Ubisoft reveals profit margins for physical versus digital sales on console

[Teeqoz]

RolStoppable said:

Teeqoz said:

Both cinemas and ad-supported broadcasts are faltering in competition with streaming (notice the trend - digital distribution outcompetes traditional channels). Concerts are doing well due to an increased focus in experiences from millennials and teens.

As you say, the second hand market has crumbled as a result of digital distribution channels (that don't allow resales) marginalizing physical media by having much lower prices. Yet your argument is that digital distribution for games won't benefit consumers? The trend for digital distribution from other entertainment mediums suggests the opposite - physical distribution can't even come close to compete. Same thing will happen for games. Xbox Game Pass and Steam sales are just the start.

Yes, the second hand market for stuff like cars is still alive and strong, but why on earth would you look at trends from cars... instead of more similar things (in terms of how you consume them) like music, movies and books?

That's a good question. My argument is that industry figures want consumers to believe that third party publishers are barely surviving, and by making consumers feel guilty, they hope to increase their revenues and profits. I mentioned the widespread portrayal of the used video game market as an evil thing as a similar instance of making gamers feel guilty.

You sidetracked that with your initial response to me and I gave you an answer. We could continue, but it has hardly anything to do with my original point anymore.

I did sidetrack, as I sort of assumed from the tone of your response that you were of the opinion that digital distribution is detrimental to consumers. But really, I've never seen any example of the "publishers portraying used games as evil" that you mention, though maybe it happened before my time.

Some publishers do very well, but some don't do as well. Overall, it's a trend of consolidation into bigger publishers with more marketshare. Smaller publishers go bankrupt or get gobbled up. Some survive and ascend, perhaps thanks to other revenue streams (an example would be CDPR, the developer of The Witcher 3, which has GoG to fall back on.)