Sony: “Physical Games Will Be Around A Lot Longer”

“Physical games will be around a lot longer than some people think,” according to Sony’s SVP of PlayStation brand marketing, Guy Longworth.

[Relientk77]

Good, glad to hear it

[Tony-A]

I will always find it more exciting to actually go out and purchase a physical game than it would be to purchase and download a game on a digital storefront. I don't know... maybe I just like the social aspect of doing that. It feels lonely doing it digitally and I always feel like I'm doing something I shouldn't. haha

Anyway, I said that in 2009 when they said that half of video game revenue would be digital by 2012, and I say it again a year after their projections.

[Kryptix]

There's also a good feeling of buying a game from the store, getting back home, popping it into your console of choice then start playing it. Like all that time getting back home to play the game feels somehow rewarding. And owning the physical copy feels like a trophy added to your other games so you can see it when you're taking out a different game. Also keeping them makes you feel like a collector, that someday these physical copies will be worth a lot of money and makes you feel rich cause you own them. I don't know, there's all kinds of benefits to owning the physical copy and I'm glad Sony knows.

[TheHybrid]

I know right?? Personally, I still love riding my donkey to work

[Army_of_Darkness]

you still ride your donkey?? gezz man, get a flying dragon like everybody else. Much easier to pick up your games within your village.

[Inception]

Ok call me a freak, but one of the reason why i love physical games is because i can do the 'ritual' of smelling out the flavor of brand new games XD

You know, when you open the seal, open the case, smell that good flavor, and inhaled it...hmm....ahhhhhhhh....amazi ng....okay, i lost myself a bit there :P

With download games i can't do this 'ritual' XD

But i agree with Tony-A about being lonely when doing digital. And boring too when waiting the process.

[nix]

@inception: hahaha... nothing beats that feeling when you unwrap the disc and smell the fresh smell of printed book inside... nothing q:

but on topic, im assuming sony is saying that because they really learnt it the hard way with PSP GO. im ok with downloading for Vita probably because they are tad smaller in size.

Plus, its fun to share discs around.

[MysticStrummer]

Yeah I love the ritual of going to pick up a new game. I swing by the game store and pick it up, then roll through a fast food place and grab some fuel, usually taking off the game's shrink wrap while I'm in line and flipping though the manual. Downloads are a nice option , but a physical copy is still king.

@Hybrid - I'm sure you thought the donkey comment was clever, but it's worthless as an analogy.

[3-4-5]

People like things/stuff. As long as there are physical objects outside of gaming being bought and collected, so will video games.

They are Art and collectors items to/for a lot of people so there will always be a market for it.

[HammadTheBeast]

Well... true in both ways. They last longer, it's what the majority of consumers want, and they don't disappear as soon as some servers shut down.

[PSjesus]

Sony did their research by digital only (PSP go) and it was a fail

[papashango]

if you mean charging the same price and in some instances more than physical media. Yeah they learned that it doesn't work that way.

[PSjesus]

all did this (games on Nintendo eshop even more expensive than physical and charge taxes sometimes) unlike steam,consoles digital games pricing should be accepted by retail stores to sell their physical copy otherwise they well take from the shelves

[04soldier]

Games cost $60 a pop.. For that kind of money, I need to be able to hold to product in my hand and be able to resell it if I see fit to..

[AusRogo]

Awesome to hear!. Though sometimes digital sales are cheaper than retail sales.. I still prefer physical but if I see something real cheap in a digital sale (like The Witcher 2 for $10) ill go for it.

[Shadowolf]

Once digital ecosystems of both Sony and Microsoft gain uber-momentum allowing them the option to offer Day 1 purchases well below the standard retail price of games without the concern of Gamestop somehow undercutting their profit margin at retail by refusing to stock their hardware and exclusive software, then gamers will begin to see those insane Steam like deals for new titles. Of course I'm not saying PS+ doesn't currently offer insane discounts and savings but the fact still remains, there is no way a digital copy of a game should be priced equivalent to its retail counterpart.

[iceman06]

That's why physical copies will be around for longer than we think. It takes a while for those ecosystems to take hold and normalize. Steam wasn't built in a day...at least the way that it functions today. So, until Sony and MS can create the incentives needed to gain that momentum, most people will be happy with the physical copies.

[Shadowolf]

Well said!

[Gamers_United]

Oh I don't think so everything will change

[Hicken]

In how long? It won't be any time soon, I can tell you that much.

[CanadianTurtle]

I don't see any reason to go digital because my friends and I borrow eachother's games all the time. It would be a sad day for us when everyone starts to go digital

[evilhasitsway]

just sayin yes hard copies will be around for awhile but not as long as you may think 80% of players play online that means 80% has internet and to put as simple as I can if a big AAA game comes out and there are a lot of people at your gamestop or bestbuy it is easier and faster to get the digital copy no pain just play.

[titans9999]

Thank God for this! I hate digital only! The ONLY digital stuff I have is the pinball arcade because it doesn't have a physical disc

[JBSleek]

I don't like physical but I understand it must be here as an option until infrastructure becomes more widespread.

Always have the option.

[ajax17]

Why stream or download everything when disc capacities are continuously improving. Here's to hoping the PS4 can read BDXL's

[s8anicslayer]

I don't feel digital should be an only option, but instead a choice if you'd like, variety is the spice of life!

[PersonMan]

I don't want digital only because some day I want to be able to boot up an old console and pop in the disc and play it. Instead of not being able to download it because the servers aren't up anymore. Plus, I like feeling like I own something... not just renting it.

Also, once you download a game, it cannot be returned or sold again.

[NateCole]

Options. It's all about options. Sony understands this quite well now. There are pros and cons for each. Let the consumer pick which option is best for them because each consumer is unique with their own situation that is different from others.

[boybato]

Considering how much Vita memory cards are being sold. It should. lol

[cell989]

I love hearing that, and I embrace it 100%

[Grimhammer00]

By the time we're looking at a all digital future - I suspect consoles will no longer be needed. They'll be cheap stream boxes with controllers. Everything will be handled servers side - and lag will be dealt with.

Until then...and the world market has universal fiber with cheap possibly standardize pricing....I'll just stick with discs thanks.

I mean who wants to download 20-40gb games 2-3 times a month? Plus media and indie titles....how unlimited is your Internet? Mine says its unlimited until you approach 90gb then they send warning letters and throttle my connection.

An all digital future meh.....I'll pass as long as in can.

[iceman06]

With the rate that things are going in the U.S., some people might end up paying twice as much for digital games anyway with silly data caps and such. So, unless I get a Google Fiber "fiber-hood" near me, which it doesn't seem we can ever get enough customers, then I would be pretty S.O.L. without physical copies.

[grassyknoll]

I will always buy physical over digital (bar PlayStation Plus). The day physical dies is most likely the time I stop buying new games.

[RevXM]

Streaming and digital games are great. I really like PS+ and Steam, but I get games physically whenever I can. Steam super sales are often too hard to resist and PS+ let me play digital games for free as long as I have an active subscription.

But one day those might just go away, vanish and then Id be glad that I have or can go and get a physical copy of the the game I want to play and pop it in my console or PC.

I'll be happy as long as physical games stay around.

[greedybear88]

I always buy physical copies of games :)

[Smokingunz]

They will co-exist with one another.also, digital games takes up too much hard drive space, thats why I rather buy physical disks and leave the xtra hard drive space for movies, pics and arcade games.games that I really like and can play forever and games I never wil trade in are the games I download to my system however.

[CaptCalvin]

They learned the hard way.