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[OfTheOverflow]

1. I like skipping ~50GB downloads
2. I like lending my games to friends
3. I like having tangible boxes representing the media.
3. Frequently cheaper on physical
4. Able to support local businesses who get a cut.
5. Re-sale value

The only downside is that it's obviously the less environmentally conscious option.

 

[Metfanant]

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

lmao....

I like discs because 99 times out of 100 I can get the game cheaper that way...being able to trade it in later on is just a bonus...

until the economics change, I'm staying physical...

 

[NeoTracer]

Can we stop pretending CDs are still a thing. The majority of music consumed in 2016 will be from streaming and downloads.

But video games aren't music. 100 MB, heck even 1 GB worth of music is nothing compared to video games nowadays. Lots of video games nowadays are over 30 GB worth of space. Imagine downloading that with 100 kbps internet speed. I buy digitally because I have quick internet (and I get to game-share it with others lol). But if it wasn't for both of those factors, I would totally pick physical over digital.

 

[TheChamp]

When digital releases start coming down in price over time.... instead of being 4x the price of physical

 

[Elandyll]

The comparison is silly.

It took 20yrs for digital music to reach parity with physical (it overtook it just in 2015), and physical is here to stay for the long haul, with even a resurgence of vinyl.

Games will probably transition faster, but you will always have collectors, people counting on trading in, and the need for something tangible to put under the Xmas tree (example of physical gift).

Now hardware makers may try to push it faster, as we almost saw with MS in 2013, but we'll see how much pushback there'll be at next gen.

I sort of expect MS to go "full PC" and forego physical net time around (perhaps as early as Scorpio), and Sony trying to hang on for 1 more gen, no more.
It would be smart of them to allow an add on for physical BC (external drive), but I doubt they'll go there.

 

[N.Grim]

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

It's not small apparently

 

[Deleted member 126221]

All games released now are available digitally. What's wrong with a more durable option (physical copies) being offered for the more expensive games?

I hope physical copies will continue to exist, at least as a luxury/collector option just like CDs/vinyls for music and bluray for movies.

 

[SoundPulse]

The biggest thing holding back the All-Digital-Future™ are the ISPs. Nobody wants to download a 50GB file off of PSN when they have a data cap or they have a slow internet connection, especially when they can skip downloading it by going to a store and buying a physical copy.

Still have to wait on all those patches, though.

 

[_Spr_Drnk]

Prise my discs from my cold, dead hands.

 

[Dr. Worm]

People like you annoy me to no end. You can already go fully digital yet complain others aren't forced to, very cool.

I think a lot of people are misinterpreting this thread.

The OP isn't asking if it's good or bad, or what you think of it. The OP is asking for predictions regarding when it will happen.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Hopefully sometime after the standard of internet speed/data caps isn't shit and companies can't just decide to delist games they don't want to host anymore or revoke your license. Or, ideally, never.

I don't get why you all digital guys are so keen on the complete extinction of another format. It's not like games still being available physically in any way effects your preference to buy digital.

 

[More_Badass]

That's a bad comparison

Music files are small. MP3s and streaming let you just get the songs you want rather than entire CD, and let you take your library with you on the road or a walk

Game disks vs download have none of those digital advantages that contributed to the decline of CDs

 

[Gamezone]

Can we stop pretending CDs are still a thing. The majority of music consumed in 2016 will be from streaming and downloads.

But they are still a thing. Almost every album is released on a CD, even though you can download everything within seconds, and stream it for free. People still want the disc, and therefore it's available.

 

[Dubz]

People like you annoy me to no end. You can already go fully digital yet complain others aren't forced to, very cool.

Please don't hate me. I don't care if physical stays forever. My question is, when will digital surpass physical.

Perhaps I phrased ot poorly in the OP.

 

[Zee-Row]

I hope physical media never goes away because I actually like owning what I buy.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

Small? I'm curious how much of AAA games sales you think are digital and how much are physical for you to call the group that buys physical small?

 

[Caffeine]

in certain parts of america even isp's are the problem. unless you want to be overpaying for internet out the wazoo. I mean right now we are paying $64 for just 15mbps. it takes 6 hours to download a 50GB game or I could just drive to the store and install it off disc in less than 30 mins. If I want to get that type of speed on downloads I would have to pay like $160 a month. while I hear european countries are getting faster internet for $50 less a month.

 

[Vice]

Can we stop pretending CDs are still a thing. The majority of music consumed in 2016 will be from streaming and downloads.

They are still a thing though. The majority does not mean all music was consumed through download or streaming and it will always have a string niche that companies find worth supporting with the success of vinyl, and other legacy formats.

 

[Lothars]

Physical copies are not going anywhere anytime soon. There are many factors but until Internet connectivity is better for everyone than it will change.

 

[petran79]

Download speeds have surpassed CD and DVD reading speeds. Crazy if you think about it

 

[sugarman]

I hope to see more emphasis on digital downloads and price parity as i'm totally done with game disks. The constant switching, forget that.

 

[redcrayon]

Ok well this is what I mean with digital downloads. When will try dwarf physical sales in your opinion?

What are digital sales at the moment, about 25-30% and growing? It'll happen but it's hard to put a timescale on it. Areas that have laughably high digital pricing and intense retail competition for physical copies will slow it down a bit, and huge game sizes compared to music files means that infrastructure plays a big part too.

Digital will slowly increase its share but I can't see it 'dwarfing' physical console games in the next five years, it'll reach parity at some point in the next decade first, and any timescale further than that is impossible to predict. The thing that would cause it to really jump is if the hardware goes digital only, which I can't see happening with huge AAA games that take hours to download any time soon.

 

[Iva Demilcol]

But you can still buy CDs.

Pretty much this. So OP is basically saying DVDs won't go anywhere despite he not liking them...

 

[Caffeine]

Please don't hate me. I don't care if physical stays forever. My question is, when will digital surpass physical.

Perhaps I phrased ot poorly in the OP.

I think digital will be on par with physical sales a decade from now.

 

[NateDog]

Can we stop pretending CDs are still a thing. The majority of music consumed in 2016 will be from streaming and downloads.

So this is one of those threads where the OP makes it while being unwilling to listen to anything else than people that agree? Streaming and downloads are very big, but CDs are too. I worked in a small entertainment store last year. On the day before Christmas Eve, despite us selling DVDs and Blu-rays, and video games too, we sold over €10K's worth in CDs alone. Most of those were sold for between €10 and €14 or so, and a big chunk were about €5. For us to make that target with video-games we'd have had to sell about 130 of those as most of those were sold at €70 or so, but music dwarfed everything else.

 

[NeoTracer]

Please don't hate me. I don't care if physical stays forever. My question is, when will digital surpass physical.

Perhaps I phrased ot poorly in the OP.

I do think eventually digital will surpass physical. But maybe 20 or 30 years from now. The limitation with digital surpassing physical sales is because of the lack of availability of good internet speed worldwide.

 

[Stevey]

CDs haven't died.

 

[Coxy100]

Game disks. The only reason they exist, IMO, is so that GameStop and other retailers can continue to sell hardware for MS and Sony.

Publishers don't like them because of used sales. I don't like them because I like having my entire library in one easy to access spot... On my hard drive.

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

When ITunes came out, the CD pretty much died. When will this happen with game discs? I say when, because it will happen at some point.

What say you?

This group is small. You having a laugh? Isn't physical still accounting for like 60% or something? That's not small...

 

[nillah]

But than you can't have awesome collections like this

 

[King_Moc]

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

When ITunes came out, the CD pretty much died.

Digital games in the EU are pathetically priced. £50 for the digital one that loses 100% of it's value upon purchase, or £35 for the physical one that you can resell...gee, let me think.

And Itunes didn't kill the CD. Seriously, wtf?

 

[Gamezone]

There are still a bunch of stores where I live who specializes in only selling music CDs and games (not used) and they are nowhere out out business.

 

[Nocturno999]

I still buy physical (even PC games) whenever I can. I bought PC Overwatch and it had a few goodies besides the Origins Edition DLC plus impeccable presentation.

I would pay a bit more for steel case PC games with a Bluy Ray included, instruction booklet/maps etc. I know a lot more people would do that.

People like to collect/feel some sort of ownership for their content.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

The future of optical media is owning 1/5th the game on a disc.

 

[Dubz]

That's a bad comparison

Music files are small. MP3s and streaming let you just get the songs you want rather than entire CD, and let you take your library with you on the road or a walk

Game disks vs download have none of those digital advantages that contributed to the decline of CDs

But at some point in the near future game files will be small too.

 

[Gamezone]

. But at some point in the near future game files will be small too.

Music files don't evolve by becoming bigger. Games do. Games are still far away from being "small".

 

[Dubz]

I find it funny that people are getting upset at me for pointing out that CDs are no where near what they once were.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/b...ic-mid-year-album-sales-sink-streaming-growth

 

[redcrayon]

The only people that really like discs are collectors and people that want to trade in old games for a discount on a new game. In my opinion, this group is small and getting smaller.

The people buying discs still makes up around 70% of sales.

Also, in some countries (like the UK) a physical copy is preferable because it's £10-£15 cheaper than a digital one. You also left off people who prefer physical because of poor local download speeds or data contracts. There's quite a few reasons why the uptake of digital is as slow and steady as it is.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

Hopefully, they will always be around.

I'll always prefer physical copies over digital.

 

[Metfanant]

Please don't hate me. I don't care if physical stays forever. My question is, when will digital surpass physical.

Perhaps I phrased ot poorly in the OP.

Perhaps? You phrased it terribly in the OP...you worded it like you cant understand why people buy physical copies of games...you made statements about the number of people who buy discs being "small" like it was fact, even though the truth is the complete opposite

 

[Chill Penguin]

Not going anywhere. I shudder to think of the sizes of the 4k games that are going to be shipped.

 

[Nanashrew]

Music files are so tiny it's not even a blip compared to a modern video game.

The transition was easy and minimal, masses could readily start downloading and listening to the track at the snap of a finger. Game downloads are not like that. It's a whole day wasted downloading the game depending on the file size. It's inconvenient.

Discs will always get made regardless though.

 

[Dubz]

Perhaps? You phrased it terribly in the OP...you worded it like you cant understand why people buy physical copies of games...you made statements about the number of people who buy discs being "small" like it was fact, even though the truth is the complete opposite

You're right, but in my defense it is a small number on PC.

 

[redcrayon]

I find it funny that people are getting upset at me for pointing out that CDs are no where near what they once were.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/b...ic-mid-year-album-sales-sink-streaming-growth

Er, doesn't that show a huge fall in music sales in general, and a larger percentage loss in digital album sales than compact discs? (Of course not including digital single sales etc, and streaming massively on the rise).
It's not exactly rosy for paid downloads either, music retailers are happy with any sales they get right now.

Still, 50m discs in 6 months in one country is hardly the dead format you made it out to be, even with an 11.6% loss. A format can be in terminal decline but still relevant if it's dirt cheap and useful, that's why films are still released on DVD.

First, let's bottom-line those disappearing sales. Album units overall fell 13.6 percent, with 100.3 million total sales. The compact disc continued to crumble, losing 11.6 percent and moving 50 million. Digital album sales fell to 43.8 million, from 53.7 million in the first half of last year.

 

[RedSwirl]

It already pretty much happened on PC, mainly for two reasons:

1) Steam became extremely aggressive with digital. It had a vested interest in making digital more convenient than physical and in keeping people constantly engaged in is store.

2) PCs never fully transitioned to Blu-Ray. Part of this was because of digital but partly it was also due to movie companies being stupid about Blu-Ray playback on PC. Maybe they got scared from DVD piracy, but all the copy protection stuff they threw in discouraged people from buying Blu-Ray drives.

Console game discs will go away when both things happen to the console market. For the first thing, a console manufacturer would have to reach a state where retail doesn't have their balls in a vice. Apple got away from this by launching its extremely successful platform without any physical distribution of the software. Maybe a console would have to achieve the same thing. Without having to rely on retail, that console manufacturer would probably be about as aggressive with digital as Steam has been. You'd probably see a lot of the same kinds of methods of selling games that Valve has used. I think having a platform where there's more than one store would help. For the second thing, Blu-Ray is already probably going to be the last widely used optical media. Blu-Ray movies never overtook DVD in market penetration because digital and streaming cut into it. It's just a matter of when internet speeds will catch up and when console manufacturers present online stores customers are willing to deal with.

But at some point in the near future game files will be small too.

Files are getting bigger. Gears 4 is 80 gigs on PC. We're already talking about games maybe being 100GB in the next two or three years. The only hope is for internet speeds to outpace the growth in game file sizes.

 

[tapedeck]

Not going anywhere. I shudder to think of the sizes of the 4k games that are going to be shipped.

This.

If anything with 4K media approaching discs are now almost necessary to reach a broad market.

 

[televator]

CDs are still available and Vinyl has made a big resurgence. Physical media for games will still have a market - even if it does become niche.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Can we stop pretending CDs are still a thing. The majority of music consumed in 2016 will be from streaming and downloads.

But CDs are still sold at retailers you daft bastard.

 

[Dubz]

But CDs are still sold at retailers you daft bastard.

Lol. Thanks for the heads up. CD sales are down a fucking shit ton since the advent of digital media. Look it up.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

When files become so big, and alternatives make reading speeds from a disc too slow for any advantages of the format to be practical.


Like say in 20 years you could buy a film in the quality it is being projected in theaters, so it comes in a ssd or something. And then that becomes the norm 10 years after that.

 

[farisr]

CDs went the way they did (which is not become obsolete, but still way less popular) because an hour's worth of music that would take up 600mb worth of space on CD, could be as small as 57mb mp3 @ 128 kbps) that the vast majority of people are fine with, and 144mb @ 320kbps) for the next biggest crowd of people that cared a bit more about audio quality.

Game sizes are only getting bigger and bigger. Internet services, and the servers from MS/Sony/Nintendo aren't improving at a fast enough rate to accommodate that change, so game discs are not going anywhere anytime soon.

If we get to the point where it's faster to download a game than install it from a disc for the vast majority of people, and bandwidth caps aren't a thing across the boards, sale prices to match retail sales, and digital rights matching or coming close to physical rights you have for the game (options to sell off a license, gift it, etc) that's when the game discs will completely go away. Though that license part is not happening, so game discs will pretty much always be a thing, but I'm sure it'll get to a point where most people are willing to let go of that aspect if they provide a good enough incentive in all the other aspects that I mentioned.