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

aTokenYeti on 20 February 2022
JackHandy said:
Chrkeller said:

All digital is a question of when, not if.

I'm 100% digital on ps4, ps5 and xbox one. Only place I am not digital is the Switch, because Nintendo's sharing program between multiple consoles is complete and utter junk.

I personally don't get the fear of digital.  I bought digital books on the Kindle over a decade ago...  they are still readily available on my device.  

It's funny you mention books because that is the one medium that has completely bucked the digital craze. Everyone thought it would do to books what it's done to everything else and it just never took off beyond being the niche of the market.

I find reading physical books a pleasant experience while e-readers give me headaches, I wonder why that is 



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Chrizum on 20 February 2022
Kakadu18 said:

I honestly don't get the argument that you don't own digital games. If my console breaks years down the line and I can't get a replacement then I won't be able to play both the physical and digital games. The only difference is that with the physical games I have something made out of plastic that gives me the false feeling that I truely own it because I can hold it in my hands.

And I honestly don't get your argument. I own a Wii U with a huge (Wii) Virtual Console library on it. When my Wii U breaks down, I can easily buy a new console, but my VC library is lost forever. My physical games can be played on any Wii U however, I can even lend or sell these games. That's ownership. Digital is not.

Of course, that's on Nintendo and their archaic systems. But even on modern platforms, legally, there is no such thing as digital ownership. You have a license to play the game for as long as the platform allows you to. They can delist games and prevent you from playing without being able to do anything about it.



Kakadu18 on 20 February 2022
Chrkeller said:
Kakadu18 said:

My issue with Switch digital is that I can't just put my micro SD card into a different Switch and play the games downloaded on it. For whatever reason the card only works with the first Switch it's used with. Bringing over my library to my v2 Switch was ultimately still very easy with zero issues.

The digital software on the Switch is linked to your account. I just turned on my old v1 Switch and after an update I was able to download any game I bought on the v2 Switch through the eshop. They aren't on the homescreen if you bought them on another Switch but show up when downloading. You can even download games on more than one Switch despite buying it only once, which suprised me. You only can't play the same game simultaneously on two Switches through the same account. If you made one Switch your main console a game you bought through that account can only be played through that account on your non-main console.

What I find puzzling is, now looking at my old Switch, is that it shows the exact same playtime numbers that my newer Switch shows, which suggests that it's actually linked to my Nintendo account and not the hardware as I thought, but when I first linked mx account to the new Switch it showed all of these playtimes at zero. It made a hard reset. Maybe they've updated how it works since then.

Nintendo is my favorite developer but I cannot justify their digital policy.  Sony is a decade ahead.  I can download digital games on multiple playststion units without calling Sony.  Plug and play from an external.

That's exactly what I just described for the Switch. You can download digital games on multiple Switches as long as they're linked to your Nintendo account (which takes five minutes to do). You don't need to call them.



Chrkeller on 20 February 2022
Kakadu18 said:
Chrkeller said:

Nintendo is my favorite developer but I cannot justify their digital policy.  Sony is a decade ahead.  I can download digital games on multiple playststion units without calling Sony.  Plug and play from an external.

That's exactly what I just described for the Switch. You can download digital games on multiple Switches as long as they're linked to your Nintendo account (which takes five minutes to do). You don't need to call them.

Gotcha.  Thanks for the clarification, good to know it has gotten better.



“Consoles are great… if you like paying extra for features PCs had in 2005.”
Agente42 on 20 February 2022
Chrkeller said:
Agente42 said:

Can you sell the games?

No idea.  I think yes with Steam, but don't know. 

No, you can´t sell,  only you can do is sell the account, and this is a grey area, because, if not mistaken, it´s not allowed. 

So, you don´t own the product, it´s a digital bean until the real owner, the company( Sony, Nintendo, Valve, Microsoft), wants to keep the digital version with you.

 



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hinch on 20 February 2022

In the UK most retailer shops and supermarkets (or Brick and Mortar stores) have stopped selling games. The last one that still stocks them and is one of our biggest supermarkets 'Tesco' (which is probably the largest supply chain for retail games here) are reducing its shelf space, as it is clearing all Bluray and CD's stock from its stores.

Its a shame, as games and media is getting less retail presence with digital media completely taking over. Long are the days you can go in a store and browse and buy games to your leisure. With Covid as well peoples buying habits have changed a lot with most people buying stuff online - me included.

Last edited by hinch - on 20 February 2022

rapsuperstar31 on 20 February 2022
Conina said:
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.

At least not on PS4/5 or Switch in the USA market, maybe it's different in other regions..  CyberPunk has been $10 at Best Buy on multiple occasions, while I believe the cheapest on psn is $24.99.  Deathloop has been $19.99 at various stores vs $24.99 cheapest on psn so far, Demon Souls has been 29.99 in store, cheapest on psn $40, Sackboy has been 19.99 in store, cheapest on psn 29.99,



Wman1996 on 20 February 2022

Xbox makes sense as the least because of the Series S and GamePass. Nintendo makes sense as still being the top for physical because of a few things.
1. A lot of Switch games (especially Nintendo titles) don't require downloads. With PS4 and Xbox One to the present, those console makers require mandatory installs even for physical games. Switch runs physical games off the Game Card in almost every case.
2. Nintendo has the largest audience of kids, at least as far as I'm aware. It's very common for kids to be gifted physical games for Christmas, other holidays, and their birthday.
3. Consumers likely have the least trust in Nintendo's account and game license management. Even as recently as the Wii U, they tied your digital game purchases to the console itself (not your account). If your console was bricked or other situations, there really wasn't a chance to download the games on another Wii U.

I just about never sell or trade my physical games, so that's a reason I've gone mostly digital on some platforms. Switch I go mostly physical since I don't tend to get digital-only games on Switch.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 161 million (was 73 million, then 96 million, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million, then 156 million)

PS5: 122 million (was 105 million, then 115 million) Xbox Series X/S: 38 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million. then 48 million. then 40 million)

Switch 2: 120 million (was 116 million)

PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)

3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)

"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima

Chrkeller on 20 February 2022

People can not like it, but digital is the future. Just a matter of time.



“Consoles are great… if you like paying extra for features PCs had in 2005.”
aTokenYeti on 20 February 2022
Chrkeller said:

People can not like it, but digital is the future. Just a matter of time.

This really depends on what you are trying to argue. If you are arguing that digital will be the primary means for game distribution, then we are already at that point on PlayStation and Xbox. 

If you are arguing that digital will completely snuff out physical games distribution, I think that position is significantly more difficult to defend. The examples set by other forms of media have shown that physical releases basically always settle themselves into a niche. Sometimes this niche is small, as with vinyl in the music industry, but sometimes this niche is still extremely lucrative. DVDs and blu rays are still highly popular with home theater enthusiasts and still have large amounts of shelf space dedicated to their sale in the traditional brick and mortar retailers. 

I think there is still going to be an enthusiast market for physical games. Rolstoppable thinks that the physical games decline has finally bottomed out, and I see no reason to think that isn’t the case to be honest. On PlayStation and Xbox, and Xbox in particular, if you are still buying physical now you probably will be 5-10 years from now and beyond, unless Microsoft or Sony try to force a digital transition which I think would go poorly.