Physical Games Will Never Die

Despite what the analysts like to repeat like broken record players, physical games really aren't going anywhere.

[RazzerRedux]

"Even in the case that physical games do die out, there will always be somebody out there who will look to release it physically to what is still a baying crowd."

Assuming that was meant to say "buying crowd". That's it in a nutshell. Supply and demand. I would love to believe that physical will always be an option. My gut tells me that won't always be the case. There is a reason why GameStop is nearly a dead business and it is because of the rise of digitally downloaded games. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Right now the problem with digitally downloaded games is the congestion the internet due to people staying at home. I tried to run a speed test yesterday as my internet was slow and the speed test said there were too many people using speed test and try again later. That's insane. Imagine trying to download a 50 GB game. Makes physical games look really good right now.

[melons]

I feel Gamestop et al struggling has as much to do with digital as it does them just being awful at pricing, not scaling with the times, and being aggressive with extra sales.

I always go to ma and pa stores over a chain if I can, not only because I won't be sold nine million things at checkout, but also because they are generally cheaper.

If I buy online, I always use ShopTo or The Game Collection over the "traditional" vendors as they are actually cheaper than digital. GameStop, Game, or whatever your regional retail version is, are struggling as they are just BAD places to shop, as well as digital having its impact.

[RazzerRedux]

Pricing is a big problem for physical overall though. Margins are already extremely slim for retailers. There used to be discounts on game preorders but that is gone for the most part for physical games. This isn't a GameStop or Game problem. It is a retailer problem. Game prices have not adjusted with inflation since 2005 and that has impacted the money these stores make on each game sold. And physical artificially inflates the prices of digital for console games as publishers do not want to lower prices on digital until physical inventories are decreased. Physical means actual money tied up in inventory, unlike digital. This puts the squeeze on retailers and it is reflected in their pricing, lack of promotions, and the sales pitches at the counter.

Now take the PC side of things where digital is non-existent, for the most part. You have plenty of preorder discounts from sites like greenmangaming or fanatical. You have a seemingly unending number of sales and promotions. The fact that games on PC are not competing with the inventories of their physical counterparts frees up publishers and resellers to do these things.

This may sound like I'm promoting digital over physical, but I'm not really. I just don't think we should ignore the positives that digital brings to the table. I love a healthy physical market for console where buying, trading, and reselling continues to live on. Those are advantages digital simply does not have and probably never will.

[KilluaX3]

DVDs and Blu-Rays haven't died, despite things like streaming services functioning even better sometimes, so of course physical games aren't going to die either.

[Latex74]

Not until the price drops digital is a big rip off it may be convenient but not worth it . I only buy sale games digital at most 25 pounds

[toxic-inferno]

The other advantage is being able to share it. My wife and I have two PS4s (one each from before we got married), so we can buy the game once as a download and play it online together. Would cost twice as much to do the same with physical copies.

With that said, we are big believers in physical copies, and even buy two physical copies of some games.

[ifrit_caress]

The author makes some really interesting points. You simply cannot trust that publishers/corporations will keep their game license active and you never have to worry about that if you have the physical disc.

Just look at what Konami did to P.T.

[NotoriousWhiz]

They broke into your home, turned on your console and deleted P.T?

[ifrit_caress]

No, but if I wanted to reinstall it, that would be impossible. Even if I didn't have the game, if I wanted to download it, that is impossible.

Publishers can and have pulled their games off the net or online stores on a whim.

[NotoriousWhiz]

Okay. Companies also eventually stop producing physical content. They aren't required to make it available to you forever. If you want to keep your digital software, create a backup. Now it's definitely preferable if games had both a physical and digital copy, as it's a lot simpler to purchase a 2nd hand physical copy than it is to acquire a digital only copy that's no longer hosted on stores.

[BlaqMagiq1]

Anyone who thought physical was ever going away is an idiot.

[Retroman]

"Physical games will never die"
Ya don't say.......why didn't gamer's think of that before.....Doh!!

[WelkinCole]

It all comes down to distribution. As long as internet is not fast enough to keep with up with expanding content size or cheap enough for people to buy games digitally. Physical will always be.

Lets not forget that the market for growth for console gaming is in developing countries. If game publishers want to increase their stock value. They need to look into other growth markets apart from established ones.

Personally I will never buy AAA games digitally as I always buy them to own. This will never change for for as long as I game.

You never know when a company shut down their servers or something wipes your digital game library. Physical will always be the most convenient, safest, best way to game.