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The “war” between physical and digital editions has been going on for quite some time. Both sides have their merits. Digital editions are highly practical as you can get them in an instant directly from the online store, without having to bother with going to the shop and everything related to it (time, parking, etc). Also, there is no bunch of plastic cluttering up your living space. Alternatively, some gamers do prefer having a “bunch of plastic” lying around. Owning a physical copy is a preferred method for some players, especially those who are proud of their video game collections. And let’s not forget the recent controversies concerning game ownership. But, it looks like the number of “collectors” is drastically smaller, compared to those who like to have everything digital.
Only a Third of European PlayStation 5 Gamers Prefer Physical Copies
As far as the numbers are concerned, according to Christopher Dring, a respectable analyst and head of GamesIndustry, about 32% of PS5 gamers prefer physical.
Looking only at AA and AAA games released this year in Europe. PS5 game sales are 32% physical, Xbox Series S and X are 19% physical, and Switch sales are 65% physical. It does vary greatly from game-to-game.
He adds that the data does not feature popular single-publisher games, like Wukong or Baldur’s Gate 3. “The data is mostly analysing games from the bigger publishers like Sony, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Warner, Take-Two, Activision, Sega, Capcom, Square etc…”
Despite what you’d expect, you can see that the vast majority of PS5 gamers are digital-only. This could be due to numerous factors and the one we presume is a major player here is the general age of the gamers and practicality. Steam, the most popular digital video game platform was released in the early 2000s and everyone followed suit. It is easier, cheaper, and more secure to publish games digitally than to take all the costs and risks that come with physical editions. The majority of the PS5 player base are gamers between ages 15 and 30, which means that they were exposed to digital copies early on. Gamers born in the 80s and early 90s are those who prefer physical copies, mostly out of nostalgia, and they are a minority compared to younger gamers.