Arstechnica: Physical console games are quickly becoming a relatively niche market

[Conina]

Chrizum said:

I'd go full digital if
1) you truly own the game after purchase
2) it is cheaper than a physical copy

Both arguments are fair, because I can play any physically owned game forever, and digital games don't require physical materials and distribution, also no cut for the store selling the game.

In reality, however:
1) You never truly own digital games, they can be taken offline without warning or reason and there's nothing you can do about it
2) digital games are more expensive than physical games, sometimes even over twice as expensive. Also, no way of reselling.

If digital games were usually more expensive than physical games, then I'd buy much more physical games.

In reality, however:

The majority of games are cheaper digitally when you have a bit of patience. In most cases they have their price cuts earlier and the price cuts are deeper... only for a limited time of the sale, but nowadays these digital sales are repeated more and more freqentially. Reselling is an advantage for physical games, but for people who keep all their games anyways, this advantage doesn't matter much to them.

Also most digital games which were "taken offline" (not longer offered in the digital store) stay in your digital library and can still be redownloaded and played. Much more physical games aren't available to buy anymore than digital games... most older games aren't available anymore in physical stores (shelf space is limited and expensive) and can only bought used for high "collector's prices" while the same game is very cheap as digital version.

Multiplayer modes which are taken offline affect the buyers of the digital and physical versions equally.

Nevertheless I like to keep my options open, so if there are console versions with and without access to physical games, I get the version with optical drive / module slot.