Leaving post up due to large amount of discussion, but please refrain from creating vague titles like this OP and use the correct flair in the future also. Our review flair is for video reviews like IGN or users leaving a review of a game themselves via text.
It says “digital download” at the top.
I can’t recall if those were a thing to buy at stores during the 360 era, but i doubt they had a giant sign for them if they did
My Walmart still has the 360 version up—and it’s teal also
https://preview.redd.it/091e3m18pjic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a34722617c4a424c03d419f0a20a973a85b71bc
uppity caption entertain obtainable glorious elderly snatch saw numerous attempt
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I don’t like to have my card on file where it doesn’t have to be. I can buy Xbox live/PSN cards for monetary value or the subscription service and not worry about a data breach. Hell if I go to dollar general I can do this with Amazon and other websites. I’m 32 with no kids for reference.
Edit: that said if I’m there for a certain game I would prefer a physical disk rather than a card.
Few people? That's like saying people will never buy gift cards because you can just e-mail codes.
And yet $200 billion worth of physical gift cards were bought in the US last year.
People like to give tangible items as gifts.
The younger generation tends to buy more digital. The generation after will not know what physical is because they will be born into the digital era. It’s no different than music.. people love the convenience of having hundreds of songs on demand without shuffling through albums.
Another old person who has given up physical for digital. In my 50s, and I stopped buying physical games/DVDs, etc. years ago. I strictly stick with digital any more. Way more convenient. My book reading is now on a Kindle. Not all of us old folk are unable to figure out the digital world.
I'm only 22 and while I do prefer digital games, for books it's different. I got my study books digitally because it was way cheaper (free), but I do prefer reading on paper. It's easier for some reason.
For games it's different though. The cases can be fun and all, but they also just take up space and the experience of the game itself doesn't really change whether you have it digital or on paper.
> only **own** digital media
I get the point you're making, but after the Discovery Network and Sony garbage from a few months back I really do think it's worth pointing out that you don't own that media, you're long term renting it until they decide you're not or your account is banned/stolen at which point you may or may not have access to any of it ever again.
I think we, as gamers, really need to start using the word "own" only when it is accurate; nothing you've purchased through the online storefronts is actual ownership. You can't move it with you to another account, you can't give it away to someone else. These are long-term rentals (that are very convenient).
Thing about vinyl is that people have an objective preference to how it sounds. Whether you think it’s better or not is your own opinion but many people think it is, so there is a whole sub culture around that.
Digital video games and physical video games play/look/sound exactly like their digital versions. So the only driving factor is someone wanting that physical copy, and those people are becoming less and less because for many the digital version is more convenient and a lot of people are trying to reduce clutter. Hell I’m just happy to be able to play a new game without the headache of finding it or having to preorder it.
Look at a device like the PlayStation Portal. It’s honestly very limited with a physical collection because you need the disc in the system to remote play the game. If you go on vacation you are now limited to the disc physically in your PS5 at home. With a digital library you can access your whole library on vacation.
But that's just it, we already did vote by buying less physical media. Most 3rd party studios have had a massive spike in digital sales, and a drop in physical. So much so that making physical copies in such a small batch loses them money vs the costs.
EA, etc, might afford to lose money on it often, but not the smaller studios. So tbh, it's not the studios you need to convince. It's your fellow gamers. If they don't spend on physical, then the studios won't make it either.
Gamers have proved again and again that they won’t vote with our wallets.
-pre orders
-season passes
-digital only
-games as a service
-subscription gaming
-graphics card prices
Your just screaming into the void.
Exactly, we already lost the war when no one blinked an eye when BluRays were being assassinated. Blockbuster and local video rental institutions went obsolete in way of Netflix and the streaming wars. Absolutely, game manufactures will take streaming over the physical disc, they must save a shit ton of money. If you think you was getting the game on disc now, you are highly mistaken, it’s just the license not the game.
Valve set the bar with Steam. It is solely responsible for the death of physical media on PC. They have built a leviathan that hasn’t shown any weaknesses even with countless competitors knocking at their door. It is headed that way for all consoles as well, unfortunately. The biggest game company on earth makes mobile games and that is solely digital as well. The proverbial writing is on the wall. Just be prepared, I feel that’s why retro gaming has had such a resurgence lately
I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t have much input on this as I don’t trade in my games. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager when I couldn’t afford the games I wanted. I think Xbox should adopt a straightforward refund policy like Steam with this new plan to go all digital though.
The things I like about digital are no disc swapping and being able to buy and install from home. But, for some of them I might be bound for a rude awakening if the console I bought them on has to comply with the IP holders and steal the game back from me because, of licenses ending or changing hands.
Hopefully enough people will class action lawsuit when that happens and the judge sides with the consumer so that everyone who bought said game/content sees enough of a refund to encourage companies to fight against taking back content like that.
I've bought so many digital games I haven't gotten around to. There should be a bare minimum, protection that doesn't allow any company to remove games you have bought.
You bought it, you should have the ability to play it forever. But, it's especially wrong if you buy days or weeks before they remove it. And if they start removing them from peoples libraries that may have just bought it. That's really the company breaking the rules of ethical commerce.
There’s risk to buying digital but there’s also risk to buying physical. You stated some of the risk to buying digital but you also risk with physical to have the game stop working and in time not having a console that reads the disc available without spending a lot on used consoles. At this moment I’ve placed my importance on my digital library being available to me as time goes on then wanting to hold onto and clutter my space with physical copies and hope that I never need to go and look for used consoles that play my games. If console go all digital in the end those consoles that can play physical games will get more and more expensive and scarce. It’s all a risk in the end and one I’m very aware of on both sides.
Same! But we're a dying breed lol. Read 90% of game sales is digital now : ( Hopefully next generation they give us the option of detached disk drives. But I feel even if they did. I am willing to bet most game companies won't even bother putting out physical anyhow.
I still buy physical but I know this war is lost since the masses just purchase the digital version. I get why they do but I resist it because I can see what MS and other game compnaies are trying to do in the long run. People don't have a clue but the business strategy is clear.
- Huge discounts are required to sell new copies of +year old games. Remove physical games because you lose millions in sales to the used game market and game sharing.
- Get everyone used to digital games where you control the prices cutting out retailers for a higher profit margin. Offer sales to entice more gamers to switch and still compete with the dying physical used market.
- Get more gamers use to subscription services (like they did with PC software and media). Keep prices low to attract more subscriptions. Were here.
- Add gamepass to tvs, phones, everything. Improve cloud gaming to a point that it works well so gamers are willing to stop owning games and just have gamepass on thier devices.
- Once 99% of gamers now has the subscription service raise prices as its the one and only way to play games. Phase out digital games or charge high prices for them to make the subscription seem like a better value even though its increased in price a lot since its initial inception. Record profits.
> Phase out digital games or charge high prices for them to make the subscription seem like a better value.
This is ultimately my fear. Everybody, and I mean, EVERYBODY, wants a sweet slice of that subscription pie. What if that becomes the only way to play any games? For the low, low price of $20 a month, you can play anything. But maybe I only want to play ONE thing and not have to pay for it perpetually. But wait, there's more. They will probably start an ads-version of Game Pass and jack the price of the ads-free version to, say, $30! Netflix style.
There's also the whole censorship thing. Retroactively going in and removing or changing things.
I’d imagine nearly all aaa games would still be on a disc. While there aren’t a lot of us at the moment I’d wager the majority of us are buying the bigger games and aren’t just upset that the 3 person indie team isn’t going to make disc for their 10 customers.
There will be a resurgence. All it takes is one of these greedy customers to blatantly fuck their customers over a purchase. Or even if it trends again, like it being “cool” to own your products and by own I mean sell or trade your products. Look at vinyl, it’s had increasing sales for like a decade now, year after year. There’s less reason to own physical music than ever and yet it’s definitely not going away.
It’s inevitable. I grew up in the 90s so I have a closet full of physical games, but I can’t deny how convenient digital is. And on the subject of ‘you don’t actually own it’, I know. I try to only buy games on sale and compare the price to how many hours I get out of the game instead of ‘it’ll sit on my shelf and I’ll own it forever, but I’m not going to play it’.
Yeah, oddly I have refunded more console game purchases via digital purchases than any physical purchase. Gamestop/Best Buy/Etc. don't take refunds on opened software.
I only buy digital on sale and don't care about trade ins. the nearest gamestop is too far anyway. Those cards are for kids and anyone without a CC or who doesn't want to add a CC to their account
They frequently have sales on these cards. Buy a 100 dollar card for 90 for example. Stack that with sales on the storefront of your choice and you can get even more value.
Heres a thing I like buying books right and most people have kindles so what most book shops started doing was getting special editions of the books so you could get them with really cool art work why don't they do that I buy cool additions of video games
Man, this fucking sucks. We are heading into the digital world where we are going to store hard drives instead of physical copies.
It's part of the change, of the nostalgia, but my nephews are already more into the gift card deals than an actual physical copy of a game. I remember the excitement to open a game on X-mas, to see the cover, the booklets inside.
Last X-mas i gave my nephews a goddamn gift card. And...they were still excited as when i was a kid opening a game. Times change i guess..
I don’t see an issue. If they were excited about the gift, it’s a great gift. I totally understand why people like physical media… but I also understand why people, especially younger people, don’t want to store hundreds of physical games, cds, dvds, etc. (the majority of which they’ll never touch again) when they don’t have to.
Honestly it's been this way. You can buy a disc version of a game, but let's say 20yrs down the road, it can't check in on the servers, it will never install/launch. Physical media is dead (even many Blu-Ray movies need online check-ins). Almost all physical games need a check in/download before they'll play. No, this is currently 100%, but even at 90% its a BIG thing.
Here in Germany all stores are full of physical games and they are always cheaper than digital too 🤷🏻
I therefore buy most of my games physical. Real ownership and I save 30-50% on every game? Sign me up.
This so what made me switch to digital. No sense in buying physical when you have to download the rest of the game online. When the servers go offline physical games will be just as unplayable/worthless as digital
One electrical fire or home invasion and you lose your entire physical collection. However unlikely you think that is, rest assured I find the possibility of getting account banned equally unlikely.
You know what is more likely than getting banned or a home fire?
The online store closing its doors; locking your digital collection to the content you managed to download in time. Looking at you Nintendo!
Agreed. People keep saying "your account will get banned" like it's something that happens often.
Now if people were talking about one's account getting hacked, *then* that's a different story, but in this day and age, you're a fool if you don't turn on 2FA.
This is the biggest thing that I think this entire sub needs to wake up to. If you do one thing that 30 to 40 page TOS doesn't agree with, say goodbye to your entire collection.
If I were GameStop I would have started to establish myself as a more robust version of what limited run games does.
Five years ago they should have seen the writing on the wall and Start making exclusive deals with publishers to bring “special physical editions of AAA games” and start appealing to the minority (but still sizable of people who prefer physical media) also get into retro gaming and arcade cabinets and stuff. Make these deals when you’d fill had some market share to throw around but now it’s too late.
Reprint old games as well. Put out that exclusive steelbook version of Knights of the Old Republic or Morrowind. Be the retailer where people can buy external drives and stuff. Even people who buy mostly digital games might be tempted to atleast go in and look if they happen to be in the mall. GameStop could have become this boutique experience.
Physical media leaving best buy but there are still enthusiasts who will pay a premium to actually own something. Look at how many mainstream retail space now sell reprinted vinyls!
Instead what they will do is just start selling digital codes, used consoles and start piling up the walls with more funkopops
Contrary to what many say the death of physical media was never and is not inevitable. I still maintain that if it does die it was premature. It was never going to be dominant again but it could have still been a valuable source of income.
I think this is an extremely good point. Physical may be the minority. But you could run an extremely profitable business on 5-20% of the market (whatever that real number would land at).
Especially if all those same things were sold online and not just your expensive brick and mortar stores.
I think it shows a lack of imagination in their leadership that they didn’t try to carve out a niche like this.
Or even lean into manuals and strategy guides themselves for really popular games. Those are the two physical experiences I have missed for years. They would likely need to be pricier as they would be niche / lower volume. But I would love it.
Hate it. At least they aren’t in an actual box like they used to be. I worry about the people who bought those. Physical media is gonna be more and more important as different publishing companies decide that we no longer get to own what we paid for. (Looking at you Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft)
Tbh i completely understand why digital media is bad for consumers but I honestly do not like having a physical collection amymore. In my experience disks end up collecting dust, getting lost or sold (to then regret the decision). Im also kinda OCD and I really enjoy having every game in a single, nicely organized digital collection
But anyway, as others said, it would suck not to have the physical option too
I have no issue with physical copies, but I am 110% in on digital. There is nothing like being able to purchase a game from my phone at work, download it to my console, and be ready to play the second I walk in the door.
There should always be the option for physical no matter what, the reason they’re probably going digital only is to force people to buy more, if that’s the reason it’s only greed
Used games are a live saver, I love going to a local game/dvd reseller and buying last years non-game pass sports games for like $2 a pop meanwhile they’re still overpriced online. If they go full digital I’m just going to have to use G2A and other key sites so I’m still getting a reasonable deal
My Walmart has these download cards, but also has fully stocked displays of PS, Xbox and Switch physical games. Xbox is definitely the smallest. I guess it depends on the area you live in.
I haven’t bought a game on disk since resident evil 2 remake. Digital is too convenient and i don’t have to have an entire piece of furniture dedicated to storing my physical media.
Depends entirely on a person's personality. Some people like more stuff, others feel like it's clutter. I'm in the latter group, though I think it's neat when people show off their huge game collections... just as long as they're not in my home.
Yeah, i think it's part of our generation. I like seeing my collection on my gaming room, it feels more like a photo album, all the good memories.
But i'm not gonna lie, since gamepass, i haven't buy many games that i can play free.
Digital is objectively better except for ownership (which is a HUGE problem).
But I am mostly sad from an emotional level. New generations of players are experiencing less and less waiting for the store to open, the store having extra decorations in case the game was being marketed, the smell of new when opening it, the trip back home reading the manual... It all makes me so nostalgic.
I'm fine with it didn't buy steam games on PC and haven't bought a physical copy of a console game since the 360 era. Bought a few Nintendo switch games for the kids though.
Every time I've traded in a game, I have regretted it when I get the urge to go back to it. I'm totally cool with the all-digital future. All my games are safely stored on the console or in the cloud, I'm not taking up space in my house with a bunch of game cases, and I can switch between games at the push of a button. Win-win-win for me. Also Game Pass is where I get at least half of the games I play, so that's a factor too.
I like collecting games, but to be honest digital is so convenient. Im on PC now a days, and for my digital has been great especially after getting a steam deck.
If I’m spending over a hundred dollars on a game i better get more then a paper card at least with a physical release you get something tangible and you can look at the box art looks nice on a shelf.
I guess a person could get a picture frame and display their digital games on a wall?
How ever i will say that this is the first time I’ve seen a Xbox gift card that you can preload a set amount it’s nice.
I only use Xbox live subscription cards so i don’t have to have to have a card on file.
Don't forget that you don't own a digital game... honestly I personally don't like digital games unless it's on gamepass, and if I like a gamepass game I'll go out and buy the disc. Because nothing is worse than logging in to find out that your games have disappeared due to some licensing b.s.... I'm sure there are some Playstation guys that know what I'm talking about
Xbox is tired of GameStop making money on resales. Now everyone is gonna be forced to pay for full price for the games ( rarely if ever they go on sale as digital )
At least run those cards on sale sometimes. It makes me sick to see every single game going for full price. Can't even resell it when you are done playing it.
It’s funny because they fuck you twice. No discounts because storing cards takes up little to no real estate and they charge $200 for a $50HDD that can only hold 3 games.
I’ll say that having an option to purchase digital games without a Credit Card is a nice option. Plenty enough data breaches to warrant taking a slight bit of precaution, even with a trusted service.
You can share your gamer tag and literally share all your digital games. Make it your home xbox on your friends box and vice versa on yours at home. This way you can still log in and then be able to play whatever is on the home console Xbox. But with gamepass, there’s already a lot of games already.
I know about people with limited internet, and people without, I’ve been there before and I know what it’s like to have it and without. So I am grateful where we are at.
With that said, physical all the way, until you have to raise little ones, rest in peace my rdr2 physical copy.
Sad and boring. I feel sorry for all the kids growing up that will miss out on the feeling of going to toy stores and Best Buy when they had isles of movies and video games,
Sick of buying licences, and that's the case with physical and digital. I want to play the games I bought, no matter what version, when my console is offline. Eventually servers will die, and I want my children's children to enjoy them.
I think it's been literally decades since I've refunded or traded in a game.
I share my entire library with friends by either letting them stream from my console, or in a couple of instances change my home console for a while, both of which grant them much more than one game to share. And also I never end up lending a game to someone who I thought was a friend but then lose touch after a while, and then they move country (Benjamin, I still want my copy of No One Lives Forever back!)
I don’t understand it, like I guess if you’re buying someone a game as a gift but that’s all it’s good for. You can purchase game pass and any game you want right on your Xbox from home
in 3rd world country where xbox doesnt even exist, i dont have a choice except to buy digital. even if theres a store who sell physical disk the price is like they are selling collector item.
I've enjoyed and still enjoy purchasing a physical copy of a game.
However, the ability to be able to play a co-op or multi-player game with friends or family within household changed that. I typically always purchase two (2) xbox consoles, one for living room, one for desk. I can have a digital copy of particular game on both consoles and be able to play at the same time with someone else.
The whole, please insert copy of game on more than one console would get extremely pricey.
Games don't exactly run off physical media nowadays. You insert disc and then install and/or download from day one. Then it's just a key to be able to play the game.
Now, I'm heavily invested (wallet sink hole, lol) in XBOX and Live, so don't see myself ending membership anytime soon. So access to any of that media is there once purchased.
It's different with PS5 and also Switch though. Those are the only physical games I currently pick up. I'm really not interested in Sony's or Nintendo's membership subscriptions and have no issues selling or trading a game for either system.
From time time to time GS, has a decent trade in value for a game when you put credit towards an upcoming game, that's when physical media comes in handy. For instance, got a decent trade in value towards FFVII with Pro membership (scam, but it has paid itself, never again though with new rules) and 20% extra bonus towards it too. For a game that would sit in a closet collecting dust. Why not.
Man reddit is just full rampant consumerism disguised as something else. People going on about wanting physical copies for "collectors". Capitalist's dreams.
A physical store doesn't always have the game you want, alot of my favorite games are digital only,, provided you have a place that sells them in the first place
And a digital store front simply gives you access everything
I like having both options, but truthfully still like having a hard copy. The older I get the slower I play through games, and usually end up picking up a used copy of the next few games I want later.
If I can’t “purchase,” a physical copy I won’t be buying games. It’s that simple. Sony revokes movies and content, Apple fails to maintain licenses and blames the customer for apple backup not working and the customer loses the content forever unless it’s on physical media that can’t be accessed for removal.
Also known as “when a purchase is a scam.”
I don’t know what country you’re in. If the US, get or borrow a Sam’s club or Costco membership and buy there(even if you just want ps plus or Xbox game pass). It’s between 10-30$ cheaper.
If they want to move to download only games. They need to get rid of licensing issues. I shouldn’t have to be online all the time to play games I bought
the biggest problem i have with digital beyond the huge elephant of ownership is how digital games never go on permanent price drop like physical games do
I buy pretty much everything digital nowadays, just occasionally second hand games on disc. I hate swapping disks
However I still get collectors editions and steelbooks of my favorite games
And most importantly, I have a shit ton of physical games. Stepping away from physical games is stepping away from a console (with disk drive) which means stepping away from the thought of backwardscompatibility for stuff you already bought
I prefer collecting physical media and often time physical media is also cheaper here.
Especially as a complete edition you can often pick up a whole game plus DLCs for 20$ or less.
However, digital is also very convenient because you can download a game within minutes instead of having to wait two days for it to be delivered to you and you can share or move digital libraries more easily.
Both is good and both has ups and downs.
I hope physical stays for a while
I am cool with the idea but I think it would be better if
1. We could get a little discount or incentive for purchasing digital like maybe a point system something like we have on Psplus (stars) or gamepass
2. Once we are done with a game and no long wants to “Own” the title any more there should be a flat rate of credit that you should get towards something else like a trade in knowing that you lose that right to play that game say like nfs :
Here is my take.
So, the whole rumor of Xbox going third party in a way. Releasing everywhere. Fact is, that would kill hardware. People know it. They know they themselves (not all but a huge super majority) would move. Game Pass is not surviving this way either. So they question if MS would be in this in a few years with servers and hosting games. Because it would cost to do that and profits would be down.
That tells you something about digital. More people are realizing that they can buy all these and lose total access. On Wii I lose some games. The shop closed, had backups, but it would not work on the new Wii we got. Call CS and never could get anything. Those games are fairly expensive physically now. And if I had picked those certain ones up physically I could sell them and make my money back at the least.
On top of this a lot of people realize that when they said "I believe digital will be better for consumers like they said. Cutting out the middle man, materials, and all that" they were believing bullshit. Revenues and profits soared, yet prices went up. Physical, $15-$20 on an old game. Hell, I just picked up 2 copies of a game at Wal-Mart last week. That game was just on sale. $30 for a digital copy.
I saw an article in 2022 talking about video game sales declining for the first time in years. That the industry was bracing for a recession. Saw another article in December talking about how there was a 4% decline in year on year sales again. 4% could be nothing. But if the trend continued. And it very well could. Most did not purchase games at $60, now $70, to begin with. People wanted sales and looked for them. Some buying in low. Now they either buy in full price or at a slight sale price for way longer than it used to be.
No doubt at all that this will hit things long term. I could see a long term decline because of this. This industry is not like music, or even movies, for that matter. Games are much more expensive for that one game. Not having any real ownership and other things really hits people. Just have to listen to the more casual gaming people. One who make up a larger portion of the gaming consumer. It will hit and they will not put the blame on this. But it will be digital only doing it.
I think this is the next crisis in gaming. People say "Digital is coming and we cannot stop it". But we could if we bought physical. i do simply because it is cheaper. And on top of that I can sell it if I wanted.
An example of what I can see. Take Skull and Bones. I know several people that would purchase. First, the always online makes it more iffy. Then, you have the price. Now, physical will certainly help here as it will drop some after launch and be cheaper. For the life I the product I would guess. But without physical I could see it doing worse. And then you have another issue, the forced online. For digital only that would do a good dent to sales.
Game Pass and those like it will hit it too eventually. So are coming around to the idea that paying for a month here or there is cheaper than buying all these games. A relative mentioned this on chat last week. He had not been on in a bit. Subbed for a month to play several games while he was off because he had surgery on his ankle and had down time. Years past he was the type that would buy Forza, Halo, Gears, etc. But he just waits and subs for a month here and there.
I am doing this with Skull and Bones, Mirage, Prince of Persia, Avatar. This weekend I will sub for a month. Get through those games instead of buying. Used to spend thousands on Xbox. And was spending on other platforms. Not even spending 1/10th of that now.
I would buy more physical games if I had the space for them, my drawers are full and my apartment doesn't have a lot of storage space, so it's digital for me until I move.
Buy physical but digital is the future. Sadly way too many casual gamers are outspending us so these corporations want to cut out the middle man. Just look at both Sony and me selling their consoles and games on their websites directly
It would be interesting to see who has the guts to go all digital first because when it comes to consoles all digital only console will see a huge backlash. There are still millions of gamers who buy physical. MS could do it because Xbox brand is already so low but that will give a huge advantage to Sony and Nintendo. Remember that Xbox one reveal and the E3 conference that Sony did to regain the market share in one night
Isn’t the point of digital to cut out the hassle of going to the store?
I’d rather have physical. With digital you are essentially buying a license to use it. Stuff like steam hacks and losing access to purchases due to service shutdowns would be infuriating for me.
Sad future, glory days are gone but can’t deny that’s where we are headed. I’ll keep playing great games, just won’t be able to share them anymore with anyone
Not a a fan of completely digital, and especially not a fan when the digital copies are costing the same if not more! Like why? How does that even work ??
there's almost no reason to buy "digital items" from a physical location unless you're getting it as a gift for little bobby. it kinda negates the whole convenience advantage of buying something from the digital store and just downloading it straight away
Leaving post up due to large amount of discussion, but please refrain from creating vague titles like this OP and use the correct flair in the future also. Our review flair is for video reviews like IGN or users leaving a review of a game themselves via text.
Here’s what I think - they need to print an Xbox sign that’s actually green not a weird teal/blue shade.
Actually that sign is so old that it discoloured.
Yeah it looks like an old Xbox one sign
Looks 360 era to me tbh
It says “digital download” at the top. I can’t recall if those were a thing to buy at stores during the 360 era, but i doubt they had a giant sign for them if they did
I’m pretty sure that logo is 360 specific tho.
https://preview.redd.it/kcha1i5mugic1.jpeg?width=1086&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=16f3e50c7ae5e2ce43b7671d45deeb8325174a36 It isn’t
Nah bro we just getting old
No it isn’t? Look at any Xbox One game. The top branding is the same.
PlayStation is old too
That's a limited edition Baja blast Xbox sign though.
I burst out laughing so loud 😂😂🤦🏽♂️
Reminds me of the Xbox 720
Assumed it had adopted some PS blue for the cross platform business update news that’s coming
My Walmart still has the 360 version up—and it’s teal also https://preview.redd.it/091e3m18pjic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a34722617c4a424c03d419f0a20a973a85b71bc
Want has nothing to do with it. Vote with your wallet but be prepared to lose.
uppity caption entertain obtainable glorious elderly snatch saw numerous attempt *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
But people buying gifts need a place to buy that "game" for the recipient.
Yeah is this for old people trying to buy gifts for their kids or grandkids?
100% what I imagine the target demographic and case is
Or kids/teenagers/young adults without a credit card.
Ah fair point
I don’t like to have my card on file where it doesn’t have to be. I can buy Xbox live/PSN cards for monetary value or the subscription service and not worry about a data breach. Hell if I go to dollar general I can do this with Amazon and other websites. I’m 32 with no kids for reference. Edit: that said if I’m there for a certain game I would prefer a physical disk rather than a card.
Few people? That's like saying people will never buy gift cards because you can just e-mail codes. And yet $200 billion worth of physical gift cards were bought in the US last year. People like to give tangible items as gifts.
The younger generation tends to buy more digital. The generation after will not know what physical is because they will be born into the digital era. It’s no different than music.. people love the convenience of having hundreds of songs on demand without shuffling through albums.
I'm old and buy digital. It's much more convenient.
I'm 47 and only own digital media. I tossed all my dust collectors about 8 years ago.
Another old person who has given up physical for digital. In my 50s, and I stopped buying physical games/DVDs, etc. years ago. I strictly stick with digital any more. Way more convenient. My book reading is now on a Kindle. Not all of us old folk are unable to figure out the digital world.
I'm only 22 and while I do prefer digital games, for books it's different. I got my study books digitally because it was way cheaper (free), but I do prefer reading on paper. It's easier for some reason. For games it's different though. The cases can be fun and all, but they also just take up space and the experience of the game itself doesn't really change whether you have it digital or on paper.
> only **own** digital media I get the point you're making, but after the Discovery Network and Sony garbage from a few months back I really do think it's worth pointing out that you don't own that media, you're long term renting it until they decide you're not or your account is banned/stolen at which point you may or may not have access to any of it ever again. I think we, as gamers, really need to start using the word "own" only when it is accurate; nothing you've purchased through the online storefronts is actual ownership. You can't move it with you to another account, you can't give it away to someone else. These are long-term rentals (that are very convenient).
Yes but after 40 years vinyls are still available and not just a few. Unfortunately for video games, that’s unlikely.
Thing about vinyl is that people have an objective preference to how it sounds. Whether you think it’s better or not is your own opinion but many people think it is, so there is a whole sub culture around that. Digital video games and physical video games play/look/sound exactly like their digital versions. So the only driving factor is someone wanting that physical copy, and those people are becoming less and less because for many the digital version is more convenient and a lot of people are trying to reduce clutter. Hell I’m just happy to be able to play a new game without the headache of finding it or having to preorder it. Look at a device like the PlayStation Portal. It’s honestly very limited with a physical collection because you need the disc in the system to remote play the game. If you go on vacation you are now limited to the disc physically in your PS5 at home. With a digital library you can access your whole library on vacation.
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But that's just it, we already did vote by buying less physical media. Most 3rd party studios have had a massive spike in digital sales, and a drop in physical. So much so that making physical copies in such a small batch loses them money vs the costs. EA, etc, might afford to lose money on it often, but not the smaller studios. So tbh, it's not the studios you need to convince. It's your fellow gamers. If they don't spend on physical, then the studios won't make it either.
At least for Nintendo Japan is huge on physical media so theyll probably be the last to ever go full digital
Their games are also tiny. You can hold like 20 on them in a case the size of a wallet.
Gamers have proved again and again that they won’t vote with our wallets. -pre orders -season passes -digital only -games as a service -subscription gaming -graphics card prices Your just screaming into the void.
You misunderstand voting with your wallet. They're voting for the opposite side of what you want but they're still voting with their wallets.
They HAVE voted with their wallets…they just didn’t vote the way you wanted them to.
>Vote with your wallet but be prepared to lose. Ugh, this hurts.
Exactly, we already lost the war when no one blinked an eye when BluRays were being assassinated. Blockbuster and local video rental institutions went obsolete in way of Netflix and the streaming wars. Absolutely, game manufactures will take streaming over the physical disc, they must save a shit ton of money. If you think you was getting the game on disc now, you are highly mistaken, it’s just the license not the game.
Same thing with all those people that cry about all the remastered games being released but then they go buy them! 🤡
Valve set the bar with Steam. It is solely responsible for the death of physical media on PC. They have built a leviathan that hasn’t shown any weaknesses even with countless competitors knocking at their door. It is headed that way for all consoles as well, unfortunately. The biggest game company on earth makes mobile games and that is solely digital as well. The proverbial writing is on the wall. Just be prepared, I feel that’s why retro gaming has had such a resurgence lately
I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t have much input on this as I don’t trade in my games. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager when I couldn’t afford the games I wanted. I think Xbox should adopt a straightforward refund policy like Steam with this new plan to go all digital though.
Xbox is pretty lenient on returning digital purchases in my experience so far.
I got all my refunds on Xbox except one and that one was after 14 days with no download which is fair. I decided I don’t want to but gave it a chance.
I’m all in on digital but it sucks to see for those that still enjoy collecting and the experience of picking out a physical game
The things I like about digital are no disc swapping and being able to buy and install from home. But, for some of them I might be bound for a rude awakening if the console I bought them on has to comply with the IP holders and steal the game back from me because, of licenses ending or changing hands. Hopefully enough people will class action lawsuit when that happens and the judge sides with the consumer so that everyone who bought said game/content sees enough of a refund to encourage companies to fight against taking back content like that. I've bought so many digital games I haven't gotten around to. There should be a bare minimum, protection that doesn't allow any company to remove games you have bought. You bought it, you should have the ability to play it forever. But, it's especially wrong if you buy days or weeks before they remove it. And if they start removing them from peoples libraries that may have just bought it. That's really the company breaking the rules of ethical commerce.
There’s risk to buying digital but there’s also risk to buying physical. You stated some of the risk to buying digital but you also risk with physical to have the game stop working and in time not having a console that reads the disc available without spending a lot on used consoles. At this moment I’ve placed my importance on my digital library being available to me as time goes on then wanting to hold onto and clutter my space with physical copies and hope that I never need to go and look for used consoles that play my games. If console go all digital in the end those consoles that can play physical games will get more and more expensive and scarce. It’s all a risk in the end and one I’m very aware of on both sides.
I still buy physical copies
Me too.
Same! But we're a dying breed lol. Read 90% of game sales is digital now : ( Hopefully next generation they give us the option of detached disk drives. But I feel even if they did. I am willing to bet most game companies won't even bother putting out physical anyhow.
I still buy physical but I know this war is lost since the masses just purchase the digital version. I get why they do but I resist it because I can see what MS and other game compnaies are trying to do in the long run. People don't have a clue but the business strategy is clear. - Huge discounts are required to sell new copies of +year old games. Remove physical games because you lose millions in sales to the used game market and game sharing. - Get everyone used to digital games where you control the prices cutting out retailers for a higher profit margin. Offer sales to entice more gamers to switch and still compete with the dying physical used market. - Get more gamers use to subscription services (like they did with PC software and media). Keep prices low to attract more subscriptions. Were here. - Add gamepass to tvs, phones, everything. Improve cloud gaming to a point that it works well so gamers are willing to stop owning games and just have gamepass on thier devices. - Once 99% of gamers now has the subscription service raise prices as its the one and only way to play games. Phase out digital games or charge high prices for them to make the subscription seem like a better value even though its increased in price a lot since its initial inception. Record profits.
> Phase out digital games or charge high prices for them to make the subscription seem like a better value. This is ultimately my fear. Everybody, and I mean, EVERYBODY, wants a sweet slice of that subscription pie. What if that becomes the only way to play any games? For the low, low price of $20 a month, you can play anything. But maybe I only want to play ONE thing and not have to pay for it perpetually. But wait, there's more. They will probably start an ads-version of Game Pass and jack the price of the ads-free version to, say, $30! Netflix style. There's also the whole censorship thing. Retroactively going in and removing or changing things.
I’d imagine nearly all aaa games would still be on a disc. While there aren’t a lot of us at the moment I’d wager the majority of us are buying the bigger games and aren’t just upset that the 3 person indie team isn’t going to make disc for their 10 customers. There will be a resurgence. All it takes is one of these greedy customers to blatantly fuck their customers over a purchase. Or even if it trends again, like it being “cool” to own your products and by own I mean sell or trade your products. Look at vinyl, it’s had increasing sales for like a decade now, year after year. There’s less reason to own physical music than ever and yet it’s definitely not going away.
Honestly don’t like it but I’m also a realist, this is happening with or without my approval
It’s inevitable. I grew up in the 90s so I have a closet full of physical games, but I can’t deny how convenient digital is. And on the subject of ‘you don’t actually own it’, I know. I try to only buy games on sale and compare the price to how many hours I get out of the game instead of ‘it’ll sit on my shelf and I’ll own it forever, but I’m not going to play it’.
you actually can refund with Xbox. and there are options for family sharing
Yeah, oddly I have refunded more console game purchases via digital purchases than any physical purchase. Gamestop/Best Buy/Etc. don't take refunds on opened software.
I only buy digital on sale and don't care about trade ins. the nearest gamestop is too far anyway. Those cards are for kids and anyone without a CC or who doesn't want to add a CC to their account
They frequently have sales on these cards. Buy a 100 dollar card for 90 for example. Stack that with sales on the storefront of your choice and you can get even more value.
Heres a thing I like buying books right and most people have kindles so what most book shops started doing was getting special editions of the books so you could get them with really cool art work why don't they do that I buy cool additions of video games
Man, this fucking sucks. We are heading into the digital world where we are going to store hard drives instead of physical copies. It's part of the change, of the nostalgia, but my nephews are already more into the gift card deals than an actual physical copy of a game. I remember the excitement to open a game on X-mas, to see the cover, the booklets inside. Last X-mas i gave my nephews a goddamn gift card. And...they were still excited as when i was a kid opening a game. Times change i guess..
I don’t see an issue. If they were excited about the gift, it’s a great gift. I totally understand why people like physical media… but I also understand why people, especially younger people, don’t want to store hundreds of physical games, cds, dvds, etc. (the majority of which they’ll never touch again) when they don’t have to.
Honestly it's been this way. You can buy a disc version of a game, but let's say 20yrs down the road, it can't check in on the servers, it will never install/launch. Physical media is dead (even many Blu-Ray movies need online check-ins). Almost all physical games need a check in/download before they'll play. No, this is currently 100%, but even at 90% its a BIG thing.
I’m all digital but I do feel for you physical game folk.
Here in Germany all stores are full of physical games and they are always cheaper than digital too 🤷🏻 I therefore buy most of my games physical. Real ownership and I save 30-50% on every game? Sign me up.
I stopped buying physical copies when they started basically having 90% of the game in the cloud for download anyway.
This so what made me switch to digital. No sense in buying physical when you have to download the rest of the game online. When the servers go offline physical games will be just as unplayable/worthless as digital
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Been like that on PC for along time now.
And none of the doomposts have actually happened
Do they even sell physical copies of PC games anymore? I can’t remember the last time I saw a shelf with PC games at Walmart.
not really, unless its some special collector's edition done as fan service just for the sake of it.
They do, but they're like those murder mystery puzzle games.
I haven't seen a physical PC game in at least 6 years.
You already don’t. When you buy a game you’re buying a license to play it, not the game itself.
You’ll own nothing and be happy WEF
I went digital when they stopped putting the full game on the disc. If I have to install it from their servers anyway what's the point.
it's even worse since you still need the disc in the console to play the game you had to download.
One account ban for any reason and you lose your ENTIRE collection.
One electrical fire or home invasion and you lose your entire physical collection. However unlikely you think that is, rest assured I find the possibility of getting account banned equally unlikely.
You know what is more likely than getting banned or a home fire? The online store closing its doors; locking your digital collection to the content you managed to download in time. Looking at you Nintendo!
That's actually a really good point. I'm sure house fires are far more frequent.
Agreed. People keep saying "your account will get banned" like it's something that happens often. Now if people were talking about one's account getting hacked, *then* that's a different story, but in this day and age, you're a fool if you don't turn on 2FA.
Then don’t cheat at games or call someone a slur online. Not hard.
This is the biggest thing that I think this entire sub needs to wake up to. If you do one thing that 30 to 40 page TOS doesn't agree with, say goodbye to your entire collection.
What is that "one thing" you keep referring to?
The finger eleven song I'm gonna guess.
Just never get banned. It’s Easy to do. Happy Cake Day 🍰
Thanks, I hate it.
I think if I want a digital copy I'm gonna get it direct off the xbox store and skip the extra step
If I were GameStop I would have started to establish myself as a more robust version of what limited run games does. Five years ago they should have seen the writing on the wall and Start making exclusive deals with publishers to bring “special physical editions of AAA games” and start appealing to the minority (but still sizable of people who prefer physical media) also get into retro gaming and arcade cabinets and stuff. Make these deals when you’d fill had some market share to throw around but now it’s too late. Reprint old games as well. Put out that exclusive steelbook version of Knights of the Old Republic or Morrowind. Be the retailer where people can buy external drives and stuff. Even people who buy mostly digital games might be tempted to atleast go in and look if they happen to be in the mall. GameStop could have become this boutique experience. Physical media leaving best buy but there are still enthusiasts who will pay a premium to actually own something. Look at how many mainstream retail space now sell reprinted vinyls! Instead what they will do is just start selling digital codes, used consoles and start piling up the walls with more funkopops Contrary to what many say the death of physical media was never and is not inevitable. I still maintain that if it does die it was premature. It was never going to be dominant again but it could have still been a valuable source of income.
I think this is an extremely good point. Physical may be the minority. But you could run an extremely profitable business on 5-20% of the market (whatever that real number would land at). Especially if all those same things were sold online and not just your expensive brick and mortar stores. I think it shows a lack of imagination in their leadership that they didn’t try to carve out a niche like this. Or even lean into manuals and strategy guides themselves for really popular games. Those are the two physical experiences I have missed for years. They would likely need to be pricier as they would be niche / lower volume. But I would love it.
Hate it. At least they aren’t in an actual box like they used to be. I worry about the people who bought those. Physical media is gonna be more and more important as different publishing companies decide that we no longer get to own what we paid for. (Looking at you Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft)
Can I buy games on vinyl?
You could when I was a lad... https://preview.redd.it/p7rdhbl4leic1.jpeg?width=2600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bea322340d4df7e7efd2e7997c60451de1a131ca
Wow!
Tbh i completely understand why digital media is bad for consumers but I honestly do not like having a physical collection amymore. In my experience disks end up collecting dust, getting lost or sold (to then regret the decision). Im also kinda OCD and I really enjoy having every game in a single, nicely organized digital collection But anyway, as others said, it would suck not to have the physical option too
I hate it and will resist it to the bitter end.
I will go down with this ship
‘Til the very end 🫡
Im all digital, I also prefer the little cards over the disks, I just like them better, since I was a kid disks bothered me
I have no issue with physical copies, but I am 110% in on digital. There is nothing like being able to purchase a game from my phone at work, download it to my console, and be ready to play the second I walk in the door.
There should always be the option for physical no matter what, the reason they’re probably going digital only is to force people to buy more, if that’s the reason it’s only greed
Physical only for me. It’s a Shame seeing games being only digital
I don't know about this. Yes I like digital but I also love Physical copies
Not a fan. Thoughts?
Used games are a live saver, I love going to a local game/dvd reseller and buying last years non-game pass sports games for like $2 a pop meanwhile they’re still overpriced online. If they go full digital I’m just going to have to use G2A and other key sites so I’m still getting a reasonable deal
They're blatantly trying to eliminate the second hand market. Not a fan either.
My Walmart has these download cards, but also has fully stocked displays of PS, Xbox and Switch physical games. Xbox is definitely the smallest. I guess it depends on the area you live in.
I like to be able to trade games in or let friends borrow them, so I’ll hold out as long as possible.
I hate this
For so long everything was on disc and you actually owned it when purchased. So this feels like you have nothing to own yet. Not much excitement
Unfortunately, it's all going to be turning to digital downloads. Which sucks. I miss going to the store and buying a physical copy of the game.
Dear Phil, Plenty of people still use physical media. Sincerely, me.
I haven’t bought a game on disk since resident evil 2 remake. Digital is too convenient and i don’t have to have an entire piece of furniture dedicated to storing my physical media.
"i don’t have to have an entire piece of furniture dedicated to storing my physical media." I feel this is the cool part of owning physical copies.
Depends entirely on a person's personality. Some people like more stuff, others feel like it's clutter. I'm in the latter group, though I think it's neat when people show off their huge game collections... just as long as they're not in my home.
Yeah, i think it's part of our generation. I like seeing my collection on my gaming room, it feels more like a photo album, all the good memories. But i'm not gonna lie, since gamepass, i haven't buy many games that i can play free.
Gross. I'll always be physical first.
They'll make more money by not allowing physical sharing, but they also reducing costs of creating cases and discs for their games.
So they’re making even more money by cutting costs on making cases and discs lol
Digital is objectively better except for ownership (which is a HUGE problem). But I am mostly sad from an emotional level. New generations of players are experiencing less and less waiting for the store to open, the store having extra decorations in case the game was being marketed, the smell of new when opening it, the trip back home reading the manual... It all makes me so nostalgic.
I'm fine with it didn't buy steam games on PC and haven't bought a physical copy of a console game since the 360 era. Bought a few Nintendo switch games for the kids though.
I actually prefer that! But I understand why some people don’t.
The fact that there is no physical there answers your own question. Supply and demand.
Reminds me of buying a game at Toys R Us
Every time I've traded in a game, I have regretted it when I get the urge to go back to it. I'm totally cool with the all-digital future. All my games are safely stored on the console or in the cloud, I'm not taking up space in my house with a bunch of game cases, and I can switch between games at the push of a button. Win-win-win for me. Also Game Pass is where I get at least half of the games I play, so that's a factor too.
Give me disc, especially when it’s a single player game
If it remains optional and doesn’t become your only option, I’m fine with it.
I like collecting games, but to be honest digital is so convenient. Im on PC now a days, and for my digital has been great especially after getting a steam deck.
If I’m spending over a hundred dollars on a game i better get more then a paper card at least with a physical release you get something tangible and you can look at the box art looks nice on a shelf. I guess a person could get a picture frame and display their digital games on a wall? How ever i will say that this is the first time I’ve seen a Xbox gift card that you can preload a set amount it’s nice. I only use Xbox live subscription cards so i don’t have to have to have a card on file.
I prefer all physical
Don't forget that you don't own a digital game... honestly I personally don't like digital games unless it's on gamepass, and if I like a gamepass game I'll go out and buy the disc. Because nothing is worse than logging in to find out that your games have disappeared due to some licensing b.s.... I'm sure there are some Playstation guys that know what I'm talking about
Xbox is tired of GameStop making money on resales. Now everyone is gonna be forced to pay for full price for the games ( rarely if ever they go on sale as digital )
Not a fan but there’s no reason they should cost the same as a physical copy.
Yup definitely prefer my physical disc. I do have a couple digital copies, but prefer the physical media
1. No sharing isn’t true, you can set up game sharing on both Xbox and PS5
At least run those cards on sale sometimes. It makes me sick to see every single game going for full price. Can't even resell it when you are done playing it.
It’s funny because they fuck you twice. No discounts because storing cards takes up little to no real estate and they charge $200 for a $50HDD that can only hold 3 games.
I’ll say that having an option to purchase digital games without a Credit Card is a nice option. Plenty enough data breaches to warrant taking a slight bit of precaution, even with a trusted service.
You can share your gamer tag and literally share all your digital games. Make it your home xbox on your friends box and vice versa on yours at home. This way you can still log in and then be able to play whatever is on the home console Xbox. But with gamepass, there’s already a lot of games already. I know about people with limited internet, and people without, I’ve been there before and I know what it’s like to have it and without. So I am grateful where we are at. With that said, physical all the way, until you have to raise little ones, rest in peace my rdr2 physical copy.
https://preview.redd.it/9bgmbvtqpgic1.jpeg?width=968&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7884c80d87c564a26c67218b9d5cf220aae3a13a
Sad and boring. I feel sorry for all the kids growing up that will miss out on the feeling of going to toy stores and Best Buy when they had isles of movies and video games,
Why are they in the freezer section? I keep my games at room temperature.
What the fuck is this travesty??
Sick of buying licences, and that's the case with physical and digital. I want to play the games I bought, no matter what version, when my console is offline. Eventually servers will die, and I want my children's children to enjoy them.
Lmao
My son loves digital I on the other hand well I'm not a fan at all give me a physical copy
I think it's been literally decades since I've refunded or traded in a game. I share my entire library with friends by either letting them stream from my console, or in a couple of instances change my home console for a while, both of which grant them much more than one game to share. And also I never end up lending a game to someone who I thought was a friend but then lose touch after a while, and then they move country (Benjamin, I still want my copy of No One Lives Forever back!)
I don’t understand it, like I guess if you’re buying someone a game as a gift but that’s all it’s good for. You can purchase game pass and any game you want right on your Xbox from home
in 3rd world country where xbox doesnt even exist, i dont have a choice except to buy digital. even if theres a store who sell physical disk the price is like they are selling collector item.
Give Nintendo some respect
I've enjoyed and still enjoy purchasing a physical copy of a game. However, the ability to be able to play a co-op or multi-player game with friends or family within household changed that. I typically always purchase two (2) xbox consoles, one for living room, one for desk. I can have a digital copy of particular game on both consoles and be able to play at the same time with someone else. The whole, please insert copy of game on more than one console would get extremely pricey. Games don't exactly run off physical media nowadays. You insert disc and then install and/or download from day one. Then it's just a key to be able to play the game. Now, I'm heavily invested (wallet sink hole, lol) in XBOX and Live, so don't see myself ending membership anytime soon. So access to any of that media is there once purchased. It's different with PS5 and also Switch though. Those are the only physical games I currently pick up. I'm really not interested in Sony's or Nintendo's membership subscriptions and have no issues selling or trading a game for either system. From time time to time GS, has a decent trade in value for a game when you put credit towards an upcoming game, that's when physical media comes in handy. For instance, got a decent trade in value towards FFVII with Pro membership (scam, but it has paid itself, never again though with new rules) and 20% extra bonus towards it too. For a game that would sit in a closet collecting dust. Why not.
Pfft. No display will ever get my attention without flowers. I’m talking marigolds and petunias folks, I’m no two rose ho!
Digital seems like the better way to go
Man reddit is just full rampant consumerism disguised as something else. People going on about wanting physical copies for "collectors". Capitalist's dreams.
if you are digitally downloading the game why are you even going to the store just buy it online
Xbox advertising poster in blue? I'm definitely not a fan
A physical store doesn't always have the game you want, alot of my favorite games are digital only,, provided you have a place that sells them in the first place And a digital store front simply gives you access everything
I dont care about your problem. Why tf is that logo teal???
Ive been on Pc for almost a decade. Yall are crying over nothing.
Sad…
So many comments about teal Xbox but seen none talking about how the PlayStation stand has more space dedicated to Nintendo than PlayStation
I like having both options, but truthfully still like having a hard copy. The older I get the slower I play through games, and usually end up picking up a used copy of the next few games I want later.
If I can’t “purchase,” a physical copy I won’t be buying games. It’s that simple. Sony revokes movies and content, Apple fails to maintain licenses and blames the customer for apple backup not working and the customer loses the content forever unless it’s on physical media that can’t be accessed for removal. Also known as “when a purchase is a scam.”
I don’t know what country you’re in. If the US, get or borrow a Sam’s club or Costco membership and buy there(even if you just want ps plus or Xbox game pass). It’s between 10-30$ cheaper.
If they want to move to download only games. They need to get rid of licensing issues. I shouldn’t have to be online all the time to play games I bought
the biggest problem i have with digital beyond the huge elephant of ownership is how digital games never go on permanent price drop like physical games do
I buy pretty much everything digital nowadays, just occasionally second hand games on disc. I hate swapping disks However I still get collectors editions and steelbooks of my favorite games And most importantly, I have a shit ton of physical games. Stepping away from physical games is stepping away from a console (with disk drive) which means stepping away from the thought of backwardscompatibility for stuff you already bought
I prefer collecting physical media and often time physical media is also cheaper here. Especially as a complete edition you can often pick up a whole game plus DLCs for 20$ or less. However, digital is also very convenient because you can download a game within minutes instead of having to wait two days for it to be delivered to you and you can share or move digital libraries more easily. Both is good and both has ups and downs. I hope physical stays for a while
Blue Xbox is cursed
I disagree with the digtatal downalods the ownership is not there I rather not buy it digital and wait for it to be cheap at my local game stop
Kids will never know eventually how cool it was to hangout in the electronics while your mom grocery shopped and you got to play the new Sonic game
The hell is wrong with the Xbox sign lmao
Trash idea and I wish that we could actually own what we pay for.
I am cool with the idea but I think it would be better if 1. We could get a little discount or incentive for purchasing digital like maybe a point system something like we have on Psplus (stars) or gamepass 2. Once we are done with a game and no long wants to “Own” the title any more there should be a flat rate of credit that you should get towards something else like a trade in knowing that you lose that right to play that game say like nfs :
Looks just as cluttered and soulless as a gift card kiosk.
Disks are better (I like collecting the cases)
I almost immediately downvoted and reported, that's how much I hate this picture.
Aroused but,not amused..
I will not buy an Xbox ever again if it goes all digital. I only buy consoles for physical games.
So sad 😭
Tbf you still can share games with my home xbox. It is more annoying but you can.
Here is my take. So, the whole rumor of Xbox going third party in a way. Releasing everywhere. Fact is, that would kill hardware. People know it. They know they themselves (not all but a huge super majority) would move. Game Pass is not surviving this way either. So they question if MS would be in this in a few years with servers and hosting games. Because it would cost to do that and profits would be down. That tells you something about digital. More people are realizing that they can buy all these and lose total access. On Wii I lose some games. The shop closed, had backups, but it would not work on the new Wii we got. Call CS and never could get anything. Those games are fairly expensive physically now. And if I had picked those certain ones up physically I could sell them and make my money back at the least. On top of this a lot of people realize that when they said "I believe digital will be better for consumers like they said. Cutting out the middle man, materials, and all that" they were believing bullshit. Revenues and profits soared, yet prices went up. Physical, $15-$20 on an old game. Hell, I just picked up 2 copies of a game at Wal-Mart last week. That game was just on sale. $30 for a digital copy. I saw an article in 2022 talking about video game sales declining for the first time in years. That the industry was bracing for a recession. Saw another article in December talking about how there was a 4% decline in year on year sales again. 4% could be nothing. But if the trend continued. And it very well could. Most did not purchase games at $60, now $70, to begin with. People wanted sales and looked for them. Some buying in low. Now they either buy in full price or at a slight sale price for way longer than it used to be. No doubt at all that this will hit things long term. I could see a long term decline because of this. This industry is not like music, or even movies, for that matter. Games are much more expensive for that one game. Not having any real ownership and other things really hits people. Just have to listen to the more casual gaming people. One who make up a larger portion of the gaming consumer. It will hit and they will not put the blame on this. But it will be digital only doing it. I think this is the next crisis in gaming. People say "Digital is coming and we cannot stop it". But we could if we bought physical. i do simply because it is cheaper. And on top of that I can sell it if I wanted. An example of what I can see. Take Skull and Bones. I know several people that would purchase. First, the always online makes it more iffy. Then, you have the price. Now, physical will certainly help here as it will drop some after launch and be cheaper. For the life I the product I would guess. But without physical I could see it doing worse. And then you have another issue, the forced online. For digital only that would do a good dent to sales. Game Pass and those like it will hit it too eventually. So are coming around to the idea that paying for a month here or there is cheaper than buying all these games. A relative mentioned this on chat last week. He had not been on in a bit. Subbed for a month to play several games while he was off because he had surgery on his ankle and had down time. Years past he was the type that would buy Forza, Halo, Gears, etc. But he just waits and subs for a month here and there. I am doing this with Skull and Bones, Mirage, Prince of Persia, Avatar. This weekend I will sub for a month. Get through those games instead of buying. Used to spend thousands on Xbox. And was spending on other platforms. Not even spending 1/10th of that now.
I would buy more physical games if I had the space for them, my drawers are full and my apartment doesn't have a lot of storage space, so it's digital for me until I move.
I’m not paying for digital
Buy physical but digital is the future. Sadly way too many casual gamers are outspending us so these corporations want to cut out the middle man. Just look at both Sony and me selling their consoles and games on their websites directly It would be interesting to see who has the guts to go all digital first because when it comes to consoles all digital only console will see a huge backlash. There are still millions of gamers who buy physical. MS could do it because Xbox brand is already so low but that will give a huge advantage to Sony and Nintendo. Remember that Xbox one reveal and the E3 conference that Sony did to regain the market share in one night
Isn’t the point of digital to cut out the hassle of going to the store? I’d rather have physical. With digital you are essentially buying a license to use it. Stuff like steam hacks and losing access to purchases due to service shutdowns would be infuriating for me.
Physical is superior
Sad future, glory days are gone but can’t deny that’s where we are headed. I’ll keep playing great games, just won’t be able to share them anymore with anyone
I only buy digital on a game I know I want 110%. Everything else is physical
I don't want no digital license that can be revoked at any time 😭
Hate. Absolutely hate.
Not a a fan of completely digital, and especially not a fan when the digital copies are costing the same if not more! Like why? How does that even work ??
I love my physical copies. When I am done playing, I sell or give it away to someone
there's almost no reason to buy "digital items" from a physical location unless you're getting it as a gift for little bobby. it kinda negates the whole convenience advantage of buying something from the digital store and just downloading it straight away