Physical media is almost dead now! (RIP)

[Iron Draggon]

Now that the next gen of next gen systems are about to release, it's nearly impossible to get new games on physical media anymore. Since 2010, most new games for PC have only been available as digital downloads on Steam here in the US, even though the majority of them can still be bought on discs everywhere else in the world. Importing has become a necessity for those of us Americans who refuse to buy games with no physical copy. MS threatened to go digital only with the XBONE and Sony is going with digital exclusives as well as releasing games in both digital and disc form, at least for the initial launch of the PS4. This probably doesn't bother most people, but it signals the eventual death of games on physical media, which has already progressed to the point that most PC games aren't available anywhere but online, and only as digital downloads. Go into any retail store now, and chances are they won't have any PC games at all, and if they do, what's there is old stock that hasn't sold yet. Pay attention console gamers, because you're the next targets of this trend, and soon you too will be forced to import if you want your games on discs, or submit to digital downloads, and the glory days of game collecting will finally be over. The line that separates professionally produced games from amateur productions will no longer be as simply defined by whether or not it's available on physical media, and the mobile phone gaming scene you mock for its casually oriented content will be upon you. Gaming is rapidly moving toward an entirely digital future where content is controlled completely by developers who can simply delete what you paid for from existence, leaving you with nothing but memories of your favorite games, and no way to reinstall them. It may not bother you now, but rest assured it will come to bother you very soon, about the time you feel nostalgic for that great old game that was just released a few months ago.

[Guru of Time and Space]

Good riddance.

-GoTaS

[PreZZ]

I still prefer media discs on my consoles, but really PC games have ZERO resale value and I really like Steam. No more finding Cd keys, changing discs, and paying full premium prices. If you have seen crazy summer sales or humble bundles, why buy physical?? I got Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Crysis 2 Ultimate Edition, Mirror's Edge, Medal of Honor, Battlefield 3,The Sims 3+2 expansions,Populous and Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 for LESS than 5$ last week. Most of these games are still available physically at my local best buy, but I dont even want to know what all this would have cost. Dead space 3 is still 49.99 alone!

[Gameguy]

If I can't own a physical copy, I have no plans on paying for it. It generally suits me fine as I have more than enough games to play on older consoles and PCs.

I'm just hoping DVDs will still be coming out for at least a decade or more, there's so many old shows and films I'd still like to see come out on the format.

[Melf]

I want no part of a download-only industry. Spending an entire generation buying games, only to find the next gen is not compatible, is not what I want. A console's online service is taken down and your console dies (as seems so common with today's POS hardware), what do you do? If my Genesis breaks, I get a new one and can still use my library. What will we do when the 360 and PS3 are no longer connected to Live and PSN and our consoles need to be replaced? What happens to my dozens of games?

Digital downloads on consoles are extended rentals, nothing more. No thanks.

[eskobar]

I am amazed at how the transition from physical to digital media has progressed the last 3 years and its really incredible the massive acceptance of the digital media.

Speaking from a 3rd world country where retailing has evolved in giant steps in the 6 years ... I is really expensive to purchase brand new games here and its quite hard to find niche games on the month of release, sometimes is almost impossible to find a niche game on Mexico, so digital distribution is very practical for any Mexican.

Of the modern consoles I own a 3DS and PS3, we have a Mexican PS Store since 2 years ago and is very easy to purchase a PSN card or just register any debit card to pay for games at American retail price only making the currency conversion. Gone are the days of having a game a week after the US release date.

In the Nintendo front the things are quite different, since the official distributor for Nintendo is a company named LATAMEL, they have very high retail prices on Nintendo published games and consoles, and the mexican eShop is forced to match that price ... for example:

Fire Emblem 3ds US Price : 39.99 usd
Fire Emblem 3ds mexican retail Price : ($799 pesos) 62.42 usd
Fire Emblem 3ds mexican eshop Price : ($799 pesos) 62.42 usd

But if you wanna purchase Atlus games, the conversion is straight currency conversion, for example:

US Retail price for SMT Soul Hackers = 39.99 usd
Mexican Retail price for SMT Soul Hackers = $749 = 62.42 usd
Mexican eshop price for SMT Soul Hackers = $512 = 39.99 usd ....



I love having physical media but when you have pretty lacking distribution and very high prices, digital media is a great way to purchase the games you want to play

[CRTGAMER]

If I can't own a physical copy, I have no plans on paying for it. It generally suits me fine as I have more than enough games to play on older consoles and PCs.

I'm just hoping DVDs will still be coming out for at least a decade or more, there's so many old shows and films I'd still like to see come out on the format.

Preorder has turned a turn for the worst
I was at Wallymart the other day and saw advertising for Preorder Bonus for movies. Not games, but DVDs and BlueRay discs! Are you kidding me?! Bad enough about some stuff on movies only available a limited time as a download or streaming, but now footage that will not be seen due to only available as a preorder.

I'm expecting eggs and milk be next on the preorder band wagon.

[Gamevet]

I still prefer media discs on my consoles, but really PC games have ZERO resale value and I really like Steam. No more finding Cd keys, changing discs, and paying full premium prices. If you have seen crazy summer sales or humble bundles, why buy physical?? I got Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Crysis 2 Ultimate Edition, Mirror's Edge, Medal of Honor, Battlefield 3,The Sims 3+2 expansions,Populous and Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 for LESS than 5$ last week. Most of these games are still available physically at my local best buy, but I dont even want to know what all this would have cost. Dead space 3 is still 49.99 alone!

I still see physical copies of PC games at stores like Target, Walmart, Fry's and Microcenter. I paid $40 for SCII: Heart of the Swarm, when I bought a physical copy from Fry's, but it's pretty much a digital download with a useless disc.

I buy physical copies of PC games from Half-Price-Books. I can pick up a sealed copy of Fear 3 for about $7 from there, as well as older sealed games like Grand Theft Auto III.

If the consoles start heading towards digital content only, I'll go strickly PC for my gaming needs and continue to purchase console games for older systems.

[theclaw]

Digital sounds great for countries like Brazil with steep taxes and limited print runs.

Either way I'd rather have digital, than "pseudo-digital" physical discs that require a code tied to an account.

[Zthun]

Now that the next gen of next gen systems are about to release, it's nearly impossible to get new games on physical media anymore. Since 2010, most new games for PC have only been available as digital downloads on Steam here in the US, even though the majority of them can still be bought on discs everywhere else in the world. Importing has become a necessity for those of us Americans who refuse to buy games with no physical copy. MS threatened to go digital only with the XBONE and Sony is going with digital exclusives as well as releasing games in both digital and disc form, at least for the initial launch of the PS4. This probably doesn't bother most people, but it signals the eventual death of games on physical media, which has already progressed to the point that most PC games aren't available anywhere but online, and only as digital downloads. Go into any retail store now, and chances are they won't have any PC games at all, and if they do, what's there is old stock that hasn't sold yet. Pay attention console gamers, because you're the next targets of this trend, and soon you too will be forced to import if you want your games on discs, or submit to digital downloads, and the glory days of game collecting will finally be over. The line that separates professionally produced games from amateur productions will no longer be as simply defined by whether or not it's available on physical media, and the mobile phone gaming scene you mock for its casually oriented content will be upon you. Gaming is rapidly moving toward an entirely digital future where content is controlled completely by developers who can simply delete what you paid for from existence, leaving you with nothing but memories of your favorite games, and no way to reinstall them. It may not bother you now, but rest assured it will come to bother you very soon, about the time you feel nostalgic for that great old game that was just released a few months ago.

The main issue with digital distribution is digital rights management. This is the true evil and the core problem with moving to a digital world. When you buy something, you should be able to keep a copy without having to keep checking in with the publisher to make sure your not redistributing it.

Things will move in a digital direction because it's cheap, easy, and convenient - but there are strings attached; and those strings have the initials DRM.

[Gamevet]

The main issue with digital distribution is digital rights management. This is the true evil and the core problem with moving to a digital world. When you buy something, you should be able to keep a copy without having to keep checking in with the publisher to make sure your not redistributing it.

Things will move in a digital direction because it's cheap, easy, and convenient - but there are strings attached; and those strings have the initials DRM.

What happens when a service like Steam decides to lock your account, because you broke some rule that you didn't know about that was in the small print?

My favorite is when a company goes out of business and no longer has an online service to update your game, or allow you to install it on another PC. I picked up a sealed copy of Juiced 2 for the PC, but I'm unable to install it on my computer, because Juice games folded right before THQ filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

[Zthun]

What happens when a service like Steam decides to lock your account, because you broke some rule that you didn't know about that was in the small print?

My favorite is when a company goes out of business and no longer has an online service to update your game, or allow you to install it on another PC. I picked up a sealed copy of Juiced 2 for the PC, but I'm unable to install it on my computer, because Juice games folded right before THQ filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

That's what DRM is and is exactly what I'm talking about. When a publisher, developer, or distributor reigns controls over your library, shit like this can happen.

Digital = Nice and convenient. Saves tons of space and never have to worry about the data wearing out because it can be copied and backed up easily.

DRM = Garbage. Prevents a large portion of positives of digital distribution.

Get rid of DRM and a lot of the problems go away. Humble Bundle is (generally) great because of this. They give installers that aren't tied to a steam account and you can still play your games if your account got locked.

[WCP]

I don't have any problem with digital, as long as the prices go down as quickly as it happens on Steam and Gamers Gate and Amazon downloads and Green Man Gaming, etc, etc.


Problem is, we know that's never gonna happen. Micrsoft, Sony and Nintendo are too greedy to ever sell their triple A games for 5 bucks.


I consider all digital games to basically be "long-term rentals", with many stipulations added on. So, I never pay more than $7.50 or sometimes I'll actually splurge and buy something for $9.99. Normally I just stick to 5 bucks and 6 bucks.

[kupomogli]

While I have over 100 games on Steam and GOG combined, games that I've spent less than $200 on combined, if it comes to playing a game that's digital only for mofre than $10 or never playing the game, I'd never play the game.

It's not like I think the devs should give us it for free, but if we don't actually own it, then I don't think I should be charged near as much as they're expecting. A digital copy in my opinion is nothing more than a rental as some time in the future it won't be available for me to play. I won't pirate the games. As good as they may be, I just won't play them.

With as many games as I have now, I could just as easily quit next gen gaming and keep replaying these games and I'd be satisfied. Over 600 games I own and like, not including the GOG games, a week per game should last me a long time, then once I'm done with every game, should be enough time to replay them.

Infamous Second Son is getting a retail release though and that's the game I'm most interested in this next gen. So far I'm satisfied and nothings entirely set in stone. There's still the 3DS and Vita too.

[GREEN00]

I want no part of a download-only industry. Spending an entire generation buying games, only to find the next gen is not compatible, is not what I want. A console's online service is taken down and your console dies (as seems so common with today's POS hardware), what do you do? If my Genesis breaks, I get a new one and can still use my library. What will we do when the 360 and PS3 are no longer connected to Live and PSN and our consoles need to be replaced? What happens to my dozens of games?

Digital downloads on consoles are extended rentals, nothing more. No thanks.

I totally agree. These days I'm buying more and more PS2 and earlier games and fewer and fewer new releases. A few years ago I was buying lots of new releases at full price and turning up my nose to older games, but now it's the opposite.

The only new release I'm buying for sure this fall is XCOM: Enemy Within (PS3) because Firaxis is awesome and is giving us a meaty expansion+DLC all on the disc for a reduced $40.

[Niku-Sama]

i dont think physical media is done yet, the infrastructure for every one to be on all at once is just not there. the "cloud" is flawed. once it becaomes main stream you'll be hit either with super slow usage or usage fees, limites and restrictions.

in all honesty i think cartridges will make a come back before we go to the could.

end users can pick up a 30 something gig SSD for about $1 a gig. they are getting cheap to produce. if its $1 on our end per gig how much do you think it is cose wise for them to make it per gig?
take into consideration a single layer bluray disc is 20 something gigs, and a dual layer is 50 something, i dont see it being far fetched that theres some NAND flash based carts and a console to use them.

plus imagine the load times.....or lack their of.... on a system like the PS4, or even the PS3?

[Tupin]

ISPs already throttle connections and cheat people out of advertised speeds as it is. Imagine if Microsoft announced an Xbox that only used digital downloads. It would be a nightmare for them.

[Niku-Sama]

not all ISPs i'm not limited on mine but i dont want to be bothered with the task of going out on the interwebs to load something when the internet isnt all the reliable for that sort of thing.

average speed in the US is pretty slow any way. i'm getting 60 Mbits/sec the average i think is something like 12 Mbits/sec....pretty dismal
i know the US is a bad example but a good majority of the gamimg market is here obviously and couple that with could stuff. the sheeple here have been eating the cloud stuff up like crazy.

edit:

an example of what i am talking about for SSD's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100011692+4016+40000636&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=-1&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

sure these are refurbished but think about it.

some one buys one, its bad, happens some times. it gets sent back to the manufacturer, repaired and reworked and shipped back out to the reseller as a refurb at a huge discount and they still make money off of it.

so basicly they shipped it twice, manufactured it twice and on top of all that, the retailer has a mark up too.

[FFStudios]

all digital would be fine if they dropped the price of a new game to like $20

other than that, you better give me a nice blu-ray disc to pop in this sucker or you aren't getting any of my money

[Sothy]

I don't mind paying 5 - 20 bucks for good digital downloads if it something I want to play "Like State of Decay" But for a full $50.00 retail price point I want a physical copy manual/maps, all that jazz.

[Zthun]

I don't have any problem with digital, as long as the prices go down as quickly as it happens on Steam and Gamers Gate and Amazon downloads and Green Man Gaming, etc, etc.


Problem is, we know that's never gonna happen. Micrsoft, Sony and Nintendo are too greedy to ever sell their triple A games for 5 bucks.


I consider all digital games to basically be "long-term rentals", with many stipulations added on. So, I never pay more than $7.50 or sometimes I'll actually splurge and buy something for $9.99. Normally I just stick to 5 bucks and 6 bucks.

Again, this is a problem with DRM, not with digital media.

[Dire 51]

Foamy saw this coming years ago. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VEQ78WS5UE)

[Niku-Sama]

and foamy also produces a good example as to why its no good

[sloan]

For many who talk tough, game developers and publishers have the upper hand, like it or not. They basically know that for many, gaming is nothing short of an addiction. Sure, there may be lost sales for the first few months, but eventually even those who say they will stay away will most likely come around. What they are banking on is human tendencies and basic will-power of the game buying public. A test of wills and they think you will blink first.

[Atarileaf]

As someone who has little to no interest in modern gaming anyway, I for one will certainly not blink first . . . unless of course its allergy season and I can't stop blinking because of that damn ragweed which makes it feel like my eyes have swallowed a swarm of angry bees (I think I heard that somewhere)

[GhostDog]

I doubt that physical media goes away for systems. There's no way. Sales would plummet drastically and I would never buy a system that only plays digital downloads.

[Melf]

For many who talk tough, game developers and publishers have the upper hand, like it or not. They basically know that for many, gaming is nothing short of an addiction. Sure, there may be lost sales for the first few months, but eventually even those who say they will stay away will most likely come around. What they are banking on is human tendencies and basic will-power of the game buying public. A test of wills and they think you will blink first.

They actually blinked first when MS announced the whole "you can't share your games" DRM for the Xbone. The backlash was enough to make them reverse course. Yes, we're moving towards a completely DD business, but I don't think it's going to happen as quickly as publishers would like it. With the insane prices PSN and XBL have on DD games, it's going to take quite a while, especially when their whole justification is based on the reduced cost of DD. When they sell 5 year-old games for double their retail price, it's hard to take them seriously.

And I don't plan on giving up my freedom to do whatever I wish with my purchase so that publishers can feel better about their bottom line and developers won't have to whine about used games taking away from their profits. If I can't fully own what I buy, then I won't buy it. If that means this will be the last generation of consoles I buy, then so be it. I have zero interest in the Xbone, PS4, and WiiU thus far, so I'll just stick to completing my collection of older games. I'm perfectly fine with that.

[Gamevet]

For many who talk tough, game developers and publishers have the upper hand, like it or not. They basically know that for many, gaming is nothing short of an addiction. Sure, there may be lost sales for the first few months, but eventually even those who say they will stay away will most likely come around. What they are banking on is human tendencies and basic will-power of the game buying public. A test of wills and they think you will blink first.

They'll buy PCs and start pirating software as a way of revolting.

If consoles go towards an all digital download market, I'll just play new games on my PC and older games that I haven't played on consoles.

[Bojay1997]

They'll buy PCs and start pirating software as a way of revolting.

If consoles go towards an all digital download market, I'll just play new games on my PC and older games that I haven't played on consoles.

Meh, people have a way of changing quicker than you might think. Collectors are the exception and not the rule among gamers. DVD and Blu Ray sales have almost completely flatlined in the past few years thanks to Netflix and other streaming services. Gaming will become yet another all you can eat commodity like music and movies and the vast majority of gamers will be happy to pay either monthly fees or simply stream and download purchases. Heck, Nintendo, which was probably the slowest of all the major video game companies to even provide a download service, is doing something like a third of all 3DS first party game sales via downloads now. That's huge considering there is really no discount and it happened literally within a span of just a couple of years.

[Lady Jaye]

To me, it's a case-by-case scenario. If a series I really like only comes out in digital format and I have no other way (aside from pirating) to get it, I may dish out the money to get it. However, give me the chance to get a physical copy, and that's what I'll chose no matter what.

Most recent example in my case: Epic Mickey 2 on the Vita (which is a port of the PS3 version rather than the 3DS version; and yes, I know that the game is far from perfect, but I still want to play it). I just found out about its existence yesterday and was looking everywhere online to find a local copy to no avail, until it dawned on me that it's a download-only title in North America. However, the European edition of the game did come out in physical form and since the Vita is region-free, it would work here. I ended up buying a copy of the British edition off Play-Asia for $30 with free shipping and despite its 2-to-4 weeks shipping ETA, it was actually shipped last night. Now, had there been a North American physical release of the game, I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble and would have gotten it from a local retailer or from Amazon.ca, instead of a Chinese retailer.

[Gameguy]

I don't want to bother buying digital games because I don't want to bother dealing with setting up various accounts and having to link them to payment methods, and keeping track of everything. Usually I buy things in person and pay with cash. With digital download PC games, it's actually easier to just pirate them than having to deal with purchasing them. I stick to old games so it doesn't really affect me that much, I just tend to ignore upcoming games now that I might have been interested in otherwise.

For each account you have you're supposed to use a different password for extra security, how people can remember so many passwords I'll never know. I assume that most people just use the same password everywhere which is careless. Plus there's always the risk that these sites aren't secure so your credit card number or other personal details can be hacked into. This already happened with Sony a few years ago.

[Gamevet]

Meh, people have a way of changing quicker than you might think. Collectors are the exception and not the rule among gamers. DVD and Blu Ray sales have almost completely flatlined in the past few years thanks to Netflix and other streaming services. Gaming will become yet another all you can eat commodity like music and movies and the vast majority of gamers will be happy to pay either monthly fees or simply stream and download purchases. Heck, Nintendo, which was probably the slowest of all the major video game companies to even provide a download service, is doing something like a third of all 3DS first party game sales via downloads now. That's huge considering there is really no discount and it happened literally within a span of just a couple of years.

Eh, I see people renting movies from Redbox, everytime I visit the corner 7-11. They obviously don't get that most of those movies can be streamed at home.

I never bought more than 4 or 5 movies a year, even when DVD was in its prime. There just aren't that many great movies released every year and it doesn't help when they don't do a quality transfer over to Blu-Ray, which in turn doesn't help to promote the format. At least with HD-DVD, the studios made a concerted effort to do quality transfers.

A lot of people would rather torrent a movie, that is still playing in theaters. And with a 2 TB HDD being less than $100, it's not that hard to amass a large illegal digital collection.

[Bojay1997]

Eh, I see people renting movies from Redbox, everytime I visit the corner 7-11. They obviously don't get that most of those movies can be streamed at home.

I never bought more than 4 or 5 movies a year, even when DVD was in its prime. There just aren't that many great movies released every year and it doesn't help when they don't do a quality transfer over to Blu-Ray, which in turn doesn't help to promote the format. At least with HD-DVD, the studios made a concerted effort to do quality transfers.

A lot of people would rather torrent a movie, that is still playing in theaters. And with a 2 TB HDD being less than $100, it's not that hard to amass a large illegal digital collection.

There are certainly people that don't have broadband and/or don't want to pay for Netflix or other streaming or download services. That doesn't change the fact that DVD sales were huge a decade ago and within the past few years have dropped to a tiny percentage of that. While piracy is part of it, the biggest change is that consumers have more and more entertainment choices and there has been a cultural shift away from purchasing and owning physical media for movies. The same thing happened with music CDs and it will happen with games. As long as DRM is made very reasonable and consumers have a means of trading in, the only people physical media will really matter to is collectors and that just isn't a very significant percentage of the overall gamer population.

[Gamevet]

There are certainly people that don't have broadband and/or don't want to pay for Netflix or other streaming or download services. That doesn't change the fact that DVD sales were huge a decade ago and within the past few years have dropped to a tiny percentage of that. While piracy is part of it, the biggest change is that consumers have more and more entertainment choices and there has been a cultural shift away from purchasing and owning physical media for movies.

The DVD market hasn't dropped that dramatically. In the most extreme cases, there have been reports of studios making 50% of the earnings that they would have made from a DVD 9 years ago. Theaters are also reporting that ticket sales for 2013 haven't been this low, since 1995. Blu-Ray, on the other hand, has seen a 15% growth for the first half of 2013.

I've only bought maybe 2 DVDs in the past 6 years, while I've bought well over 50 HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies over the same time period. DVD is outdated crap to me. Even my 71 year old dad has moved to Blu-Ray in the past year and he loves it.



The same thing happened with music CDs and it will happen with games. As long as DRM is made very reasonable and consumers have a means of trading in, the only people physical media will really matter to is collectors and that just isn't a very significant percentage of the overall gamer population.

Music is a totally different thing. Who wants to purchase a CD, just so they can listen to the 1 or 2 songs they like on an album? It's much easier to accept paying $1 for a song, over paying $15 for a plastic disc. People take their music and media everywhere with their smart phones and tablets, while console gaming isn't a go everywhere kind of thing.


And like you said, not everyone has broadband. So, if not everyone has broadband, what makes you think we'll be a totally digital download society anytime soon?

[Gameguy]

There are certainly people that don't have broadband and/or don't want to pay for Netflix or other streaming or download services. That doesn't change the fact that DVD sales were huge a decade ago and within the past few years have dropped to a tiny percentage of that. While piracy is part of it, the biggest change is that consumers have more and more entertainment choices and there has been a cultural shift away from purchasing and owning physical media for movies. The same thing happened with music CDs and it will happen with games. As long as DRM is made very reasonable and consumers have a means of trading in, the only people physical media will really matter to is collectors and that just isn't a very significant percentage of the overall gamer population.
I don't buy as many DVDs now brand new as I used to, but it's not because I don't want DVDs anymore and don't care about physical media. It's more about the price point now, people including myself aren't willing to pay as much for most DVDs anymore. In general people aren't willing to pay for rentals anymore either, rather than pay a fair price for a boxset of single DVD to watch once, people are only buying DVDs that they know they'll be watching over and over again. Online streaming is the new rental mentality, and plenty of sources stream shows online for free legitimately. Nobody pays for anything unless they want to own it for good, then they'll pay for a physical copy.

For me personally I used to buy boxsets at full retail around $30 each, I pretty much stopped when series releases weren't completed or the DVD sets were altered in some way. After that I only bought box sets once the entire series was released in full(if this happened), and by that point the earlier volumes would be lowered in price so I just waited until all of the sets were lowered in price. Plus as the years went by the novelty of the new format wore off so I no longer felt like paying $20 for a single disc movie, with the difficulty of selling off used DVDs increasing the amount I was willing to pay for them decreased even more. Now I rarely buy DVDs new and just wait to find them cheap, the ones I'm still willing to buy new at full price aren't available at local retailers as they're limited specialty items so that prevents me from buying them easily. When I calculate that I would not only have to pay full price, but also pay for shipping, duty, and even taxes too I put off buying DVDs right away.

I still must own a couple hundred DVDs with there being a large list that I'm still looking for, I'm not giving up on the format at all, I just don't want to pay as much for them now. Plus a decade ago the idea of owning a complete TV series was still a new exciting concept, at that time I wanted to own every show I ever enjoyed watching with most being kids shows I remembered as a kid. Now that kind of wore off so I only want to get the best of those shows as several seem to have aged badly, I just don't feel the need to own as many shows now as I did back then. It's still not because of digital formats, unless you count being able to preview an episode or two online before buying an entire DVD boxet.

[DiEsmitty]

I prefer physical media, it comes with a sense of ownership. If the prices are the same I always buy physical media. The sad thing is now I live overseas, and I cant get English speaking games so Im relegated to Digital downloads or high shipping costs. BF4 is costing around 80 dollars, but I wanted the physical copy.

[Oobgarm]

Until consistent high-speed broadband is everywhere (and I mean everywhere, not "mostly" everywhere), consoles will have to cater to the lowest common denominator and provide physical media.

Going digital won't kill it for me, but it'll make me buy less. I look at that as a positive thing.

[skaar]

People are too used to having almost any media they could want at their disposal at any time - digital is the only way to make that happen.

Anyone with Netflix - even given the more limited selection that it has over what a video store used to have - will accept it as a content delivery platform because of convenience. You have a generation of kids who have been brought up in an on-demand media world that will start driving consumer spending and media consumption methods.

They don't see it as "I'm paying for a copy of this movie." they see it as "I'm paying to have unlimited access to all these movies."

I'm waiting for something similar to happen to older games.

[Bojay1997]

People are too used to having almost any media they could want at their disposal at any time - digital is the only way to make that happen.

Anyone with Netflix - even given the more limited selection that it has over what a video store used to have - will accept it as a content delivery platform because of convenience. You have a generation of kids who have been brought up in an on-demand media world that will start driving consumer spending and media consumption methods.

They don't see it as "I'm paying for a copy of this movie." they see it as "I'm paying to have unlimited access to all these movies."

I'm waiting for something similar to happen to older games.

Exactly. This isn't just anecdotal now, there is strong sales information indicating that the millennial and younger generation simply don't buy physical media for any of their entertainment. "All you can play" plans are the next logical step and when that happens on a massive scale, publishers will have no incentive to keep providing physical media.

[Neb6]

The argument that the majority will go for digital anyway doesn't mean much to me (except that it likely means that's the direction we're headed). It certainly doesn't mean that majority choice is the best for consumers.

I buy my games in physical packaging and they go on the shelf.

Digital downloads are less attractive to me for the reasons mentioned already: software keyed to the specific machine, publisher disappears and can no longer provide codes, etc.... Not to mention that the games are usually stored on read/write devices that can crash or be accidentally erased. I also tend to forget I even have the digital version of a game since I have no packaging to look at. Usually, I scan the shelves and pick out the ones that look interesting to me that day. That doesn't happed with digitally downloaded games... for me anyway.

I sold entertainment software for 14 years and -- IMHO -- if you're not getting a smokin' deal on the digital download then you're getting ripped off.

In summary, I personally choose physical media. However, it would be nice if all titles offered a choice of both physical media and downloadable media.

[Lictalon]

My favorite is when a company goes out of business and no longer has an online service to update your game, or allow you to install it on another PC.

My favorite - I bought a PC game in '09, and moved it to my new computer this spring.

I tried to reset the activation key. I went to customer support, and they said they outsourced the "database" of activation keys to a different company. Then I contacted the second company, and they said they got bought out by a third one. And the third company never bothered getting back to me.


Digital downloads on consoles are extended rentals, nothing more. No thanks.

Amen.

[8-Bit Archeology]

The best to me was everyone complaining in how their new sim city didnt work. I watched a rant youtube vid about it whilst playing sim city on my SNES. XD

I knew hard copies would be leaving us when I spend 100 on collectors edition games that wanted me to go online to print yes PRINT the manual. 100 bucks and you cant afford to make a 15-20 page pamphlet!

Also I am old school so the lettera DRM are a little new to me. But from what i have gathered is, it means Derpy Retarded Management. And aparently all new gens have this. No thanks, Im good.

[8-Bit Archeology]

Also we all have witnessed hiw well the PSP GO went.

[Gamereviewgod]

I've been burned twice by digital media, once my original Xbox HDD failed post-Live shutdown and another when a DSi was stolen. In both cases, my digital purchases were unrecoverable, and it's absolute nonsense. I won't be back.

One of these major digital services will fail (books, movies, music, games) and with it will go people's purchases. It's inevitable. That may raise some ire to change policies and push people away.

The other concern is valuing digital media. 90% of iOS app downloads are for free apps (http://www.tuaw.com/2013/07/18/90-of-ios-apps-are-free-average-cost-of-an-ios-app-is-19-cents/). Publishers/movie studios are faced with a dilemma when you have a generation growing up on free. Attitudes of "everything on the internet is free" prevail with AdBlock and such as well. The current model, digital or physical, is eroding, and I can't see a safety net outside of free-to-play.

Physical media doesn't only have ownership. There is tangible value digital can't match. That's the only weapon in its favor.

[Griking]

If I can't own a physical copy, I have no plans on paying for it. It generally suits me fine as I have more than enough games to play on older consoles and PCs.

I'm just hoping DVDs will still be coming out for at least a decade or more, there's so many old shows and films I'd still like to see come out on the format.

A physical copy of a Steamworks based game is really kind of pointless IMO

[Gameguy]

A physical copy of a Steamworks based game is really kind of pointless IMO
The only Steam game I have is Portal, and that's because they gave it away for free. I can't even remember what my account name and password is at the moment. I don't bother paying for games tied to accounts.

[Bojay1997]

The only Steam game I have is Portal, and that's because they gave it away for free. I can't even remember what my account name and password is at the moment. I don't bother paying for games tied to accounts.

I'm assuming you don't play many recent PC games then. Almost all of them require a Steam or similar account.

[kupomogli]

I don't see how people want to lose physical media because there's proof that with all digital a lot of games we've paid for are going to be lost. Games for Windows Live servers are closing down in 2014, so many of these games, regardless if these same games are on Steam or what are no longer going to be able to be played. Apparently, some are being patched, like Arkham City Game of the Year, but others, like Arkham City vanilla aren't, so you're pretty much screwed out of what you paid for. Here's a list of games you'll probably be losing if you own them digitally. You might want to download them prior to when the servers shut down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Games_for_Windows_%E2%80%93_Live_titles

[Zthun]

I don't see how people want to lose physical media because there's proof that with all digital a lot of games we've paid for are going to be lost. Games for Windows Live servers are closing down in 2014, so many of these games, regardless if these same games are on Steam or what are no longer going to be able to be played. Apparently, some are being patched, like Arkham City Game of the Year, but others, like Arkham City vanilla aren't, so you're pretty much screwed out of what you paid for. Here's a list of games you'll probably be losing if you own them digitally. You might want to download them prior to when the servers shut down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Games_for_Windows_%E2%80%93_Live_titles

Wouldn't matter. A lot of those games won't run without being connected to GWL so you're still SOL.

[badinsults]

I, for one, will not lament the end of physical media. And I say this as someone who purchases music cds still. The issue I have is that the only decent music selling service in this country is iTunes, and they aren't very Linux friendly. The Steam Box is coming soon, and will provide a free platform to play games on, which will be far more convenient than what Sony, Microsoft and Apple are doing.

[kupomogli]

I, for one, will not lament the end of physical media. And I say this as someone who purchases music cds still. The issue I have is that the only decent music selling service in this country is iTunes, and they aren't very Linux friendly. The Steam Box is coming soon, and will provide a free platform to play games on, which will be far more convenient than what Sony, Microsoft and Apple are doing.

The only thing that will be far more convenient with Steam, than with what Sony and Microsoft will be doing is price. I think most of the 360 games have been released day one for digital purchase since launch, while on the PS3, most games are released digital for day one purchase since last year. Looking at the Vita, every single game that's received a retail release has been available for digital purchase on day one, and Microsoft was trying to push all digital earlier this year, so my assumption is that Sony and with Microsoft are going to have all PS4 and Xbox One games as digital releases on day one.

Now that consoles are going to have digital titles available on day one and the availability of retail titles, it's consoles that are more convenient because they give the owner a choice. Do you want to wait two hours for this 10GB game to download or do you want to go purchase a physical copy. Do you even want a physical or do you want it digital. Having choice is more of a convenience. It's also more of a convenience with consoles since you don't have to worry about how powerful your graphics card is on whether the game can run or not. Anything that is released on a console will play on your console. It will run just as good on your console as it does on anyone elses version of the same console.

I like Steam because I get all these dirt cheap games, and don't count GOG out because there's a bunch of cheap classic games there, but once the new consoles come out, I don't know if I'd say Steam is more convenient. For all digital content, they may still be. The Steam library where all your games are listed in alphabetical order, easily able to switch over to which games are downloaded, or which are the last played games, etc, that might still be more convenient than playing digital games on the new consoles. But overall convience is still going to go to the consoles.

[CDiablo]

Well put kupomogli. Seeing that the industry wants a digital push I wouldnt be surprised if the pricing gets much closer to steam pricing this gen.

[Gameguy]

I'm assuming you don't play many recent PC games then. Almost all of them require a Steam or similar account.
I've already said as much earlier in the thread.


I stick to old games so it doesn't really affect me that much, I just tend to ignore upcoming games now that I might have been interested in otherwise.

It's no big loss. I don't have enough time to play the games I own as it is, I still have PC games I bought over 5 years ago I haven't played yet. Even so there are plenty of modern freeware/homebrew games as fun as professionally made games. I won't run out of games to play.

[Gamereviewgod]

Well put kupomogli. Seeing that the industry wants a digital push I wouldnt be surprised if the pricing gets much closer to steam pricing this gen.

I'd rather take the current gen console pricing, thanks. BioShock Infinite? $40 on Steam. Consoles? Under $30. Tomb Raider? $50 on Steam. Consoles? About $22.

The myth of low prices on Steam is perpetuated by their mega sales, but in reality (and in comparison) prices are generally higher. Digital is not cheaper, and never has been. I'd guess that the majority of XBLA arcade games have NEVER been on sale or received a price cut, some since launch. Used game sales create pricing competition in a retail environment, and with an all-digital marketplace, there is no such competition.

Are Steam sales great? Sure. But, I can also walk into GameStop and snag a ton of sub-$5 games on any day I want, no sales needed. The difference is we're supposed to hate GameStop and they don't advertise the uber-low cost titles.

[Bojay1997]

I'd rather take the current gen console pricing, thanks. BioShock Infinite? $40 on Steam. Consoles? Under $30. Tomb Raider? $50 on Steam. Consoles? About $22.

The myth of low prices on Steam is perpetuated by their mega sales, but in reality (and in comparison) prices are generally higher. Digital is not cheaper, and never has been. I'd guess that the majority of XBLA arcade games have NEVER been on sale or received a price cut, some since launch. Used game sales create pricing competition in a retail environment, and with an all-digital marketplace, there is no such competition.

Are Steam sales great? Sure. But, I can also walk into GameStop and snag a ton of sub-$5 games on any day I want, no sales needed. The difference is we're supposed to hate GameStop and they don't advertise the uber-low cost titles.

Incorrect about the XBLA stuff. There are only a handful of XBLA releases that have never received a price cut or a discount. Digital sales compete with every other kind of entertainment media, so there is in fact significant competition.

[CDiablo]

I'd rather take the current gen console pricing, thanks. BioShock Infinite? $40 on Steam. Consoles? Under $30. Tomb Raider? $50 on Steam. Consoles? About $22.

The myth of low prices on Steam is perpetuated by their mega sales, but in reality (and in comparison) prices are generally higher. Digital is not cheaper, and never has been. I'd guess that the majority of XBLA arcade games have NEVER been on sale or received a price cut, some since launch. Used game sales create pricing competition in a retail environment, and with an all-digital marketplace, there is no such competition.

Are Steam sales great? Sure. But, I can also walk into GameStop and snag a ton of sub-$5 games on any day I want, no sales needed. The difference is we're supposed to hate GameStop and they don't advertise the uber-low cost titles.

Understand I am talking about digital pricing. I am a huge supporter of physical and generally find oustide of the Steams gone batshit crazy deals of the year, you can usually do as good or better with new or used(which is still better than DD IMO) physical when shopping around. XBLA/GOD(I quit Sony gaming a while back so I cant comment on PSN) rarely has worthwhile deals on their games and I think that Sony and MS will be more aggressive on that front if only to push gamers towards digital. I think you may be the only person on the internet that has a similar view on Steam.

[Tupin]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: digital only gaming is a nightmare for ISPs and they will do everything within their power to ensure that it is held off for as long as possible.

[Gamereviewgod]

Incorrect about the XBLA stuff. There are only a handful of XBLA releases that have never received a price cut or a discount. Digital sales compete with every other kind of entertainment media, so there is in fact significant competition.

How is a movie competing with a digitally released video game on a closed marketplace?

There are 632 XBLA games to date. Looking over Wikipedia, I'd be willing to wager at least 300+ have never seen a price cut, or saw one only for a week - and I'm not even considering those released in the past few months.

[Gamereviewgod]

I think you may be the only person on the internet that has a similar view on Steam.

I'd say that's part of the problem.

[Tupin]

I'd say that's part of the problem.
People love Valve because they constantly brown nose the gaming communities that have a lot of pull and practically give games away.

The way people idolize and worship Newell certainly helps too.

[BetaWolf47]

I agree that digital games shouldn't cost as much as physical games. But really, they have to cost as much. Brick and mortar retailers still have so much pull in the industry. Think Gamestop and Walmart would still stock New Super Mario Bros. U if Nintendo offered it for $10 cheaper digitally? The way I see it, companies want to offer games cheaper digitally. This is why you see preorder "discounts" for 10% off on Steam, and special "sales" everywhere (Steam, Origin, eShop, PSN, GOG, etc.). That's their loophole for offering digital games cheaper than physical.

[Gamevet]

I agree that digital games shouldn't cost as much as physical games. But really, they have to cost as much. Brick and mortar retailers still have so much pull in the industry. Think Gamestop and Walmart would still stock New Super Mario Bros. U if Nintendo offered it for $10 cheaper digitally? The way I see it, companies want to offer games cheaper digitally. This is why you see preorder "discounts" for 10% off on Steam, and special "sales" everywhere (Steam, Origin, eShop, PSN, GOG, etc.). That's their loophole for offering digital games cheaper than physical.

I can't imagine that the people that shop at Walmart and Gamestop for games, are the same people that look online for better deals.

You have to wonder if Walmart would even carry those consoles, if they couldn't make money off of digital only software. They can at least make money on every DVD and Blu-Ray player they've sold, because they know the consumer will likely buy the media at their stores. I've often heard that retail makes very little profit from console sales and relys on game sales instead.

[Neb6]

I can't imagine that the people that shop at Walmart and Gamestop for games, are the same people that look online for better deals.

You have to wonder if Walmart would even carry those consoles, if they couldn't make money off of digital only software. They can at least make money on every DVD and Blu-Ray player they've sold, because they know the consumer will likely buy the media at their stores. I've often heard that retail makes very little profit from console sales and relys on game sales instead.

Very true. Profit margins on consoles and computers are minimal. It's the software (and accessories) that take up the slack. If you want to make them really happy, buy some cables.

[j_factor]

I finally gave in and started getting into Steam this year. But, I only buy very cheap games. Steam does offer a convenient platform. I'm more likely to buy your $5 bundle of a half dozen games if it includes Steam keys. But I'll never spend a significant sum on a digital download. I really want to play Shadowrun Returns, but I don't want to pay $20 on Steam for it. If there was a $30 disc version, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I know that I'm somewhat in the minority. But I also think digital-only will be a harder sell on consoles. Consoles die. PC, as a platform, at least in theory, just keeps moving along and getting upgraded.


Anyone with Netflix - even given the more limited selection that it has over what a video store used to have - will accept it as a content delivery platform because of convenience. You have a generation of kids who have been brought up in an on-demand media world that will start driving consumer spending and media consumption methods.

I just recently got access to Netflix streaming and I've already given up on it. Every time I think of a movie I want to watch, there is at best a 5% chance it'll be on there. Shit selection, IMO.