PlayerPurple
Member
This sums it up pretty well for me.
I started this gen going all physical on the PS4. I've traditionally been a physical games guy, since before digital games were even an option. I've traditionally kept the games I've enjoyed most, it's very rare that I would sell something or trade it in.The only reason I like digital is because I don't like swapping discs. Everything else about physical is much more appealing than digital, but not having to swap discs is a HUGE quality of life improvement that trumps the benefits of physical imo.
They already got their cut for the game when it was first sold, hense it being second hand. Besides it doesnt work like that, Publishers sell the games to stores, and stores sell them to us. We dont buy retail games straight from publishers, second hand games dont effect them at all.Surely theres a moral aspect to reselling a game in the second hand market. The developer/publisher don't get a cut of the proceeds. I wonder what the loss of profit is.
You are going to get stuck with digital whether you like it or not. Even now, the "physical games" are not actually physical, as the game on the disc is the beta and you have to download the real game, which runs off the hard drive and the disc acts as DRM. It's a digital game with a disc key, that's all.
This is another Blockbuster - Netflix scenario.
Convenience always win. People are lazy and uninformed on average.
Make it easier for them to consume Video games, that's what they will do.
That's why Mobile games absolutely dominate the video game industry with 50%+ of the business.
Path of least resistance.
Right now OP may be right about all the advantage that physical copies offer.
But the advantage of digital may be favored by the majority.
My future scenario stays the same, once the US has figured out how to get decent broadband without caps,
it will be streaming/digital all the way and bye-bye physical.
I started this gen going all physical on the PS4. I've traditionally been a physical games guy, since before digital games were even an option. I've traditionally kept the games I've enjoyed most, it's very rare that I would sell something or trade it in.
I moved to Xbox One because it had more powerful hardware, and it had Game Pass. With their Games with Gold program I started adding a ton of digital games to my library (in addition to Game Pass). I double-dipped for digital versions of some multiplats I already had physical copies of on PS4 - mostly because they were on sale, and again because they ran better on Xbox. Not having to swap out discs was a huge benefit as well, but mostly it was...
Last year, I had to move. I literally had boxes and boxes (and boxes and boxes) of physical games. I calculated it up and I had paid the moving company around $400 to move my game collection across town. I knew I was moving again, so over this past summer I put most of my physical games up on eBay and was able to sell them. I held on to a few games for sentimental reasons, but parted with over 95% of my physical NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, Wii, Wii U, DS, and 3DS games. So now I just got finished moving, and I still had a ton of PS2, PS3, PS4, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, GBA, Xbox, and Xbox 360 games I need to sell, but the bulk of my collection was gone and it was much easier to move. I don't miss having them. My physical game collection was literally taking up an entire bedroom in my old house (we called it "the library"). The quote from Fight Club "the stuff you own starts owning you" is entirely true.
So it turns out that digital gaming is better for a more minimalist lifestyle. Questions of ownership and access aside (I wasn't able to play any games on my Xbox One X until my internet got turned on at my new house) it's still better having to haul just a console somewhere, hooking it up to internet, and playing any game I have digitally, than having to haul around boxes and boxes of games.
1. That's already a problem with physical. You can only return unopened games. Regret doesn't matter much there. The only difference is that you can maybe make some of your money back from resale or trade-ins. A few popular digital platforms like Steam, Origin, Ubisoft and Microsoft offer refunds even if you'veYes they have the all digital boxes coming, good thing it's s choice because for me going all digital is anti consumer especially when it is limiting my options of what I can do with my purchased games.
1. The herpes effect: with digital much like with herpes once you get it your stuck with it, I usually doa good amount of research on games but every now and then you have a purchase you regret and you could be stuck with it
2. The Trade In Effect: with my digital games there are no options to sell my license of the game I bought back to said company for credit below the purchase price. When Im done with a game much like physical, if I dont want it anymore there should be an option to give my license back to the company for a credit on my account which is below the purchase price much like trading in games. That credit can they go to further games I wish to purchase
3. The Sellers Effect: Selling my digital license to a friend or someone online: Much like trade ins but I want to be able to sell my copy to a friend. There should be a system in place where my friend and I can agree on a price below the purchase price for said copy and he can credit money to my account which then I give him the license to my copy of the game via code of whatever it may be. This would be a good work around for friends that live in other locations as well.
The Sales Effect: psn and xbox digital sales just dont compete with physical. 9 times out of 10 have I seen cheaper physical copies of games compared to digital, i think a poster even this week showed the difference of physical games lower in price with 70% off where as the digital store still had the game at full price. I understand why people like pc gaming because there are many digital steam sales that are competitive or even third party locations which sell game codes for crazy cheap as well, once the digital store actually becomes competitive with retail stores, ill consider going digital.
It all comes down to options. People say MS especially have been pro consumer, but deep down Sony and MS with their digital games offer little incentive to actually go digital. You lose many options when going digital and you the consumer as well as your money are put on the back burner compared to physical media.
1. I sell to people on kajiji etc where I live. I buy a game for 75 bucks I can sell it someone online for 65 making a lot more back than companies would give me, meaning i only put in 10 bucks of my own money for a new game.1. That's already a problem with physical. You can only return unopened games. Regret doesn't matter much there. The only difference is that you can maybe make some of your money back from resale or trade-ins. A few popular digital platforms like Steam, Origin, Ubisoft and Microsoft offer refunds even if you'veopenedplayed the game.
2. I don't believe you should have the option to resell or trade-in from viability/business perspective. It adds overhead to the platform and adds 0 benefits (if anythings they lose out on potential money) to the platform owners. I mean if they gave u 30% credit back (which is less than 1/3) of the price you pay back. That money you move to the next game can basically outweigh or match the cut the store gets on the next sale. Which is extremely not desirable. As a consumer we always want more things in our benefit. But there has to be a balance between the business and consumer benefit. McDonalds could give us cheese and other toppings for free, have their restaurant open 24/7, serve all breakfast items all day, do free delivery, cut margins and what not for the benefit of the customer but it greatly affects their bottom-line and sustainability to try and be 100% for the consumer.
3. Same as above. Plus I would argue with digital that you make it more practical/feasible to abuse the system. I think the only way you'll ever get this is if the platform gets a cut of all transactions. Otherwise it's overhead, for no benefit.
The only way I see most of what you want happening is if it happens at a government level. Which I don't think it should, I think if you don't like how games are sold then you shouldn't buy them (vote with your wallet) or at least be more careful on what you buy/spend (e.g. like spending less per game because it's digital).
1. I sell to people on kajiji etc where I live. I buy a game for 75 bucks I can sell it someone online for 65 making a lot more back than companies would give me, meaning i only put in 10 bucks of my own money for a new game.
2. you're thinking of the company im thinking of myself as the consumer who spends the money on these products, physicsl games are more consumer friendly because I have more options todo what I want with my copy of the game, good luck doing anything with a digital copy on playstation or xbox
Sure and the balance i found was physical because there are more sales for physical games than digital ones, someone posted even a feelw days ago some physical games they saw were 60/70% off while the digital store were still full priced at like 60-70 bucks1. Right, I acknowledged that in my post.
2. Yeah but my point is it's about a balance. You shouldn't expect them to be 100% for your benefit. As a consumer I want things as cheap as possible and as much freedom as possible too. The business wants the opposite. Need to strike a balance. Tolerate the negatives. Ultimately you do what you are subjectively comfortable but I wouldn't expect what you are asking for without anythreat of violencegovernment-involvement or some caveats.
I don't understand why we should treat games differently from other stuff.1. Right, I acknowledged that in my post.
2. Yeah but my point is it's about a balance. You shouldn't expect them to be 100% for your benefit. As a consumer I want things as cheap as possible and as much freedom as possible too. The business wants the opposite. Need to strike a balance. Tolerate the negatives. Ultimately you do what you are subjectively comfortable but I wouldn't expect what you are asking for without anythreat of violencegovernment-involvement or some caveats.
I meant the balance of benefit of offering a digital product between the consumer and seller. Not how you balance your time/budget to play games.Sure and the balance i found was physical because there are more sales for physical games than digital ones, someone posted even a feelw days ago some physical games they saw were 60/70% off while the digital store were still full priced at like 60-70 bucks
Digital gives me no incentive or options
Ok this is an hilarious excuse on why digital is better....Your dog is eating your games?The only games I bought physical were a few switch games I knew I'd want to play on my switch and my son will want to play on his as well so it seemed a smart move at the time.
until I came home from work and my puppy ate Super Mario Odyssey and even though it's old now, still going to cost me $60 to replace it.. digital this time.
4) Your kid gets his/her own console and you don't want to buy a game twice.
Ok this is an hilarious excuse on why digital is better....Your dog is eating your games?
But fine, everyone has their preferences.
I dont think the 'selling a digital game to a friend or a store' thing will ever come into play. I do think you should be able to share digital games though.
They are just different things with inherently different properties. Digital games are solid explicitly as a license to something that say exactly how the license works and how it can be transferred. Physical things you are literally buying the physical thing which (may contain a license attached to it). The latter has no stipulations on the transaction when you make it at the retailer whereas a former you are explicitly buying something with stipulations. So nothing stops you from reselling that physical thing. They just aren't going above and beyond to mimic digital licenses as if it's a physical entity that you own because it goes against their interest for 0 benefit. They just focused on avoiding abuse and ensuring the underlying product gives you enough value for the price.I don't understand why we should treat games differently from other stuff.
If I buy a car I can resell it later. If I buy a TV I can sell it later. replace TV or car with any consumer product.
Also the fact that I can be banned from the platform and lose all the games I paid is preposterous.
Digital games will never be ours, and we even pay more for them.
I don't understand why we should treat games differently from other stuff.
If I buy a car I can resell it later. If I buy a TV I can sell it later. replace TV or car with any consumer product.
Also the fact that I can be banned from the platform and lose all the games I paid is preposterous.
Digital games will never be ours, and we even pay more for them.
I understand that very well.Physical products have a value that naturally depreciates from use, which creates a natural market for new/used products.
A digital license doesn't.
If you can't understand that I don't know what to tell you. You are right in that PHYSICAL games should be treated the same as cars.. but not digital.
I understand that very well.
And my point is exactly that, they want to remove the physical options so we lose all consumer rights which we can exercise on our physical products.
That’s scary. I didn’t know that was a thing.Back during the 360 Era, I had starting buying digital games. Banjo Kazooie, limbo, super meat boy, stuff like that.
I had about a year were I didn't play BK or BT. I decided to play the first one, one day and both were OFF my console. I figured I deleted them and just had to redownload. Nope. They wanted me to rebuy the games.
Since then, I have become that annoying physical only mofo who gets pissed if something is just dig. Isn't that right, Capcom.
I'm so fucking glad this happened to me, and all these fuckers literally praying for physical to die, are going to get a nice wake up call when it happens. Fucking idiots.
Lol what? People simply won't bother if the cost is too much, of course there'll still be sales. People are already not happy looking at the $70 digital future. What, you think Sony and MS will agree to price everything exactly the same because discs are gone now?
Back during the 360 Era, I had starting buying digital games. Banjo Kazooie, limbo, super meat boy, stuff like that.
I had about a year were I didn't play BK or BT. I decided to play the first one, one day and both were OFF my console. I figured I deleted them and just had to redownload. Nope. They wanted me to rebuy the games.
Since then, I have become that annoying physical only mofo who gets pissed if something is just dig. Isn't that right, Capcom.
I'm so fucking glad this happened to me, and all these fuckers literally praying for physical to die, are going to get a nice wake up call when it happens. Fucking idiots.
I didn't miss the point. He's not going to get those benefits and soon enough he won't get the option. The whole world is already moving in the direction of digital (>80%) and even if you buy the disc you still need an internet connection. This will be the last generation of games on disc.
By all means, keep buying discs if you want to, but it's not going to change that dynamic.
What do you mean "not forced"?
You can't buy a physical game that properly works out of the box. Half the game is missing.
I don’t get this stance. I have a PS4 and a Switch. 90% of the time they are offline. I insert the disc and play and enjoy games single player and with my wife and friends locally.
the only system that restricts you is the Xbox. That system REQUIRES an internet connection to set it up and to create an account to save your game.
now there are particular publishers that require an internet connection to play their single player or local multiplayer content. Activision comes to mind with COD. I’ve just chosen to ignore them and enjoy the dozens of other games that work just fine.
I do also take my switch online to play animal crossing and Mario Kart with friends and I play steam and blizzard (activision) online service games. But the developer has set the expectations for me. It’s a rental. Therefore they get only a few dollars. Sony and Nintendo still can enjoy full MSRP in exchange for my ownership.
they want to make this a business transaction, I can play that way.
That's a lie. I own over 200 PS4 games, over 90% of them play just fine offline with no patches.I didn't say the game requires an internet connection to play. I said that the discs by themselves are useless because the game is not in them, so you need to download the rest of the game. If the game is ever delisted or something you'll lose acess to the game even if you have the cd.
Wow - I’ve been buying games from Steam for well over a decade now. The concept of physical media is hard to grasp. It’s weird that people are still clinging onto that.