Sony reports a 20% physical / 80% digital split for PS4 game spending.

[Busaiku]

That's the entirely wrong takeaway.
Physical and digital sales are roughly the same, and Sony doesn't even project a huge disparity between the 2 in the next 5 years.
If anything, this says that discs will remain for some time to come.

Games as services will continue to grow though.

 

[tiebreaker]

Thread title is correct, but misleading as people jump into it thinking that it's for game formats split. When it actually includes microtransactions and subscriptions which are 100% digital.

 

[AniHawk]

This is interesting. They expect software sales overall (physical and digital combined) to fall, but mtx etc to increase drastically. GaaS expected to become far more popular I guess? Fewer games being bought, but more time and money spent within those games.

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back in 2019, they were telling publishers they were making positions within sony to focus on 'lifetime' sales. the example they used was fortnite and its virtual currency. sony makes 30 cents off every buck, and with playstation as the number one platform for fortnite, sony was making a real good amount of bank from just that game. the more kinds of games like that they can help grow, the better it is for sony's bottom-line (in the short-term). fortnite is great. fortnite, plus genshin impact and apex legends and cod warzone, etc? even better.

video game unit sales aren't split quite as hard as it is on the revenue side. it might be though in the future if sony wants to keep pushing gaas/live services and do it at the expense of games that rely on physical media sales.

 

[Justified]

Sad to see an all digital future celebrated especially with the "bugs and "glitches" regarding playing and owning your games in the recent times

 

[MrNewVegas]

A full reversal in less than ten years.

Coincidentally I went fully digital on all my platforms in 2013.

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PC did it in far less years.

 

[The Praiseworthy]

Somewhat misleading. From the same presentation:

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Yes.

It's always misled to combine the digital adds-on with subs with micro with digital software format and then make it looks like much much much bigger as digital format against the physical format which of course lacks the majority of adds-on and subs and micro.

 

[Cali32]

i dont care if im the last person on earth who buys physical, i wont ever trust these companies enough to go digital

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Ditto, for the past 2 years I've been shifting from a mix of physical - digital to completely physical as much as I can. Plus physical is cheaper in my region than digital if you buy games day 1.

 

[Benzychenz]

Digital is just so much more convenient, and the constant sales we get on the stores are very decent for the most part (less so close to launch)

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But if you buy games day 1 physical is usually $20-30 cheaper.

 

[BassForever]

I imagine a lot of physical ps4 sales in recent years aren't tracked by this number because they're games being sold second hand at gamestop or online via places like Ebay. A good chunk of that 20% if people who haven't been able to upgrade to next gen but are still buying Madden, Fifa, CoD, etc each year.

 

[entremet]

Sad to see an all digital future celebrated especially with the "bugs and "glitches" regarding playing and owning your games in the recent times

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But those bugs exist on discs? Heck most games receive extensive patching. No major game today is "final" at disc pressing.

Moreover, discs are fully installed on the SDs. So the disc is just a DRM check.

I imagine a lot of physical ps4 sales in recent years aren't tracked by this number because they're games being sold second hand at gamestop or online via places like Ebay. A good chunk of that 20% if people who haven't been able to upgrade to next gen but are still buying Madden, Fifa, CoD, etc each year.

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Have you checked GameStop's financials? They're the biggest resellers of used games and they are infamously struggling.

The market has moved on to digital.

This is mean that physical is dead, just means in terms of revenue, physical is less relevant.

 

[Bishop89]

But if you buy games day 1 physical is usually $20-30 cheaper.

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Yeh that's the shit thing, physical is always cheaper at launch.

 

[Lemony1984]

If we keep this pace I don't see the next-gen consoles with disc readers. Maybe an external disc reader you can purchase as an add-on.

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Lol. Most games still sell about 50% physical copies in the launch window. They aren't going to kill that anytime soon.

 

[pbayne]

Thats actually probably close to the artion i buy games at, about 80% digital and 20% physical.
I think nintendo games day one are still about £20 cheaper here physical than they are digital so it makes no sense to buy them digitally currently other then convienance. If they were actually priced decently id be 100% digital by now.

 

[entremet]

Yeh that's the shit thing, physical is always cheaper at launch.

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Is this the US? I don't see that in the US. It's the same price.

 

[SwampBastard]

Digital is the way. Games are consumables for me at this point so I don't care about being able to resell them.

 

[Diogo Arez]

But if you buy games day 1 physical is usually $20-30 cheaper.

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Yeah I usually buy day 1 PS5 games at 50 instead of 80

 

[Busaiku]

The trend is also clear when only comparing subscriptions/digital games to physical game sales revenue.

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Yes, digital game sales are expected to grow, while physical game sales expected to decline, but even then, not in the way to get rid of physical media, in at least the next 10 years.

 

[Alucardx23]

Lol. Most games still sell about 50% physical copies in the launch window. They aren't going to kill that anytime soon.

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I think that the trend is clear. The number of games that are only released in digital format is increasing every year and even with games that are available in digital and physical format, the split is clear in favor of Digital. The fact that we have the Xbox Series S and the Playstation 5 Digital at the launch of a new console generation shows really well how things are evolving.

 

[Alucardx23]

Yes, digital game sales are expected to grow, while physical game sales expected to decline, but even then, not in the way to get rid of physical media, in at least the next 10 years.

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Yeah, I don't see the next-gen consoles without an included disc reader as a sure thing, but the growth of digital game subscription plans, cloud gaming, and the increase in the number of games that are only released in digital format sure helps a lot to push physical sales even lower faster. Let's see how things look by the end of this generation.

 

[jroc74]

If we keep this pace I don't see the next-gen consoles with disc readers. Maybe an external disc reader you can purchase as an add-on.

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2022/GNS_E.pdf

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Its happened with PC gaming years ago.

Its just a matter of when.

 

[Sprat]

Looks like my gaming days on modern platforms may be coming to an end next generation.

Its been a good run.

 

[Arta]

I only buy physical games as gifts since you can't buy Playstation titles as digital gifts anymore, and I don't just want to only give someone a gift card for Xmas.

Personally I haven't bought a physical game for myself since the PS3.

 

[Tobor]

Wonder if a possible "PS5 Slim" is digital only and they just keep around PS5 disc version.

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That sounds possible.

You would also have to think that by that time, the cost of the NVMe will be cheaper and in turn, can also up the storage when this happens.

I will admit though, I only own like, one physical PS5 game? It's Demon's Souls.

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Yep. The cost is the big problem. With the move to 6nm and hopefully cheaper storage, the DE should hit profitability. That's when things will get real interesting.

 

[GMM]

Haven't purchased a physical game since GTAV in 2013, there's zero value physical media for me, it's garbage that takes up space.

 

[Busaiku]

Yeah, I don't see the next-gen consoles without an included disc reader as a sure thing, but the growth of digital game subscription plans, cloud gaming, and the increase in the number of games that are only released in digital format sure helps a lot to push physical sales even lower faster. Let's see how things look by the end of this generation.

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There's also used games still being a factor (not directly reflected on this, since Sony doesn't get revenue from it), which further drives add-on sales and subscriptions.

 

[Pikagreg]

I am sticking with discs until they force me to stop. I love having a physical collection and being able to lend games to friends and family. I would hate to be limited to game sales on digital too.

 

[Alucardx23]

There's also used games still being a factor (not directly reflected on this, since Sony doesn't get revenue from it), which further drives add-on sales and subscriptions.

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Used game sales are also going down. This is directly related to how digital game sales are increasing. If there are fewer new physical games purchased, there will be fewer used physical games sold.

"While hardware sales were roughly flat and new software sales fell about 4 percent year over year, pre-owned software sales cratered nearly 12 percent for the year, continuing a years-long slide.

GameStop has always relied on the high margins of buying low and selling high on used game discs to buoy an otherwise low-margin business. But the rise of downloadable games, which can't be resold, has taken the wind out of those sails to a large extent. "We continue to see declines in pre-owned software, reflecting the decline in sales of new physical games and the increasing demand for digitally offered products," GameStop COO & CFO Robert Lloyd said in an earnings call."

GameStop posts massive loss as pre-owned game sales plummet

Stock hits lowest point since 2005 after $673 million annual loss.

arstechnica.com

 

[BassForever]

But those bugs exist on discs? Heck most games receive extensive patching. No major game today is "final" at disc pressing.

Moreover, discs are fully installed on the SDs. So the disc is just a DRM check.



Have you checked GameStop's financials? They're the biggest resellers of used games and they are infamously struggling.

The market has moved on to digital.

This is mean that physical is dead, just means in terms of revenue, physical is less relevant.

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Gamestop over expanded in the 00's and is contracting to meet the new market, but they're still a big player in the games market.

 

[Poimandres]

i will Never ever go full digital as long as physical is still nearly 30-50% cheaper here

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Indeed, price and value is key for me. I just sold a bunch of PS4 games for more than what I paid. Not through some dodgy dealers, but through the biggest gaming retailer in my country (Australia).

Physical releases are regularly cheaper than digital here not even accounting for resale value.

 

[Fat4all]

dang

thats a lot of digi bits

 

[War95]

I just got Ghostwire Tokyo 70% off on disc, i will never go full digital for the obvious reasons on console.

 

[Lemony1984]

I think that the trend is clear. The number of games that are only released in digital format is increasing every year and even with games that are available in digital and physical format, the split is clear in favor of Digital. The fact that we have the Xbox Series S and the Playstation 5 Digital at the launch of a new console generation shows really well how things are evolving.

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Lol. That's still a huge leap to say that next gen consoles won't have disc drives. There's a 0% chance of that. You can quote me on that. When you are selling 50% of oyur full price games physical you don't kill that revenue stream .That's crazy talk.

 

[jroc74]

Thread title is correct, but misleading as people jump into it thinking that it's for game formats split. When it actually includes microtransactions and subscriptions which are 100% digital.

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So what you're saying is....slow down and look for the context, lol.

I even missed the orig thread title.

 

[ngower]

Misleading title/OP as has been explained here. Physical remains a several billion dollar annual get and the sales of digital games are comparable. The numbers in the OP reflect stuff like season passes, DLC, etc.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

Looks like my gaming days on modern platforms may be coming to an end next generation.

Its been a good run.

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Gaming isn't going anywhere in the future. It's going to forever continue to evolve and grow as a medium. It was never going to be relegated to discs forever.

Gaming and technology are going to continue to do incredible, mindblowing things over the next few decades. I'd hope you'd want to be apart of that!

 

[Tobor]

Lol. That's still a huge leap to say that next gen consoles won't have disc drives. There's a 0% chance of that. You can quote me on that. When you are selling 50% of oyur full price games physical you don't kill that revenue stream .That's crazy talk.

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Wayyyy too early to make that call one way or the other. How many people thought there was a 0% chance of digital only skus this gen? And both of them went for it. Never say never.

Nobody knows where the floor is for physical games, we haven't hit it yet. If it's low enough, the juice won't be worth the squeeze.

 

[Busaiku]

Used game sales are also going down. This is directly related to how digital game sales are increasing. If there are fewer new physical games purchased, there will be fewer used physical games sold.

"While hardware sales were roughly flat and new software sales fell about 4 percent year over year, pre-owned software sales cratered nearly 12 percent for the year, continuing a years-long slide.

GameStop has always relied on the high margins of buying low and selling high on used game discs to buoy an otherwise low-margin business. But the rise of downloadable games, which can't be resold, has taken the wind out of those sails to a large extent. "We continue to see declines in pre-owned software, reflecting the decline in sales of new physical games and the increasing demand for digitally offered products," GameStop COO & CFO Robert Lloyd said in an earnings call."

GameStop posts massive loss as pre-owned game sales plummet

Stock hits lowest point since 2005 after $673 million annual loss.

arstechnica.com

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Yes, absolutely, physical is going down across the board, but the difference in digital game sales that follow the traditional model haven't made up for the declines in that aspect.
It's more that it's an indictment of the traditional model, as more and more games go towards things like F2P/GaaS entries, like Fortnite and Genshin Impact.
But the traditional experience will still prop up physical media for some time, especially since it's being monetized long after the original sale.

 

[nihilence]

I appreciate the convenience. But I still like the flexibility of potentially sharing or more importantly, physical sales.

The death of discs could be on the horizon. Need more incentives to nuke.

 

[Alucardx23]

Lol. That's still a huge leap to say that next gen consoles won't have disc drives. There's a 0% chance of that. You can quote me on that. When you are selling 50% of oyur full price games physical you don't kill that revenue stream .That's crazy talk.

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OK, now I have to ask you to read again what I wrote. I didn't say that "next gen consoles won't have disc drives", this is what I said "If we keep this pace I don't see the next-gen consoles with disc readers", meaning that if digital game sales continue to grow as fast as they have and physical game sales continue to drop, the next-gen consoles might not have an included disc reader. This is by no means set in stone, but if digital game subscriptions and cloud gaming continue to grow as fast as they have, this is something that the console manufacturers will definitely have to consider. Again, look at the Series S and Playstation 5 Digital to see how we are going.

The 50/50 Split you continue to mention is also not correct.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

Thread title is correct, but misleading as people jump into it thinking that it's for game formats split. When it actually includes microtransactions and subscriptions which are 100% digital.

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Right.
I thought that was fairly obvious from the start. While just one country, we often see a near 50/50 split for boxed game sales to digital in the UK.

Unless the UK were some grand outlier (which it shouldn't be as it has strong internet access), we should be able to guess that 80% of all game sales were not going to be digital.

And in this age, subscriptions and add on content are just as important as the software sales themselves.

 

[FallenGrace]

Been digital only since like 2016? Mostly buy games in PSN sales and still have a 200 game backlog. I'm not that fussed about Sony first party games though (I bought Horizon day 1 otherwise happy to wait)

 

[arrado]

Digital means a monopoly for Playstation.

I'm rooting more than ever for physical, with the way how the company has been acting lately

 

[Sprat]

Gaming isn't going anywhere in the future. It's going to forever continue to evolve and grow as a medium. It was never going to be relegated to discs forever.

Gaming and technology are going to continue to do incredible, mindblowing things over the next few decades. I'd hope you'd want to be apart of that!

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I have no interest in digital products. Just not for me.

Not a big deal to be honest about 90% of my gaming time is spent on retro stuff anyway as I tend to enjoy the games more over what most modern ones are.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

Damn. Absolutely disheartening if it leads to digital only. We will be forced to stuff the pockets of corrupt execs like Kotick without used games.

Edit: nvm some are saying it includes micro transactions. Thankfully it doesn't seem physical is going away in the next 5 years ar leash. Phew

 

[WhtR88t]

Wonder if a possible "PS5 Slim" is digital only and they just keep around PS5 disc version.

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Would be hilarious if the Slim had an awesome new design and they kept the current design/old model around for those who want physical.

 

[johancruijff]

This is interesting. They expect software sales overall (physical and digital combined) to fall, but mtx etc to increase drastically. GaaS expected to become far more popular I guess? Fewer games being bought, but more time and money spent within those games.

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GAAS titles would probably be either F2P or not full price

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

OK, now I have to ask you to read again what I wrote. I didn't say that "next gen consoles won't have disc drives", this is what I said "If we keep this pace I don't see the next-gen consoles with disc readers", meaning that if digital game sales continue to grow as fast as they have and physical game sales continue to drop, the next-gen consoles might not have an included disc reader. This is by no means set in stone, but if digital game subscriptions and cloud gaming continue to grow as fast as they have, this is something that the console manufacturers will definitely have to consider. Again, look at the Series S and Playstation 5 Digital to see how we are going.

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Isn't ps5 digital like barely 10-15% of all ps5 sales? It really isn't the same as series s, the value proposition between the two is different (and Xbox ships far more S than Sony does PA5D)

 

[Bishop89]

Is this the US? I don't see that in the US. It's the same price.

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Not sure in the US.
I'm from Australia. Launch prices are generally cheaper, a good $20 cheaper than digital for some reason..

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Awful

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i dont care if im the last person on earth who buys physical, i wont ever trust these companies enough to go digital

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.

 

[Alucardx23]

Isn't ps5 digital like barely 10-15% of all ps5 sales? It really isn't the same as series s, the value proposition between the two is different (and Xbox ships far more S than Sony does PA5D)

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Correct, Sony makes a profit (or at least breaks even) out of the PS5 with disc reader hardware sales, not yet from the PS5 Digital. If you cannot make enough consoles to supply the demand, you can see how it makes more sense to manufacture more of the version that makes you money. It is likely the PS5 Digital will make more money for them in the long run, since every single game will have to be purchased in the PSN store. The point is that this is something that we had not seen before from Sony or Microsoft and it's directly related to how Digital game sales are increasing.