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

[Fight-the-Streets]

Mar1217 said:

This is the kind of rethoric the console space was facing back in the 7th gen when console manufacturers were supposed to die out, when the discs in the music industry would cease to be (now guess what ? Vinyls are back !).

People who wants the unification or homogenization of our future have always had the wonkiest explanation to justify the fact they simply can't foresee a future where a multitude of avenues are available.

Digital has already roofted in it's adoption rate and isn't growing exponentially like it was back in the mid-10's. Subscription services are now becoming more relevant in the digital space, endangering the debate of ownership even more. I do believe a future best if we were to explore all these avenues without ditching one simply because of "ease of use".

Anywooo, the fact that nowadays, indie games that back a few years ago, would've rarely gotten any type of physical release can more likely than get one is a testament to how the industry also understands the more than sizeable market for physical games. It exists and it'll continue to endure in the coming decades.

As long as digital didn't exist (or was a minority) I favored that one format was the winner and everything else died (VHS in most of Europe/NTSC in North America, CD, DVD, Blue-Ray). It was easier for the consumer. Of course competition is important but there were always several manufacturers of the same standard format. In the streaming world of gaming I would prefer if there will remain about 3 dominant platforms and the rest will die off. It's simply not consumer-friendly (and very expensive) if every single publisher has its own streaming platform with its own subscription service.

Last edited by Fight-the-Streets - on 22 February 2022