Physical media for gaming seems more dire than any other entertainment medium. Books seem very secure due to the fact that a book does not require electronics. CDs, Vinyls, etc. seem safe as a niche format for a while. I also think DVDs, Blu-rays etc. will still exist for a long time as niche releases.
But gaming is a real problem due to open platforms like PC having virtually no physical games released for a while now. And console makers can control their platforms and we know they want an all-digital future. There's almost no way PS6 and Xbox 5 come with optical drives. The best we can hope for is something like the PS5 Disc Add-on. Even Nintendo will eventually drop physical media, even though the Game Card slot takes up little space and probably costs little money.
The 2020s will probably be the last decade with new releases of physical games on all the platforms in abundance. It will be more niche in the 2030s and even more niche in the decades after.

It's happening whether we like it or not, more and more people have given in, you are seeing more digital only consoles, and big stores like Best Buy will no longer carry physical media soon. I'm not a fan, mostly because the less choices we have the higher the prices are going to be. Instead of having 15 stores and ps store/xbox store to check for the best sales we will just have the ps store/xbox store/Nintendo store to check and if they don't want to give you a big enough discount, tough. Nintendo doesn't drop their sales price below $42 for games 3,4,5+ years old, where you can find them for $29.99 or less in stores. Resident Evil 4's big sale on the ps store is $40 and Walmart had it on sale for $30. Cyberpunk was on sale for $8 multiple times at Best Buy, and never less than $20 on the ps store. When you buy a digital game on consoles, there is no returning it if it sucks, selling it and recouping some of your costs if you decide you don't want to play it again, having a friend over that asks hey can I borrow that game from you.

I agree with these thoughts, but as always I wanna shout-out GOG cause it's the one digital store where what you buy is very much yours. Of course, most publishers are scared of that idea so they don't put their games there.

Well, for a lot of us old enough to have come up during gaming's golden years (80's-90's), it's going to mean something different. You see, to a percentage of us, the act of gaming is multilayered. You have the desire to buy a game, buying the game, unwrapping the game, taking the game out of the case, enjoying the way the print smells, reading through booklets, putting the actual game into the console, playing the game, taking the game back out, putting it away, putting it on a shelf, where it will be added to your growing collection, which is also enjoyable. All of this is what gaming was to many of us, so going to a digital-only future would be a lesser experience, because as you can see, the gaming part is only a percentage of a whole. Is that percentage enough? I guess we will see.

Physical media wil definitely become niche, as it's already started happening.

I fear we will only have collector's editions and limited prints and physical media will be absurdly expensive.

Digital was once supposed to make games cheaper, but that never happened and may actually just make physical more expensive.

I'm already having problem finding physical copies decently around here for very recent games like Elden Ring or even Diablo 4!

The only platform where I am happy to be 100% digital is the PC.

Mostly because I can "reclaim" my library if the digital storefront collapses.

Once consoles are digital only, that is when I exit the console market, history is littered with consoles that have closed their online services and shut down servers that deliver games, updates and add-ons, leaving people completely out of luck.

The longevity of physical games is really dependent on what Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox do in keeping them on their consoles. If they all decide to make their consoles digital only then physical is going to be completely die no question. I think Nintendo and Sony will keep physical media around, hard to say with Xbox.

Digital purchases with DRM are worth a lot less to me personally, for reasons already mentioned in this thread several times. I buy the vast majority of my (digitally purchases) games for at most 10 euros and almost never at full price or even half price. Consoles are the absolute worst offender in this regard, which is one reason why I've shifted so strongly away from console gaming. Another somewhat related reason is backwards compatibility: I've owned mainly Sony consoles in the past, and Sony hasn't shown it's not at all trustworthy regarding backwards compatibility. (Things are improving, but trust is hard to regain, and Sony is doing at best a passable job even now - old games are still unplayable without purchasing them again, for little good reason besides greed.)

Not entirely true, because there are DRM-free services as well. GOG is probably the best-known one. Of course this doesn't help at all with console gaming, because with consoles, there's only the official store, and the systems themselves have been built with DRM in mind from the start. But even with PC gaming, you kind of have to go out of your way to get DRM-free games, so it's not really all that common. Overall, the majority of digital purchases are exactly like you said.

It's the same with (4k)blu-ray, getting harder and harder to get. Oppenheimer currently unavailable, have to import. It just came out! Prices keep going up, BF / Cyber Monday deals are all very weak and very few.

Maybe it's also the economy. I haven't seen any good BF deals, and even for 30% off it's mostly Amazon Prime members only. They do have Elden Ring, 15% off! The PS5 physical edition that is, XBox digital code edition, currently out of stock??? No PS4 nor XOne edition available.

Diablo 4 is in stock, full price.

Thoughts, not 'wants'. Just random things. I don't agree with everything I posted here. But many games/researching/articles over the years/old and new system later a lot has made me think.

I do wonder if we get more reprints or only limited physical companies for collectors editions still or just the collectibles and that's it.

The analogue/digital differences or players/mediums staying around and functioning. Archiving them.

Singleplayer then multiplayer offline, online, bots even anymore, singleplayer online sucks. Controlled cheating, saves, trading, and more in certain genres being changed over time. Why server costs then just better encryption methods but no............. why do that.

How much 'altering the game' to make it playable without server connections let alone people caring to play them again then the older entries/moving on like companies want us to do. Besides just general archiving. Emulators for games like that will they be altered to be playable if they seek a connection. Will we even have the possibility to emulate the game hardware wise quicker or slower.

People got their time/money's worth out of it right? They don't want to play it again right? Make content from it, re-experience it, etc.

So many angles to think about with modern gaming and going oh this new obstacle, that new benefit, that new even more annoying obstacle even on a general level not just emulation like I leaned into.

The future with cost to reload, move a step, hit a golf ball and pay for the best wind/best club (said for any sport format to work around), pick a choice to direct the game's outcomes/best choices, (in game currency or real money to convert) is just a joke if is does. If an arcade did that back in the day oh would that have been bad, game overs sure but 'every step of the game' no way would that have been good.

Will resolution tiers be a thing? Get this texture pack even pay more? Get this and that? Depends what angles they go for.

I'm still surprised Nintendo does the read from the disk/cart. No installs only updates/digital games/whatever minor data. Sure no save to the cart like DS/3DS did (and batteries in older carts, unless Switch does do the DS/3DS thing for some games I don't know). Yet depending on the game/dev they run fairly well.

Whatever we see I don't know what to care about/what to avoid in some speculation/some that already exist. Disks as licenses is annoying though. Jedi Survivor disk and download, PS4/Xbox One version? How much less data on a regular Blu-ray so why bother, just go digital at that point then the lacking 2 disks as 1 disk, 1 download of the PS5/Xbox Series version.

Digital will be eh. Also the prices and discounts of physical differ a lot. Sure they get high rare games or popular ones people go for. But for general stuff it's not full price again always on the second hand market like it is digital and whenever the next discount. Physical prices balance better I find besides how few paper we get with them over time or disk care of data on them.

Gift giving (unless expanded, refunds, whether a Robotcache for PC, I know as a sponsor/service or thing is believable or even possible on consoles due to how the polices/storefronts work even, no idea whether to hate the idea of multiple storefronts or not), we don't always see much hardware use.

We had Playlink, party games with smartphones so kind of multi/dual screen in a way and well without a Vita/Wii U approach to dual screen with 1 strict screen (not exactly GBA and GameCube or Dreamcast VMU scale whether how many or wired but now wireless and many people have smartphones so makes sense)..... PS Portal. Everybody 1-2 Switch does similar for 1 game then the many Sony had for Playlink brand but now a decade later.

With digital I see less hardware focus in some areas but just a guess. Unless it's streaming focused. If we see Indie hardware/crowdfunding of crazy ideas or so then sure but for major consoles/PC I doubt it of certain peripherals besides the audio/camera side. Sure VR exists but no idea how much push for it.

To me gameplay has been bland, heavy characters that don't always feel right I find, but it varies, I prefer floaty or balance more so balance, some 6th gen have odd heavy characters compared to modern ones walking/weight of characters or physics for racing games or whatever the case, handling models, (lets just say even strafing in Order 1886 (replaying it), in some situations sure but the whole game it's awful you want changes per combat, exploration, and more like come on, there is a reason I keep strafe in Ratchet limited to combat only situations with the buttons, or not the strafe only camera mode on all the time, I can toggle it at least for platforming it's awful), stories/visuals/themes sure but most times missions are eh of gameplay or the mechanics are boring in some games.

I go linear usually for the why they can present some ability mechanics, in an open world sometimes they are used well in their open spaces, their cities but other times they can be pretty eh or you yes get linear moments to cover them so it makes sense. Sometimes menus are better than just a jump to somewhere or a more boring gap. For racing I prefer menus not open worlds, but do I like the walkable dealership in Project Gotham Racing 2 (besides the garages or fun Geometry Wars original sidegame/minigame to play) as a novelty also yes I think that's cool. Will I fast travel even if the movement system is good yes but it depends how the fast travel is accessed or if a fun mission is in the area too if not then well eh.

I look to AAs and Indies (not always nostalgic old design Indies, sure their inspirations are clear and the popular games make sense but I can look to any popular games or ones that had other ideas and the other ideas were just as good if not better than the popular ones in certain genres that is, the popular makes sense, if you have a racing game then sure more cars, but not race cars just well everyday ranges of them, not always the mechanics excite people, they do me as cars/brands only get me so far, it's how you use them that's fun with the event design, why challenge runs with my own set restrictions are fun, not oh I'm limited to the game in this linear way that's not fun or oh a car class, it's open but it's so accessible it's got no restrictions so it's less fun, less strategic, less challenging, when your game's opponents are the only challenge it's boring, when they have level design, they have other details to define it that's when I find it more fun. It's like any Smash's for glory or otherwise, no items, or shooter match as rocket launchers only or more. If they took that away it'd be boring right? Less replayable.

Like many 3D platformers/racing games I don't care what cars are in there the gameplay got better in others of older eras then the big ones sometimes, couldn't care less how realistic it is, some are replayable but others are a bit lacking, for platformers you bet I want a better Glover, Chameleon Twist tongue move that no grapple hook or otherwise game has recreated by the way, Space Station Silicon Valley or more and I researched them no nostalgia, well known enough by certain people of course but just Banjo/Mario 64 inspiration eh pass).

Biomutant made it clear to me why bother having animals with abilities (my comparison is a bit unfair but I mean researching 5-6th gen platformers made it kind of hard to appreciate in some cases some changes that I'm like oh that's sad to see in modern game design this more lacking area or more easy design with skill trees in some games then more adding to the world as it's already had so much work put into it regardless of how much menu design takes or the percentage/stat tweaks must be easier then more world changes or character changes ability, animation and more wise in certain games especially open worlds and yes I know Biomutant is a AA game but even still) just make the game a world about animals which is fine but I could swap them for humans and it'd make no difference.

Sure the language/narration, sure the 4 leg sprinting but the vehicles, glider, they should be assists (they are but even still and can be like some sales people in BOTW I found to go back to/find), why no flight, no swimming, digging, etc. that makes exploration fun, more things to do/collect (not just outposts and whatever else others have done already), I enjoyed tower defence in Sunset Ovedrive what other games priotised that in it's open world? I know I shouldn't compare but some trends/some design does seem a bit odd to me how far they go and how basic they make them for an audience. Or the ideas they have at the time.

When I see Indies look to old design it may be oh it's nostalgic, but it's also they understand the game, they understand how to put a spin on it/keep it familiar as it 'works' and it's also what people want. I get why people wouldn't go too much for a more out there game but I mean some do exist at least. Why the safeness. Bring some elements back, put a spin, or something completely new, set a trend not always follow a trend.

Or grinding up and down in Sunset Overdrive was great (not innovative I guess? but still fun moveset I mean), not always a vehicle, or running, not always the particular walking around edges of buildings like Assassin's Creed so carefully, when even Ratchet didn't do that but Scaler did and it's grinding was way better in the same generation as Ratchet started) and well get to missions easier, it can still have vehicles for those that didn't pick those traits to swim you still have a jet ski, but you favoured flight, digging or another, if did swimming you can still use the glider.

It's the you can still do it later it's not blocked off (unless a mode to do so and the racing game logic of I want to restrict myself runs by these factors but instead it's you either do that yourself or there is a mode for it as a difficulty option for only swimming capable areas, flight capable, digging, etc. or vehicles only), we have gas immunity but no animal abilities for classes/percentage of animal traits only gas immunity percentage? Why? It makes the game so whatever about being an animal gameplay wise and only theme wise different or visually who you play as. Act on it with gameplay more like come on.

Some games have fair spins on things and others follow trends. Resistance 2 why? 3 is better because it has more that Dev's past ideas and DNA, weapon wheel, level up system (even besides how it presents it's world/characters better) that only that dev uses for the Ratchet series, or maybe a new system, why limit themselves to 'following suit' in it then 2 does being so trendy and formulaic. IF the world isn't strong enough you got to push other areas to be stronger. IF gameplay is bland why would I play it if the world/story also may not be. You need some aspects to be stronger.

My point is I think heavy characters, and some modern design is so boring and feels lacking, some areas could be filled but are so lacking not of old design but just little details. Old games had those details I find. While they also had their own details that lacked because in sometimes they were still early 3D, others were packed with ideas and felt filled. Nowadays I don't find them filled they just aren't just changed to me focused on other things but still lacking details in favour of others.

Not every game needs the same moveset but some need better ideas then a skill tree thrown in or other excuses of design because they are lazy/trend followers.