Limited Run Gets Brutally Honest As Xbox Misses Out On Two New Ports

"If we could count on selling 5,000+ of a title physically on Xbox, we could justify the ports without a digital stake, but we only sell those kinds of numbers on PlayStation and Switch. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Xbox gamers are digital first."

[gold_drake]

"Physical game sales are not high enough on Xbox to offset our development costs, so we have no option but to skip Xbox on these titles."

this right here
xbox has built their fanbase to be only interested in shooters or forza.
im not surprised by that statement at all.

we've seen that happen with aalot of other games aswell, were the fans are just not on xbox, but on playstion and switch.

[darthv72]

Say what...? If anything, it has less to do with shooters or Forza and more to do with game pass. Acclimating to digital downloads more so than physical media. Especially if the SS makes up the lions share of units sold.

Besides, this is LRG we are talking about. They are the Razor & Tie of the gaming world. If ya know, ya know. They are just glorifird reproductions of other companies work.

[ModsDoBetter]

Agreed.

Sony fanboys all use that tired argument "Shooters and Forza" whilst not actually looking into the variety of games available on the platform. Is Hi-Fi Rush a shooter, for example?

It's more to do with gamepass and less to do with genres.

[TheEroica]

You are correct Darth, don't let those downvotes get to you. The Sony defense force can be often be collectively sore...

[DogJosha]

I don't know about shooters and Forza, but this problem existed before gamepass when digital sales weren't a problem. The only time these types of games sold well on an Xbox platform was the 360 when Sony made the PS3 too difficult to program for. I do agree that gamepass adds extra harm, but the problem already existed.

[S2Killinit]

@olMyerslo
“Sony fanboys”? Its a developer.

Not to mention, many MS apologists dismiss comments about the effects of gamepass on quality of games and MS’s focus on gass. And now that the cat is out of the bag, all of a sudden “it’s gamepass, and that is ok”?

[rlow1]

Same old dumb statements from a fanboy. Xbox has much more than just shooters and Forza. Lol…….How original.

[gold_drake]

fanboy of .. what exactly? i didnt leave anyone out. ridiculous comment. lol

[jwillj2k4]

It’s about what’s advertised not actual games.

[rlow1]

@gold_drake
Your comment about Xbox only having certain type of games is old. We all know they have much more than just two types of games. But fanboys always fallback to it because it’s lazy.

[UltimateOwnage]

I'd say more like they have built their entire B- rated platform around GamePass. Can't blame people for taking advantage of the only thing worth buying an XBOX for, but GaaS has always been known to shape consequences in the industry. This is yet another.

[just_looken]

I like how there are still many users that think xbox is a tiny company that only has gamepass/halo and forza yet they are playing there games every day.

Microsoft could buy sony and absorb the cost in 2 years max right now xbox owns way more ips than alot of game companies.
https://www.dexerto.com/gam...

That did not cover your high fi rush outerworlds mobile divisions tony hawk new games like fable or that arrowed? game.

https://www.gamesradar.com/...

Xbox has a ton of games out there on many platforms even the switch now.

The main reason physical is dieing is due to the overall money they make via digital along with the overall support a digital is getting a game at $70 on the respected platform be it spiderman 2 on the ps store or halo mcc on a xbox store will always make way more money that a disc version.

[shinoff2183]

Why you getting so defensive. Ms definitely helped usher in the digital age there's no doubt and you can't deny it. When you look at the consoles. Xbox players are more then likely the ones to be all and only digital. Where as Sony Nintendo still have alot of players who prefer physical. Sony and Nintendo aren't the ones who have beaten into their bases heads that digital, digital,cloud, digital is the way.

[mkis007]

You just started with xbox but then jumped to ms. Xbox is tiny compared to ms too.

[notachance]

xbox is tiny, it's MS that is huge

sorry but they're not popular outside NA/UK, it's to the point that buying PS or Nintendo instead of Xbox is common sense rather than taste. Especially if you like multiplayer, no one practically play on it.

[just_looken]

Where as Sony Nintendo still have alot of players who prefer physical.

First off the switch has a extreme few amount of games on the actual storage drive they have been full digital in the grand scheme for 2yrs now. Then you say ps5 players like discs yet bestbuy/walmart/uk/austrailia are no longer going to carry disc based media. The mobile aka digital market dwarfs your tiny peasant sony base
https://www.gamesindustry.b...

You just started with xbox but then jumped to ms. Xbox is tiny compared to ms too.

Holy f this is why America is becoming a new version of mad max we can say sony playstation no issues all day long but saying xbox is owned/run by microsoft well we cant have that right its to scary cancel my ass right.

Well to bad microsoft its a trillion dollar corporation that buys games ip/companies i know your scared but its the truth they can buy up a country if they wanted too so i will continue to say Microsoft/xbox like i say sony/playstation get over it.

[just_looken]

hat buying PS or Nintendo instead of Xbox is common sense r

I would like to add reading a comment saying ms should buy xbox it just adds more on how scary the future is for humans.

I think usa should tell everyone water causes cancer unless you microwave it first then say that only microwaves with a certain sticker will work i 100% believe millions will buy the special microwavable water and microwave.

[gold_drake]

no one was talking about sony specifically, not sure why u put your fanboism on me haha.

[shinoff2183]

Just looken, you ain't looking hard enough.

First there's 100s of switch titles still being released yearly physically, same as ps5. It's mostly your aaa titles from the likes of a ea, ubisoft, Activision that this applies to and sometimes it's still not the case. Shit the last few sentences were referring to the physical games these days aren't a complete game. Take for instance star ocean 2 remake not complete but in the end the update was for a language pack. No biggie still complete in my eyes.

Sure those companies took are taking physical games away from their shelves and they are going to lose customers to boot. Especially best buy. Wal mart well some of us that's all you got around. Anyway back to physicals if you actually know and or look there's 100s of places online to buy these from. Just like depth stores being worried for 10 20 years about online shopping taking over well in he case of physical games that'll be where to go. Not hard. Shitty but not hard.

And finally, let's be real little buddy. I've, and I've seen other ps users critique Sony, so no ones saying Sony can do wrong.

Anyway the main point was lrg not making physical games for xboxbecause the base has been trained to not biy physaical. Lrg isnt wrong

[TheEroica]

Wow, how's the weather in your reality? "Xbox gamers don't play anything but forza and shooters" 😢😂 Meanwhile the developer is referring to digital sales and likely Gamepass being the driving force behind lack of physical sales. Lol.

[gold_drake]

sorry, forgot starfield, ur right.

[thesoftware730]

Gold,

What a terrible take you have on what was said.

Wow, it's like you decided to just come in, say some negative shit, and disregard any truth or logic.

[Zeref]

They literally told you the reason why. "Xbox gamers are mostly digital first"

And you concluded that Xbox gamers only play Shooters (which literally most people do, regardless of platform) and Forza... Like how??😂

And everyone agrees... The level of intelligence on this website needs to be studied 🤣

[Notellin]

"this right here
xbox has built their fanbase to be only interested in shooters or forza.
im not surprised by that statement at all."

I've come to expect these reactionary and anecdotal nonsense posts being at the top on N4G. The entire community is so biased and uneducated the comment section has become meaningless fanboy drivel.

[Software_Lover]

...... Reading is fundamental.

It has nothing to do with the type of game, but how the games are sold. They specifically said that because most Xbox gamers buy digital, they decided to skip.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

They literally told you the reason why there is no physical release. So which statement are you talking about with shooters and Forza?

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

I think it’s a confluence of a few different factors. Third place in sales means the smallest corner of the market to begin with. When that already smaller market also has less interest in a certain type of game, and less interest in physical games in general, that further reduces the potential niche.

[Christopher]

*** xbox has built their fanbase to be only interested in shooters or forza. ***

Why are you attempting to add this to the argument of physical vs digital? Xbox plays plenty of games that aren't shooters or forza. Your argument is weak and ill-placed.

[-Foxtrot]

To be fair on them they did start to do Xbox releases, a very few but it seems like we now know why they never did

They listened to complaints, they tried and it failed.

[shinoff2183]

To boot I believe the Xbox titles they did do were of slightly bigger named games.

[Profchaos]

Exactly and from reading the article they make nothing on digital distribution so unless the people are there to buy a game physically and they get at least 5k sales they make a loss

[italiangamer]

Finally some honest to God words from a company, clear as day and no PR mumbo jumbo.

[porkChop]

It's certainly refreshing. Honesty and transparency should be much more prominent, and not just in the game industry.

[ChasterMies]

Between 50% to 75% of Xbox Series Sales are the digital only Series S. That means the install base of disc playing Xbox’s is at WiiU levels. I don’t know the breakdown of PS5 to PS5 digital but the greater number of PS5s probably makes up for the difference.

[purple101]

Probs the opposite I guess
75 disk and 25% digital

Maybe even less than 25%

[--Onilink--]

Unlikely given most games sold for Sony are digital (or people are buying the Physical PS5 but still buying digital games). Even for Nintendo the digital sales finally outpaced physical ones.

“Zooming in on PlayStation's physical/digital sales split (which looks at units sold rather than cash), just over two thirds (67 per cent) of software sales were digital in Q2 2023. This is a slight increase year-on-year, but down compared to Q1 2023.”

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

So no, not the opposite, they all significantly favor digital sales these days. My guess for the difference to Limited Run games is just how many game sales there are on Switch and PS compared to Xbox on account of the much larger install base

[--Onilink--]

Lol, why are people disagreeing? Those are literally the numbers taken from directly from Sony’s latest fiscal report.
The only question left is whether people are buying the physical edition console despite buying digital games (I actually do that, the disc drive is for movies, though even physical movies are also dropping in sales) or just getting the cheaper digital version.
I suppose it also depends on which SKU Sony produces more of, though I gotta imagine they also would want to favor digital sales to lock people to the PSN store.

But its pretty clear that even on PS about 2/3 of game sales are digital (and its no much different elsewhere)

[Profchaos]

Anecdotally I've only seen physical ps5 consoles in store in the last 12 months or so hasn't seen digital in stores since launch

[purple101]

@ onlink so 67% and 75% I said are quite close when you think about it

There must be a crossover I agree of people with disk still buying digital

So my estimate was pretty close anyway

Certainly didn’t warrant a comment saying I’m 8% off

Hah

Jeez it was only a guesstimate anyway

[MrNinosan]

@Onilink
It's not about the digital sales of games. In my store, we have sold around 95% PS5 Standard, and 5% Digital since the release 2020.

It's all about the possibility to use physicsl, playing your backlog PS4-games, or actually save in on the price by buying 2-3 physical games.

Here in Europe, Physical games are normally 10-20$ cheaper that digital, so buying a Standard PS5 and a few Physicsl games during the lifespan of 8 year, would have already saved you the few extra bucks you paid for Standard.

But yes, digital is selling more than physical.

I provably bought 300-400 digital PS5 games, and only 20-30 physical, but still, I needed Standard PS5 for those 20-30.

Very simple math that you seemed to fail.

[--Onilink--]

Its not 8%, its 67% DIGITAL games to 33% Physical, and that % actually represented a drop for digital, in previous quarters (and previous years) the gap between digital and physical has been even higher

So unless a huge amount of people are getting the physical PS5 but buy mostly or only digital games, or its the SKU that Sony produces more of despite such a preference for digital games, it would be quite weird for the Disc version of the PS5 to outsell that much the Digital one

[Zeref]

@Onilink

Get the f* outta here with your facts, logic and common sense

[--Onilink--]

@MrNinosan

You dont get to 3/4 or more of console sales being for the disc version just by giving out anecdotal data or guessing that people might occasionally buy a physical game. I’m not making up any numbers either, again, they are straight from Sony’s financial reports.

Which is why I mentioned the possibility of the Disc version maybe being the SKU that was most produced if we want to reach the kind of ratio he was mentioning.

Though again, given how Sony would prefer to lock people into the PSN for all sales, how the Slim model is in a way also favoring a Digital version by making turning the disc drive into an accessory, how the general consumers typically favor the cheaper options (as seen with Xbox Series S)… its highly unlikely that the Disc to Digital ratio of PS5 console sales would be anywhere near what he was saying (75% or more to disc)

I’m also not saying that the console ratio is 67/33 to digital just because the game sales are like that, I’m saying that given just how much digital sales are favored even on PS, it is VERY unlikely to be 25/75 to disc, unless Sony just isnt producing enough Digital versions

THAT is the very simple math you seem to fail

[Concertoine]

Considering how poorly the xbox one sold if they hit Wii U levels they’d probably be happy.

[MrNinosan]

Series X isn't even close to Wii U numbers.
We're talking 5-7 million Series X.

[babadivad]

I don't by physical for Xbox or Playstation. The last physical game I bought was SF5 because it was a ridiculous discount.

[franwex]

I mainly game on Xbox, along with my friends. Only one of us is mainly physical. It’s not me. So yes, what you stated compounded along with Xbox being predominantly digital, even if physical is an option equals very low sales.

[Vits]

Honestly, it's kind of funny because the usual issue with Limited Run or any of those other 'indie publishers' is that they typically produce so few copies that it's extremely hard to get one. So maybe reallocating those Xbox copies to the Switch and PS4/5 would be a good idea.

[Amplitude]

To be fair Limited Run haven't done that for years now. It's "you have 7 or more days to order this game, and we'll produce the exact number of units to ship". You've just gotta check the site every once in a while and you can get anything. Which is why it's kinda less fun now

Off topic rant:
I used to be on the site at 10am to try to quickly check out before the games sold out. I got the first 25-ish Switch ones and a bunch of collectors editions and started the PSVR and PS5 ones but they started releasing way too quick and i was literally spending two weeks pay on Limited Run Games every month lmfao. Then they changed it to the 7 day order window and idk it felt less special. The Jak 2 collectors edition selling out in 2 milliseconds also really killed my interest too. Sorry I'm just stoned and remembering that weird time when i got addicted to buying limited run games

[Vits]

That's is not being fair; it's a case of tunnel vision. Half the globe lacks direct access to games from Limited Run or other indie publishers, being compelled to purchase them through a middleman. Consequently, the supply of copies is consistently below what it needed to be.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Thank you for being honest

[BlackIceJoe]

Microsoft needs to change their policy on how many disc made games there needs to be made, before the game can come out on a disc.

If a company only wants to make ten or so games they should be able to do that instead of having to make a minimum of a thousand or so games.

If Microsoft doesn't change this policy Xbox fans will continue to miss out on games and that isn't fare for Xbox gamers.

[shinoff2183]

Sony and Nintendo have a 1k minuim, it's been rumored ms has about a 50k minuim(this was back on xbox one)

[franwex]

It’s a ploy to deter Xbox games from being physical. Microsoft wants an all digital future.

[Profchaos]

I think it's telling really and there's a ton of speculation but I feel the problem isn't that Xbox is a shooter centric console it's that the seris s is all digital and that's the majority of sales alongside the gamepass effect Xbox players don't buy as many games because the mantra I'll wait until it's on gamepass exists

[Chocoburger]

While it's unfortunate, it's a very small number of XSX owners who care about buying physical copies of classic games, and they don't own a PS5 or Switch already. The number has got to be microscopic, flat out irrelevant.

All of them could have easily picked a PS5 or Switch, had they paid attention to the writing on the very large and obvious wall.

You've made your choice, now learn to deal with it.

[ModsDoBetter]

"All of them could have easily picked a PS5 or Switch, had they paid attention to the writing on the very large and obvious wall."

How dare people stick to an eco-system they're invested in? How dare gamers buy a console based on the type of games they are interested in? How dare people buy the system their friends play on?

They have no right to have buyers remorse. This is a PlayStation and Nintendo only world, anyone else is irrelevant and only has themselves to blame. How very dare they!? *angry Sony fanboy noises*

[Hypertension140]

@olMyerslo

Your comment perfectly describes why I'm absolutely furious about Microsoft acquiring two large multiplatform publishers, but all I'm hearing from Xbox fanboys is to switch, like its that easy.

Your probably doing the same thing, so I don't want to hear anything from you losers.

[ModsDoBetter]

@Hypertension- English please?

[franwex]

“Made your choice deal with it.”

To them being digital is not a as big a deal as it is to you. In fact it’s a positive.

Eventually that’s how things are going and you will deal with it, not them. Unfortunately.

[DOMination-]

How many people posting above are going to put their money where their mouth is and actually purchase the physical copy of Felix the Cat on PlayStation then?

[Nyxus]

Enough people to warrant a print, according to LRG themselves: "...we only sell those kinds of numbers on PlayStation and Switch"

[ModsDoBetter]

Facts.

[shinoff2183]

I may if the my money's right, but I'll damn sure be getting tomba and gex. I've already got a stack or 6 from lrg since they started doing ps4 with Saturday morning rpg the oddworld new and tasty.

[DarXyde]

I didn't realize how massive the adoption rate of digital games were on Xbox.

Over 20M units in households, and 5,000 physical copies is difficult?

That's kind of insane, but it does make some sense with Game Pass and the Series S being the more popular console by far. Even so, if you had just 5M Series X consoles in homes, a one-tenth of 1% physical sell-through is very difficult? That's just wild to me.

I would think most smaller developers would just launch into Game Pass in cases like this. Microsoft has really shifted the consumer culture in their ecosystem. All I can say is... Don't be too eager to abandon physical media for subs and downloads, people.

[shinoff2183]

Subs are wolves in sheep's clothing. Just wait.

And I say that as being subbed to both of them.

[FlintGREY]

It makes sense. That's the ONLY reason Gamepass exists in the first place. Xbox players were not buying games outside of the major 1st party releases.

[babadivad]

Surprised this shitty company hasn't went under yet.

[jznrpg]

Xbox days do look to be numbered.

[babadivad]

You fanboys love to bring Xbox into every discussion. It's also hilarious how many morons think it would be a good thing if Microsoft left the console market. Simply delusional. 😂😂

[anast]

Xbox groomed their customers to be perpetual renters and streamers.

[Agent75]

Funny company to deal with. There are other companies out there like Strictly Limited Games and Super Rare Games. Never understood the point of knocking out a low amount of games, when they could make more money having more stock. Most if not all of these games end up being sold at inflated prices by scalpers. Not sure why Xbox gets it in the neck, but as with PlayStation 4/5 and Nintendo Switch releases, limited amount of games available so be quick before prices rocket.

[shinoff2183]

They pretty much tell you why in the article. Lrg themselves say it.

[Hereandthere]

Around 80% of xbox series owners are series S, court docs confirmed this. Also, a lot here like to pretend they own the series x, but really have the S.

[GhostScholar]

The vast majority of all gamers are mostly purchasing digital. Eventually, physical will go away on all platforms I think. Not saying I like that, but it’s just where we’re headed

[koga88]

Doesn't help that Limited Run Games is an awful company with terrible turn around time and even worse business practices. Maybe if they spent more time actually making their company meet expectations and perform properly they wouldn't need to throw other company's under the bus. Never buy from LRG.

[shinoff2183]

Your right about there turn around time, but keep in mind what I see from them lately I mostly pre orders. Their at nintendos and sonys mercy on that. Lrg doesn't print the games themselves. I have heard customer service kinda blows though. They really didn't throw any company under the bus if your referring to this articl

[TiredGamer]

Don’t be so dramatic. They provide a service that is unique and fill a void in the industry. They aren’t perfect, but consider the alternative.

[koga88]

If they are the only one "filling a void" then they should try to be perfect. Instead they have some of the worst customer service around, often straight up ignoring customers with issues, constantly delay releases or release shoddy quality products, and more. And what's the alternative? Digital only? Oh no.

They snap up licenses for countless releases, often announcing ten games at a time and then delay them for years. Manufactured scarcity is never a good thing for consumers and LRG thrives on it while also doing nothing to prevent scalping botters.

[OneLove]

Lmao 89% of games are bought digital in the gaming industry much less the consoles industry. Only the guys on this site seem to care so much about physical copies💀

[shinoff2183]

89 percent is a flat-out lie. And you know it

[OneLove]

https://www.gamebyte.com/90...
For 2022 Google is free. Mainly from mobile gaming but facts are facts. Flip it how you want to.

[SinisterMister]

Fantastic news lol

[TheSenorCheese]

So...you can't do digital ones either? I understand the physical front but COME ON.

[jznrpg]

They make physical games for games that were digital only most of the time. That’s on the publisher of the digital game if they are skipping Xbox , and the Xbox people that don’t buy games and rely on rental service

[jznrpg]

Xbox gamers mostly wait for gamepass and buy the least amount of games in general.

[Father__Merrin]

its because of gamepass

[Abear21]

In a couple years this will sound foolish, but right now, yeah, it makes sense.

[Rdeal]

I wouldn't takes their games if they were given away free