community background

Video Games

Video Games
FirestormGamingTeam's avatar
FirestormGamingTeam

I think it's a good idea to NOT have physical media in terms of discs etc, for me it's the kids, the amount of times I have replaced GTA V, Jesus, so I just got them it online, this has been the same with plenty of discs across their consoles.

Physical media is cool, but nowadays? I think it's dieing out.

Boomer's avatar
BoomerMod

Personally I'd love it, but it'd be more like the Game Gear or Game Boy.

I know the handheld nature of these makes my answer make less sense, as you'd have all these cartridges to carry around, but I'd love new games for old systems like these!

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra

I would love it. Even though it's convenient to have digital downloads for games and music and has some good value like what EveOnlineTutorials mentioned above not having to worry about disks getting destroyed, I do miss the old-school physical editions and the possibility to rent these. I used to spend all my pocket money in the local equivalent of Blockbuster :D And when I run out of money I still went in to look and plan what I would borrow next time.

I still buy CDs even if I don't have a CD player atm, but I love seeing them on the shelf (and to support the bands as I know how little they get from Spotify) And when I bought my PS5 the digital version was out of question as I love my physical collectors edition games

Laura's avatar
Laura

This is a real double edged sword for me. I went digital only after the disk drive on my PS4 died. I quickly realised just how convinient digital was and now I wouldn't look back for anything.

Firstly, I'm not at the mercy of Royal Mail delivering the game to me or a long journey to a shop that might stock the game. I've spent my entire life on quite a secluded peninsula and if you don't drive it costs about £30 to get to the city, plus you need to have a snack etc.. So it just becomes an incredibly taxing, expensive and depressing day for me. So that was a +1 for digital. Alongside this, at the time, I was incredibly unwell and just getting out of bed was difficult enough some days so making a trip to Glasgow, which would have further exacerbated how awful I felt, nope. Another +1 for digital.

Another +1 for me in the digital only debate is that a few years ago my flat got broken into. They stole my PS4 and TV (yes, the PS4 with the broken disk tray) and instead of them being able to steal all my games as well I simply had it bricked by Sony meaning it couldn't connect to Wi-Fi, meaning they couldn't make a new account and use it that way, it was literally just a lump of plastic to them AND I was still able to recover my account and go back to normal as soon as I replaced the console itself.

I don't know the logistics of it, but we've seen such a huge rise in indie games coming out and I can't help but question how many of them may not have been capable of existing prior to this digital age purely because they don't need to create and distribute the discs and the packaging. Like I said, that side of things is far beyond me, but its a thought I've had on a number of occasions.

The negative side to digital only for me is that Steam, Sony, Xbox.. anyone; could literally pull the plug on their services and BOOM you've lost all your games. That aspect terrifies me considering I own a few hundred games on Steam and closer to 800 on my PlayStation, it's just a lot of power that some big, stinky, corporations possess.

Lanah Tyra's avatar
Lanah Tyra
Laura

Very good point on the indie games, probably being able to just publish their games in a digital format makes it available for more developers.

And your reason for loving digital is totally understandable, I start to feel the same after having to move house so many times, and either not having space for all my things or costing a fortune to hire a big enough van.

Digital is easy and convenient, physical copies hold a special sentiment and are nice to have. I'm trying to balance the two :D

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer

Sales&Marketing. Publishers truly hate physical media, and their main agenda is to eliminate CDs/Cartridges ASAP, that's their wet dream.

Why?

  1. Distribution and marketing costs: you need to produce, deliver to the store, pay for the banners etc, give % to the retailer and so on. Or just swipe with a credit card, pay the payment processing fee, and add a record to the users' database, that's it.

  2. Another thing is re-sale/sharing. For instance, you can buy a Nintendo Switch and 1 AAA-grade game, then you can effortlessly trade this game for the next one.

Laura's avatar
Laura
Sturmer

Thanks for the information! I'd actually never considered your second point about redistribution but it makes complete sense! My main source of games during my teens and early adult years was second hand games!

Retro Stu's avatar
Retro Stu

This is one that maybe 5 years ago I'd have said absolutely yes I'd go for it, but since the pandemic and me thinning out my physical collection I'm on the fence about it.

There's definitely something great about physical media (as my vinyl record collection will attest to!) but these days I just don't have the space for multiple collections and with the affordability of digital sales I get more bang for my buck with Steam etc.

Sturmer's avatar
Sturmer
Retro Stu

time to get a bigger cave lol :)

MURRRAAAAY's avatar
MURRRAAAAY

I especially feel sorry for kids, as I remember how much I just loved browsing the game section as a young kid (not going to lie I still love checking out the game section on the weekly shop, I guess we are all just big kids after all!).

It was such a treat while my parents went about the weekly shop; I would run off to the game section and marvel at all the incredible box art from the games on display, which would then end up with me trying to convince them to buy me whatever game I could find that was cheap or on offer!

Now this also extends to gaming hardware, Another thing I used to drool over in the stores was the boxes from the new consoles like the N64 or Dreamcast. Staring in amazement at how cool all these new games looked on the back of the box, I read the tech specs about how much more powerful it was than whatever I had at home, much to my mother's dismay as I always wanted every console. Money was tight back then, so I made do with the ones I was lucky enough to get. So, what does this have to do with a Console that only plays physical games? Well, once the games go all digital, it will only be a matter of time before we don't need a console, either, if Xbox's plans are anything to go by. Xbox intends to stream Game Pass games from the cloud to your TV and phone; even your fridge could play Doom on it soon.

This means no more consoles in stores for anyone to enjoy and, even scarier, no more consoles for kids to open up on birthdays or Christmas day… We have all seen fantastic clips on YouTube of kids opening up consoles for presents and going wild with excitement; those days may be numbered.

How about a voucher in your Christmas card that says you have been gifted a year subscription to Game Pass versus a new, shiny, beautiful console for you to tear open and set up?

I know which I would rather have.

And I know my original post is to the very extreme of physical only console, but in reality the options would be the best for all to decide phyiscal or digital, but I fear we are not going to have an option much longer!

emoji

Join the conversation!

Some of the best conversations on the internet are happening here - and our users are getting rewarded for having them. Don't miss out!

sunglasses emojiemoji pointing left
◤
Related discussions

Communities

Just About

Video Games

Critter Café

Farming Simulator 25

Elite Dangerous

SMITE 2

EVE Online

Minecraft

Pokémon

Content Creators

Film & TV

Tech

Books & Comics

Music

Sport

There’s more to love

Help shape the future of our platform as we build the best place to express and enjoy your passions, whatever they may be.

Join now
Emoji

© Just About Community Ltd. 2025