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How long until physical copies of new games just aren't worth it anymore?
- Thread starter Angst
- Start date
I think physical should always be in the marketplace, mainly because it's nice to have a physical box attached to a game but also for general consumers, mom and dad's still go to Gamestop, etc to get a game for their son or daughter. I don't see that changing for another decade IMO. Personally, I do a mix of both physical and digital.
It's great to have a physical version of a game I know I'll care about or if I know I might not care about it in a month or two and can sell it for more than half the price I paid for it originally, recouping a good chunk of the money I spent for the game in the first place. I bought games digitally in the past I regretted and I learned quickly from that mistake when I realized there is no way to get that money back.
It's great to have a physical version of a game I know I'll care about or if I know I might not care about it in a month or two and can sell it for more than half the price I paid for it originally, recouping a good chunk of the money I spent for the game in the first place. I bought games digitally in the past I regretted and I learned quickly from that mistake when I realized there is no way to get that money back.
They haven't been worth it since the start of the current generation IMO. The games install on your HDD either way and then the disc just becomes a cumbersome DRM key.
I straight up have not seen any real worth in physical copies in years. Only time I ever get them are as gifts, or if there's a price error that's so ridiculous that I can't not take advantage of it.
For multiplayer I can see why, makes more sense. Single player though, that varies.
I respect this mindset. Personally I buy all of my stuff physically as much as I realistically can, but I respect the person who's reason for digital is "too much clutter." I think both have their place.
Since most digital versions of games for ps4 are still selling at full retail, while their physical counterparts are near half the price, I'd say nevwr
At the exact point where I legally can sell, trade, or let someone borrow my digital titles.
Considering that I'm an American, that means that physical copies of new games will always be worth it, forever.
Considering that I'm an American, that means that physical copies of new games will always be worth it, forever.
The overwhelming majority of games seeing a PC release killed most of my physical purchases. I only really buy LEs that I really want, and the occasional standard ed (mostly for Switch), but around 95% of my game budget goes to digital games now.... it's much cheaper. So physical games I buy nowadays are more about willingly paying a premium to have some nice extras, not my primary means of getting new stuff.
It's weird - I'm a collector, and I used to ride or die for physical copies. I have hundreds of physical games collected over a long period of time, and 5 years ago I would have been crushed if anything happened to my collection. Nowadays, I have Steam copies of most of the games I'd still want to replay today, so if something happened to my collection of hard copies I'd be OK... still sad, but not devastated.
It's weird - I'm a collector, and I used to ride or die for physical copies. I have hundreds of physical games collected over a long period of time, and 5 years ago I would have been crushed if anything happened to my collection. Nowadays, I have Steam copies of most of the games I'd still want to replay today, so if something happened to my collection of hard copies I'd be OK... still sad, but not devastated.
When console manufacturers release a generation of consoles without drives/cart slots.
Sony and MS will have drives on at least the first iterations of their new consoles. Switch 2 will probably have a card slot. But after that? Hard to say.
Sony experimented with the all-digital PSPGo. MS released a digital only Xbox.
The writing is on the wall.
I'm not happy about it. I buy almost 100% physical. But I'm realistic.
Sony and MS will have drives on at least the first iterations of their new consoles. Switch 2 will probably have a card slot. But after that? Hard to say.
Sony experimented with the all-digital PSPGo. MS released a digital only Xbox.
The writing is on the wall.
I'm not happy about it. I buy almost 100% physical. But I'm realistic.
When you can get the same kind of deals on digital games as physical then I will probably move full digital. I love to collect, but in reality the 400 physical games I own just sit on the shelves and look pretty. It's like people who have huge libraries of books they never read......What's the point?
I resell my games as well and will continue to do so as long as I can.
Thing is, during this gen some publishers have gotten pretty smart about doing sales at sensible times.
UbiSoft and EA go as low as 29.99€ on 6-8 week old games. Duds like Anthem or BFV get price cuts on release day.
That practice puts a ton of pressure on my personal eBay returns.
If I buy day one and sell within a month I get ca. 40-45€ for my games (give or take) and it's a great deal.
But older games? The PSN/XBL price tags are mostly in line with the eBay going rate minus the shipping days and hassle.
So I'm not 100% sure about "never" tbh
Physical games will remain worth it for as long as they're cheaper to buy than their digital counterparts, which is the case most of the time.
