Physical games are dying ?

[Amiga Forever]

I seem to notice that Allan Wake 2 going be Digital only and if the trend continue to follow then Physical games would be fading away in coming years.

I think when PS 6 Come in 2027 and I don't think they will have CD drive.

What your view on this?

 

[Watson]

I seem to notice that Allan Wake 2 going be Digital only and if the trend continue to follow then Physical games would be fading away in coming years.

I think when PS 6 Come in 2027 and I don't think they will have CD drive.

What your view on this?

There were a lot of speculation for the current gen being digital only, but it didn't happen, hence why there's still the choice, but yep I think there will be digital only consoles in the near future.

Which do you prefer, @Amiga Forever?

 

[moggsie]

PC gaming has been digital only for years now (Steam, GoG, Epic, etc). It was inevitable that consoles would go the same way once internet speeds were no longer a barrier (remember the infamous XBOne "always on" balls up?).
It's win-win for the software licence holders as it kills off the second hand market and controls prices. And if your account is closed for any reason, bye bye library.

 

[Amiga Forever]

There were a lot of speculation for the current gen being digital only, but it didn't happen, hence why there's still the choice, but yep I think there will be digital only consoles in the near future.

Which do you prefer, @Amiga Forever?

I perfer Physical CD that I owned and can keep it and played again whatever I want

When I bought Digital game and the Digital Game remove for some years later and that it isnt good for what I paid the game whatever price is!

For example, IF You bought Greatest Game of All time Uncharted 2(it bit like James Bond game or Taken Film where go quiet in begin then boom full of actions!) Digital game and been remove for some year later and You would be Angry that the game remove without telling you that had been remove and you cant that game back!

 

[Sardine]

There was a YouTube video recently forgot by whom. A vanilla xbox one or x or ps4/5 ( can’t remember ) but he tried a few AAA games from disc only the console wasn’t connected to any network and the games worked proving the full game was actually on the disc. He explained it was crucial that this did work especially for the all the troops deployed overseas not requiring a network to play the games.

Dunno about the future. I prefer digital because im lazy forgetting to put the correct game disc in when the console shouts at me for not putting the right disc in

physical media has its days numbered. Any AAA games i buy at full price ( that ain’t many ) i get if i can from gog. Cyberpunk is an example i bought the game ( that was a mistake ) and downloaded the offline installer, if i wrote the files to disc then i do technically have physical media. No copy protection , no hassle

Would be cool if a few other companies went that way giving you the option of offline installation files.

I know quite a few ( my neighbour included ) stuck on BT’s upto 5mbits over copper so ive chucked him a cat5 for his ps5 otherwise he’s waiting days for an update for his game he plays ( destiny ) and worse if he buys a digital game with multiple gb to download

 

[Templar]

@AmigaForever

Where did you get the info that PS6 will lunch in 2027? With all that fuss with "covid" and shortage of materials, and the difficulty to acquire a new PS5 in the beginning, my guess is that PS6 will arrive later and not in 4 years time.

Secondly, I guess that everything will be digital only, only some games will retain that "Collector's Edition" with all the bells and whistles, eg. Assassin's Creed series.

 

[Amiga Forever]

It was website rumours(I cant remmy which website

@AmigaForever

Where did you get the info that PS6 will lunch in 2027? With all that fuss with "covid" and shortage of materials, and the difficulty to acquire a new PS5 in the beginning, my guess is that PS6 will arrive later and not in 4 years time.

Secondly, I guess that everything will be digital only, only some games will retain that "Collector's Edition" with all the bells and whistles, eg. Assassin's Creed series.

PS6 Release Date Will Be After 2027, Suggests Sony Document - PlayStation LifeStyle

A previously confidential document by Sony reveals that the company believes that the PS6 release date won't be anytime soon.

www.playstationlifestyle.net

 

[Templar]

Exactly, will be after 2027 (even 28-29), not "in" 2027 as you said (there's a slight difference).

 

[Amiga Forever]

Yeah, please put 5090 RTX in PS 6 with 24 or 32 Core CPU and 32GB Ram Please

Thanks Sony

 

[miggymad]

It's already begun.

Link

 

[weekendroady]

I'm not 100% sure that physical will just die off like that. Cutting off physical entirely will be a MASSIVE risk for whichever console manufacturer does it first. To date (outside of the PC world) no one has been able to make this work. There are just so many physical sales still to be had - just think how many sales would disappear from people wanting to buy games as gifts for others for holidays and birthdays alone. If there is money to be made and money to lose...

What I could see is a sort of transition to online sales for physical media (losing a physical retail footprint) where all the physical media is ordered on Amazon or other online store fronts. Perhaps this could further transition to on-demand process too. As modern consoles retain USB ports, I could also see physical games "released" in that format too, perhaps on a boutique level in some cases.

 

[YouKnowWho]

I am opposed to this 100%, along with games being dependant on servers for function. This is why I vote with my wallet, even if it is a losing battle. I do no buy the new consoles but I'm not the target demographic, and it's not like the kids today have much choice.

On the other hand, there are so many great games, which have already been made for PS3 and prior that there is plenty of content to play. Games out there to enjoy. You don't NEED these new consoles.

The complexity of gaming and the controls/restrictions new approach enforces upon users is present among every content delivery. I don't like it either, and vote with my wallet accordingly also. Stack variable difficulty, all the online cheats that people try to deploy, frustration of any sort of latency in the experience, advertising in games, all these game advantages through in-game purchases and the whole modern experience of extracting as much money from a user just sucks. I believe the call this phenomenon the enshittification of things, and it is hard to argue and it takes place.

How right was it to just buy a game, take it home, and know you have the best and finished version of it in your hands? It was too good to be true it turns out.

Interestingly enough, if you step back from just the content data one step onto what this content is stored on, you will find an interesting phenomenon of users favouring the performance of SSD over retention of media. Today, most of our everyday data is no longer stored on any sort of magnetic or optical media. It is electrons trapped in cells. Fewer and fewer people use hard drives, and certainly even fewer back up their important data on optical discs. I wonder what happens when we get hit by another Carrington event...how all these SSDs will respond to such a massive shock. I imagine much data will be lost. After all, I'm yet to experience a successful data recovery on an SSD volume.

As another concern, I have always wondered why doesn't some rogue state just write a virus that just wipes the main volume of the computer? That would cause such an unrecoverable data loss mess with all the SSDs we use today.

 

[weekendroady]

I am opposed to this 100%, along with games being dependant on servers for function. This is why I vote with my wallet, even if it is a losing battle. I do no buy the new consoles but I'm not the target demographic, and it's not like the kids today have much choice.

On the other hand, there are so many great games, which have already been made for PS3 and prior that there is plenty of content to play. Games out there to enjoy. You don't NEED these new consoles.

The complexity of gaming and the controls/restrictions new approach enforces upon users is present among every content delivery. I don't like it either, and vote with my wallet accordingly also. Stack variable difficulty, all the online cheats that people try to deploy, frustration of any sort of latency in the experience, advertising in games, all these game advantages through in-game purchases and the whole modern experience of extracting as much money from a user just sucks. I believe the call this phenomenon the enshittification of things, and it is hard to argue and it takes place.

How right was it to just buy a game, take it home, and know you have the best and finished version of it in your hands? It was too good to be true it turns out.

Interestingly enough, if you step back from just the content data one step onto what this content is stored on, you will find an interesting phenomenon of users favouring the performance of SSD over retention of media. Today, most of our everyday data is no longer stored on any sort of magnetic or optical media. It is electronic trapped in cells. Fewer and fewer people use hard drives, and certainly even fewer back up their important data on optical discs. I wonder what happens when we get hit by another Carrington event...how all these SSDs will respond to such a massive shock. I imagine much data will be lost. After all, I'm yet to experience a successful data recovery on an SSD volume.

As another concern, I have always wondered why doesn't some rogue state just write a virus that just wipes the main volume of the computer? That would cause such a mess.

I'm pretty much right there with you at this point. For perspective I've been gaming since 8 or 9 years old starting with the NES and OG Game Boy and a buddy's 2600. A helluva lot has changed in the 30+ years since. I tried to keep up with it, I really did. Looking back on 2023 and the years leading up, I saw a change in me where I've basically transitioned back to enjoying old consoles and physical media almost exclusively (I always have, but I also tried to keep up with the modern scene - to a point). If I do still get a modern game, it is almost always physical. My only digital purchases these days are a few VR titles since unfortunately very few PSVR2 games get pressed on disc (some do though, which was never the original announced plan with those - maybe some wallet voting helped in that case). I probably purchase maybe 3-4 "new" modern games a year, and outside of the new Mario Wonder, I didn't buy any other so-called AAA titles.

As a sports enthusiast, I used to enjoy all sports games a lot more. That genre has absolutely cratered. Loot boxes and exclusive licensing have basically killed the sim sports game. With very few alternatives, there is barely a new sports game IP (arcade-style or otherwise) even worth trying anymore. That is ok though since there is plenty of great titles I can nab and play on my old consoles. It is just sad to see the disintegration of a genre I loved and peaked in the mid-to-late 2000s. Like you say - kids don't even really know what they are missing now as they are offered absolutely no choice.

As I've weaned off sports, I'm taking in a heavy dose of old platforming games and going back to what I loved about gaming growing up. Unless it is truly abysmal, I don't even really care how "flawed" some of the old titles are. You talk about complexity and learning curve - a friend of mine just loaned me a copy of the new Zelda game for Switch and I haven't even looked at it, I'd rather keep trying to finish the first series of levels in my copy of Naughty Ones for CD32!

 

[matze79]

already dead since years

online connection requirement, activation keys killed physicial copys for me.
why should i own a disc when i anyway can`t sell it anymore or borrow it to friends.

After Activation you end up with a unsellable Brick.

i usually ever buyed second hand games.


On Xbox Series X Discs is not even a Game for Xbox Series X, only the One Version.
The Xbox Series X Game has to be downloaded.
The Disc is basicly only a Token.

 

[Bladejack]

I can't imagine Nintendo going digital only !

 

[Sardine]

Even Nintendo is sorta digital only if you look at the new batman game. Unplayable in its physical form requiring a day one patch to even just stop it crashing.

 

[Watson]

Even Nintendo is sorta digital only if you look at the new batman game. Unplayable in its physical form requiring a day one patch to even just stop it crashing.

And that's the very thing that kind of gets under my skin. Most of us remember buying cart/cd based games back in the day, coming home and everything just worked, no updates patches or anything. The only concerns would be the battery in the cart, if it had one.

I am not against updates and patches, especially if it's adding new content or a bit of a tweak, but these unplayable games that require day1 fixes are a joke.

 

[YouKnowWho]

I can't imagine Nintendo going digital only !

I bought the new Mario Wonder. Plugged it in, and it was immediate go time, no wifi access. No updates, no need for anything. Nintendo is the last one to deliver top games on media.

The problem is simple, and could be solved easily - voting with our wallets.

If all these gamers wouldn't download the games and refuse to buy the games unless the are delivered on media and playable, the industry would change in a week. They've slowly driven this change, and the users have allowed it. That's who you end up with all these in-game purchases too, which is truly an insult. I recall reading somewhere that some game titles can double purchase prices thanks to in-game purchases. How could the greedy game owners not want twice the money for the game?

I keep saying it..."THINGS WERE BETTER BACK IN THE DAY!"

 

[miggymad]

@YouKnowWho

The one thing you have to factor into this is that we all want or desire the latest tech. Whether it is the latest iPhone, games console, home appliance etc we'll happily queue for hours or even days just to be able to purchase on the official launch date.

The console / game makers also see the introduction of ultra-fast fibre internet as a major win. It's far cheaper to download the game from their servers than it is for physical copies that you buy-to-own.

Of course this will kill the 2nd-hand game markets but again the console / game makers will see that as a win as well. Unless the console is linked permanently to the games library then only the consoles will be a viable seller on places like eBay etc.

At the end of the day, it's called progress ... we can't stop it, many people won't want to either.

 

[tiim]

I have over a hundred old games on physical media that I haven't "beaten", "solved", "finished" etc.

I have such a short attention span, even 2 disk Amiga games have me frustrated, LOL!

Our Xbox only has discs, save for a couple free downloads from the Live sub... haven't beat those titles either...

Sigh