Discs still sell quite a lot
Edit: also I'm selling Odyssey and red dead on eBay and do so a lot with games I won't replay. Thats a lot of income I can use for new games
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It's becoming clear that in the Xbox ecosystem that physical discs is increasingly becoming an inconvenience.
- Thread starter 12Danny123
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Edit: also I'm selling Odyssey and red dead on eBay and do so a lot with games I won't replay. Thats a lot of income I can use for new games
It is required (well, it's probably the easiest and least abused method) if you want to allow those physical/"digital" discs to be traded back in, aka allowing deauthorizing/reauthorizing licenses on different users, rather than a one-time permanent license at the time of purchase.
The irony of Microsoft's plans in 2013 is that their always online requirement was only due to the fact that they were trying to awkwardly preserve "used games" and "trade ins". If they instead treated it like Steam physical discs, and just made it a one-time authorization with a useless disc afterward, they wouldn't have needed any 24hr online check.
Whether that would have been received better, I have no idea. It would still have been a drastic change from traditional console behavior (although they would be able to more logically say that Steam already set a precedent for physical discs that can't be traded in)
This isn't a great source of information to gauge such interest because it includes digital only titles and smaller titles that are predominantly sold digitally too. In the UK the digital split on console games is still only 25%-30% on average. Fifa 19 for example, the best selling game of 2018 in the UK, sold 25% digitally despite sales promotions specifically for digital.
However, if you include other games and revenue, including microtransactions, DLC, subscriptions, Pay to Play etc, the percentage increases to 80%, hence the skewed percentages.
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My main concern with digital content is closed-platforms. What you do with your purchases is entirely out of your control. Where you buy your digital content is out of your control. The expiration date for your digital content is out of your control. It's asking for corporations to take advantage of you.
Physical content isn't really a solution anymore either. On-disk content is far from complete anymore and an online component is almost required for everything today. Physical content over very long periods of time can expire as well.
Digital is in a good place on open-platforms (although better laws would help here as well), and perhaps one day laws will change to better protect customers on others.
Physical content isn't really a solution anymore either. On-disk content is far from complete anymore and an online component is almost required for everything today. Physical content over very long periods of time can expire as well.
Digital is in a good place on open-platforms (although better laws would help here as well), and perhaps one day laws will change to better protect customers on others.
Why would the trend of more options force you to do anything?
I've accepted that all-digital is an inevitability, but I'll cling to physical for as long as I can. It's streaming games I'm really not a fan of. Hopefully there will be an option to run games on local hardware for a long time to come
I actually look forward to a digital only future. This may sound like an advertisement, but what I look forward to the most is playing any game that I purchase will have the same fidelity and experience no matter what device I play it on. Either through a web browser, a phone app, a TV app, etc. the fact that a game will play the same no matter the hardware will be pretty awesome. I know we are not there yet with steaming games, but in the future having the ability to stream my games anywhere I think it is going to be pretty great.
Honestly at this point I'm actually giving heavy consideration into learning how to solder just to replace capacitors on my vintage consoles. This old man is prepping for that antique collector life.
And ERA has far more corporate boot-lickers on it than any forum I've ever posted on in my life.
And ERA has far more corporate boot-lickers on it than any forum I've ever posted on in my life.
I want to go all digital but it's often far cheaper buying physical, at least in the case of new release games.
In Australia, you can usually buy new games at retailers for around $69, whereas to buy digitally that are often $99. So until that changes, I'll still be buying a mix of physical and digital.
In Australia, you can usually buy new games at retailers for around $69, whereas to buy digitally that are often $99. So until that changes, I'll still be buying a mix of physical and digital.
But isn't FIFA heavily bundled and thus also not a good example because bundles account to physical sales?
I don't think bundles are counted towards such physical sales data. Perhaps someone from PAL sales Era could chime in?
Is that really going to happen though? A digital future doesn't mean consoles won't be required to run the games. And if you are taking it another step forward past the need for a piece of hardware for computations then I'm sorry but that sounds like a nightmare. Games performing the same on all pieces of tech means relative stagnation in graphics, presentation, AI and whatnot, at the very least compared to what could be achieved on physical hardware. I don't know what the difference is now not what it could be in 10 years, but a physical console will always outperform streaming even in the most ideal of circumstances. It's like putting a governor on games for convenience.
Not only that, but the idea of playing something like The Witcher 3, Dark Souls, Spider-Man and such on my phone or tablet sounds bad too. If it becomes ubiquitous how will game design and controls change to fit such a broad and basic device? Even if we can just use a DualShock or Xbox Controller on any device, is that really worth the concessions?
Not to mention data caps and internet speed.
Maybe I'm a Luddite. Maybe because I don't have a commute or travel a lot or have kids I don't get why sacrificing performance for convenience is such a draw. If I had an hour long commute I wouldn't want to play a lesser version of a AAA game but something more suited to mobile or handheld gaming, or just read or watch something or listen to a podcast.
In some ways I get why the idea of this all digital/streaming future is cool, but I wonder if those who are all in even consider that for that convenience they are giving up things or if they just assume they can have the all digital/streaming future and still have games with increasing complexity and size and graphics without giving up anything.
Maybe I just don't have the right perspective, I don't know. But every time I read somebody say they can't wait for the streaming future I shudder.
I am almost entirely digitial on my Xbox and have been for several years now.
Only time I get a physical copy is if it's a gift from someone or if the deal is so insanely stupid cheap.
Discs are inconvient and take up space that I do not have room for. And I don't like feeding the used game market at all.
Only time I get a physical copy is if it's a gift from someone or if the deal is so insanely stupid cheap.
Discs are inconvient and take up space that I do not have room for. And I don't like feeding the used game market at all.
Feel like that's a long ways away. I'm 100% digital but can't see the entire market getting comfortable with it for awhile.
I'm really excited about this and I hope it's a success. I hope for the next gen consoles we at least have to option of going for a discless version of the platforms. The existence of the disc reader is wasted on me so ideally if I don't have to pay for it, it would be great.
Genuinely curious, as I am not a PC gamer and have no interest in being one, but for all of you responsing being overly negative towards Microsoft/Xbox and not wanting to support digital futures....do you not buy PC games on Steam 100% digitially? Do you only buy your PC games physically? Is that even still possible? I never see physical PC games anymore whenever I go shopping.
Just curious what makes a digital future so awful in your books for Microsoft/Xbox when, to my knowledge, it's been that way on PC for the longest time. It's legit a curiosity to me, not a means to start an argument.
Just curious what makes a digital future so awful in your books for Microsoft/Xbox when, to my knowledge, it's been that way on PC for the longest time. It's legit a curiosity to me, not a means to start an argument.
It does so at least for the UK charts, AFAIR. The UK charts didn't count digital at all in the past but bundled games were often a reason for old games suddenly climbing the charts.
This and if network speeds/caps are issue, then start offering codes with reusable usb-sticks to transfer game content home from stores. Combined with possibility to resell/transfer those game licenses between users would be great.
It will if they have ANY sense, and are willing to contribute for the environment.
This.
Yeah. No more of this please.
I have to say, as much as I was initially turned off by the idea of digital only, having just bought a gaming PC a few days ago, being able to download a bunch of games I was already playing on Xbox and picking off just where I had left off, except this time I was playing at 4K with all the bells and whistles on my desktop, was a pretty fantastic thing.
Maybe that's what he's going for? Can think of another reason but trolling for all these threads.
PC games are much cheaper than digital PS4/Xbox/Switch games in general for starters and there are more buying options. PC gaming never had a resell market either due to CD keys so that was never a factor to be taken away.
Even if you had some other means to transfer that same game content from the stores to home, like reusable usb-stick?
Microsofts push for digital was 5 years too early but it was always going to happen. They're PR was god awful and poorly focused but the market trend was there. I think by mid next gen physicals sales will make up less than 30% of total sales. Honestly they could probably drop discs for next gen altogether if they put burner stations in stores so you can load the game files onto a usb/sd stick then copy to your console.
I like having physical disks. Looking at the collection feels good man :p
Plus i dont want to be stuck when my internet is iffy or the digital company (Sony, MS or anyone) has any issue or decides to revoke licence (like PT).
Finally, i like to sell some of my games.
So yeah, will keep buying physical disks.
Plus i dont want to be stuck when my internet is iffy or the digital company (Sony, MS or anyone) has any issue or decides to revoke licence (like PT).
Finally, i like to sell some of my games.
So yeah, will keep buying physical disks.
It will if they have ANY sense, and are willing to contribute for the environment.
This.
Yeah. No more of this please.
So, for the average user who buys 8-12 games per generation, you say that printing 8-12 games for him will pollute more than maintaining a worlwide network of data centers 24/7/365 ? You will have to show us some studies because it sounds absurd as your accusation against physical owners. And pollution induced by production or distribution isn't the same problematic as the waste material circuit.
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I've seen people mention stores having a burner station for USB flash drives, is this a joke or is this an option somewhere for something and I'm just out of the loop?
The point of digital is to not have to go to the store to buy it. I don't see stores offering to download a game to your USB stick as an option. If your internet cuts out or you hit a data cap I don't see stores serving such a niche issue. It's a drawback of digital. There are plenty of drawbacks for physical media. We should just accept the pros and cons of both and hope options continue to be available going forward.
The point of digital is to not have to go to the store to buy it. I don't see stores offering to download a game to your USB stick as an option. If your internet cuts out or you hit a data cap I don't see stores serving such a niche issue. It's a drawback of digital. There are plenty of drawbacks for physical media. We should just accept the pros and cons of both and hope options continue to be available going forward.
Just in the process don't forget people or rather countries with piss poor connectivity. Give people the option and I think this is the route road they are going for and not just kill all physical.
Keep choices and options open (same way you don't give a shit about physicals same way other people think about going digital, nobody is wrong or right).
Keep choices and options open (same way you don't give a shit about physicals same way other people think about going digital, nobody is wrong or right).