gaming on its death bed...personally i game on PC so i been all digital for few years now
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Won't be surprised to see PlayStation go the same way in a few years because it's cheaper to not offer physical. Nintendo will probably hold out for a bit though.
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People don't want to spend $70 for install key coasters when they can spend $70 for a direct download to their console that unlocks the second the game is available. It's not shocking.
Physical game sales were always on their way out as soon the actual games stopped making it onto the discs.
Physical game sales were always on their way out as soon the actual games stopped making it onto the discs.
This isn't a surprise. Throughout the US and Canada, video game isles at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target (US only I know) have felt a bit abandoned since at least 2020.
Even people that want physical games typically order them online. Gone are the days people go to Wal-Mart and wait for a clerk to open the cabinet and get you the physical copy of the game you want.
Best Buy has some unique challenges. People use Best Buy's as a showroom to look at TVs, laptops etc and then end up buying them online. I think we will see some Best Buy stores close down over the next 10 years or so.
I think there will probably be a small space for physical games at retailers. Nintendo 1st party and the odd PS5 game that sells a bucketload (e.g. Call of Duty, sports games, some major 1st party titles).
Even people that want physical games typically order them online. Gone are the days people go to Wal-Mart and wait for a clerk to open the cabinet and get you the physical copy of the game you want.
Best Buy has some unique challenges. People use Best Buy's as a showroom to look at TVs, laptops etc and then end up buying them online. I think we will see some Best Buy stores close down over the next 10 years or so.
I think there will probably be a small space for physical games at retailers. Nintendo 1st party and the odd PS5 game that sells a bucketload (e.g. Call of Duty, sports games, some major 1st party titles).
Regardless of Xbox's digital push, I can imagine they don't love Wal Mart deciding to stop carrying their games.
Physical games in stores are products, but they are also advertising space. Losing that presence isn't good, regardless of the fact that all consoles are pushing toward digital.
Physical games in stores are products, but they are also advertising space. Losing that presence isn't good, regardless of the fact that all consoles are pushing toward digital.
Very sad to see, but as physical games get more and more unfinished and reliant on patches and content additions the positivities of physical media has gone down drastically for me at least.
Now there are only some positives remaining like cheaper (always cheaper to buy physical at launch over here), you can lend and sell them.
I miss the days of old like ps2 where you actually owned the complete and finished game on the disc (of course some had bugs but they were never as unfinished as some of todays games are).
Now there are only some positives remaining like cheaper (always cheaper to buy physical at launch over here), you can lend and sell them.
I miss the days of old like ps2 where you actually owned the complete and finished game on the disc (of course some had bugs but they were never as unfinished as some of todays games are).
It's funny because Xbox games are my favorites to own physically. I love the green case. But yeah this wouldn't surprise me, I buy multiplats on Xbox and when I show my friends my pickup, I usually get "why'd you get it on Xbox?" as if it's a very strange thing to do
Target is the only physical store I really go in regularly that sells games, and like another poster said, it's almost always a ghost town. And honestly even when I look at stuff it is almost always full price and I'm like, yeah I don't need that right now for full price. And then the times where physical stuff is on sale (even if it is through Target for stuff like Black Friday) I basically always buy it online, and almost always have it shipped even if I have to pay a little bit since it isn't worth the gas and time to drive somewhere just to pick it up.
Makes sense, I suppose.
So does physical shrinking in general, but it is odd that my walmart recently had renovations and the game section was expanded rather significantly. Or at least spread out. Hard to tell. Mostly Switch stuff, but i do wonder how long until it all shrinks again.
So does physical shrinking in general, but it is odd that my walmart recently had renovations and the game section was expanded rather significantly. Or at least spread out. Hard to tell. Mostly Switch stuff, but i do wonder how long until it all shrinks again.
I feel like you people spread this myth on purpose at this point
As a PC gamer this has been my reality for an extremely long time. I quite literally can't remember the last time I bought a physical PC game....it was maybe The Orange Box in 2008 or so?
Digital on PC has been the saving grace of a platform that was quite literally going to be abandoned due to rampant piracy. Prices are so good the most common Steam meme is about having insane backlogs you'll never get through playing before you die. And digital is better for preservation efforts too than relying on physical media.
I think if people are wary of it on consoles that probably speaks to the platform holders (all of them) more than anything and their lack of effort in backwards compatibility, large impressive sales, or charging for basic features like cloud saves.
But that's not digital being bad for the industry, that's companies making it worse than it has to be.
Digital on PC has been the saving grace of a platform that was quite literally going to be abandoned due to rampant piracy. Prices are so good the most common Steam meme is about having insane backlogs you'll never get through playing before you die. And digital is better for preservation efforts too than relying on physical media.
I think if people are wary of it on consoles that probably speaks to the platform holders (all of them) more than anything and their lack of effort in backwards compatibility, large impressive sales, or charging for basic features like cloud saves.
But that's not digital being bad for the industry, that's companies making it worse than it has to be.