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Forums - Gaming Discussion - GameStop: Disc-based games will be around forever/long time

WC4Life on 30 September 2015
AlfredoTurkey said:

Having more control as a consumer is not a matter of opinion. It is a fact that people have more control when they own a physical game vs. subscribing to a streaming service where by said game is never owned. Fact, not opinion. Now, you can argue that you personally do not CARE about forgoing that control for various reasons, that's fine. But you can not argue that you are, in fact, giving up control to the corporation that provides the service to you.

It's pretty basic, low hanging fruit stuff.


I'm not arguing about control as a consumer. As it is right now with current laws, it is obvious the consumer would lose with digital/streaming, you don't have to spell it and act like people do not understand this fact.



I cannot imagine toilet-free life.

Kebabs have a unique attribute compared to other consumables. To unlock this effect you need to wolf down a big ass kebab really fast, like under 10 minutes or so and wait for the effect to kick in. If done correctly your movements should feel unbelievably heavy to the point where you literally cannot move at all.

-Downtown Alanya Kebab magazine issue no.198

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JetSetter on 30 September 2015
rolltide101x said:
JetSetter said:

No surprise that GameStop has a vested interest in discs being around forever huh?

Anyway sarcasm aside, I hope they are right to some degree. I love me some physical media. Though forever sounds like a bit of an overestimation though. Personally until digital gets all it's problems ironed out on all fronts then I won't be comfortable diving in 100%.  But yeah a mixture of physical and digital is what I see for the near future (next 10 years or so), can't really imagine much past that.

Just anything but streaming please.

PS5 and XBOne2 will be digital only. I can pretty much promise you that. They will not be streaming boxes though


I've heard some mumblings of PS5 going all digital, but I have my doubts about it. Same for what Microsoft has in store next but I've heard that they will shift to PC completely (which I buy alot more). Anyway seeing as how Playstation Now hasn't received the warmest of welcomes, I would also guess that streaming isn't something in the cards now (or hopefully ever). 



rolltide101x on 30 September 2015
JetSetter said:
rolltide101x said:

PS5 and XBOne2 will be digital only. I can pretty much promise you that. They will not be streaming boxes though


I've heard some mumblings of PS5 going all digital, but I have my doubts about it. Same for what Microsoft has in store next but I've heard that they will shift to PC completely (which I buy alot more). Anyway seeing as how Playstation Now hasn't received the warmest of welcomes, I would also guess that streaming isn't something in the cards now (or hopefully ever). 

Totally agree, I do not mind it as an option for people who want it but I think the vast majority of people will prefer consoles as they have always been. I think Sony and MS will probably both go all digital next gen but I do not think streaming is going to happen for at least 15 years



foxtail on 30 September 2015

Shadow1980 said:

The music industry has seen perhaps the biggest shift to digital among the major entertainment sectors, but even with CDs & records now constituting only a third of the music industry's revenue, we haven't seen the CD presses shut down and mp3s & streaming forced on us.

Sony has shut down 2 of its 3 Disc Manufacturing plants in N.A.

Its Springfield, OR CD Plant was closed in 2003. - source

Its Pitman, NJ Disc Plant was closed in 2011. - source



Bofferbrauer on 30 September 2015

Physical media in any form (I doubt optical discs will go on for much longer, their drawbacks just keep getting bigger) will certainly survive for different reasons.

First, it gives the console manufacturers critical shelve space in shops. A digital only console tends to get glossed over without a selection of games close by, especially by parents looking for a gaming device for their kids.

Second, as much as audiophile persons saved CDs and Vinyl Records, Collectors will make sure physical versions keep having a market and won't be just for shelve space. In fact, it might be possible that the collector's editions will become the standard physical edition if mostly everyone else just buys digital. Thus bringing us back to the PC cardboard game boxes with lots of feelies in their standard versions from the 80's and early 90's.



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bowserthedog on 30 September 2015
rolltide101x said:
bowserthedog said:

It doesn't need to go away but as a digital only consumer I would prefer the option of buying a console with a solid state drive or with much more storage  which doesn't have a physical drive for the same price as the regular console which has the disc drive.  I don't want to pay for a drive I don't use.

Nah, Solid State is to expensive and does not last as long


Then larger size regular hard drive or cheaper price on the console.



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0JquK6FGR6O-0O-6L-VAuw

Eddie_Raja on 30 September 2015

Haha ok buddy. I give it 10 years max.



Prediction for console Lifetime sales:

Wii:100-120 million, PS3:80-110 million, 360:70-100 million

[Prediction Made 11/5/2009]

3DS: 65m, PSV: 22m, Wii U: 18-22m, PS4: 80-120m, X1: 35-55m

I gauruntee the PS5 comes out after only 5-6 years after the launch of the PS4.

[Prediction Made 6/18/2014]

Zkuq on 30 September 2015
WC4Life said:
Physical discs are turning into download keys already so by the time next-gen starts I'm definitely going full-digital. Just look at the physical games sold right now, a lot of them would be straight up broken without all the patches and how long are those patches going to stay up? I believe when the "push" really starts, digital is going to take over pretty fast.

You might want to reconsider, considering the price differences. Digital usually costs a lot more, even though there's less costs involved in delivering the product. Unless digital prices crash, I wouldn't give up on physical even, or especially, if it's just a key.



SvennoJ on 30 September 2015

I'll be buying physical over digital for as long as they're around. And I'll never pay full price for a digital only game. So I guess when physical disappears I'll become a Steam sales player. Or simply play second hand ps4, xb1, wiiU, and earlier gens games. There's tons of great stuff I have missed because of time restraints, a download only ps5/xb2 will free up plenty of time to play those. It would save me a lot of money, sounds good.



foxtail on 30 September 2015
Shadow1980 said:
foxtail said:

Sony has shut down 2 of its 3 Disc Manufacturing plants in N.A.

Its Springfield, OR CD Plant was closed in 2003. - source

Its Pitman, NJ Disc Plant was closed in 2011. - source

Which would matter if Sony had a monopoly on CD production. Which they don't. And besides, Sony still has one left. Plus one of those three shut down back when CDs were still by far the dominant format. Incidentally, the PS1's last game was in 2004, and I'd imagine with the PS1 giving way to the PS2 Sony's need for CDs declined quite a bit from late 90s levels

Sony was the largest single player in the field though.  That last plant in Terre Haute, Ind is also going through downsizing with the recent furlough of 53 employees. - source

Below are some other older big players closing plants just this year.

Cinram (formerly JVC America) closes its Cottondale, AL CD Plant in 2015. - source

Panasonic closes its  Torrance, CA Disc Plant in 2015. - source

Optical Disc Solutions Inc. closes its Richmond, Ind CD Plant in 2015. - source