I think the closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShop is a very good showcase of the downside of digital exclusive media. So many games are becoming unavailable in any form of official capacity
it reminded that among other things, shin megami tensei 4 was digital only in europe a major installment of a big franchise is now completely unavailable
I've got discs from 1999 that are still in perfect condition. Sure they easily break, but they seem to outlive these corporations' will to keep them alive digitally. (Except for you Steam, you're near excellent when it comes to digital games content)
Xbox is getting there, but their backwards compatibility is very selective. Sony is a wild card in their advancements. Subscription services are not preservation, because companies will only support them while they're profitable
This is why people should take care of anything that belongs to them with great care,because everything doesn't last that long,and one day that item in your home will be priceless.
True preservation is only happening with piracy. I also was severly disappointed when I found out that PS4 and Xbox One always install the whole game from disc, making the disc just a dongle in the end. I mean they could at least have given developers the option to always load certain files (like videos) from the disc so you‘d actually have the benefit of the game being smaller on the harddrive.
For the people who claim that physical media is superior, nope, it's not the solution: - It can be lost, broken or stolen. - Even if you take care of it, it does not last forever, cartridges and discs will someday stop working, even if never used, and floppies are ephemeral. - Recent discs are not made to last, made with cheap plastic. - Preserving the software means nothing without the hardware to run it, many classic consoles and computers are breaking down and can't be fixed, while modern consoles are much more fragile and not all consoles can have those clones. - It takes space, not everyone can have shelves full of games. - Older games can have physical copies around, but they may cost a fortune, maybe even more than a new current gen console, in recent years, videogame collecting became a very expensive hobby. - Arcades are a big example of physical media that doesn't work, they are expensive, they are rare, they are big and only rich people can have them at home, they are hard to fix, and many classic arcades were never ported into home versions, or had inferior ports. - And most importanty, in many cases nowadays, physical media is just a fancy digital purchase, it may be just a download code in a box, or you still need a download or a constant connection to play the good or complete version of the game, get DLC, play online, or just play at all, many games require internet and servers working even if you buy physical. For personal use, physical games still have a lot of advantages over digital games, but they aren't a godsend, and neither physical or digital media are good for videogame preservation, the only option is piracy.
Fully digital = you don’t own. You can’t collect. THEY control everything. They control your play count, they can nerf your characters, they can remove soundtracks, they can fccc you over with grinding and “upgrades” and micro transactions. Make no mistake, fully digital is not always convenient. It can be weaponized and not consumer friendly. Fully digital can be predatory. So support physical media when you can. Any chance you get.
Physical may have some drawbacks but digital is still inferior to it. Yes its nice to not need to put a disk in and just play instantly for convenience. But digital is just that. Convenient. Physical may still require downloads or patches but its YOURS permanently. Digital games are not. I will support Physical games or movies till the day i die. I have absolutely no regrets for this. Corporations are continuing to push glorified rental services like gamepass etc. But thats just it, u dont own those games. Just a license to temporarily play them as long as u give them your money. These days u dont own your games. Corporations own YOU and evreything u play or watch. Physical media is the only way to fight this buisness practice. And ill forever support it.
The best way is drm free digital content. That way you can make as many backups as you want and play them forever through emulation. So support GOG and or sail the high seas.
I actually appreciate it both ways. I enjoy collecting and playing physical games, but I also enjoy the on demand convenience of an EverDrive with digital versions of those same games. I always like seeing indie games that succeed get a physical copy too.
I've never understood this as a counterpoint, because you can still own digital as well. Specifically, when it's not behind a service, like the 2000s era of PC gaming. I still have the installers of the GameHouse and PopCap games like Bookworm Adventures, and still have my product keys, and can just play them any time I want, on any computer I want, just running the installers and putting in the product keys. I've always preferred this particular format for digital, because it stands the test of time, and also the test of hardware. All physical media will age out over time (disc rot, corroded pins, etc.), but with digital like this, and replication (cloud storage, multiple devices, etc.), it's lifespan is infinite by sheer virtue of copying.
I'd argue that that does not stay in the test of time. Because it's all digital, it's extremely prone to any sort of corruption. Specifically, I'm referring to hard drive corruption. You may have access to the installers Yes, but the hosting platform that has these installers for you to download won't be there forever. So worst case scenario, the service go down and your hard drive corrupts in the future, leaving you with nothing but a bright hard drive. Some people prefer digital, and that's fine. Physical will always be the easiest and best way to preserve things as we move forward
@@ShempOfficial That's only if you put all of your eggs in one basket, though. If you back up the files across multiple things (multiple harddrives, multiple cloud storage services, etc.), you don't have that problem. If your current harddrive dies, you just download it from one of the many sites again and re-enter your product key. The same can't be said for the one single physical copy you'll get of something. PS1 disc gets scratched up, and unable to load a portion of the game any longer, and it's already on death's door.
@@tamerkoh Actually GOG or Good Old Games is a DRM free service client where you do actually own the games digitally free of this fear a game will get pulled like on Steam or any similar platform with DRM, you own the game on the account for life.
Maybe you mentioned it later in the video, but digital became a big thin when Retail games especially on consoles also got a digital release. If my mind is correct Tomb Raider anniversary was one of the first. I knew so many who were happy because they could play day one releases instantly instead of waiting maybe for days till your copy from Amazon would arrive.
For me, it depends on the situation, but I mainly prefer physical. But for newer games, due to them requiring day 1 patches (most of the time), I usually get them digitally. Cause usually when a game has a Day 1 patch and requires a big install anyway, it gets to the point where I might as well just download it. I want those games physically, but you know. If I can get a physical version of a game with all of the game in it, I will. A small install here and there is fine, but I'd like to have the whole game there. Otherwise, if I get a newer game physically, it'll be for collection purposes.
Yeah, when a patch is mandatory to play a game, I don't see the argument then for a physical copy. Some people bang-on about how it "preserves the version 1.0 release of the game", but what's the point if you can't play it until you update anyway? And a 1.0 release usually just means "buggy state", it's not like an old alpha or beta with major differences to uncover
@@dftfire Yep this is the same argument I have of the problems of owning a game physically now, games have gotten way lazier on the development side with going gold now and launching games, because of releasing games in a buggy state on launch. Back then, games basically had to be perfect and bug free as much as possible and going gold had way more meaning back then because there wasn't things like patching a game over the internet (before the Xbox or PS2). Now because of the numerous patches post launch and don't forget DLC as well (don't put your bets down that there will always be a "Complete Edition" with the DLC included), what is the continued point of owning anything Physical for games on Console? Frankly games on Physical is a waste of money now.
Without them even knowing they will push the dedicated players and collectors into emulation. That means we can preserve them but no revenue to new original games.
I was moving towards digital only, but I decided during the pandemic to move back to large collections of movies video games etc. bc I was spending a ton of money for streaming but didn’t watch a lot, and b bc things got pulled from store. I am even buying old video games I used to have in physical format bc I lost a few games
Game developers hate pre-owned sales and the anwser is pretty obvious: One physical copy sold for 2 or 3 different players VS. 3 digital copies sold for 3 different players. They're loosing so much profits with physical medias and the major studios can't affort that anymore (unless you want unfinished/unpolished games)
And that's one of tb He reasons some companies resort to microtransaction. Don't get me wrong, corporate greed will always be a reason. But with how more and more gamers feel entitled to free or cheaper stuff (when cost of making games have gone significantly up and the recent price increase of 2021 has in no way caught up with the production price increase) they have to recoup some of their loss somewhere.
Physical Media is not dying far from it it's available world wide and its very much alive in other countries in their stores so it's always available somewhere even if you have to import it.
as someone who collects game both physically and digitally is physical media dies and subscription services are what the future holds then ill never upgrade to the new thing. ps4 and switch will be the latest console i have.
I love the cool design aspects that physical media allows (clear cases, clamshell laptops, etc)! I use digital media a lot, and it has its place in my life, but I’ll always have a soft spot for physical media. I treasure my Dawn of the Dead boxset lol!
As a mainly PC gamer I moved to digital due to really being forced. This made me move that way for movies and TV shows too. However, with the Switch, it will be my first console that I won't sell in the future, along with the games. I've exchnaged games in the past due to needing to in order to buy new ones. However, now as an adult, I want to collect. Mainly because I miss owning a Wii, an Xbox 360 and PS2. Along with how difficult it is to play some games now due to digital store fronts no longer being around for the consoles. Especially regret not owning a 3DS, I could of bought and collected the games for way cheaper than it would take now. Plus I could of used the eshop.
Ironically I still think you made a better case for digital. Buy a disc, the disc eventually dies. Buy it digitally it can be pulled from digital stores or the harddrive eventually dies. It's easier to just replace a harddrive and redownload the game tied to your account. It's if your ACCOUNT goes, or they remove the game from servers COMPLETELY that you're screwed with digital (for instance, I bought Scott Pilgrim digitally and could still play that many years later). To me that's akin to your entire house full of discs burning down. Definitely scary, definitely not impossible, but highly unlikely and the last thing anyone would want, most of all the companies raking in your money. I think if we REALLY want to preserve games, piracy and online backup may be the "true" solution, but then we are once again back to servers. It's a catch 22.
As long as there are people who are still willing to buy their favourite movies, music albums and games in their physical form, I don't think the art of physical media is ever going to "truly die." It just takes on many different shapes and different art forms.
With the ps5 and xbox s/x the entire game is installed to the harddrive, so having a physical disc does not save hardrive space. The switch on the other hand has a large amount of games that can play directly from the cartridge with the exception of update patches
It's funny how he even used the PS4 as an example of yoir first sentense. PS4 and Xbox One were the first consoles that had you completely install the game on the HDD whether you had the physical game or not.
I buy games both physically and digitally. Before purchasing the digital copy, I’d assess if it’s worth getting a physical copy. If I liked the digital copy, then I may buy the physical game if available. I don’t like seeing gatekeepers dictate what we can or what we cannot do after purchasing the digital copy. Bought many Steam games and I still haven’t gotten around to playing these games yet so that’s another issue to consider. And the storefronts eventually being phased out too making digital purchases risky.
Even tho I’m not a collector of games, I’m also of the same vein with things like kindle or streaming services; they are inferior to physical books and movies. There’s an inherent difference to owning them versus renting or streaming them from somewhere else. It’s better quality and doesn’t depend on internet connections; books especially are the easiest way to show how long lasting they can be. While I don’t begrudge the digital age, I for one am not a fan of downloading any media whether video game movie or book, instead of being able to hold them in your own hands. With the proper care they can last a lifetime. (And this is coming from a gen z kid lmfao) love your videos and your takes!!!
I litterally cant go digital - no internet where i live other than very slow mobile hotspot. Alan Wake 2 just came out but its "digital only" so i simply cant play it. This is so disappointing. I wish there was a way to boycott this but way too many people have hopped on board and dont care about physical. The companies will make their money and nobody will care about people like me.
I really do think that physical media is still going to be the thing today. There are many people that prefer physical games over digital games. With physical games, your the ownership of this game and you make the decision wether you want to keep the game or not. On the digital game side of things, you games are rented wether you just buy it from the digital store or paying for a subscription are service. The issue is that when these service no longer available, all of the games from that digital store are no longer going to be downloaded again. A prime example of this is that Nintendo is closing it’s digital storefront on Wii U and 3DS. As those games on Wii U and 3DS on the digital storefront will no longer be purchasable, their physical versions will be expensive online. Another example of digital games is that if these games were to stream on what ever device you have. You would need to have a great internet connection to stream games on your phone or anywhere. The problem is that not many people have Internet connection. On my stance on games, I would prefer physical over digital. I like to keep my games and I could play them anytime I want just as long as I have the system I need to play it.
Physical may still exist for a while yet, but will eventually go. Look at music: in 2005, physical-media accounted for $17.8 billion in revenue. By 2021, it was $5 billion (figures are for worldwide). Thesedays around 70% of all music revenue is from streaming, not purchases of physical or digital songs or albums. (Source: Statista)
If you played the ps4 and beyond, you already are. The discs are little more than product keys and a batch file that tells the console to download the game from their servers. They don't have the games inside the discs anymore.
@@thatssomegoodpie It's true sometimes. The "Spyro Reignited Trilogy" for example only had Spyro 1 code on the disc. Spyro 2 and 3 had to be downloaded
@@xlixity Stop spreading this lie. The vast majority of games still have a completely playable offline 1.0 version on disc. In recent memory there have only been a few exceptions like the Call of Duty games and stuff like Wolfenstein 2 on Switch. There is even a website that keeps track of physical releases wether or not they're playable without any sort of online connectivity, that includes patches. And whadaya know, 90% of games are still perfectly fine as a physical release...
I buy most of my games physically and some digitally depending if the game is on sale or if i don't wanna wait for Amazon to deliver it but I'm not going fully digital until physical media is completely dead so maybe when the PS6 comes out in a few years.
These companies have been putting us against each other whether that's Microsoft or Sony and now it's between digital and physical I think we should totally stick together and make these companies hear our voices. If it wasn't for us the consumers these companies wouldn't even exist
I love physical media but in most cases especially with modern consoles the physical media side of things is just a disc or cartridge that just give you games access. Most don't have the actual game on the media and still require you to download the game and any updates required. So if the servers go down or they decide to discontinue the game there still won't be a way to play it even with a physical copy.
Cool video, Shemp. I only ever buy digital games on PC, otherwise it's all physical. I'm also way too nostalgic for how gaming used to be and spend most of my time playing older games, so I'm aware I'm not the target demographic for new games most of the time. That said, I get very excited when a game I'm interested in nowadays actually gets a physical copy.
I tend to go digital only when there literally is no option to get a physical copy, or the means of obtaining a physical copy are significantly more of a pain in the ass than just getting it digitally. Jumping Flash 1 & 2 were about $5 apiece on PSN when I bought them back around 2013 on the PS3, and buying a physical copy of either was going to cost about $100 apiece. Because I'm someone that clings to nostalgia hard, the thought of not being able to play or experience media because it's too old and you can't do so anymore is a fair bit tragic.
The one thing I always see in these types of videos are empty store shelves. Yet here in Canada, the shelves at Walmart, best buy, GameStop are always full. Is this a supply chain issue in the US, or lack of proper negotiations? Even here in the province of Quebec, where games must be printed in both English and French on the box art, we restock quite quickly. Any thoughts on this?
Canada is behind the US in digital adoption, that is likely the main reason. It took longer for online sales to ramp up for example and those have been around for much longer than digital games.
My x box 360 games off line are really limited I’m thinking about getting rid of them because they take a lot of room and sadly they don’t really play well off line?
This is why I find it hard getting into modern gaming as of today ever since the 7th gen introducing these digital store fronts and more games going digital find it hard to really get into gaming like I used to especially with these older store fronts eventually shutting down like the ps3 psn store or the 360 stores shutting down etc it’s honestly sad knowing you won’t get the full experience playing these games back in the day playing them on those older consoles without the patches and dlc hell Nintendo especially shutting down the wii store way back when and recently the Wii U and 3ds stores Ik for a lot of ppl if there an average gamer and don’t really care abt any of this then that’s fine but for us retro gamers we want to see the past get preserved cuz if not growing up seeing younger generations come along and getting into gaming themselves there gonna miss a whole lot of games and consoles that we played and enjoyed but they’ll never get to have that experience:(
i go wherever the best deals are. i prefer physical, but if i can get it for cheaper digitally, i might bite. but now that physical seems to be on the downslide, i will try to buy physical whenever possible. pc gaming and steam are the real originators of digital-only storefronts, and are leading the charge (pun intended)
The physical/digital issue is a double-edged sword. Physical game media is great for original game preservation, while digital distribution may be a better option for “live service” titles… (not personally a fan of those, it makes for lazy publishing practices, but whatever). There’s also the issue of older games having limited copies available, as you mentioned. Most people would be more than happy to go to a shady website and grab an ISO, but for original purists, it’s becoming prohibitively expensive to have that experience. Convenience vs. conservation… and we all know which of those two most publishers, and unfortunately gamers, will be pushing for.
Similar to how books get reprinted over the years, I'm surprised some popular console games never see limited re-release runs. In some cases though, there are copyright issues around who now owns which property that may complicate doing so. Could there ever be an N64 cartridge re-release of Banjo or Tooie, for example, now Microsoft own it. Or the Pac-Man PS1 games, as they feature Ms. Pac-Man, who Namco-Bandai don't currently own the rights to use?
I’m physical media all the way the only time I buy digital is if I’m buying pc games on steam and that’s only because most pc games don’t get a physical release anymore
Physical all the way... when you own the discs for a game, it's yours, if you take care of it, it should be able to last for much longer than a harddrive most likely. it lets people see your games on a shelf, leads to social interactions if both are into games. I'm actually going more into retro gaming now because I know any ps2 game or before will work as long as my machine and my disc are fine.
You can be more creative on ps2. Put in HD loader, FreeMcboot, and a SATA/IDE drive. I have physical games that I transfer the data to that and play from there. There are 3 benefits of it. 1. Your ps2 disc is still in good condition. 2. The PS2 cd/dvd drive components have barely any stress. 3. The digital format games that you installed are faster on loading and playing. It's about 2-5 seconds faster. The waranty of ps2 is over a long time ago.
I understand your point but look at the PC it’s a mostly digital gaming device & has more preservation than the physical based consoles. Game discs may scratch or just decay & while it is hard to do so the consoles definitely won’t last as long as a video game console. That’s why I think a plus of physical isn’t actually preservation compared to emulation & piracy.
Honestly I'm in the camp of a bit of both, if the Physical release for a game exists that I care about and isn't a royal pain to obtain say price or it had a limited print run that's unobtainable, then there's a great chance I'll buy it, also if it has largely multiplayer component that I'm interested in which is rare for me, CTR Nitro Fueled is that example that got a Physical Release that I kind of regret getting since the Multiplayer took over my life and rarely went back to the solo stuff when I finished them or in some cases games that are way too short for their own good, bought Stick it to the Man which was this indie platformer that got a Physical release that had some Psychonauts vibes which ain't a bad thing, but wasn't my thing and also was pretty darn short that I kinda regret spending the 20 bones on it, not to mention I caught the digital version being sold on sales for pocket change more than once made me regret the choice more than once, honestly digital is where I buy a bunch of games I know don't have a easily obtainable Physical release or lack there of or just don't feel justifiable like a multiplayer only title, still think code printed on a slip of paper in a Physical Case is a waste of plastic, honestly stuff like that shouldn't be printed, especially what's worse when they just get a disk and throw in a Steam Activation on the disc, that's just stupid. Seriously there's drawbacks with both Physical VS Digital, honestly unless there's precautions put in place to prevent delistings and other crappier sides of digital distribution so in case a company desides not to sell that product, then the product's license to distribute it can be put up for auction to let some other sucker to sell it, although they wouldn't have the license to make more content, they would be basically be reaping the rewards of someone else's work, which is just getting payed that's it, but leave it open so in case the new owners are interested in doing more with the product they now own distribution of, they can leave the door open for discussion with the previous owners/developers to try and negotiate some sort of deal, seriously in this current day and age, digital market places and digital content itself have a long way to go and if Steam feels like the only forward thinking storefront, then there's a problem, you can ask for refunds on Steam and they won't bite you over it, meanwhile at PlayStation they won't even try, unless it's a disaster like Cyberpunk, even then it's thin, honestly unless Digital media gets through it's growing pains then Physical Media will look more and more friendly to consumers like myself that actually care about the media we consume and have that constant anxiety that some executive jackass is gonna pull some game or a show I care about at any moment makes me concerned for our future, honestly we gave companies too much power and if they're run by clueless out of touch bastards who wouldn't know talent if it fell into their own lap, then we're doomed and piracy looks like another friendly option.
You are absolutly right its better to have it in your hands for many reasons nor only that but physical media can gain value over time i personaly have a large colection a physical media myself and. would 'nt get rid of it for nothing i have movies in dvd and vhs i allsow have cd's and even vinyl record's from the 70's disco music and even cassetts and a sony home theater system and i consider that what i have in my house is gold and a couple of years from now im going to be the envy of many you can bet on that
That's called being subjective. Not objective. The reasons you listed for owning physical media means nothing to the casual fan. I don't watch movies to sell them one day. I don't watch movies to build a collection on shelves. Owning a plastic disc of a movie simply to rewatch it later in the future has zero appeal to me. I don't live off of nostalgia So paying $10 a month to watch a near endless catalogue of amazing movies and TV Shows sounds a whole lot more of a plus than buying a single $10 DVD that I get bored with after a few watches. And judging by the tens of millions of people subscribed to digital media, I'm guessing most media fans don't care about reselling of collecting plastic discs.
I bought my first PS3 ever this year, started buying PS3 games because they are really cheap and still good fun, luckily I have been able to update the games, so it seems some servers are still active😎
For now, the servers are up. Once they are down, patches and dlcs are gone. We are left to play as is on those disc. It's just not ps3 but the whole generation 7 and up. It's mostly beta version as we speak. This is why I collect from NES to ps2 era as the game is often complete with barely any bugs. I recently play Diablo 3 on my Switch as a solo campaigner. No multiplayer role. Somehow it required an internet comnection to play. It's a question mark and why?
i just brought the digtial ps5 so thats where i am heading but for i do always have a way to go buy the games but yes i can order them online and wait for them to be ship but that takes to long
Hey just a heads-up, man; your Spyro 3 disc is mismatched. That's the disc from the Greatest Hits release and you've got a black label case. Dunno if you care but it's something interesting.
Draw back to digital only... loss of ability to play. No one can experience many classic nes or playstation games without physical media. The release of classic games is now only available at the discretion of the digital plaform owner. Want to play the original silent hill 2? Unless you own an xbox or playstation 2 and have the disk, good luck. The HD re-release was a dumpster fire. That is a pretty influential game that can only be experienced by owners of physical media. Another great example is Kuon on ps2. No one can play that game unless you are willing to drop over $1000 on one of the few remaining copies... but it is not available as a digital version, so that game is forever locked away. Point is, these new games on digital release will be classic games to todays younger players 10 years from now, but they will be lost forever if the service dissapears, or someone just forgets to pay a license fee, or if some randon server gets fried. At least a physical copy can be preserved or duplicated.
5:05 You never own the software, PERIOD whether you biy digital or physical. The software will always be owned by the publisher. You own the disc that contains the software, and that's it -Signed: a guy with close to 400 physical games.
Also when Sony announced the closure of the PS3 and PS Vita stores, they said it would still be possible to redownload your shit Heck, it's still possible to redownload PSP Games, with the store having closed in 2017. Same for the 3DS and WiiU.
Lastly, your argument about how physical mitigate the ammount installed on the hard drive is 100% false. It's even more hilarious that you used the PS4 as an example, as it's the first generation (save for PC) that has you install the full game on the hard drive.
That Scott pilgrim arguement is a load of crap, indeed you couldn't buy it for a while. But I did own it during this period and I could and did redownload the game, not because I wanted to play it just to see if I could and I could. So that idea that you couldn't redownload was a lie.
His arguments are full of crap. He acts like you can no longer download your purchassed games on the 3DS and Switch. True, you can no longer BUY them, but you can still redownload every titles that you purchased, INCLUDING the ones that were delisted before the store even closed. Heck, the PSP store closed SEVEN YEARS AGO, and you can still acess the store's software from the PSP, and download any PS1, PSP or PS Mini games that you purchassed. I get that thos guy prefers physical media, and that's totally fine (heck, I'm mid. I buy both physical and digital) but he's literally lying to prove his point, lol.
I wouldn't mind for an all digital games only, if companies didn't have this predatory attitude towards consumers taking down everything when they want and also charging full price for digital release, so yeah $60 flushed away just because is a no no for me. Digital games should not be over $15, any digital games that I have are from discount sales, the lowest possible in case something like that happens. Physical media has the advantage by giving you complete ownership and that is more than enough to weigh off any cons that come with it.
Never over $15? Some games would never make their money back if they charged that! GTA5 is estimated to be around $250 million total to date (development plus marketing). $15 a game may be reasonable for indie titles, or old games resold (PS1, N64, Dreamcast, etc) but not for AAA games!
@@dftfire If that were true companies would be losing money with physical releases, add that to the money invested, and clearly companies should be bankrupt with your reasoning. You can't justify paying $60 for something you don't own and also for something that's NOT tangible and can disappear any second now. Also, if that's the case then games shouldn't go on sale with huge discounts, what about that? Companies losing money? Don't think so. If that's your thing fine, but don't justify it.
@@carlospandette8001 I think you've created lots of strawmen arguments there. The vast majority of AAA title game-sales occur in the first month after release, and sales usually happen after that (excluding the discount "pre-order" rates some games offer). That's normal: as demand decreases, prices lower. Physical media will cost very-little to produce: marketing and staff wages are where most of the budget goes. Of course it won't bankrupt massive studios to offer them, I never said it would. But no-one can make them either. Remember that both the base PS5 and Xbox Series S are digital-only. Their existence alone shows many are content without physical discs. As for $60... who is to say what is fair or not? You said a limit of $15. But that's just a random figure you've created also. Why shouldn't every game be $1, by that logic?
@@dftfire Nah son just because casuals which are the biggest market are the ones content with digital purchases doesn't mean it's a good thing, sure it's good for the companies, almost 100% of the money goes to them, people are just giving them more power. And there are a lot of discounts the first week of release, it happened recently with Sonic frontiers and I'm sure a lot of money was put into the project to be offered on low sales such as that just being released so soon, what's the point then? Physical media is not that cheap, the art cover printing and cutting, the plastic case, the disc, the testing, all of that is money as well. I'd rather pay the money for something I can hold in my hands, that's the whole point of this conversation. Digital shouldn't be that expensive, and there are far worse prices for digital games that go over $100, you shitting me?....
@@carlospandette8001 Over $100 is a lot for a game, yes. Maybe AAA studios need to have fewer people to get costs down? I mean, if they have say 200 staff, and are paying around $75k a year (though Google has some sites saying $100k is average, but I'll go with the lower figure) then that is £15 million a year just in salary. And given many AAA titles take 3-5 years to develop, then you have marketing costs, it soon adds up. It's great thesedays there are loads of cheap indie titles for $15 or less, yes. But I'd argue that digital-distribution has helped create that market, as it has reduced costs of entry. If we were still physical-only, you'd have to order a certain number of physical copies in a production-run (say 100,000) and risk losing money if it isn't popular through unsold stock. With digital, there isn't an ongoing fee on most stores, they just take a cut of what you do sell.
"When purchasing a digital game, you're never truly owning the software. It's more of a licence for you to use it, as long as you're permitted to." So, the same as a physical-release then? At least legally, you don't own the game, you still only have a licence to use it. Yes, it's harder to take it away from you, or stop you using it, but you still don't legally own the software, you only have a right to use it
Correct, but as stated in the video, digital software can be disabled for the user. Physical software (video games) will play on the console it was made for as many times as I want. Unless Mr. Sony came into my house, destroyed my PS2 and broke my disc.
@@ShempOfficial Unless for whatever reason (say a legal issue) a game had to be withdrawn. In which case, an update could be sent to the consoles to add that game to a block-list, meaning even a physical copy wouldn't work. "Well, I just won't connect it to the internet then" you'll say. What if the console forced you to make at least one connection say every three months? "I'll set the date on my console back". What if games were set to only work from a certain date onwards? Even with physical, updates and requiring an online check-in can still stop you, if they ever wanted to.
@@ShempOfficial Now with retro-games, yes, an N64 or PS1 or GameBoy game isn't going to stop working, as those consoles don't get updates. So physical then makes-sense as the games will only stop-working when either the cartridge, disc or console breaks. But given those games are never "re-printed" (like how books do) that means a limited supply, and high-costs. Hence why people turn to "other ways" to obtain old games
Your Physical disc is literally just a physical DRM now. You have to install the full game on the system (and sometimes, you don't even get the full game on the disc), and you need the disc in the system to play it, even though it's fully installed in your system.
I am open to a fully digital future, but only because steam proves its possible. Competitive pricing, full backwards, and forwards compatability with hardware, and they're a reliable company. They've been around for how long? And they aren't gonna just disappear out of nowhere anytime soon. But I don't trust Xbox, playstation, or Nintendo with my games. I trust them in my own hands. Sure, they're prone to rot and scratches, but my digital library could disappear just like that. Or not work on my new console. Or just be way more expensive than the digital counterpart. I'd rather take the chance of owning the disk than purchasing it digitally because, let's say the store closes, my physical games will always exist. I may not be able to download all my digital games. Like I said I'm open to an all digital future, but some trust needs to be gained first. Physical media will always have its issues, but the issues with digital media can be solved.
I'm not sure about Steam thesedays, but GOG is committed to games being DRM free. Steam cannot guarantee though that games will always be "forwards compatible" as that will depend on whether the game can still be updated, such as is the source-code still in existence or the company behind it still going. "Wrappers" will only help so much
I prefer physical collecting for switch since it uses a cartridge with no moving parts, and many games can run directly off of the cartridge with minimal updates if any
For physical, you also have to remember the console dies/malfunctions eventually too. Your reliant on the console working for the physical. Then the physical is useless without the drive working. Also patches and updates for the disc are needed as the disc is now almost never fully Completed at launch and isn't updated. So the physical game is really like 80% completed. So no. You don't have the Complete game or if you do, it's littered with bugs and issues. Both have pros and cons. Yes it's nice, but developers don't Complete games fully like they did in the old days where they had very little bugs on launch. It's sad. The industry has changed dramatically with less quality assurance.
You can always purchase another extra consoles/handhelds. That's what I did and stored them up. Of course, I do regular and annual cleaning on them including testing. My NES works even today. It all depend on who is using and taking care of it. I have about 4-6 consoles each. I didn't buy them brand new but at a cheaper price tag on a used item. Digital games, including pc, required a hard drive too and just like the lower spec consoles, the pc hardwares will die. The only way that pc digital games are still better than consoles is their overall uses on many types of hardwares. PC digital games are not dedicated on a specific hardware. Console digital games are in the mercy of just that specified hardware.
physical media actually wont die. Now is it as popular with the mainstream public as it once was? No. But it will continue on anyways, granted not at its mid 2000s peak numbers, but it certainly has its legion of loyal supporters, myself included. once streaming continues to have its problems, angering subscribers, and people seek better alternatives we could see a resurgence. The LP vinyl record is 1940s technology and its experienced a resurgence. old things become popular again eventually
Except, digital media isn't really angering subscribers by any significant amount. That's a false narrative being told by physical media fans. While I don't believe that physical media will ever entirely fade out, it's definitely going to get worse, stock wise. Huge retail stores are continuing to downsize shelf space for physical media. So the reality is that people are clearly not choosing physical media as their preferred method of watching movies/TV Shows. Doesn't matter how many Internet voices claim physical media is better, it simply doesn't translate to sales. Hence why physical media continue to lose.
I don’t mind seeing digital take over in about a 2 generations or so. We still have yet to see the successor to 4K BluRay but i think as time goes on physical media becomes more and more pointless. We already have a huge backlog to collect for. PC has already gone digital and most games already have DRM with Huge Day 1 patches which completely defeats the purpose of physical media and also the amount of games that are rapidly releasing in the digital store front these days keeps me more distracted than the physical stores, there are just too many games being released today to the point where i don’t think it’s sustainable for the long term future and neither for the environment, just imagine 50 more years of physical media and what damage that can do to the environment, i would also love see other things get digitised like receipts Even with the retro stuff i prefer to run my games off of Harddrives/Flash Storage paired with CFW or through Flashcarts it’s so much more convenient and puts less wear on the console along keeping my games in pristine condition. But overall today i would very much prefer to see physical to keep going. Especially with the upcoming 8K Discs.i still see myself continuing by a lot of the larger titles on disc.
As I hate say digital is the future and if you don't like the company's don't care probably best to get a new hobby I get everything digital since 8 years ago.
You're wrong if you purchase a game you have it linked to your account forever regardless if they be listed or not a prime example is games like Left 4 Dead 2 Titanfall 1 I still have and can play those games they can also take songs out of games to make it so they're not delisted either way if you purchase it you own it forever You just can't purchase it on the store anymore and just so you know any game today on disc requires online downloads now anyways so your screwed no matter what now you mind as well go digital and not wast your time with it
The digital games can stay on that account. Yes and no. There are 2 ways that I know of that the player/gamers on the account cannot play. I give you 2 games. Overwatch/CS GO: Hackers and cheaters were caught and banned from using the games permanently. Cod Modern Warfare. Gamers from Iran purchased the digital games there but were banned the games by the government. So it's dead weight. There are 2 ways Iranian gamer can play this game is through the Black Market which require physical version. The other way is hacking/emulate but then hacking will get you banned if connected online.
Yeah I got it physically on my hard drive from torrenting it. I’m tired of this “oh my god physical media is drying” like bro… your the one that bought into the monopoly that is Console gaming. Please stfu for your bad decisions. If you don’t like the way that companies are moving stop buying from them
I think the closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShop is a very good showcase of the downside of digital exclusive media. So many games are becoming unavailable in any form of official capacity
it reminded that among other things, shin megami tensei 4 was digital only in europe
a major installment of a big franchise is now completely unavailable
I've got discs from 1999 that are still in perfect condition. Sure they easily break, but they seem to outlive these corporations' will to keep them alive digitally.
(Except for you Steam, you're near excellent when it comes to digital games content)
Devs finishing their games after they sell it is a problem in of itself
Xbox is getting there, but their backwards compatibility is very selective.
Sony is a wild card in their advancements.
Subscription services are not preservation, because companies will only support them while they're profitable
This is why people should take care of anything that belongs to them with great care,because everything doesn't last that long,and one day
that item in your home will be priceless.
True preservation is only happening with piracy.
I also was severly disappointed when I found out that PS4 and Xbox One always install the whole game from disc, making the disc just a dongle in the end. I mean they could at least have given developers the option to always load certain files (like videos) from the disc so you‘d actually have the benefit of the game being smaller on the harddrive.
For the people who claim that physical media is superior, nope, it's not the solution:
- It can be lost, broken or stolen.
- Even if you take care of it, it does not last forever, cartridges and discs will someday stop working, even if never used, and floppies are ephemeral.
- Recent discs are not made to last, made with cheap plastic.
- Preserving the software means nothing without the hardware to run it, many classic consoles and computers are breaking down and can't be fixed, while modern consoles are much more fragile and not all consoles can have those clones.
- It takes space, not everyone can have shelves full of games.
- Older games can have physical copies around, but they may cost a fortune, maybe even more than a new current gen console, in recent years, videogame collecting became a very expensive hobby.
- Arcades are a big example of physical media that doesn't work, they are expensive, they are rare, they are big and only rich people can have them at home, they are hard to fix, and many classic arcades were never ported into home versions, or had inferior ports.
- And most importanty, in many cases nowadays, physical media is just a fancy digital purchase, it may be just a download code in a box, or you still need a download or a constant connection to play the good or complete version of the game, get DLC, play online, or just play at all, many games require internet and servers working even if you buy physical.
For personal use, physical games still have a lot of advantages over digital games, but they aren't a godsend, and neither physical or digital media are good for videogame preservation, the only option is piracy.
Fully digital = you don’t own. You can’t collect. THEY control everything. They control your play count, they can nerf your characters, they can remove soundtracks, they can fccc you over with grinding and “upgrades” and micro transactions. Make no mistake, fully digital is not always convenient. It can be weaponized and not consumer friendly. Fully digital can be predatory. So support physical media when you can. Any chance you get.
Wow you really been thinking about this haven’t you?
Physical may have some drawbacks but digital is still inferior to it. Yes its nice to not need to put a disk in and just play instantly for convenience. But digital is just that. Convenient. Physical may still require downloads or patches but its YOURS permanently. Digital games are not. I will support Physical games or movies till the day i die. I have absolutely no regrets for this. Corporations are continuing to push glorified rental services like gamepass etc. But thats just it, u dont own those games. Just a license to temporarily play them as long as u give them your money. These days u dont own your games. Corporations own YOU and evreything u play or watch. Physical media is the only way to fight this buisness practice. And ill forever support it.
True but you will be left behind the companies don't care either play reto like it do or get a new hobby maybe.
The best way is drm free digital content. That way you can make as many backups as you want and play them forever through emulation. So support GOG and or sail the high seas.
I actually appreciate it both ways. I enjoy collecting and playing physical games, but I also enjoy the on demand convenience of an EverDrive with digital versions of those same games. I always like seeing indie games that succeed get a physical copy too.
Physical all the way. I get digital is convenient in many ways but I'd still rather own my media.
I've never understood this as a counterpoint, because you can still own digital as well. Specifically, when it's not behind a service, like the 2000s era of PC gaming. I still have the installers of the GameHouse and PopCap games like Bookworm Adventures, and still have my product keys, and can just play them any time I want, on any computer I want, just running the installers and putting in the product keys.
I've always preferred this particular format for digital, because it stands the test of time, and also the test of hardware. All physical media will age out over time (disc rot, corroded pins, etc.), but with digital like this, and replication (cloud storage, multiple devices, etc.), it's lifespan is infinite by sheer virtue of copying.
I'd argue that that does not stay in the test of time. Because it's all digital, it's extremely prone to any sort of corruption. Specifically, I'm referring to hard drive corruption. You may have access to the installers Yes, but the hosting platform that has these installers for you to download won't be there forever. So worst case scenario, the service go down and your hard drive corrupts in the future, leaving you with nothing but a bright hard drive. Some people prefer digital, and that's fine. Physical will always be the easiest and best way to preserve things as we move forward
@@ShempOfficial That's only if you put all of your eggs in one basket, though. If you back up the files across multiple things (multiple harddrives, multiple cloud storage services, etc.), you don't have that problem. If your current harddrive dies, you just download it from one of the many sites again and re-enter your product key. The same can't be said for the one single physical copy you'll get of something. PS1 disc gets scratched up, and unable to load a portion of the game any longer, and it's already on death's door.
@@tamerkoh Actually GOG or Good Old Games is a DRM free service client where you do actually own the games digitally free of this fear a game will get pulled like on Steam or any similar platform with DRM, you own the game on the account for life.
@@ShempOfficial you are full of shut
physical media will last for 5 years
installers and product keys will last forever
just backup your shit
Maybe you mentioned it later in the video, but digital became a big thin when Retail games especially on consoles also got a digital release. If my mind is correct Tomb Raider anniversary was one of the first. I knew so many who were happy because they could play day one releases instantly instead of waiting maybe for days till your copy from Amazon would arrive.
For me, it depends on the situation, but I mainly prefer physical. But for newer games, due to them requiring day 1 patches (most of the time), I usually get them digitally. Cause usually when a game has a Day 1 patch and requires a big install anyway, it gets to the point where I might as well just download it. I want those games physically, but you know. If I can get a physical version of a game with all of the game in it, I will. A small install here and there is fine, but I'd like to have the whole game there. Otherwise, if I get a newer game physically, it'll be for collection purposes.
Yeah, when a patch is mandatory to play a game, I don't see the argument then for a physical copy.
Some people bang-on about how it "preserves the version 1.0 release of the game", but what's the point if you can't play it until you update anyway? And a 1.0 release usually just means "buggy state", it's not like an old alpha or beta with major differences to uncover
@@dftfire Yep this is the same argument I have of the problems of owning a game physically now, games have gotten way lazier on the development side with going gold now and launching games, because of releasing games in a buggy state on launch. Back then, games basically had to be perfect and bug free as much as possible and going gold had way more meaning back then because there wasn't things like patching a game over the internet (before the Xbox or PS2). Now because of the numerous patches post launch and don't forget DLC as well (don't put your bets down that there will always be a "Complete Edition" with the DLC included), what is the continued point of owning anything Physical for games on Console? Frankly games on Physical is a waste of money now.
Without them even knowing they will push the dedicated players and collectors into emulation. That means we can preserve them but no revenue to new original games.
I was moving towards digital only, but I decided during the pandemic to move back to large collections of movies video games etc. bc I was spending a ton of money for streaming but didn’t watch a lot, and b bc things got pulled from store. I am even buying old video games I used to have in physical format bc I lost a few games
Game developers hate pre-owned sales and the anwser is pretty obvious: One physical copy sold for 2 or 3 different players VS. 3 digital copies sold for 3 different players. They're loosing so much profits with physical medias and the major studios can't affort that anymore (unless you want unfinished/unpolished games)
And that's one of tb
He reasons some companies resort to microtransaction.
Don't get me wrong, corporate greed will always be a reason. But with how more and more gamers feel entitled to free or cheaper stuff (when cost of making games have gone significantly up and the recent price increase of 2021 has in no way caught up with the production price increase) they have to recoup some of their loss somewhere.
Physical Media is not dying far from it it's available world wide and its very much alive in other countries in their stores so it's always available somewhere even if you have to import it.
Denial.
You obviously aren't savvy about the state of the modern games industry oh the denial
Well it is though
It is not DEAD. But it sure as heck is DYING, and fast. Stop being in denial.
I love physical media and prefer it. It absolutely is dying unfortunately.
Its good to see chucky from child's play all grown up
as someone who collects game both physically and digitally is physical media dies and subscription services are what the future holds then ill never upgrade to the new thing. ps4 and switch will be the latest console i have.
I love the cool design aspects that physical media allows (clear cases, clamshell laptops, etc)! I use digital media a lot, and it has its place in my life, but I’ll always have a soft spot for physical media. I treasure my Dawn of the Dead boxset lol!
As a mainly PC gamer I moved to digital due to really being forced. This made me move that way for movies and TV shows too. However, with the Switch, it will be my first console that I won't sell in the future, along with the games. I've exchnaged games in the past due to needing to in order to buy new ones. However, now as an adult, I want to collect. Mainly because I miss owning a Wii, an Xbox 360 and PS2. Along with how difficult it is to play some games now due to digital store fronts no longer being around for the consoles. Especially regret not owning a 3DS, I could of bought and collected the games for way cheaper than it would take now. Plus I could of used the eshop.
Ironically I still think you made a better case for digital. Buy a disc, the disc eventually dies. Buy it digitally it can be pulled from digital stores or the harddrive eventually dies. It's easier to just replace a harddrive and redownload the game tied to your account. It's if your ACCOUNT goes, or they remove the game from servers COMPLETELY that you're screwed with digital (for instance, I bought Scott Pilgrim digitally and could still play that many years later). To me that's akin to your entire house full of discs burning down. Definitely scary, definitely not impossible, but highly unlikely and the last thing anyone would want, most of all the companies raking in your money.
I think if we REALLY want to preserve games, piracy and online backup may be the "true" solution, but then we are once again back to servers. It's a catch 22.
As long as there are people who are still willing to buy their favourite movies, music albums and games in their physical form, I don't think the art of physical media is ever going to "truly die." It just takes on many different shapes and different art forms.
With the ps5 and xbox s/x the entire game is installed to the harddrive, so having a physical disc does not save hardrive space. The switch on the other hand has a large amount of games that can play directly from the cartridge with the exception of update patches
It's funny how he even used the PS4 as an example of yoir first sentense. PS4 and Xbox One were the first consoles that had you completely install the game on the HDD whether you had the physical game or not.
I buy games both physically and digitally. Before purchasing the digital copy, I’d assess if it’s worth getting a physical copy. If I liked the digital copy, then I may buy the physical game if available. I don’t like seeing gatekeepers dictate what we can or what we cannot do after purchasing the digital copy. Bought many Steam games and I still haven’t gotten around to playing these games yet so that’s another issue to consider. And the storefronts eventually being phased out too making digital purchases risky.
I like digital because I hate clutter and I think the last physical game I bought was in 2014 but the arguments for physical are also good.
People are just only learning about "planned obsolescence" in products. They found a way to do this in digital media.
Easy. Be a pirate on PC. Long ago I abandoned consoles and now I just collect them.
Great job with this video. I really like the style you went with it, it was really informative while still being succinct.
Even tho I’m not a collector of games, I’m also of the same vein with things like kindle or streaming services; they are inferior to physical books and movies. There’s an inherent difference to owning them versus renting or streaming them from somewhere else. It’s better quality and doesn’t depend on internet connections; books especially are the easiest way to show how long lasting they can be. While I don’t begrudge the digital age, I for one am not a fan of downloading any media whether video game movie or book, instead of being able to hold them in your own hands. With the proper care they can last a lifetime. (And this is coming from a gen z kid lmfao) love your videos and your takes!!!
I litterally cant go digital - no internet where i live other than very slow mobile hotspot.
Alan Wake 2 just came out but its "digital only" so i simply cant play it.
This is so disappointing.
I wish there was a way to boycott this but way too many people have hopped on board and dont care about physical. The companies will make their money and nobody will care about people like me.
Drm free is the closest you can get to digital ownership. Downside is not all games are sold without some form of drm. Steam itself is a form of drm.
I really do think that physical media is still going to be the thing today. There are many people that prefer physical games over digital games. With physical games, your the ownership of this game and you make the decision wether you want to keep the game or not. On the digital game side of things, you games are rented wether you just buy it from the digital store or paying for a subscription are service. The issue is that when these service no longer available, all of the games from that digital store are no longer going to be downloaded again. A prime example of this is that Nintendo is closing it’s digital storefront on Wii U and 3DS. As those games on Wii U and 3DS on the digital storefront will no longer be purchasable, their physical versions will be expensive online. Another example of digital games is that if these games were to stream on what ever device you have. You would need to have a great internet connection to stream games on your phone or anywhere. The problem is that not many people have Internet connection. On my stance on games, I would prefer physical over digital. I like to keep my games and I could play them anytime I want just as long as I have the system I need to play it.
Physical may still exist for a while yet, but will eventually go.
Look at music: in 2005, physical-media accounted for $17.8 billion in revenue. By 2021, it was $5 billion (figures are for worldwide). Thesedays around 70% of all music revenue is from streaming, not purchases of physical or digital songs or albums. (Source: Statista)
Forever physcial. I will NEVER support digital distribution.
If you played the ps4 and beyond, you already are.
The discs are little more than product keys and a batch file that tells the console to download the game from their servers. They don't have the games inside the discs anymore.
@@xlixity Not true.
@@thatssomegoodpie It's true sometimes. The "Spyro Reignited Trilogy" for example only had Spyro 1 code on the disc. Spyro 2 and 3 had to be downloaded
@@thatssomegoodpie Yes True.
@@xlixity Stop spreading this lie. The vast majority of games still have a completely playable offline 1.0 version on disc. In recent memory there have only been a few exceptions like the Call of Duty games and stuff like Wolfenstein 2 on Switch. There is even a website that keeps track of physical releases wether or not they're playable without any sort of online connectivity, that includes patches. And whadaya know, 90% of games are still perfectly fine as a physical release...
Also note that with more and more digital media, it becomes a lot harder to preserve it.... Looking at you Nintendo's EShops.
Well, that what the emulation and pirate scene is for... And they're doing a heck of a job.
I buy most of my games physically and some digitally depending if the game is on sale or if i don't wanna wait for Amazon to deliver it but I'm not going fully digital until physical media is completely dead so maybe when the PS6 comes out in a few years.
If you're worried about discs and hard drives failing, you should always backup your games. Back them up to another drive or disc.
These companies have been putting us against each other whether that's Microsoft or Sony and now it's between digital and physical I think we should totally stick together and make these companies hear our voices. If it wasn't for us the consumers these companies wouldn't even exist
I love physical media but in most cases especially with modern consoles the physical media side of things is just a disc or cartridge that just give you games access. Most don't have the actual game on the media and still require you to download the game and any updates required. So if the servers go down or they decide to discontinue the game there still won't be a way to play it even with a physical copy.
Cool video, Shemp. I only ever buy digital games on PC, otherwise it's all physical. I'm also way too nostalgic for how gaming used to be and spend most of my time playing older games, so I'm aware I'm not the target demographic for new games most of the time. That said, I get very excited when a game I'm interested in nowadays actually gets a physical copy.
I tend to go digital only when there literally is no option to get a physical copy, or the means of obtaining a physical copy are significantly more of a pain in the ass than just getting it digitally. Jumping Flash 1 & 2 were about $5 apiece on PSN when I bought them back around 2013 on the PS3, and buying a physical copy of either was going to cost about $100 apiece.
Because I'm someone that clings to nostalgia hard, the thought of not being able to play or experience media because it's too old and you can't do so anymore is a fair bit tragic.
Yo ho ho, it's a pirate's life for me!
The one thing I always see in these types of videos are empty store shelves. Yet here in Canada, the shelves at Walmart, best buy, GameStop are always full. Is this a supply chain issue in the US, or lack of proper negotiations? Even here in the province of Quebec, where games must be printed in both English and French on the box art, we restock quite quickly. Any thoughts on this?
Canada is behind the US in digital adoption, that is likely the main reason. It took longer for online sales to ramp up for example and those have been around for much longer than digital games.
My x box 360 games off line are really limited I’m thinking about getting rid of them because they take a lot of room and sadly they don’t really play well off line?
This is why I find it hard getting into modern gaming as of today ever since the 7th gen introducing these digital store fronts and more games going digital find it hard to really get into gaming like I used to especially with these older store fronts eventually shutting down like the ps3 psn store or the 360 stores shutting down etc it’s honestly sad knowing you won’t get the full experience playing these games back in the day playing them on those older consoles without the patches and dlc hell Nintendo especially shutting down the wii store way back when and recently the Wii U and 3ds stores Ik for a lot of ppl if there an average gamer and don’t really care abt any of this then that’s fine but for us retro gamers we want to see the past get preserved cuz if not growing up seeing younger generations come along and getting into gaming themselves there gonna miss a whole lot of games and consoles that we played and enjoyed but they’ll never get to have that experience:(
When he whipped his his hair like some bearded female I literally spit out my drink in laughter
"Because he's worth it" #L'Oreal
4:33 what game is this?
also, whats the name of your outro music?
i go wherever the best deals are. i prefer physical, but if i can get it for cheaper digitally, i might bite. but now that physical seems to be on the downslide, i will try to buy physical whenever possible. pc gaming and steam are the real originators of digital-only storefronts, and are leading the charge (pun intended)
I still have my PS2, and PS3. And the problem with Digital is that not everyone can shop for online games, I can't.
The physical/digital issue is a double-edged sword.
Physical game media is great for original game preservation, while digital distribution may be a better option for “live service” titles… (not personally a fan of those, it makes for lazy publishing practices, but whatever). There’s also the issue of older games having limited copies available, as you mentioned. Most people would be more than happy to go to a shady website and grab an ISO, but for original purists, it’s becoming prohibitively expensive to have that experience.
Convenience vs. conservation… and we all know which of those two most publishers, and unfortunately gamers, will be pushing for.
Similar to how books get reprinted over the years, I'm surprised some popular console games never see limited re-release runs.
In some cases though, there are copyright issues around who now owns which property that may complicate doing so. Could there ever be an N64 cartridge re-release of Banjo or Tooie, for example, now Microsoft own it. Or the Pac-Man PS1 games, as they feature Ms. Pac-Man, who Namco-Bandai don't currently own the rights to use?
I’m physical media all the way the only time I buy digital is if I’m buying pc games on steam and that’s only because most pc games don’t get a physical release anymore
I still get physical releases of games definitely if it exists, the only exception I make is if a game is digital only and in that case your screwed
Physical all the way... when you own the discs for a game, it's yours, if you take care of it, it should be able to last for much longer than a harddrive most likely. it lets people see your games on a shelf, leads to social interactions if both are into games. I'm actually going more into retro gaming now because I know any ps2 game or before will work as long as my machine and my disc are fine.
You can be more creative on ps2. Put in HD loader, FreeMcboot, and a SATA/IDE drive. I have physical games that I transfer the data to that and play from there.
There are 3 benefits of it.
1. Your ps2 disc is still in good condition.
2. The PS2 cd/dvd drive components have barely any stress.
3. The digital format games that you installed are faster on loading and playing. It's about 2-5 seconds faster.
The waranty of ps2 is over a long time ago.
I think it is best if we have both digital and physical means of playing a game. it gives people the option of both in case one version fails.
I understand your point but look at the PC it’s a mostly digital gaming device & has more preservation than the physical based consoles. Game discs may scratch or just decay & while it is hard to do so the consoles definitely won’t last as long as a video game console.
That’s why I think a plus of physical isn’t actually preservation compared to emulation & piracy.
Honestly I'm in the camp of a bit of both, if the Physical release for a game exists that I care about and isn't a royal pain to obtain say price or it had a limited print run that's unobtainable, then there's a great chance I'll buy it, also if it has largely multiplayer component that I'm interested in which is rare for me, CTR Nitro Fueled is that example that got a Physical Release that I kind of regret getting since the Multiplayer took over my life and rarely went back to the solo stuff when I finished them or in some cases games that are way too short for their own good, bought Stick it to the Man which was this indie platformer that got a Physical release that had some Psychonauts vibes which ain't a bad thing, but wasn't my thing and also was pretty darn short that I kinda regret spending the 20 bones on it, not to mention I caught the digital version being sold on sales for pocket change more than once made me regret the choice more than once, honestly digital is where I buy a bunch of games I know don't have a easily obtainable Physical release or lack there of or just don't feel justifiable like a multiplayer only title, still think code printed on a slip of paper in a Physical Case is a waste of plastic, honestly stuff like that shouldn't be printed, especially what's worse when they just get a disk and throw in a Steam Activation on the disc, that's just stupid. Seriously there's drawbacks with both Physical VS Digital, honestly unless there's precautions put in place to prevent delistings and other crappier sides of digital distribution so in case a company desides not to sell that product, then the product's license to distribute it can be put up for auction to let some other sucker to sell it, although they wouldn't have the license to make more content, they would be basically be reaping the rewards of someone else's work, which is just getting payed that's it, but leave it open so in case the new owners are interested in doing more with the product they now own distribution of, they can leave the door open for discussion with the previous owners/developers to try and negotiate some sort of deal, seriously in this current day and age, digital market places and digital content itself have a long way to go and if Steam feels like the only forward thinking storefront, then there's a problem, you can ask for refunds on Steam and they won't bite you over it, meanwhile at PlayStation they won't even try, unless it's a disaster like Cyberpunk, even then it's thin, honestly unless Digital media gets through it's growing pains then Physical Media will look more and more friendly to consumers like myself that actually care about the media we consume and have that constant anxiety that some executive jackass is gonna pull some game or a show I care about at any moment makes me concerned for our future, honestly we gave companies too much power and if they're run by clueless out of touch bastards who wouldn't know talent if it fell into their own lap, then we're doomed and piracy looks like another friendly option.
You are absolutly right its better to have it in your hands for many reasons nor only that but physical media can gain value over time i personaly have a large colection a physical media myself and. would 'nt get rid of it for nothing i have movies in dvd and vhs i allsow have cd's and even vinyl record's from the 70's disco music and even cassetts and a sony home theater system and i consider that what i have in my house is gold and a couple of years from now im going to be the envy of many you can bet on that
That's called being subjective. Not objective. The reasons you listed for owning physical media means nothing to the casual fan. I don't watch movies to sell them one day. I don't watch movies to build a collection on shelves. Owning a plastic disc of a movie simply to rewatch it later in the future has zero appeal to me. I don't live off of nostalgia
So paying $10 a month to watch a near endless catalogue of amazing movies and TV Shows sounds a whole lot more of a plus than buying a single $10 DVD that I get bored with after a few watches.
And judging by the tens of millions of people subscribed to digital media, I'm guessing most media fans don't care about reselling of collecting plastic discs.
I bought my first PS3 ever this year, started buying PS3 games because they are really cheap and still good fun, luckily I have been able to update the games, so it seems some servers are still active😎
For now, the servers are up. Once they are down, patches and dlcs are gone. We are left to play as is on those disc. It's just not ps3 but the whole generation 7 and up. It's mostly beta version as we speak.
This is why I collect from NES to ps2 era as the game is often complete with barely any bugs.
I recently play Diablo 3 on my Switch as a solo campaigner. No multiplayer role. Somehow it required an internet comnection to play. It's a question mark and why?
Song at the beginning?
i just brought the digtial ps5 so thats where i am heading but for i do always have a way to go buy the games but yes i can order them online and wait for them to be ship but that takes to long
hey, i'm back again. this is a pretty cool video and I like the part where you talk about how much you wanna plow Sally Acorn
I thought that part was too much but I'm glad you dig it
#PhysicalForever
This video reminds me i need to backup my hard drive 😅
literally this was my biggest takeaway too LOL I found one from 2010 that amazingly still works and i need to back everything uppp
Good video 👍
Hey just a heads-up, man; your Spyro 3 disc is mismatched. That's the disc from the Greatest Hits release and you've got a black label case.
Dunno if you care but it's something interesting.
DRM-free digital that you can freely back up and transfer without limitation will always be king.
Draw back to digital only... loss of ability to play. No one can experience many classic nes or playstation games without physical media. The release of classic games is now only available at the discretion of the digital plaform owner. Want to play the original silent hill 2? Unless you own an xbox or playstation 2 and have the disk, good luck. The HD re-release was a dumpster fire. That is a pretty influential game that can only be experienced by owners of physical media. Another great example is Kuon on ps2. No one can play that game unless you are willing to drop over $1000 on one of the few remaining copies... but it is not available as a digital version, so that game is forever locked away. Point is, these new games on digital release will be classic games to todays younger players 10 years from now, but they will be lost forever if the service dissapears, or someone just forgets to pay a license fee, or if some randon server gets fried. At least a physical copy can be preserved or duplicated.
5:05
You never own the software, PERIOD whether you biy digital or physical. The software will always be owned by the publisher.
You own the disc that contains the software, and that's it
-Signed: a guy with close to 400 physical games.
Also when Sony announced the closure of the PS3 and PS Vita stores, they said it would still be possible to redownload your shit
Heck, it's still possible to redownload PSP Games, with the store having closed in 2017.
Same for the 3DS and WiiU.
Lastly, your argument about how physical mitigate the ammount installed on the hard drive is 100% false. It's even more hilarious that you used the PS4 as an example, as it's the first generation (save for PC) that has you install the full game on the hard drive.
That Scott pilgrim arguement is a load of crap, indeed you couldn't buy it for a while. But I did own it during this period and I could and did redownload the game, not because I wanted to play it just to see if I could and I could. So that idea that you couldn't redownload was a lie.
His arguments are full of crap.
He acts like you can no longer download your purchassed games on the 3DS and Switch.
True, you can no longer BUY them, but you can still redownload every titles that you purchased, INCLUDING the ones that were delisted before the store even closed.
Heck, the PSP store closed SEVEN YEARS AGO, and you can still acess the store's software from the PSP, and download any PS1, PSP or PS Mini games that you purchassed.
I get that thos guy prefers physical media, and that's totally fine (heck, I'm mid. I buy both physical and digital) but he's literally lying to prove his point, lol.
I wouldn't mind for an all digital games only, if companies didn't have this predatory attitude towards consumers taking down everything when they want and also charging full price for digital release, so yeah $60 flushed away just because is a no no for me.
Digital games should not be over $15, any digital games that I have are from discount sales, the lowest possible in case something like that happens. Physical media has the advantage by giving you complete ownership and that is more than enough to weigh off any cons that come with it.
Never over $15? Some games would never make their money back if they charged that! GTA5 is estimated to be around $250 million total to date (development plus marketing).
$15 a game may be reasonable for indie titles, or old games resold (PS1, N64, Dreamcast, etc) but not for AAA games!
@@dftfire If that were true companies would be losing money with physical releases, add that to the money invested, and clearly companies should be bankrupt with your reasoning.
You can't justify paying $60 for something you don't own and also for something that's NOT tangible and can disappear any second now.
Also, if that's the case then games shouldn't go on sale with huge discounts, what about that? Companies losing money? Don't think so. If that's your thing fine, but don't justify it.
@@carlospandette8001 I think you've created lots of strawmen arguments there.
The vast majority of AAA title game-sales occur in the first month after release, and sales usually happen after that (excluding the discount "pre-order" rates some games offer). That's normal: as demand decreases, prices lower.
Physical media will cost very-little to produce: marketing and staff wages are where most of the budget goes. Of course it won't bankrupt massive studios to offer them, I never said it would. But no-one can make them either. Remember that both the base PS5 and Xbox Series S are digital-only. Their existence alone shows many are content without physical discs.
As for $60... who is to say what is fair or not? You said a limit of $15. But that's just a random figure you've created also. Why shouldn't every game be $1, by that logic?
@@dftfire Nah son just because casuals which are the biggest market are the ones content with digital purchases doesn't mean it's a good thing, sure it's good for the companies, almost 100% of the money goes to them, people are just giving them more power.
And there are a lot of discounts the first week of release, it happened recently with Sonic frontiers and I'm sure a lot of money was put into the project to be offered on low sales such as that just being released so soon, what's the point then?
Physical media is not that cheap, the art cover printing and cutting, the plastic case, the disc, the testing, all of that is money as well. I'd rather pay the money for something I can hold in my hands, that's the whole point of this conversation. Digital shouldn't be that expensive, and there are far worse prices for digital games that go over $100, you shitting me?....
@@carlospandette8001 Over $100 is a lot for a game, yes. Maybe AAA studios need to have fewer people to get costs down? I mean, if they have say 200 staff, and are paying around $75k a year (though Google has some sites saying $100k is average, but I'll go with the lower figure) then that is £15 million a year just in salary. And given many AAA titles take 3-5 years to develop, then you have marketing costs, it soon adds up.
It's great thesedays there are loads of cheap indie titles for $15 or less, yes. But I'd argue that digital-distribution has helped create that market, as it has reduced costs of entry. If we were still physical-only, you'd have to order a certain number of physical copies in a production-run (say 100,000) and risk losing money if it isn't popular through unsold stock. With digital, there isn't an ongoing fee on most stores, they just take a cut of what you do sell.
I just went to Gamestop and bought 2 Metal Gear games on PS4. It was buy 2 get 1 free! Also...you have some damn great Bee Gees hair!
when you buy digital you dont buy a game, a song or a movie. you buy a license to download and listen to it
"When purchasing a digital game, you're never truly owning the software. It's more of a licence for you to use it, as long as you're permitted to."
So, the same as a physical-release then? At least legally, you don't own the game, you still only have a licence to use it. Yes, it's harder to take it away from you, or stop you using it, but you still don't legally own the software, you only have a right to use it
Correct, but as stated in the video, digital software can be disabled for the user. Physical software (video games) will play on the console it was made for as many times as I want. Unless Mr. Sony came into my house, destroyed my PS2 and broke my disc.
@@ShempOfficial Unless for whatever reason (say a legal issue) a game had to be withdrawn. In which case, an update could be sent to the consoles to add that game to a block-list, meaning even a physical copy wouldn't work.
"Well, I just won't connect it to the internet then" you'll say. What if the console forced you to make at least one connection say every three months?
"I'll set the date on my console back". What if games were set to only work from a certain date onwards?
Even with physical, updates and requiring an online check-in can still stop you, if they ever wanted to.
@@ShempOfficial Now with retro-games, yes, an N64 or PS1 or GameBoy game isn't going to stop working, as those consoles don't get updates.
So physical then makes-sense as the games will only stop-working when either the cartridge, disc or console breaks. But given those games are never "re-printed" (like how books do) that means a limited supply, and high-costs. Hence why people turn to "other ways" to obtain old games
I despise digital games and their scummy DRM practices. Physical forever.
Your Physical disc is literally just a physical DRM now. You have to install the full game on the system (and sometimes, you don't even get the full game on the disc), and you need the disc in the system to play it, even though it's fully installed in your system.
I recently got fallout 76 on the low low because there's no way in hell im getting the physical copy that requires Internet just to function
I am open to a fully digital future, but only because steam proves its possible. Competitive pricing, full backwards, and forwards compatability with hardware, and they're a reliable company. They've been around for how long? And they aren't gonna just disappear out of nowhere anytime soon. But I don't trust Xbox, playstation, or Nintendo with my games. I trust them in my own hands. Sure, they're prone to rot and scratches, but my digital library could disappear just like that. Or not work on my new console. Or just be way more expensive than the digital counterpart. I'd rather take the chance of owning the disk than purchasing it digitally because, let's say the store closes, my physical games will always exist. I may not be able to download all my digital games. Like I said I'm open to an all digital future, but some trust needs to be gained first. Physical media will always have its issues, but the issues with digital media can be solved.
I'm not sure about Steam thesedays, but GOG is committed to games being DRM free.
Steam cannot guarantee though that games will always be "forwards compatible" as that will depend on whether the game can still be updated, such as is the source-code still in existence or the company behind it still going. "Wrappers" will only help so much
I prefer physical collecting for switch since it uses a cartridge with no moving parts, and many games can run directly off of the cartridge with minimal updates if any
Why is funny man making me cry about the inevitability of me not getting cool and funny preorder physical games with cool art that makes me habby
if i wanted a funny man to make me cry about the inevitable changes wrought by the passage of time i would just watch season 4 of bojack horseman
@@keepyourhornson5311 I already did
As for me, digital distribution is useful for older generations, for example 7. I don't have any store with disc games nearby, so that's what I left.
For physical, you also have to remember the console dies/malfunctions eventually too. Your reliant on the console working for the physical. Then the physical is useless without the drive working. Also patches and updates for the disc are needed as the disc is now almost never fully Completed at launch and isn't updated. So the physical game is really like 80% completed. So no. You don't have the Complete game or if you do, it's littered with bugs and issues. Both have pros and cons. Yes it's nice, but developers don't Complete games fully like they did in the old days where they had very little bugs on launch. It's sad. The industry has changed dramatically with less quality assurance.
You can always purchase another extra consoles/handhelds. That's what I did and stored them up. Of course, I do regular and annual cleaning on them including testing. My NES works even today. It all depend on who is using and taking care of it.
I have about 4-6 consoles each. I didn't buy them brand new but at a cheaper price tag on a used item.
Digital games, including pc, required a hard drive too and just like the lower spec consoles, the pc hardwares will die. The only way that pc digital games are still better than consoles is their overall uses on many types of hardwares. PC digital games are not dedicated on a specific hardware. Console digital games are in the mercy of just that specified hardware.
I only get digital for backwards compatible Xbox 360 games because the physical copies are too much now
Piracy is AWESOME
physical media actually wont die. Now is it as popular with the mainstream public as it once was? No. But it will continue on anyways, granted not at its mid 2000s peak numbers, but it certainly has its legion of loyal supporters, myself included.
once streaming continues to have its problems, angering subscribers, and people seek better alternatives we could see a resurgence. The LP vinyl record is 1940s technology and its experienced a resurgence. old things become popular again eventually
Except, digital media isn't really angering subscribers by any significant amount. That's a false narrative being told by physical media fans.
While I don't believe that physical media will ever entirely fade out, it's definitely going to get worse, stock wise. Huge retail stores are continuing to downsize shelf space for physical media. So the reality is that people are clearly not choosing physical media as their preferred method of watching movies/TV Shows. Doesn't matter how many Internet voices claim physical media is better, it simply doesn't translate to sales. Hence why physical media continue to lose.
if the internet was never invented we would go to USB video stores
THE 770 CUTS TO ETERNITY
You own digital goods, the laws need to protect that.
Death to a form of entertainment millions still use?
Must be nice to have your clear internet connection...
I've transitioned to digital, I know where the future lies.
Haven't bought a physical game since circa 2019-2020...
Games should have never made the switch from stone to floppy.
me when im floppy
I don’t mind seeing digital take over in about a 2 generations or so. We still have yet to see the successor to 4K BluRay but i think as time goes on physical media becomes more and more pointless. We already have a huge backlog to collect for. PC has already gone digital and most games already have DRM with Huge Day 1 patches which completely defeats the purpose of physical media and also the amount of games that are rapidly releasing in
the digital store front these days keeps me more distracted than the physical stores, there are just too many games being released today to the point where i don’t think it’s sustainable for the long term future and neither for the environment, just imagine 50 more years of physical media and what damage that can do to the environment, i would also love see other things get digitised like receipts Even with the retro stuff i prefer to run my games off of Harddrives/Flash Storage paired with CFW or through Flashcarts it’s so much more convenient and puts less wear on the console along keeping my games in pristine condition. But overall today i would very much prefer to see physical to keep going. Especially with the upcoming 8K Discs.i still see myself continuing by a lot of the larger titles on disc.
We need physical copy
As I hate say digital is the future and if you don't like the company's don't care probably best to get a new hobby I get everything digital since 8 years ago.
You're wrong if you purchase a game you have it linked to your account forever regardless if they be listed or not a prime example is games like Left 4 Dead 2 Titanfall 1 I still have and can play those games they can also take songs out of games to make it so they're not delisted either way if you purchase it you own it forever You just can't purchase it on the store anymore and just so you know any game today on disc requires online downloads now anyways so your screwed no matter what now you mind as well go digital and not wast your time with it
The digital games can stay on that account. Yes and no. There are 2 ways that I know of that the player/gamers on the account cannot play. I give you 2 games.
Overwatch/CS GO: Hackers and cheaters were caught and banned from using the games permanently.
Cod Modern Warfare. Gamers from Iran purchased the digital games there but were banned the games by the government. So it's dead weight. There are 2 ways Iranian gamer can play this game is through the Black Market which require physical version. The other way is hacking/emulate but then hacking will get you banned if connected online.
signifricant
💖💖💖💖
‘Physical media stays the norm as long as it can’ it already isn’t the norm and never will be again
Yeah, in 2022, like 80% (if not more) of purchassed games was digital. Digital has been the norm for years.
The norm as in basically every game is still released as physical media. Let me know when physical discs actually stop
@@Mulyse and how are the sales numbers?
I hate digital media like I hate EV vehicles. Nope and nope
Yeah I got it physically on my hard drive from torrenting it. I’m tired of this “oh my god physical media is drying” like bro… your the one that bought into the monopoly that is Console gaming. Please stfu for your bad decisions. If you don’t like the way that companies are moving stop buying from them
death of physical media, right , because we all have 16 TB harddrives to store every bluray game for each console....
Arr! Ye scurvy salty dogs! Ye haven't yet found the secret of the pirtates code? By big barnacle blunderbuss!
Are you Scott the Woz
Hey all
@@ShempOfficial Shut up
I will not buy another game one it's goes digital