Excluding seems false especially when potentially some games that would have a had physical version in the past went digital only for its sequels.


@Op:   The only issue I have is with the word Quickly.   Using an adverb + time of duration it means basically nothing.

Still I remember TR anniversary becoming the first retail game getting an digital version on the Xbox 360(consoles) and we had threads and posts with people claiming that a future with +10% digital game share rate seems unrealistic. 

You don't own any copyrighted digital file but the license to use it. That goes for a lot of media, including physical games.

But yeah I can see physical games going the way of the Bluray/CD in a decade. Two max.

So nowhere? I still regularly buy Blu-rays and CDs, actually easier to get than a lot of game with digital only releases.

Sure, physical games are basically also just a license to use them, like blu-rays. The difference is, you can sell and trade your physical license. You don't own your digital license, you're just renting it indefinitely.

This is probably the last decade physical video games have notable relevance but they can stick around for a good while longer as a niche option. Though a potential massive obstacle to that is how much control just three companies have over the market. If the next PlayStation and Xbox don't have disc drives then that'll kill off the market outside of Nintendo and retro game collecting. Nintendo would get rid of a physical option last but eventually there might not be a physical option on any modern video game platform which would be unfortunate.

So with services like Games Pass (which are the kind of future companies will most likely try to push for), you only "rent" the license for as long as you pay for the subscription.

That's also my fear, maybe the day I will not play current games anymore and just stick to a HUGE library of retro-games because I don't want to be in a digital-only or even worse streaming-only gaming world. At least with Nintendo I hope that they will support physical releases for a very long time.

Exactly. Its the same as something like Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Amazon etc etc But its the same as buying a film on Bluray or music CD (lol remember those) you're just purchasing the license to use it. Only physical media there's a lot more you can do like share, resell etc.

Honestly I don't like the way that games are slowly moving towards streaming service model. Like I've accumulated hundred of digital games and licenses (from publishers) get revoked or expire all the time. Which is why I like to buy physical when I can. Though its not all bad. In some cases like on PC its generally a lot cheaper digitally and there are several platforms and marketplaces to buy games, and there's no worry that games get pulled from a store like Steam. So it can go either way. I have way less confidence in Sony/Nintendo to keep prices sensible for digital games however.. should they decide to pull the plug on offering platforms that use physical media.

I will remain physical for as long as possible

The difference is, with streaming services they sell you add-ons, DLC, MTX, stuff you can't use anymore when you stop subscribing or when the game gets pulled from the service. It's like buying a subtitle pack for movies on Netflix, and then the movie gets pulled.

Oh btw https://gamerant.com/games-removed-steam-why/

These games were pulled also from physical shelves.

If you bought them on Steam all these years they were offered, you kept them, can play them and redownload them: