This is said every gen.
It's not happening. It shouldn't happen either. It would be extremely ignorant for console makers to do this.
It's not happening. It shouldn't happen either. It would be extremely ignorant for console makers to do this.
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I think that this coming gen is gonna be the last gen with physical games on Xbox and PlayStation
- Thread starter Adrifi
- Start date
The push for $70 AAA games, and the drastic increase in price over the past three years on PC, is making me reconsider digital purchases after 15 years of it.
With physical games I can buy used and re-sell once I'm done to minimize costs. If it's a game I really liked, I might pick up a digital copy in a sale later.
If they eradicate physical game sales they'll be trying to sell you AAAA games for $150 by 2027.
With physical games I can buy used and re-sell once I'm done to minimize costs. If it's a game I really liked, I might pick up a digital copy in a sale later.
If they eradicate physical game sales they'll be trying to sell you AAAA games for $150 by 2027.
OP
OP
I don't think it's the same situation. There are still a lot of companies that make CD players. The physical desktop console games market is dominated by only two companies.
I don't have any crystal ball but I wouldn't think so. Physical retail is still a hefty chunk of sales and I'm not sure the internet infrastructure in a lot of nations is ready for huge digital downloads, even next gen.
If it did happen, the market for physical games would still exist, so a competitor system would have an opening to rise, and/or a publisher like Limited Run could transition to making PC releases on physical format (which they've done at least once iirc). The latter would be neat.
there are a lot of people who will never go full digital. they will always keep that option available to them.
I'm expecting this gen to be the last one, it sucks, but I'm gonna ride with my discs into the sunset.
It wouldn't surprise me. You're projecting 7+ years into the future with this hypothetical. Digital vs. physical sales are going to skew much more toward digital by then, and internet speeds will improve across the world.
Frankly, I didn't think we'd have all-digital versions of consoles until the upcoming mid-gen, at the earliest. The fact that we're launching this upcoming gen with digital consoles says a lot in itself.
Frankly, I didn't think we'd have all-digital versions of consoles until the upcoming mid-gen, at the earliest. The fact that we're launching this upcoming gen with digital consoles says a lot in itself.
Shit, I'd say it's more likely we go *back* to carts for games than physical media dying. Optical discs can't keep up with the gains in size in flash media. Not to mention flash uses no moving parts and is much smaller, which means simpler drives for consoles.
Depends entirely on how well the Series S does and what the world looks like in 2026 or so when finishing up the design of the consoles.
But I do see it happening, especially with just how many sales are digital over physical these days...
But I do see it happening, especially with just how many sales are digital over physical these days...
5-10 years is a long time when it comes to Internet technology. What were your internet speeds a decade ago like compared to now?
PC & mobile are already purely digital and this upcoming generation, the cheaper SKUs are digital-only. It's certainly plausible that the generation after that could be purely digital.
PC & mobile are already purely digital and this upcoming generation, the cheaper SKUs are digital-only. It's certainly plausible that the generation after that could be purely digital.
I want to say no but its too soon to say. There is always going to be value to collectors and a hardcore portion of the market so a version of the products going forward will probably always face a disc drive.
The real question is will the default one going forward be a discless unit, with disc model considered an extra for hardcore only.
The real question is will the default one going forward be a discless unit, with disc model considered an extra for hardcore only.
The only way this happens is if it replaces the digital-only version while the disc version continues to be manufactured.
OP
OP
Problem is cost. A disc cost pennies to make. Cart cost a lot more especially bigger size. You are seeing Switch cart without full game needing download.
OP
OP
I'm talking about 7 years in the future, not now. Internet infrastructure should be better than now. And again, I do not want the physical market to disappear, but I think it's going to.
Your edit doesn't really help and talking about new manufacturers entering the arena is strange.
The poster you're replying to knows that.
This is said every few years. I think the two can coexist. Good luck buying games like Forza Horizon and Tony Hawk 3-5 years after release if they were all digital, as some titles are quicker to be delisted than others. For games preservation I hope we keep physical games forever.
not to mention that game sizes Will only get bigger, we will move to 8K, they will increase again but ISP speeds in Us won't keep up at good prices so we will need 150-300Gb of content on discs somehow.
not to mention you can't sell your digital games in consoles. Getting rid of used games would be outright damaging for the industry, and even tho most of music and movies are streaming, you still have the option. This Is especially important for price sensitive markets, like Latin America. Having physical games simply opens it up to more people, there is no argument against having both digital and physical as options.
not to mention that game sizes Will only get bigger, we will move to 8K, they will increase again but ISP speeds in Us won't keep up at good prices so we will need 150-300Gb of content on discs somehow.
not to mention you can't sell your digital games in consoles. Getting rid of used games would be outright damaging for the industry, and even tho most of music and movies are streaming, you still have the option. This Is especially important for price sensitive markets, like Latin America. Having physical games simply opens it up to more people, there is no argument against having both digital and physical as options.
OP
OP
I did it because someone wrote about that possibilty. Again, comparing this to CD player manufacturers doesn't make sense because it's a fragmentated market ( or at least is where I live).
I guarantee you not enough development will happen in those 7 years to bring in an all digital future.
We won't even be there in the US 7 years from now, forget other developing countries with lower GDP.
Maybe in another 20 years or so. And even then..
EDIT: HELL 7 years ago compared to now you could make the argument our internet access has gotten WORSE with more data caps and such.
I'm sure the people on DSL and mobile broadband would love all digital consoles /s
Physical media isn't going away for until at least the PS7/Xbox Huxoflux, there's still areas out there with poor/slow Internet access.
Physical media isn't going away for until at least the PS7/Xbox Huxoflux, there's still areas out there with poor/slow Internet access.
In 7 years we all will have super good internet connection with no cap and everyone will suddenly lose interest in owning physical games to lend or resell or simply keep in their collection?!
Yeah sure if companies don't want these customers money I mentioned up there.
Yeah sure if companies don't want these customers money I mentioned up there.
Are 3rd world developing countries really going to be a target for 4k+ gaming? Especially when due to import fees, the consoles are frequently sold at 50%-100% higher price than they are in the US. Even in LATAM, consoles are considered an extreme luxury item due to the much higher costs & lower wages in the area.
I think a lot of people in the US think "Internet where I'm at is bad so it's even worse in other countries" when in actuality, plenty of places have better Internet. When I was in Taiwan, I was paying about $14 USD/month for 80Mb DL rates and if I wanted to pay 2-3 times that I could have had 300 MB/sec. In Mexico, I'm paying just under $40 USD/month for 100Mb DL rates. When I was in the US 3 years ago, I was in a more rural area in California and I was paying over $100/month for worse speeds. It was ridiculous. I think a big factor was that in many parts of the US, there's basically an ISP monopoly whereas where I was at in Taiwan & Mexico, there were a ton of different options so fierce competition between companies kept prices reasonable.
And again, this isn't saying now, this is saying in 5-10 years. Everywhere's going to have better internet in 5-10 years.
PS6 and XSX2 will launch all SKUs without a disc drive. Both will offer the disc drive as an add-on that likely costs $100 or more. I see physical media becoming less widely available by the end of this generation.
I think it'll be the last gen where it's close overall split wise. 50/50 seems to be what most pubs publish nowadays, it was what? Probably 90/10 in favor of physical at the start of the gen, so I would be surprised if that's closer to completely flipped by the end of next gen. But even still in the scenario10% is still a significant chunk.
I think most likely yes, we are certainly approaching it. If not next gen then I'd imagine that the following generation will no longer have physical media. I do think it is an inevitability. Every year games are sold more digitally and I can't see anything changing that.
You only think about your situation and your countries internet infrastructure when you think this way
It's not going to be the last gen with physical only
It's not going to be the last gen with physical only
A non physical-games console in Mexico would be dead in the water.
Not to mention, it would turn a lot of people into PC or/and piracy.
Not to mention, it would turn a lot of people into PC or/and piracy.