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[Alcibiades]

The only thing I've purchased at Best Buy over the last several months have been 4K Titles - Black Adam, Shazam Fury of the Gods, The Flash - the Steelbook ones. Not a good idea to kill your own foot traffic. I bought an LG 4K TV there last year, as well as a laptop. It's my general go-to for electronics and movies. You gotta keep your tech and media enthusiasts happy IMO.

 

[March Climber]

And those aren't next gen consoles, they are current gen refreshes. Just accept that its dead. Zero% chance of PS6 having a disc.

?

I'm agreeing with your post and bolstering it with evidence to support it. The fact that both mid-gen refreshes are testing the waters here means that they are finally ready to start moving on from physical.

 

[El Muerto]

I still go to Best Buy to pick up new games. Fuck Gamestop and their "New" games that are actually used. And Walmart is always behind on prices and stock, with nobody in electronics to help you. The sales at Best Buy are better than any sale on PSN or Xbox too. Aside from Best buy, Target is no longer selling physical games or movies now. The game section is cleared out and most stuff was on clearance.

 

[sendit]

Permanent ownership is kind of a nice thing to have, given by now we know streaming services are not guaranteed to keep all their series, games can be permanently delisted, etc. Nobody “needs” physical media (ignoring the fact digital isn’t “needed” either, it’s not air or water or something like that ), but let’s not pretend this is something that should be celebrated.

Less options is mostly always a bad thing. However, people want content on demand. Digital ownership will be integrated with blockchain tech, specifically NFTs. Bookmark this.

 

[LordBlodgett]

Permanent ownership is kind of a nice thing to have, given by now we know streaming services are not guaranteed to keep all their series, games can be permanently delisted, etc. Nobody “needs” physical media (ignoring the fact digital isn’t “needed” either, it’s not air or water or something like that ), but let’s not pretend this is something that should be celebrated.

I mean I'm not celebrating physical media's demise, it just is what it is, and I am definitely part of the problem. I started building a huge digital collection during the PS4/Xbone generation and now I can't really be bothered with the physical discs anymore. I have almost replaced all of my discs with digital, and jump at the chance whenever one of the few remaining are on sale. Digital is more convenient, doesn't take up shelf space, and the old idea of keeping physical games so I can sell them later is moot when the resale values of almost all physical PS3/PS4/PS5/36-/XBone/Series X games are next to nothing because most people prefer to buy digital. You did point out one of my frustrations though, which is de-listing. If a game that I want to play is not available anywhere then what? Off to the high seas I guess

 

[Represent.]

?

I'm agreeing with your post and bolstering it with evidence to support it. The fact that both mid-gen refreshes are testing the waters here means that they are finally ready to start moving on from physical.

oh my bad,

peep my tag

 

[LectureMaster]

Damn, their steelbooks are my favorite for a long time.

This is truly baffling, as their Blu-ray are still seemingly selling really good.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

I still buy the odds and ends blurays thru Best Buy.
The final Evangelion movie and Terrence Malicks' A Hidden Life for example.
Im not jumping thru the hoops of shifting streaming services to watch my favorite movies. Its on one one day and gone the next.

Its been free shipping for any dollar amount for a while now thru Best Buy.
Ill miss it greatly for that aspect.

Like someone said - its the way of Circuit City for BB - and physical media in general.
Im not seeing the vinyl resurgence equivalent anytime soon, if ever again.

For gaming in general, I went digital a long time ago for modern stuff. All the modern day patching makes most physical games useless anyways.

You jnow... this post basically exemplifies my issue with the death and rise of physical and digital media respectively. And the adoption of new trends in tech in general.

Every new tech trend or adoption is usually met with very bitter and stubborn resistance. Being collectively fought by the masses of people that insist on holding onto whatever (now) old tech or platform they have been using. Av the while being conveniently blind and ignorant of the inevitability of what is to come.

This always happens, DVD replacing VHS, cassette replacing Vinyl, CD replacing cassette, CD replacing carts, DVD replacing VHS, digital repacing physical, electric replacing ICE....etc. Always.

Wouldn't it be great if instead of fighting it and being dragged kicking and screaming into what ends up being a wild west of a nonstandardized future, because the designers are all busy trying to create `the` standard that takes over the market, that consumers instead demand certain standards be adhered to by everyone?

Eg... instead of wasting out time bitching about digital game sales representing the death of the used game market, why don't we instead push for the right to resell our digital license of content as `2nd hand` at whatever price we want to and systems be put in place to all that be possible.

Or the fact that we should have a centralized digital market for movies and shows that doesn't just mean you have to get only one digital license for t your content, but that said content i in a format that lets you pay it on anything you want or allows you redownload it whenever you want. Eg... if I buy a movie on the pay store, when I sign into the Apple store or PlayStation store, that movie should show up as owned.

 

[BadBurger]

That sucks but I guess the writing has been on the wall. My local BB used to have a huge DVD/BR/4K selection as recently as a year ago, but recently it's just been a few racks of somewhat-new selections, and a few racks of old shit no one wants.

Back to Amazon I suppose. I wouldn't mind so much if every streaming service offered actual good 4K + HDR + surround sound for everything that supports it, but they seem to be all over the place from movie to movie, show to show.

 

[swaffles23]

That sucks. I guess FF7 Rebirth will be my final purchase at Best Buy. I have no other reason to shop there now

 

[Sethbacca]

Lol. And people were laughing at me when I told them that physical is going to be going away. They honestly thought that physical still has a reason to exist. It just makes no more sense for companies to spend money on producing discs , packaging and so on.

It's going to be hilarious when the used market doesn't exist to drive down the market value of games and we're stuck with Nintendo like pricing across all the consoles. I can't wait to pay full price for 20 year old games. LULZ, winning so hard.

 

[reinking]

Lol. And people were laughing at me when I told them that physical is going to be going away. They honestly thought that physical still has a reason to exist. It just makes no more sense for companies to spend money on producing discs , packaging and so on.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

This is mainly about films and TV series on DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4k Ultra HD discs. Physical games don't appear to be affected which at least is good news (for now).



jshackles can you add this tweet to your OP? It's from the author of the article and clears up some of the confusion found in this thread.

 

[ReBurn]

I'm buying all of the old school tv shows on DVD and Blu Ray that I can so I can rip them to my Plex library. I like The convenience of digital, but I want to be able to access my favorite things forever.

 

[LordBlodgett]

Best Buy is Exiting the Physical Media Business in 2024 (Online and In-Store)​

Really devastating.

Dang, that is some nostalgia there! Reminds me of when I used to go out every Black Friday for sales.........

 

[Synless]

whelp, that’s that for my trips to Best Buy.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

You're focusing on the wrong thing here.

VHS became dead weight when DVD sales went up.
DVDs became dead weight when Blu Ray sales went up.
Blu Ray is becoming dead weight because digital sales are going up.

It is dead weight for places like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

Ahh I hear you

 

[Rocco Schiavone]

This is inevitable. Almost everyone in western countries under 30 is used to streaming or digital as their main form of media consumption. Not to mention all the older gamers who have gotten used to the convenience of digital like me. First thing to go was CDs, then DVDs, then Blu-rays, and finally video games. We do not need physical media anymore in the west, there just aren't enough benefits.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Best Buy is Exiting the Physical Media Business in 2024 (Online and In-Store)​

Really devastating.

Remember the good old days when Best Buy had all the PCs connected to some internal intranet site that looked like their website except it had higher prices?

Or when they’d ask you to “pick your free magazine” on the credit card reader machine without telling you it was a free trial that would auto-renew?

Or when they’d pester you about getting an extended warranty each time they scanned an item?


Best Buy has kinda sucked for a long time. Only reason for all the nostalgia is because you had to buy all your games/movies/computer parts/music etc from somewhere, and Best Buy was probably the closest store that had a decent selection.

 

[simpatico]

The people not buying Allen Wake 2 because it doesn't have a disc are about to not buy anything on PS6.

 

[KungFucius]

Hopefully they stop selling GPUs next. The cunts have a monopoly on Nvidia FEs and they do this godawful randomized 2 hour drop bullshit that rubs salt in the eyes of anyone trying to get a hard to find GPU.

 

[Barakov]

BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE on The Bits: Best Buy is exiting the physical media business for good in 2024 [UPDATED]

BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE on The Digital Bits: Best Buy is exiting the physical media business for good in 2024

thedigitalbits.com

Makes me want to want to buy physical more than ever.

 

[Knightime_X]

At least nows a great time to catch them sales if they're deep enough.

 

[Dthomp]

It's going to be hilarious when the used market doesn't exist to drive down the market value of games and we're stuck with Nintendo like pricing across all the consoles. I can't wait to pay full price for 20 year old games. LULZ, winning so hard.

This is what drives me nuts about the PC folk here dancing and hollering about they went digital years ago and it's bound to happen. They have an ecosystem where they can get keys cheap and buy from multiple PC storefronts (Steam, Epic, whatever). If Sony goes digital only, your only option turns into their "sale" always being 10% off and never a good one because they don't have to compete with second hand pricing and moving merchandise from stores to make room for more. I mainly game on Playstation and the handful of games on my wishlist always go on sale for the same price (some have been years). Having only 1 option is beyond dumb and should never be celebrated.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

Hear that? It's the sound of inevitability.

going to compel some people to do this then too:

 

[Northeastmonk]

Best Buy, who shops there for games in 2023? I bought my PS3 from them back in 06, but I can’t think of the last time I bought a game from there. They did sell me an Elden Ring steel cover.

 

[Mossybrew]

Best Buy and similar stores haven't been relevant to me for probably 15-20 years.

 

[Brock2621]

I literally only shop there for all my games bc of the exclusive steelbooks.

 

[MarkMe2525]

Idk, I see a lot of hate towards best buy, but where else can you go to nerd out looking at electronics?

I literally only shop there for all my games bc of the exclusive steelbooks.

It seems this is just movies

 

[SmokedMeat]

I think it was last Christmas where I looked at the videogame section, and it was pretty sad.

Physical’s days are numbered bigtime.

 

[StereoVsn]

Terrible. Best Buy was one of the last stores pushing 4k bluray sales on black friday. Amazon typically just matches other store sales.

I know some stores wanted to switch to a consignment system on media, but studios/etc. refused. They might have better off taking that deal.

Yeah, I still buy 4K Blu-rays for the movies I like and of course games. I think for 4K Blu-ray’s there will be still production but it will become more and more expensive .

Same as games really down the road. Kind of sad, won’t lie.

 

[StereoVsn]

It's going to be hilarious when the used market doesn't exist to drive down the market value of games and we're stuck with Nintendo like pricing across all the consoles. I can't wait to pay full price for 20 year old games. LULZ, winning so hard.

Yeah, it’s absolutely nuts that people are advocating for less consumer rights. Think of the poor multi-billion or trillion Corpos.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Am I missing something or is this unrelated to video games? I have to imagine the attach rate for physical video games is too high to ignore particularly with Nintendo. No way they would give up all that cheddar.

This is just for movies and TV.

 

[A.Romero]

I don't it's just that physical media is not selling, is that online retailers are beating brick and mortar. Profit margins must be pretty low to and probably can't justify the space taken at the store.

Best buy closed altogether in my country a couple of years ago. Pretty tough to compete with Amazon and other online retailers.

Maybe the amount of physical media will be reduced but I don't think they are retiring support altogether. 5/12 of the best sold items in the video game category are physical video games...

 

[Codes 208]

Kinda inevitable if you ask me, iirc the same shit is happening to target. and walmart will likely follow suit as well

 

[Sleepwalker]

The same best buy that gives you 30 days to return electronics but only if they are unopened, if you open them its 0.

Yeah no thanks, maybe they should stop existing altogether.

 

[Dane]

You're focusing on the wrong thing here.

VHS became dead weight when DVD sales went up.
DVDs became dead weight when Blu Ray sales went up.
Blu Ray is becoming dead weight because digital sales are going up.

It is dead weight for places like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

Blu Ray didn't even kill DVDs, unlike VHS that was phased out after 3-4 years of DVD topping sales.

 

[Elder Legend]

You're focusing on the wrong thing here.

VHS became dead weight when DVD sales went up.
DVDs became dead weight when Blu Ray sales went up.
Blu Ray is becoming dead weight because digital sales are going up.

It is dead weight for places like Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

Physical may still sell, but every year it becomes less and less of the sales. Eventually it will just fizzle out. I am not sure how hard this is to understand for people. At the end of the day the companies don't give a shit about what you like or your nostalgia. Fact matter is, physical is going away, and I don't see anything replacing a Blu Ray. Games are way too big nowadays and they won't be getting any smaller.

 

[Demigod Mac]

Obligatory:


Physical Media has been replaced by streaming / digital downloads as the mainstream consumer format,
while the niche enthusiast collectors market from boutique labels is growing.

 

[Rambone]

My local Target has far more video games than my local Best Buy. It doesn't surprise me that they are trying to ditch physical media, not like there was much to choose from (at mine) anyway. What does surprise me a little is that they would choose to stop selling it online. The only physical media I buy these days is Nintendo Switch games.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Yep, we are heading for a very dark future with entertainment. I’m sure other stores will follow Best Buy’s lead. An all digital future whether it’s games, movies or even music is VERY bad for consumers. Especially when the majority of these companies are diabolically greedy.

The only reason I might even consider Best Buy in the future is because they are the only store that carry high end electronics near me. I rather buy a $3,000 TV from a local store than taking a risk with it on some random online store or something.

 

[ReBurn]

Remember the good old days when Best Buy had all the PCs connected to some internal intranet site that looked like their website except it had higher prices?

Or when they’d ask you to “pick your free magazine” on the credit card reader machine without telling you it was a free trial that would auto-renew?

Or when they’d pester you about getting an extended warranty each time they scanned an item?


Best Buy has kinda sucked for a long time. Only reason for all the nostalgia is because you had to buy all your games/movies/computer parts/music etc from somewhere, and Best Buy was probably the closest store that had a decent selection.

They definitely suck. They wouldn't sell me a Switch last week and it was kind of the last straw for me. Which sucks because I really like their mobile checkout using the app.

 

[Antwix]

Gonna be even rougher times for my Best Buy. Don't go there often but over the last several years, their shelves are incredibly bare. Like huge sections of the middle of the store are just bare steel shelving with scattered shit on them. At least the physical game sections, which are 2 or 3 individual aisle sections, have a decent amount of games. Not a ton, but a decent amount. It's gonna be funny to see what it looks like next year.

 

[phant0m]

Best buy has been bad for gamers since they got rid of that membership that made all games $47.

Dude my store is like 10 mins from my house and I was in that mf’er almost WEEKLY in the GCU days. I get it was probably a big loser for them but they should’ve upped the price and kept it going.

Oh well. Amazon showroom it is.

 

[Dream-Knife]

Yeah, honestly, I know a lot of people buy physical there in some areas, but I personally know tons of people that stopped buying there once they stopped. Now they all just order online or go to Gamestop. So, not much is going to change.

"Writing on the wall" yadda yadda yadda, physical media still sells and it's been shown to. There's no reason it can't continue to coexist, I'll never understand why people are so adamant to do away with it, especially for consoles.

I bought a ton of switch and ps4 games with that membership. It was great.

 

[SmokedMeat]

going to compel some people to do this then too:

On consoles?

 

[radewagon]

Stores always made really low profits if at all on video games sales. The only reason stores like Best buy sold them was to get people into their stores so they buy other stuff while shopping. Now that less and less people are buying physical I think bestbuy doesn't think it's worth the floor space anymore.

I'd understand the argument better if there was a more beneficial use of that space. As it is, Best Buys around me seem like they've got more floor space than viable stock. Like, what are they going to do, put in more unreliable 3rd party USB chargers? More toys that no one is buying? Physical media is the only thing drawing me to Best Buy. I don't wanna be all "you just lost a customer," but, yeah, they just lost a customer. .

 

[Laieon]

We do not need physical media anymore in the west, there just aren't enough benefits.

When it comes to games I completely agree.

When it comes to movies you couldn't be more wrong. I get why the average consumer is content with streaming, but for enthusiasts the only thing that truly replicates physical media (that I'm aware of) right now is Kaleidoscope, and that's definitely out of reach budget-wise for most people. Streaming bitrates and color depth are awful in comparison.

The future of physical movies is in boutique labels like Criterion, Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, Shout!, etc. They'll be more curated, printed in smaller numbers (and therefore more expensive), but also given a treatment that doesn't shout disposable. DVDs aren't going anywhere either, those are still surprisingly huge.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

Fewer and fewer reasons to go to Best Buy.

 

[chromhound]

I'll take my business to Walmart and EB Games