Rights and licensing. For instance, the Deadpool video game. It came out in 2013, but was withdrawn from online stores on November 16, 2017 due to licensing issues. However, I bought a copy for a good friend on April 6, 2019 at a local retro & modern video game store. Played it tonight and am probably getting a copy for myself.

That's what I love about physical copies - legal issues can't do shit about the physical copies already out there. Since the download stores are centrally managed, the companies involved (publisher, console mfr., et al) get to have total control over the price and whether it's available at all.

For instance, let's say a hypothetical game I'll call "Call of Generic FPS" for PS4 comes out today, May 25, 2019 and has a license that expires at the end of 2021 from a company called "Supercorp". In a physical game market, they might manufacture one million copies, and those copies aren't going to magically disappear once January 1, 2022 rolls around. In a download only market, the game can't legally be downloaded once January 1, 2022 rolls around. That means if you didn't get a copy in 2021 and earlier, you're SOL.

We'll say Billy, a future retro gamer, comes across a website about this game in 2045. Billy's interested in it despite being born three years after the game ceased production. He has an old PS4 he bought on Ebay. With physical copies, he goes on Ebay and pays 10 bucks for a copy of "Call of Generic FPS" on PS4. If he's lucky, he might even find it in a local retro game store. Takes it home, pops it in his PS4 for some 2040s retro game action.

If the game's download only, he realizes that he'll never get to play that game. He goes to his room and cries. Does some research, finds out that Supercorp is the reason the game can't legally be sold. Vows to never buy a Supercorp product.

And what of age restricted games? The M rating says 17 and up to buy, not "you have to be 17 before the license runs out, a date which we won't reveal.". Someone born between November 17, 2000 and May 25, 2002 has every bit as much right to get the Deadpool game as someone who was old enough to buy it when it was on the download market. Let's say Mortal Kombat II was made for three years, 1993-1996. I, born in 1992, have every bit as much RIGHT to buy MKII as someone who was born in 1979 and earlier and was old enough to buy it when it was being produced new. I have to find it used, yes, because the publisher can stop producing the game if they want to. Midway doesn't have to make MKII for Sega Genesis in 2019. But Midway can't do shit about me going out and buying an old copy.

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/260...d-storefronts/