In Switzerland the Nintendo eshop games are up to 25% more expensive than the physical versions. A $70 game on physical can go up to $95 dollars in the digital store, it's insane.
Is it tho? It takes way longer for me to download a game on my 100mbps connection than installing it from disc. My discs are stored in the TV unit right below my PS5. And new games get delivered 1-2 days early when I buy them. And I pay way less in 9/10 cases. My pickups this week on disc were 59€ while the same games are combined nearly 200€ right now on PSN. So I can’t really say that digital is more convenient 😅
@@32189djsddkAgree. The used game market is always good so you can get games cheaper. But yeah Sony and others put games that aren't popular from 2015 etc and before at full market price when that game dropped years ago on the store even today like infinite warfare is 60 etc
Like I order a game I want while I’m at work and grab it on my way back cause there’s a MediaMarkt (German electronic retailer) one bus stop away from the train station where I change trains anyway. Put that disc in my PS5 and it’s installed before I even finish the checkout process on PSN 😂
@@Flip86x Okay and? Doesn’t mean you will own them forever, because you simply don’t, you have a license which can be revoked at any time, like it has been for many games in the past couple of years
@@Flip86x Sony and Microsoft have both taken games from me brother....called them up and they said they have no records of me buying these games even though I have achievements/ trophies for those games 💀
I'm a movie collector. I want to be able to watch my favorite movies whenever I want and not hoping for a streaming service to have it in the library. And of course the quality is way better. So physical media is very important because there is no regulation at all what happens e.g. if the company where you bought your digital media goes bankrupt.
@@Obsidian8Rmy mom use to have a digital music library and something happened with the company,it was one of the big ones,and she lost most of it. That was the last time she ever did it. Too bad this doesn’t happen more often so people would wake up
Movies are different then games. When you buy a physical movie, there is never a digital voucher to download the movie. With games on the other hand, that is increasingly the norm. In a few years, you will be buying table coasters that grant you access to the same digital copy I got
I agree 100%, unfortunately the majority of people don't care. New bluray movies are getting rarer and more expensive every year it seems. And companies are starting to pull out of making bluray players. I just read LG is halting disc drive production. Same thing already happened with music. Movies are next. Then video games.
@@AnEyeRacky wym? Most movies, at least in Blu-ray/4K Blu-Ray come with a digital code that takes you to MoviesEverywhere or something similar to that to gain access to that digital version of what you bought.
Fun fact. A few months ago, 82% of PD5 consoles were the physical edition. The PS5 Pro is digital only without the disc drive. So that's how Sony is fudging their numbers to justify Digital Only future they so crave. Honestly, I want to see the number of PS5 Pros sold in proportion to the number of the disc drives sold. But Sony doesn't like to listen to the buyers so it'd be a moot point anyways.
Not to mention, it's incredibly difficult to get a disc drive these days, which makes me wonder if this isn't intentional in some way on Sony's part. I was able to snag one during an Amazon restock a few weeks ago, but it took longer than normal to arrive, and it was originally slated to come in MARCH. At least I didn't pay a filthy scalper for it.
@@BabysitterSky 2 gamestop's closed where I'm at and well means I will be buying games from PS store. I'm not going to run all over my city just to get one game
I think people don’t understand that if your account gets ban or hacked you’ll lose everything including your games on digital. If you have all your games physical then all you have to do is make a new account and pop in a disc and boom you save 70$ or however.
if Sony is hacked to such a degree, that they lose all user ownership of digital titles and cannot retrieve it , then Playstation as a thing is finished. So those physical media games, a lot of them won't work in that case anyway So you are looking for a what if, that if it occured , would pretty much destroy Sony's Console business , then there would be no PS6, no updates, no online Service
Most people don’t have to worry about either of those things. If you keep your account secure and don’t break the rules, you have exactly nothing to worry about.
If physical games were dying rapidly, then the sales of the PS5 disc drive wouldn't have been as strong as they were ever since the release of the PS5 pro.
@@Asuraxshin Scalpers buy stuff to sell at a higher price just like graphic cards and other stuff people would pay more money to get they do not buy stuff that's not in demand
I get that sentiment, so long as anyone holding it isn’t also satisfied with a game on disc that REQUIRES additional downloads in order to patch itself in its first few months, or in able to supplement a percentage of the total install from the disc to where it needs the download as well. ALSO those games on disc that never had much at all on the disc - where the disc acted as more of a physical key to the online download. This has been the case for MANY physical releases for years now.
That’s why I’m glad Nintendo is still supporting physical media, I have a massive collection on my switch but yes I’ll also be done with PlayStation consoles if there’s no physical option
If Sony says goodbye FOR you, I encourage you to gradually move onto PC, where, physically or digitally, you actually have control of your owned data. Plus PlayStation 5 has had only 2 true exclusives to its name this entire generation, Demon's Souls remake and Astro Bot, so they are increasingly going the Xbox strategy anyway, just not shamelessly bragging about their hardware platform downfall.
Exactly what’s the point having a PlayStation??? At that point it’s a no brainer to switch over to PC or sub based way of playing like GeForce Now for those who are financially tight. I recently bought a MacBook Pro M4 Pro for work and it turns out it can handle the latest triple a games surprisingly well. Technically I could already sell my Ps5 if I wanted to
if physical media dies then for me consoles die because what is the point in buying digital games on consoles if on pc they are mostly half that or free on amazon gaming ,epic or dirt cheap keys on kinguin or eneba and humble bundle keys sold by others star wars jedi survivor on ps5 in a store on disc where i live is 17$ and on psn its 87$ so how is that a good deal to go digital? on pc a key from eneba is 18$
@@_Shinasu because PC is not a closed ecosystem controlled by a single platform holder. You have multiple stores, no closed systems, many ways to buy games, you can pirate games. The PS5 is a closed off system with one single store front that dictates prices, availability and access.
@leospeedleo pirating games isn't legal on PC but technically you can do the same thing on consoles too, lots of mods and hacks available for those inclined.
@ here in Germany it’s legal. Making or using roms for your own personal use is totally legal. Sharing them is illegal. But that also ends with old games called „abandonware“. I only pirated like 10 games my entire life: games I got recently for my Hen PS3 where I didn’t want to spend outrageous prices on a singleplayer game. Everything else is purchased legit.
PS Store often has sales? So its not much of an issue for most Playstation gamers that have chosen to go exclusively digital, most actually prefer it for the advantages it brings over physical games. If PS6 goes full digital the angry people quitting Playstation and going to PC like yourself is just a small percentage, the vast majority have already spoken with their wallets and chose to stick with Playstation and buy games digitally now and have done for many years already.
Physical should always be there. Whether people wanna buy it or not is entirely upto them but not having physical discs after 25 years of gaming with discs feels very dystopian to me. I'm accustomed to having disc cases lined up in my book shelf and starting all games after inserting their discs. A part of gaming would die for me when companies stop making physical discs. I don't think I would play games anymore after that
@@joevoidable7549I have a gaming laptop but I much prefer playing on console because I actually own the games I want to play. I only download games on my PC when they don't have a PS release or when they are digital only on console too (like with HiFi Rush)
A point to consider is physical media is primarily a Gen X/Millennial concern. Younger generations are embracing digital media and don’t have the 20+ year backlog of games on discs to be concerned about. Sad to say, but if disc drives are not gone in PS6 then they certainly will be by PS7.
We have learned people would rather spend more money than walk across their living room. That alone will tell future civilisations enough about the human species lol.
Something the physical owners all seems to forget, is that other people enjoy options. Lol also I think there will be a transition from disc to digital to a new physical format like, holo keys or USB light sticks 😂
On my PS5 Pro w/ disc drive- I started experimenting with some of my actual Blu-ray Disc movies along with a small handful of Ultra Blu Ray 4K (which I had purchased at various point in hopes of one day having a Ultra 4K player..before streaming took over)- the bottom line is no matter what your streaming platform is- if you take the time to watch your blu ray or ultra 4K from a disc, it simply will look better. There is almost no compression, and you get to watch actual movie frames instead of just 'delta changes' between different pixel positions of each frame. Reduced blurriness also when the camera pans as well. Arguably, the only legit streaming services are the ones where you are actually inputting your Ultra 4K code from a disc purchase or purchasing digital versions from (like Vudu/fandango or Movies Anywhere, etc)...they don't seem like they throttle the data as much or at all in the way that Disney or Max or Netflix does.
@@mattb9664 Exactly. There is no way Netflix would ever deliver 100 GB of streamed data to you without either cutting corners (meaning not doing 100 but rather 30 at best), or creating a creme de la creme Über Premium Line that you'll have to pay $40 a month for. To those who have never tested a UHD movie, please do. There are no buffering hiccups, no disturbing "FOR YOU" tabs, "LATEST RELEASES" flash screens you can't disable, just close, and the amount of extra material you get for every movie box is incredible. Go physical. It's not just about ownership. It's an entire experience. You don't understand how awful streaming is until you get rid of it all.
I noticed that as well piracy is also at an all time high I don't think these companies are grasping the fact people don't like digital being forced onto them by giving people no other options making it harder to get physical they are not allowing it to be consumed naturally instead it's being forced and as a result people are revolting against it by pirating stuff far more this happened in the early 2000s when cable didn't grasp that and now streaming services are becoming the thing that people joined them to get away from cable
I continue to buy all my games on disc here in Germany. I also cancelled my digital preorder for Neva when they announced a physical copy and bought that for 10€ more instead. I actually own them, got to keep them forever, can do with them whatever I want and they are much cheaper in 9/10 cases. Just got „The Quarry“, „South Park Snow Day“ and „Disney Mickey Rebrushed“ from our local retailer MediaMarkt for 49€. COMBINED. A standard PS5 game alone is 80€ here. Also got „The Devil in Me“ from GameStop for 10€ this Wednesday. The cheap prices combined with actual ownership of physical games simply cannot be beaten.
Insgesamt haben wir es in Deutschland eigentlich echt gut in Bezug auf physische Medien. Es gibt auch noch genug Retailer, vor allem wenn man Online Retailer dazuzählt, die physische Medien anbieten. Ich hoffe doch sehr, dass das mit der Ps6 nicht schon ein Ende hat. Zumindest eine weitere Generation physisch wäre schon schön.
@@unicorntomboy9736 he’s saying that we have it very good in Germany with many local and online retailers. And that he hopes that PS6 will also be still physical.
Why are everyone giving in to digital so easily? Is nobody frightened by the DRM bull or having no real digital ownership Or having your library potential taken away, shutdown or messed with? The games are not even cheaper this way.....
Used to be a sold believer in digital Mainly because I moved around a lot but after hearing about games being delisted from stores and how you are only buying a license and they can still do whatever they want with your games. 😵😵😵😵😵😵😵😵
your Sony Physical Media has DRM on it You say shutdown, k but how does Physical media help with that, as games like Cyberpunk in such a situation would not have access to Sony's patching services, as they would also be gone. So yes techincally playable, but at Ver 1.0, same with say No mans Sky, Elden Ring
Everything is going the way of GOG, so... Just wait and see, at some point platforms like Steam will (have to) implement a feature where the consumer can download a copy to keep, just like with GOG. - So no, I'm not worried at all, because at some point the consumer has to be protected and will be in the end. - Games are absolutely cheap and we're spoiled a.f. - I can't remember the last time I used or purchased a disc. Maybe it was 'Ghost of Tsushima' and I fuggin' hated having to use a disc. - And by the way, I'm not some kid either, I came from the '90s and I don't want to go back to that crap.
Companies stating that, nowadays, we only have the license to play those games aren't the only problem. The fact that we won't be able to borrow or loan games anymore IS the biggest problem.
or refund, turn in, even have it in our hands imagine a child getting nothing under the tree for christmas sentimental gifts by family,friends no longer a thing
As a physical media enjoyer I think without disks there is no point in Microsoft or Sony to me. I’ll just embrace the superior high quality services like steam and gog. There is no way corpo garbage like Sony can compete with valve on the digital arena. They are shooting themselves in the foot.
This is what people who are all digital on console don’t realize the consequences of what they are doing. PC being all digital is mitigated by it being an open platform with actual retailer competition. On console this only exists in the physical retail space, digital is a closed platform with only ONE retailer who sets and controls all the pricing. As soon as physical goes away, console digital prices are going up and they will stay up for longer with fewer sales. This is already the case, most games go on sale much quicker physically than digitally, and with a lower sale price. That Avatar game was $20 physically from most retailers multiple times last year, the digital version has never gone below $30. People will end up paying more, that’s why the console makers want to push digital. It’s a market they have total control over
These stats are NOT Global/world wide. Some country may buy more physical media games then other countries. It isn’t RIGHT to judge these stats on just one country. Where is Australia Europe Canada etc etc stats for digital vs physical media. I still try to buy physical media when I can but will admit I’ve got lots digital games on both ps3/Xbox 360/ps4/ps5, Wiiu, switch and steam. IMO gamers should continued to fight that physical media is always an option. Imo it should be a LAW, any console games should always include a physical media option. It’s not like we haven’t seen console games not come on more 2 disc before. But gaming industry has try’s push all digital only bs. And devs are now also pushing this bullshit Agenda.
@@unicorntomboy9736it’s sucks for people who prefer physical media, they’re not gonna make them anymore and force them to go all digital, not a good business practice.
I am now buying everything physically to try to tip the scale back. I'm not purchasing digital media anymore and have cancelled most of my streaming subscriptions. Physical media needs to survive!
I’m happy not being paranoid that there’s a theoretical chance decades from now I could not access some old ass game (which can also easily happen to a disc, tell me if you had a house fire if you’d rather have your games physical or digital)
You can make digital backups from physical discs. Making physical backups is much less straightforward. Especially if rewritable discs stop being produced.
If Sony stops supplying physical versions for games then I’ll just stop buying PlayStation. I already feel duped on the Ps5, but this would just be a final nail in the coffin
They have been pushing nothing but live service slop lately anyway I honestly can say if I just stopped buying games once digital only becomes a thing I wouldn't mind at all and there's polls on certain sites that say 60-70% of gamers will no longer buy games if that day ever comes so honestly I hope game companies are ready to just start flopping if they do that because it's going to be the end of they do Nintendo seems to be the only one not talking about going that route I will straight up stay on Nintendo if that happens not even gonna lie
@@JoshuaVaughan-pi1sn I'm pretty sure Astro Bot isn't live service and Ghost of Yotei won't be live service. Wolverine and Intergalactic aren't going to be live service. Sony published and actively advertised Stellar Blade but it isn't live service. I think they focused too much on live service when the PS5 gen started, but it's false to say that they have pushed "nothing" but live service slop recently.
@kevinkijowski5980 would you be happier if I reworded and said they pushed mostly live service slop I mean you know what I meant I'm aware not every game is live service but I figured most would understand the point I was making and not be bothered by 1 word just saying 🤷
I think part of the blame for a decline in disc sales for gaming is a decline in an enjoyable experience when going to retailers. Retailers used to have play stations with a bunch of demos to try out each console, for example.
@@i_Know_The_Truthnot near as many. Do you realize consoles are getting to computer prices?? I just bought a brand new gaming laptop with a 4070 and it was only 100 dollars more than the ps5 pro😂😂. What do you thinks going to happen when its all digital and people are choosing between paying the same price between a console or a pc?? These companies are going to fuck around and find out and i can’t wait. It’ll be a shit show. And then the question will be will they be able to rope people back in by the time they realized it??
Did you not watch the video? The numbers clearly show that when someone buys a PS5 in 2024 they grabbed the DIGITAL version 49% of the time over the Disc Drive version.
People these days even do their grocery shopping through Uber Eats. I know a few people who literally live on takeaways. They don't want/have to get off their azz.
Because we now have other options that are better? Why go to the store and deal with overcrowded conditions and rude people when you can just pay somebody else to do it for you and you get to save the time and do something you actually want to do instead? If I wasn't so cheap, I'd do it too. I live in a city, a trip to the store is an ordeal every time and I'd rather not deal with it if I didn't have to.
@@godsmacking99 often you can even get your groceries delivered for free, depending on where you are and how much you order. So technically you even save money that way, as you ain’t paying for gas.
Over here in the US (FL to be exact) the delivery fee is outrageous. It’s like double the cost if you use a delivery service for groceries as opposed to doing it yourself. It’s not cheap at all here and not worth me spending that kind of money.
How is a gamer going to share anything if u don't have physical media? A significant portion of the games that i have played in my 49 years of life were done out of the kindness of my fellow gamers. Exchanging games has been a part of my experience on every platform i have ever owned.
Yep, this is really the biggest reason. Ever since PS5 launched, Sony started to condition players into using their digital storefront over anything else. First they stopped allowing CD keys for PS titles (creating digital monopoly, something Xbox doesn't even do), to then offering a cheaper digital model at launch, and now you have to go out of your way to buy overpriced disc drive. Obviously this is all done gradually on purpose to increase digital spending, giving them larger revenue per sold game. Xbox has done the same with all digital consoles, promoting game pass and many first party titles not having full game on disc. Nintendo, who actively promotes physical media, doesn't have this large decline
@@xaultimateax it started during last gen. By the end of the ps4 era they already had enough data to show that more people where buying digital. Those numbers only went up hence why both the slim and the pro made the disk drive optinal.
We will be “lucky” If there is an optional disc drive for the PS6 & we all know Sony will low stock that bad boy. 4 me digital only games = PC not PS5-6
PC gaming has been full digital for over a decade now, but players never actually have problems with that. Everybody is just having fun playing and buying stuff from Steam, no one is actively worrying that Valve will ban their account and lose everything (which is entirely possible). Why? Because not everyone is a collector. For most people once you done with a game you'll never touch it again. At that point you won't care if you still have it or not. Someday you might even sell the disks dirt cheap just to make space on your shelf. Let's just accept that full digital is the inevitable future of distribution. Yeah you don't own the disks anymore but for the most part it really isn't as bad as some make it out to be.
An all digital future is definitely worrying 95% of my games are physical I hate when devs announced a game but the physical is months away like come on...
if u ever used Steam u know it going to be like that & everyone will be "happy". i love physical too & rather buy a physical game than digital one, but if there is only digital option i aint gonna buy it for the console. gonna have to buy it for steam - Sony will shut down their consoles after a couple of years & all ur games are lost while Steam/GOG/Epic most likely not.
I think its more understandable for indies given a lot of them have to end up partnering with a distributors like iam8bit to get their games available at retail I don't mind waiting for those
@@Vss077 Difference is, on GOG you can download a copy to keep, not on Steam or Epic. I think Valve will implement a feature that games can have an option (and publishers of course will have to activate it) to download a copy like on GOG. - And you're right, this isn't really as easily as thing with consoles, unless Sony will implement something that you can download a game to a disk and it will be playable without authentication or something. But Sony would be one of the last to that if platforms go that way. - I think they will, but this will take 5-10 years before it's the norm.
@@unicorntomboy9736What kind of mindset and comparison is that? Both types of books you mentioned are physical and this terrible "get used to it" mindset is the reason so many publishers got so damn greedy throughout the last years.
The reason I haven't got a Pro is because I can't get hold of a drive and not paying scalper prices. Don't know if I will carry on gaming if it's goes all digital
While I try to buy physically as much as I can, I am tempted more and more as the years go by. Buying physically takes up so much space in your home and is usually way more expensive than games on the PSN Store. I've seen games discounted to a few dollars, you'd never seen that happen physically unless you're at a thrift store or something. So my rule of thumb is buy physically for all the heavy hitters I want and always resort to digital if I can pick up the game for under $5-10
Any physical media and consoles you have now, you better hold on to them, because that's the only way you'll know that you won't have them taken away from you unlike digital media in some cases.
@unicorntomboy9736 That's ok. It's better than having none at all. All I'm saying is when you look at what Ubisoft did with one of their games, ( I think it was The Crew) If you bought that game digitally, they somehow made so you couldn't no longer play the game. It would suck if other game companies as well as movie companies follow suit.
i wonder how many of the people saying they won't buy the console if it doesn't have a drive would actually follow through, maybe at launch but once the console has the game for them we'll see if they cave
the biggest issue rn is that as consumers, we have no guarantee to ownership of the media that we “buy”. even most $70 AAA games don’t have the full game printed on disc. we just get a license that publishers can yank from under us at anytime. I want to protect physical games but ensuring our rights to ownership {physical and digital} is far more important.
Exactly. Physical games are useless if the disk carries just a license key or thereabouts. Like, can you imagine a Cyberpunk 2077 launch disk without the Internet? LMAO.
Most people just don't seem to care anymore. Prior to the 2000's people would push back on corporations. "Customers are always right" was thrown around a lot. Somewhere around the 2010's customers lost the leverage.
I am by no means a religious person yet I am PRAYING for physical media to remain. So much value to all with used games being a great way to try something new or get into a franchise. I’ve had so many great experiences shopping for classics at my local used games store.
The thing to remember is that this is US sales. We all know that these companies are global. What will be a problem is if this data also applies globally. Anyway, I'm pretty much that we're going to see physical media as well on PS6, but I would think that at launch we're going to see a digital only SKU with a PS6 disc drive add on you can buy separately like on the PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro.
I just lost my game collection to the La fires dating back to the ps2 days. I will be going full digital as I do not want to recollect all those games again
I've been digital for years and years but I'm currently staying at a friend's house where they have data caps on their internet so I've had two temporarily switch to physical and I'm absolutely blown away by how difficult it is to find physical copies of certain games. I had to go to two different GameStops just to get a copy of Dynasty Warriors because each one only got one physical copy in. Then I went to Target and they don't even sell physical media anymore and Walmart has a paltry selection of games at this point. GameStop as well. Their stuff is mostly all pop figures and other crap they barely even have video games in there anymore!
If console physical dies for me there is no reason for console anymore. I will just go pc all the way. As a pc gamer, I enjoy my ps5 for physical copies and exclusivity.
It will be the same development as with cinema. Big-budget video games will still be released on disk, while small games will only be available digitally. The equivalent of blockbuster movies in theaters and everything else on streaming services.
In the anime market, blurays (especially of less popular and/or older series) are getting rarer and rarer. While you can find more anime than ever on streaming services, there seems to be less anime available now on disc than 20 years ago during the DVD days.
Something tells me that it's not the convenience of digital games that's affecting the buying habits of consumers, but the calculated move to purposefully limit physical media to limit the sales of physical games by the industry itself is the real problem. Don't get fooled by the lies of these companies telling you that it's somehow the consumer “forcing them” to rethink physical media because “no one’s buying physical discs anymore”. Limiting physical games on purpose to promote digital downloads has been the biggest money-maker they've ever had. Consumers aren't the problem, it's all these companies convincing everyone that it's somehow “all the consumer's fault”. They make more by denying consumers their rights to the products they buy in the long run, and it's been a growing problem for the last few decades. Don't let them get away with it so easily, make sure you fight for every single inch they try to steal from us. It’s the industry doing this and NOT the consumer!
This is EXACTLY what’s happening. . A lot of these Statistics & Stats Are produced with an agenda behind them. . Companies are Greedy & far too often the Wrong people are put in positions of power.. they want to kill off Physical Media so they can have a Monopoly on the gaming industry. . It’s all Greed & Control
Great reply and I mostly agree, however consumers *are* part of the problem because they keep spending on digital rather than boycotting it and sticking with physical media. Big gaming companies love digital because in a lot of cases, they can keep a huge chunk of profit from a game selling digitally at the same price as physical copies without worrying about pressing discs/carts, packaging, shipping, distribution, monitoring physical sales etc. Even if they put a game on sale/discount, if someone chooses to buy a game at £10 on sale digitally rather than £10 for a used disc where the publisher only sees a return on it once, that's still profit direct to them.
They really should change the “purchase” “buy it” button in all digital stores and put “rent” instead cause that’s how it feels like since you don’t own it like a physical copy of any piece of media
They should call it "tie to account", that's what you're doing. It's not rental, but if your account goes, the games go with it. If you keep it in good standing, you should be fine for decades.
PS5 SLIM is sold as a digital and disc version and the pro is sold with no disc drive no surprise half the PS5's sold were sold with no disc drives. Ignoring how many used PS5's with disc drives and how many used games purchased is an incomplete view.
I actually prefer playing games that i downloaded. Ever since i learn how to purchase games from the PSN all the games i have been playing are digital downloads. My physical games are gathering dusk in the shelf. For me it is the convenience that i can just open the console and play. No need to plug a disc and i can easily change a game that i am playing when it is a digital download game.
I know what you mean, but I like the ritual of opening the case, removing the disc and watch it glide sexily into the console! I've only ever bought digital if there is a massive discount in a sale.
When the two hurricanes happened in 2020 and my house was destroyed, that ended my collecting of physical media. I was able to save my stuff but the pain of boxing it all up and moving it to a storage unit. Never again
I will tell you what, if there comes a day, I will not be able to buy and own my games physically, I would just stop buying anymore games and after finishing my backlog probably move on to a new hobby.
I've heard this so many times.. no you wouldn't... If you can drop a hobby because of a format change then you weren't invested in the hobby in the first place
@sarthakbaghla6274 well I've got all platforms and alot of discs of my own. if I want to preserve games these days I get it on GOG on PC as that's the best way to preserve games
@@jjnet123 That's awesome man! I personally love to own games on discs, that is why I game only on consoles plus I also worry about my account getting deleted or banned and me losing access to all my purchased games while with discs I don't have to worry about that. Else digital is great too but only Digital that's Big no for me! Lol
Of all games I bought in 2024, 80% of them were physical (PS3, PS4, PS5). Other 20% were digital only games. I'll keep buying physical media as long as I can, 'cos I don't believe in digital only future.
@@Djordje_Jovanovic about 95% of the games I buy are physical . Digital purchases are temporary and you can’t sell on, your freedom of choice has been taken away… and as an added kick in the gut, you don’t own the game as I and it can be taken away from you at the flick of a switch.
@@amnril you 2 both made a choice, yet you claim, your choice has been taken away....which is it? Make it make sense. This shit is happening, these numbers are real, it's not because it's the only option, it's because that's what MOST people want. You still very much have a choice, stop being dramatic
@@AnEyeRacky I’m stating that purchasing digitally takes away your freedom of choice to sell on. Sure, today the choice remains but it’s clear physical will be killed off sooner rather than later which suits the big companies as it means maximum sales and therefore profit for them? No choice for the consumer which to me is not a good thing. Am I being over dramatic? Well maybe to you but to a physical collector like me, no. Hope that makes sense.
@@amnril in that specific scenario, I agree with your claim, you can't sell your digital game to someone else. You are correct. But that isn't the same as taking your choice away to buy digital vs physical, which is what I thought you were claiming, like most people commenting on the video. It also isn't the platform holders forcing this. Its the consumer. If the vast majority of your consumers don't engage with the more costly version of your product, why in the hell are you continuing to invest more into it? They are giving the customer what they want, while also saving money themselves, it's a win win. Every company on the planet, including your own (if you owned one that is) would also do the same. Its a no brainer
I never made a digital purchase on PS3 and I only download digital games on console when I can't find the physical copy of the game (which only happened to me once) and when the games are given for free. Otherwise, physical all the way
@@sam_20_ I certainly did.. but I will not purchase a digital copy this time .. i'll wait out the Physical Edition!!!!! but Yes will preorder once its announced for hard copy
Thank you!! So tired of people spinning this bs narrative. Plus there hasn’t been near as many games released either!! Like wtf😂😂😂 i think people dont realize how many less games are released now. It’s wild honestly. Also how come Nintendo is still 65-70 percent physical?? They cant blame japan for that because the switch sold massive everywhere
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I literally was the physical king. When PS5 dropped and I seen digital was $100 cheaper I instantly bought one. 4 years later and it’s still the best decision I’ve made. The worst part is I have to wait for sells for some games. Like Undisputed Boxing I refused to buy at full price. So 2 months later it was on sell for $20 bucks less on PSN and I felt that was a fair price and I bought it. Even the MK1 DLC was $60 a few months later and it’s on sell for $20.
The thing about physical media is that all the big box stores are getting less and less of it and once a game launches most of the time they only get a few extra copies. For GameStop Canada if you do not pre-order the game you may not get a copy just walking into the store because over the last 2 or 3 years they no longer get extra copies in unless it's a bigger title like GTAVI or Call of Duty...etc. in terms of Xbox and PlayStation. Nintendo on the other hand they'll get more copies in.
does the the stats include detachable disc drive sales? Should know the disc drive was sold for the sole purpose to play physical game on discless consoles.
Non story here. December 2024 shouldn't be considered for how physical vs digital is going on playstation. This implies half of what was sold was digital for december, not the year. We had a Major hardware release in november which resulted in optical drive shortages to the extreme. You can bet the PS5 Pro was being counted among those digital hardware numbers. Until we have an actual count on how many Optical drives are paired with pro's. I'm pointing to the offset leading into the holiday season being directly corelated with that. I say that as someone with two friends still trying to get ahold of drives for their 5 Pro. The rest of the year digital only hardware sales on the playstation remain the same.
We need to be talking about legislation for games availability and account sharing posthumously that's the real issue people have to accept digital is the dominant future so it needs to be about making digital accessible beyond death of companies and consumers even steam doesn't even allow account to change to another person
The problem with comparing physical to digital sales is all the digital-only (or digital only at launch) being factored in. To truly measure the trends, comparisons have to be limited to games that launch simultaneously physical/digital. 2008 peaked cause 2009 was the rise of both simultaneous launches and digital-only games.
All the physical media peole forget is they not making money people have jobs and more and more stroes are closing down its on the people who did all the looting in 2020 . And if someone has limited time they not going to go from store to store looking for a game wasting time . I can push a button on my phone and comes home and my game will be downloading and i get to play it .
Hardcore gamers exist in their own bubble and they don't understand that the majority of owners (who are just casual) prefer the convenience of all digital. And that isn't just for video games. Movies and music have gone even more all digital. The fight for physical media, unfortunately, is a losing battle. I don't like it. I would much rather own my media on disc. I hate that it is so hard to find films on bluray anymore. I hate that companies (like LG) are starting to halt production on disc drives. But it is what it is. I won't stop playing video games if things go all digital, just like I didn't stop listening to music or watching films. I may, however, consider sticking more to PC where there is less restrictions and better refund policies.
Steam has a commitment to give you all your games DRM free if steam ever shutdown, no other company does that & it needs to change if they insist on a digital only future
Every individual has their own reason to buy physical or digital. I’ll never quite understand when the vast majority of customers know that when they pay for digital they don’t OWN it and it could simply disappear,they still spend hundreds and even thousands on games.
Because a lot of us don't care about that part. Not all people who play games care about the colleting or keeping game forever aspect. For me, I buy the game, play through it once or twice and that's it. If it goes away then so be it because I likely stopped playing it years ago. So I'm 1000% ok with these being long term rentals.
That's their problem, lol. Just because you haven't lost access to your digital library yet, that doesn't inevitably mean that you'll always have access to every digital purchase you made
Simple. Not everyone cares about owning especially something they'll only make use of a couple of times before moving onto something else left to just take up space and collect dust after they get their money's worth.
People who dont know, when you have digital games, you dont own, you only own the licence to play them. Same with Steam games , it's in license agreement too you accept before you buy. Physical games are kings like always, sad that lots of people dont understand that .
Technically, physical games are licenses also. It gets even worse when games are broken at launch (will stay broken after servers goes down) and most games are not even on the disc itself, you would have to download the game (can't play those games when servers goes down either). I am trying to say is that when you buy a game after the store or servers goes down, then all you have left is either a broken or unplayable game.
I will never support the possible future of owning nothing. If the PS6 has no possibility of physical media then I will never buy a console again. If everyone who loves physical media spoke with their wallets then a difference would truly be made.
I think more than likely, PS6 will not launch with a disk drive. Maybe be able to use the external drive so you can play PS5 games with backwards compatibility. PS6 exclusives will be digital only, in my opinions.
None of my friends I know who owns a PS5 owns a digital version. Even the one who bought the digital only edition bought a drive. Is the overall chart based on statistics in the West or worldwide? Because new game stores selling physical copies are still popping up in my country. I believe why the sales are down may also be caused by the lack of quality AAA games or games that connect with the players. A lot of big games have failed their sales expectation from Dragon Age Veilguard, Star Wars Outlaws, Concord, SS: Kill the Justice League, etc.
Aren’t most game buyers not hardcore hardcore meaning they just play cod, Fortnite or sport games? So it makes sense to just get the cheaper digital version and just buy the game on the store.
Also with being able to add the disc drive I would also get the digital version because I’m not hardcore like that so only use Plus. If I actually wanted to use a disc i would get the disc drive separately
I’ve noticed on a consistent basis that the numbers were given do not account for US buyers buying physical media from other regions, and I do believe that that includes Canada, which has some prominent retailers that games are being sold from at this point to North American US buyers. Personally, I think that the overture of this argument is greatly inflated because of the fact that we don’t have more data than what we’ve been given by people like Matt Piscitella. Comparing current day, physical media sales to what it was at its peak is of course going to look very different and I think that’s a rather rash comparison since really in 2025 that’s not relevant nor is the rewritable media being discontinued relevant to actual game sales by Sony. Game sales from other regions of the world are not being incorporated into this argument, and those comprise a significant amount of physical game sales as well for Sony. I don’t personally believe there’s any real concern that they’re going to remove the ability to play discs on the next console they make
That has almost no impact on these numbers bud. Its WAAAAAY to drastic of a split. This is happening. Its real. There isn't some mass amount of physical numbers being swept under the rug haha
Customers letting manufacturers and publishers take away physical media is infuriating. We keep trading our rights for "convenience" sake then bitching later on when we get fucked over by digital.
A bit of a conspiracy theory here but… Maybe Sony are purposely limiting production/supply of the disc drive attachment but also selling the new PS5/PS5 Pro console stating that they can get the attachment separately. After not being able to easily buy the disc drive attachment, in the end people will give in and start to build up a library of digital games as they’ll want to use their new machine that they just picked up. Maybe they’re selling people a product with the promise of being able to use discs but limiting that factor to the manufacturing rates. They can then control how many consoles they want to remain digital by not allowing people to buy the DD.
Probably most people, because a lot of content is only on streaming and not on physical media. However, most people who like physical media for games also probably like physical media for books, movies, etc. I have Netflix like everyone does, but I buy Blu-ray and physical books all the time too.
As someone who works in a department that sells game consoles (as well as other things with a variety of prices) I can tell you that most people will choose the cheaper option
@@PuNkMaN1987 Do you inform them that the disc drive edition will recoup its price after just two or three games because of the price difference of disc vs digital games? Hogwarts Legacy for instance was $80 forever and on disc it was at least $30 cheaper.
Once they do that they have handed the market to PC and when it comes to digital gaming they have there shit together. Also the hand held Steamdeck is well known. I wonder how many people know there working on a home console. ?
I'm in the weird position of totally understanding the concern of others about physical media going away and at the same time not giving a flying eff myself. I look at the four boxes full of old games and movies that are currently sitting in the living room of my new flat and all I see is useless clutter that I can't even give away because nobody wants it.
One of the problems I see with the decrease in physical media game sales is that you can't find them in stores unless they're the high profile games. I go to a retro video game store in my area and there are so many times I find games I never new existed. Mind you these are USED games, so I'm guessing there are a lot more out there I've never seen. I would imagine if I was a very hard core collector I would use the internet to find the latest releases but let's get real, most consumers are not doing this. That itself cuts down impulse buys and contributes to the decline of sales. Another minor issue that I personally have is the policies of GameStop. They sell open games as "NEW" by just resealing it with a sticker. They say that it's because it's the new display box ( that they take the game out ) and if they have extra in their supplies then they sell the consumer the new "sealed" one. Unfortunately they never have extra copies! 9 out of 10 times the display box is the only one they have left. So if your an actual collector this would be a no go. Worse yet if you do buy it your basically purchasing an open game for the brand new price. Another addition to why physical games are not selling as much as they use to.
That's why you always have to do your research and shop around. Whenever I want to buy a game but it's not available on the most popular retailer, I search around stores and usually I find them
That's a weird policy by Gamestop if what you said is true. Here where I live, there is no Gamestop and the stores that sell games always have them brand new factory sealed. You have to dig deep to find used games in a store in my country
@ what you say is true but I'm speaking about the casual gamer or even people who are buying games as gifts but have to clue. Basically people who are not doing their research. And trust me on the GameStop policy- it's very true and very stupid. The circle sticker they use to seal it up is actually so hard to peal off it's comical! On those rare occasions when I do buy I game from them like this I tell them to not put that stupid sticker on it.
Consumers choose the format. I own a PS5 Pro, bought the drive. I always buy physical games, I even bought the BG3 physical edition because I wanted that hard copy. I suspect the next generation will be all digital with a separate drive that can be added. There will be no option for a straight disk version. Is it sad? Yes IMO but the consumer makes these decisions. Same situation happened with Record stores, they moved to CDs and when MP3 came about consumers of music want to go back to physical media and now Records and CDs have become hot commodities. You can’t fight what people consume media on. Very few people own Record Players or CD players anymore. I just wish that companies releasing physical media would provide the digital format . Figure out a way to link the two without having the disk as a key!
The day physical disks die is the day I will become a PC player. The only reason I have a PS5 is for physical games, as soon as that disappears I’m gone.
It's the same situation as with money. Why does someone see a problem in the existence of one or the other, which allows for a choice? It all comes down to full digitalization, which takes away such a possibility completely.
You know why disc games are not selling because everything is getting expensive so you have to choose keep a roof over your head pay for streaming services and cable and food
While Digital Media offers convenience to many players, we should NEVER let Physical Media die for our own sake.
Yes, if physical dies we’re looking at higher prices and game companies pulling games after you’ve bought them.
In Switzerland the Nintendo eshop games are up to 25% more expensive than the physical versions.
A $70 game on physical can go up to $95 dollars in the digital store, it's insane.
Is it tho?
It takes way longer for me to download a game on my 100mbps connection than installing it from disc. My discs are stored in the TV unit right below my PS5. And new games get delivered 1-2 days early when I buy them. And I pay way less in 9/10 cases. My pickups this week on disc were 59€ while the same games are combined nearly 200€ right now on PSN.
So I can’t really say that digital is more convenient 😅
@@32189djsddkAgree. The used game market is always good so you can get games cheaper. But yeah Sony and others put games that aren't popular from 2015 etc and before at full market price when that game dropped years ago on the store even today like infinite warfare is 60 etc
Like I order a game I want while I’m at work and grab it on my way back cause there’s a MediaMarkt (German electronic retailer) one bus stop away from the train station where I change trains anyway.
Put that disc in my PS5 and it’s installed before I even finish the checkout process on PSN 😂
Not having a physical copy and trusting greedy corporations to honor your digital purchase. What could go wrong?
I've owned digital games on Xbox 360 since 2006-7 and still own them 😂 Gotta love the doom and gloom crowd.
@@Flip86x Okay and? Doesn’t mean you will own them forever, because you simply don’t, you have a license which can be revoked at any time, like it has been for many games in the past couple of years
Getting your disk scratched by mistake or lost in LA fire, what could go wrong?
@@Flip86x Sony and Microsoft have both taken games from me brother....called them up and they said they have no records of me buying these games even though I have achievements/ trophies for those games 💀
@@Owen01 Doom and gloom some more whydontya 😂😂😂
I will always prefer physical games.
Not anymore lol
Same
Weird.
@@RyanMiahH you won’t.
Yea, I like to build a holy grail in my room with physical game cases, books and figures
I'm a movie collector. I want to be able to watch my favorite movies whenever I want and not hoping for a streaming service to have it in the library. And of course the quality is way better. So physical media is very important because there is no regulation at all what happens e.g. if the company where you bought your digital media goes bankrupt.
also too, the service will never be available indefinitely and you never know when they will delist some movies
@@Obsidian8Rmy mom use to have a digital music library and something happened with the company,it was one of the big ones,and she lost most of it. That was the last time she ever did it. Too bad this doesn’t happen more often so people would wake up
Movies are different then games. When you buy a physical movie, there is never a digital voucher to download the movie.
With games on the other hand, that is increasingly the norm. In a few years, you will be buying table coasters that grant you access to the same digital copy I got
I agree 100%, unfortunately the majority of people don't care. New bluray movies are getting rarer and more expensive every year it seems. And companies are starting to pull out of making bluray players. I just read LG is halting disc drive production.
Same thing already happened with music. Movies are next. Then video games.
@@AnEyeRacky wym? Most movies, at least in Blu-ray/4K Blu-Ray come with a digital code that takes you to MoviesEverywhere or something similar to that to gain access to that digital version of what you bought.
Fun fact. A few months ago, 82% of PD5 consoles were the physical edition. The PS5 Pro is digital only without the disc drive. So that's how Sony is fudging their numbers to justify Digital Only future they so crave.
Honestly, I want to see the number of PS5 Pros sold in proportion to the number of the disc drives sold. But Sony doesn't like to listen to the buyers so it'd be a moot point anyways.
Not to mention, it's incredibly difficult to get a disc drive these days, which makes me wonder if this isn't intentional in some way on Sony's part. I was able to snag one during an Amazon restock a few weeks ago, but it took longer than normal to arrive, and it was originally slated to come in MARCH. At least I didn't pay a filthy scalper for it.
How about the.fact physical sales are way down (which is why less and less stores when carry it) BECAUSE digital sales keep rising and rising?
If they go digital I stop buying, simple
Yes your playing the console while they lie to you 😅😂😂
@@BabysitterSky 2 gamestop's closed where I'm at and well means I will be buying games from PS store. I'm not going to run all over my city just to get one game
I think people don’t understand that if your account gets ban or hacked you’ll lose everything including your games on digital. If you have all your games physical then all you have to do is make a new account and pop in a disc and boom you save 70$ or however.
Wat if ur console get ban?
I had that crap happen to me back when Xbox 360 was going hard on digital and I bought in. Never again.
if Sony is hacked to such a degree, that they lose all user ownership of digital titles and cannot retrieve it , then Playstation as a thing is finished. So those physical media games, a lot of them won't work in that case anyway
So you are looking for a what if, that if it occured , would pretty much destroy Sony's Console business , then there would be no PS6, no updates, no online Service
Most people don’t have to worry about either of those things. If you keep your account secure and don’t break the rules, you have exactly nothing to worry about.
I have never had an account get hacked or banned. Stop sharing your passwords with friends and I guarantee the problem will go away.
If physical games were dying rapidly, then the sales of the PS5 disc drive wouldn't have been as strong as they were ever since the release of the PS5 pro.
Scalpers are the majority of the sales of the disk drive. Game sales majority is digital. Hence why the slip and pro made the disk drive optinal
@@Asuraxshin Scalpers buy stuff to sell at a higher price just like graphic cards and other stuff people would pay more money to get they do not buy stuff that's not in demand
@@c.i.q.s65 Scalpers bought them up and I've heard are having problems unloading them. Can't confirm that second part though
@@BabysitterSky wouldn't be shocking, like who tf scalps a disc drive 💀 this world is so greedy and fucked beyond believe it's sad.
@@TokyoFool2 People snatch up everything to try to resell it @ 200%. It's freaking sad.
Not even being dramatic, I will quit console gaming if physical dies out. There is no reason to own consoles if discs won’t exist.
ExClUsIvEs
I get that sentiment, so long as anyone holding it isn’t also satisfied with a game on disc that REQUIRES additional downloads in order to patch itself in its first few months, or in able to supplement a percentage of the total install from the disc to where it needs the download as well. ALSO those games on disc that never had much at all on the disc - where the disc acted as more of a physical key to the online download. This has been the case for MANY physical releases for years now.
That’s why I’m glad Nintendo is still supporting physical media, I have a massive collection on my switch but yes I’ll also be done with PlayStation consoles if there’s no physical option
Bro stop lying.
Good luck quitting consoles and going to PC and getting physical games off of Steam and Epic
WE MUST NOT SAY GOODBYE TO PHYSICAL GAMES.
I agree and I accept.
If Sony says goodbye FOR you, I encourage you to gradually move onto PC, where, physically or digitally, you actually have control of your owned data. Plus PlayStation 5 has had only 2 true exclusives to its name this entire generation, Demon's Souls remake and Astro Bot, so they are increasingly going the Xbox strategy anyway, just not shamelessly bragging about their hardware platform downfall.
Too late
Already did years ago 😂
@@cosmosofinfinity some dubbledip PC is too expecive in my region
No reason to own a console without physical games.
Exactly, if console goes all digital. I go to PC
💯💯💯
@@Cello_AndrettiSame here
@@MultiSlyce exactly. If I can't watch my games and 4k discs in the same place, what's the point?
Exactly what’s the point having a PlayStation??? At that point it’s a no brainer to switch over to PC or sub based way of playing like GeForce Now for those who are financially tight.
I recently bought a MacBook Pro M4 Pro for work and it turns out it can handle the latest triple a games surprisingly well. Technically I could already sell my Ps5 if I wanted to
if physical media dies then for me consoles die because what is the point in buying digital games on consoles if on pc they are mostly half that or free on amazon gaming ,epic or dirt cheap keys on kinguin or eneba and humble bundle keys sold by others
star wars jedi survivor on ps5 in a store on disc where i live is 17$ and on psn its 87$ so how is that a good deal to go digital? on pc a key from eneba is 18$
Pc games are mostly digital, yet you still get alot of PC gamers..
@@_Shinasu because PC is not a closed ecosystem controlled by a single platform holder. You have multiple stores, no closed systems, many ways to buy games, you can pirate games.
The PS5 is a closed off system with one single store front that dictates prices, availability and access.
@leospeedleo pirating games isn't legal on PC but technically you can do the same thing on consoles too, lots of mods and hacks available for those inclined.
@ here in Germany it’s legal. Making or using roms for your own personal use is totally legal. Sharing them is illegal. But that also ends with old games called „abandonware“.
I only pirated like 10 games my entire life: games I got recently for my Hen PS3 where I didn’t want to spend outrageous prices on a singleplayer game. Everything else is purchased legit.
PS Store often has sales? So its not much of an issue for most Playstation gamers that have chosen to go exclusively digital, most actually prefer it for the advantages it brings over physical games.
If PS6 goes full digital the angry people quitting Playstation and going to PC like yourself is just a small percentage, the vast majority have already spoken with their wallets and chose to stick with Playstation and buy games digitally now and have done for many years already.
Physical should always be there. Whether people wanna buy it or not is entirely upto them but not having physical discs after 25 years of gaming with discs feels very dystopian to me. I'm accustomed to having disc cases lined up in my book shelf and starting all games after inserting their discs. A part of gaming would die for me when companies stop making physical discs. I don't think I would play games anymore after that
Once physical dies. I see no reason of getting a console. Might as well switch to PC
Same bro
@@joevoidable7549I have a gaming laptop but I much prefer playing on console because I actually own the games I want to play. I only download games on my PC when they don't have a PS release or when they are digital only on console too (like with HiFi Rush)
A point to consider is physical media is primarily a Gen X/Millennial concern. Younger generations are embracing digital media and don’t have the 20+ year backlog of games on discs to be concerned about. Sad to say, but if disc drives are not gone in PS6 then they certainly will be by PS7.
If gaming goes all digital, I'll never pay for a game again. 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
The day console goes strictly digital is the day I go PC, or otherwise become strictly a “Retro” gamer.
Same
That's my plan as well.
I choose the second option
And I bet you would just run out and buy boxed copies of PC games eh?
Whole heartedly agreed
We have learned people would rather spend more money than walk across their living room. That alone will tell future civilisations enough about the human species lol.
Never underestimate the laziness of humanity.
Yeah but the people like me who don't prefer that are paying the price from other people's laziness
Or maybe...just maybe I don't want hundred game boxes hanging around my house
@Babysittersky stop supporting taking away options/rights
Something the physical owners all seems to forget, is that other people enjoy options. Lol also I think there will be a transition from disc to digital to a new physical format like, holo keys or USB light sticks 😂
On my PS5 Pro w/ disc drive- I started experimenting with some of my actual Blu-ray Disc movies along with a small handful of Ultra Blu Ray 4K (which I had purchased at various point in hopes of one day having a Ultra 4K player..before streaming took over)- the bottom line is no matter what your streaming platform is- if you take the time to watch your blu ray or ultra 4K from a disc, it simply will look better. There is almost no compression, and you get to watch actual movie frames instead of just 'delta changes' between different pixel positions of each frame. Reduced blurriness also when the camera pans as well.
Arguably, the only legit streaming services are the ones where you are actually inputting your Ultra 4K code from a disc purchase or purchasing digital versions from (like Vudu/fandango or Movies Anywhere, etc)...they don't seem like they throttle the data as much or at all in the way that Disney or Max or Netflix does.
@@mattb9664 Exactly. There is no way Netflix would ever deliver 100 GB of streamed data to you without either cutting corners (meaning not doing 100 but rather 30 at best), or creating a creme de la creme Über Premium Line that you'll have to pay $40 a month for. To those who have never tested a UHD movie, please do. There are no buffering hiccups, no disturbing "FOR YOU" tabs, "LATEST RELEASES" flash screens you can't disable, just close, and the amount of extra material you get for every movie box is incredible. Go physical. It's not just about ownership. It's an entire experience. You don't understand how awful streaming is until you get rid of it all.
I noticed that as well piracy is also at an all time high I don't think these companies are grasping the fact people don't like digital being forced onto them by giving people no other options making it harder to get physical they are not allowing it to be consumed naturally instead it's being forced and as a result people are revolting against it by pirating stuff far more this happened in the early 2000s when cable didn't grasp that and now streaming services are becoming the thing that people joined them to get away from cable
I continue to buy all my games on disc here in Germany. I also cancelled my digital preorder for Neva when they announced a physical copy and bought that for 10€ more instead.
I actually own them, got to keep them forever, can do with them whatever I want and they are much cheaper in 9/10 cases.
Just got „The Quarry“, „South Park Snow Day“ and „Disney Mickey Rebrushed“ from our local retailer MediaMarkt for 49€. COMBINED. A standard PS5 game alone is 80€ here.
Also got „The Devil in Me“ from GameStop for 10€ this Wednesday.
The cheap prices combined with actual ownership of physical games simply cannot be beaten.
Ich habe mir Epic Micky Rebrushed, Dead Cells Castelvania und Cult of the Lamb besorgt, bin auch zufrieden, da kann man einfach nicht nein sagen.
@ gute Pickups. Hätte Cult of the Lamb auch geholt, wenn ich’s nicht schon gehabt hätte 😁 Viel Spaß damit
Insgesamt haben wir es in Deutschland eigentlich echt gut in Bezug auf physische Medien. Es gibt auch noch genug Retailer, vor allem wenn man Online Retailer dazuzählt, die physische Medien anbieten. Ich hoffe doch sehr, dass das mit der Ps6 nicht schon ein Ende hat. Zumindest eine weitere Generation physisch wäre schon schön.
@@TheClyde1993 I do not understand what you said. I only speak French and English. Please say that in French instead.
@@unicorntomboy9736 he’s saying that we have it very good in Germany with many local and online retailers. And that he hopes that PS6 will also be still physical.
Why are everyone giving in to digital so easily?
Is nobody frightened by the DRM bull
or having no real digital ownership
Or having your library potential taken away, shutdown or messed with?
The games are not even cheaper this way.....
Because people have become lazy
Used to be a sold believer in digital
Mainly because I moved around a lot
but after hearing about games being delisted from stores and how you are only buying a license and they can still do whatever they want with your games.
😵😵😵😵😵😵😵😵
No coz some people buy games in cheap account bundles 😂
your Sony Physical Media has DRM on it
You say shutdown, k but how does Physical media help with that, as games like Cyberpunk in such a situation would not have access to Sony's patching services, as they would also be gone.
So yes techincally playable, but at Ver 1.0, same with say No mans Sky, Elden Ring
Everything is going the way of GOG, so... Just wait and see, at some point platforms like Steam will (have to) implement a feature where the consumer can download a copy to keep, just like with GOG. - So no, I'm not worried at all, because at some point the consumer has to be protected and will be in the end. - Games are absolutely cheap and we're spoiled a.f. - I can't remember the last time I used or purchased a disc. Maybe it was 'Ghost of Tsushima' and I fuggin' hated having to use a disc. - And by the way, I'm not some kid either, I came from the '90s and I don't want to go back to that crap.
Companies stating that, nowadays, we only have the license to play those games aren't the only problem. The fact that we won't be able to borrow or loan games anymore IS the biggest problem.
or refund, turn in, even have it in our hands imagine a child getting nothing under the tree for christmas sentimental gifts by family,friends no longer a thing
Or sell/buy second hand. That's the only way some people can afford to buy games
As a physical media enjoyer I think without disks there is no point in Microsoft or Sony to me. I’ll just embrace the superior high quality services like steam and gog. There is no way corpo garbage like Sony can compete with valve on the digital arena. They are shooting themselves in the foot.
THIS
This is what people who are all digital on console don’t realize the consequences of what they are doing. PC being all digital is mitigated by it being an open platform with actual retailer competition. On console this only exists in the physical retail space, digital is a closed platform with only ONE retailer who sets and controls all the pricing. As soon as physical goes away, console digital prices are going up and they will stay up for longer with fewer sales. This is already the case, most games go on sale much quicker physically than digitally, and with a lower sale price. That Avatar game was $20 physically from most retailers multiple times last year, the digital version has never gone below $30. People will end up paying more, that’s why the console makers want to push digital. It’s a market they have total control over
I'll be getting my games for free 🏴☠️
Yeah when consoles go all digital is when I go PC
@@Cello_Andretti never pay again on PC.
These stats are NOT Global/world wide. Some country may buy more physical media games then other countries. It isn’t RIGHT to judge these stats on just one country. Where is Australia Europe Canada etc etc stats for digital vs physical media.
I still try to buy physical media when I can but will admit I’ve got lots digital games on both ps3/Xbox 360/ps4/ps5, Wiiu, switch and steam. IMO gamers should continued to fight that physical media is always an option. Imo it should be a LAW, any console games should always include a physical media option. It’s not like we haven’t seen console games not come on more 2 disc before. But gaming industry has try’s push all digital only bs. And devs are now also pushing this bullshit Agenda.
One thing I've learnt over my many years is that the general public will always let you down.
A 85% drop is crazy, so we really are heading into that all digital dystopian world…
Gen Alpha and Beta do not care though
Dude it’s games not dystopia you’ll survive not having a box on a shelf
@@unicorntomboy9736 Their priorities are straight
@@unicorntomboy9736it’s sucks for people who prefer physical media, they’re not gonna make them anymore and force them to go all digital, not a good business practice.
we did long time ago. Steam basically made the digital world.
I am now buying everything physically to try to tip the scale back. I'm not purchasing digital media anymore and have cancelled most of my streaming subscriptions. Physical media needs to survive!
You own nothing and be happy. I stopped buying digital media for years.
Same.
I buy physical disc and digital games if my disc game is not working I can play the digital game until my disc game is shipped to my place
I’m happy not being paranoid that there’s a theoretical chance decades from now I could not access some old ass game (which can also easily happen to a disc, tell me if you had a house fire if you’d rather have your games physical or digital)
@@Themattcave620. Or it get's scratched or burns in an LA fire, good luck with that bud lol. Like Joe said, you own nothing.
You can make digital backups from physical discs. Making physical backups is much less straightforward. Especially if rewritable discs stop being produced.
If Sony stops supplying physical versions for games then I’ll just stop buying PlayStation. I already feel duped on the Ps5, but this would just be a final nail in the coffin
They have been pushing nothing but live service slop lately anyway I honestly can say if I just stopped buying games once digital only becomes a thing I wouldn't mind at all and there's polls on certain sites that say 60-70% of gamers will no longer buy games if that day ever comes so honestly I hope game companies are ready to just start flopping if they do that because it's going to be the end of they do Nintendo seems to be the only one not talking about going that route I will straight up stay on Nintendo if that happens not even gonna lie
@@PixelPikmin bye!!!!! You won't be missed!!!
@@JoshuaVaughan-pi1sn I'm pretty sure Astro Bot isn't live service and Ghost of Yotei won't be live service. Wolverine and Intergalactic aren't going to be live service. Sony published and actively advertised Stellar Blade but it isn't live service. I think they focused too much on live service when the PS5 gen started, but it's false to say that they have pushed "nothing" but live service slop recently.
@kevinkijowski5980 would you be happier if I reworded and said they pushed mostly live service slop I mean you know what I meant I'm aware not every game is live service but I figured most would understand the point I was making and not be bothered by 1 word just saying 🤷
@@JoshuaVaughan-pi1sn You're mad you lied and got called out on it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I think part of the blame for a decline in disc sales for gaming is a decline in an enjoyable experience when going to retailers. Retailers used to have play stations with a bunch of demos to try out each console, for example.
They are going to fool around and find out when it becomes all digital and watch how many people stop buying a console because of that
Yup, when consoles become all digital I will just go to PC.
People will still buy Consoles.
@@i_Know_The_Truthnot near as many. Do you realize consoles are getting to computer prices?? I just bought a brand new gaming laptop with a 4070 and it was only 100 dollars more than the ps5 pro😂😂. What do you thinks going to happen when its all digital and people are choosing between paying the same price between a console or a pc?? These companies are going to fuck around and find out and i can’t wait. It’ll be a shit show. And then the question will be will they be able to rope people back in by the time they realized it??
Did you not watch the video? The numbers clearly show that when someone buys a PS5 in 2024 they grabbed the DIGITAL version 49% of the time over the Disc Drive version.
Yup, I’ll likely jump back to PC and Steam, wouldn’t touch Gamepass as I truly believe MS is the initiator of the Digital only Console.
People these days even do their grocery shopping through Uber Eats. I know a few people who literally live on takeaways. They don't want/have to get off their azz.
Because we now have other options that are better? Why go to the store and deal with overcrowded conditions and rude people when you can just pay somebody else to do it for you and you get to save the time and do something you actually want to do instead? If I wasn't so cheap, I'd do it too. I live in a city, a trip to the store is an ordeal every time and I'd rather not deal with it if I didn't have to.
No wonder why the West is so fat
@@godsmacking99 often you can even get your groceries delivered for free, depending on where you are and how much you order. So technically you even save money that way, as you ain’t paying for gas.
And you wonder why everyone's so fat nowadays
Over here in the US (FL to be exact) the delivery fee is outrageous. It’s like double the cost if you use a delivery service for groceries as opposed to doing it yourself. It’s not cheap at all here and not worth me spending that kind of money.
How is a gamer going to share anything if u don't have physical media? A significant portion of the games that i have played in my 49 years of life were done out of the kindness of my fellow gamers. Exchanging games has been a part of my experience on every platform i have ever owned.
Maybe because sony don't include the damn disc drive
Yep, this is really the biggest reason. Ever since PS5 launched, Sony started to condition players into using their digital storefront over anything else. First they stopped allowing CD keys for PS titles (creating digital monopoly, something Xbox doesn't even do), to then offering a cheaper digital model at launch, and now you have to go out of your way to buy overpriced disc drive. Obviously this is all done gradually on purpose to increase digital spending, giving them larger revenue per sold game. Xbox has done the same with all digital consoles, promoting game pass and many first party titles not having full game on disc. Nintendo, who actively promotes physical media, doesn't have this large decline
@@xaultimateax it started during last gen. By the end of the ps4 era they already had enough data to show that more people where buying digital. Those numbers only went up hence why both the slim and the pro made the disk drive optinal.
We will be “lucky” If there is an optional disc drive for the PS6 & we all know Sony will low stock that bad boy. 4 me digital only games = PC not PS5-6
Definitely won’t buy one if it’s all digital
Then we know what to do 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
PC gaming has been full digital for over a decade now, but players never actually have problems with that. Everybody is just having fun playing and buying stuff from Steam, no one is actively worrying that Valve will ban their account and lose everything (which is entirely possible). Why? Because not everyone is a collector. For most people once you done with a game you'll never touch it again. At that point you won't care if you still have it or not. Someday you might even sell the disks dirt cheap just to make space on your shelf. Let's just accept that full digital is the inevitable future of distribution. Yeah you don't own the disks anymore but for the most part it really isn't as bad as some make it out to be.
Aside from sentimental reasons.
An all digital future is definitely worrying 95% of my games are physical I hate when devs announced a game but the physical is months away like come on...
Get used to it. In the book publishing world, Hardbacks always release before Paperback versions, which is really irritating.
if u ever used Steam u know it going to be like that & everyone will be "happy". i love physical too & rather buy a physical game than digital one, but if there is only digital option i aint gonna buy it for the console. gonna have to buy it for steam - Sony will shut down their consoles after a couple of years & all ur games are lost while Steam/GOG/Epic most likely not.
I think its more understandable for indies given a lot of them have to end up partnering with a distributors like iam8bit to get their games available at retail I don't mind waiting for those
@@Vss077 Difference is, on GOG you can download a copy to keep, not on Steam or Epic. I think Valve will implement a feature that games can have an option (and publishers of course will have to activate it) to download a copy like on GOG. - And you're right, this isn't really as easily as thing with consoles, unless Sony will implement something that you can download a game to a disk and it will be playable without authentication or something. But Sony would be one of the last to that if platforms go that way. - I think they will, but this will take 5-10 years before it's the norm.
@@unicorntomboy9736What kind of mindset and comparison is that? Both types of books you mentioned are physical and this terrible "get used to it" mindset is the reason so many publishers got so damn greedy throughout the last years.
The reason I haven't got a Pro is because I can't get hold of a drive and not paying scalper prices. Don't know if I will carry on gaming if it's goes all digital
Like others have said, I don’t think consoles have much going for them if physical media support gets cut
Netflx for games is what companies want now so many streamingservices subscriptions and more are poping up and increasing Prices
While I try to buy physically as much as I can, I am tempted more and more as the years go by. Buying physically takes up so much space in your home and is usually way more expensive than games on the PSN Store. I've seen games discounted to a few dollars, you'd never seen that happen physically unless you're at a thrift store or something. So my rule of thumb is buy physically for all the heavy hitters I want and always resort to digital if I can pick up the game for under $5-10
Any physical media and consoles you have now, you better hold on to them, because that's the only way you'll know that you won't have them taken away from you unlike digital media in some cases.
I only have two physical video games.
@unicorntomboy9736 That's ok. It's better than having none at all. All I'm saying is when you look at what Ubisoft did with one of their games, ( I think it was The Crew) If you bought that game digitally, they somehow made so you couldn't no longer play the game. It would suck if other game companies as well as movie companies follow suit.
@@rodneymathews6775 it s a live service game and they shuted down the mp servers
@@rodneymathews6775 you can’t play the crew if you have a disc either. Physical is not ownership.
@@Khloya69 Seriously? I didn't know that about The Crew. Thanks for the heads up.
i wonder how many of the people saying they won't buy the console if it doesn't have a drive would actually follow through, maybe at launch but once the console has the game for them we'll see if they cave
the biggest issue rn is that as consumers, we have no guarantee to ownership of the media that we “buy”. even most $70 AAA games don’t have the full game printed on disc. we just get a license that publishers can yank from under us at anytime. I want to protect physical games but ensuring our rights to ownership {physical and digital} is far more important.
Exactly. Physical games are useless if the disk carries just a license key or thereabouts.
Like, can you imagine a Cyberpunk 2077 launch disk without the Internet? LMAO.
This is why I research before I buy. Thankfully its only some AAA games that do this. It’s not the majority thankfully.
@@DavideDavininot all games are just keys. I beat stellar blade without ever once connecting to the internet.
If gaming goes all digital, all my games will be free. I see no value in paying for digital products.
Most people just don't seem to care anymore.
Prior to the 2000's people would push back on corporations. "Customers are always right" was thrown around a lot. Somewhere around the 2010's customers lost the leverage.
A lot of my games are gifts, currently you can’t gift a virtual game and virtual markets take longer to reduce prices
On Xbox you can
You can also buy gift cards to the digital stores in brick and mortar.
I am by no means a religious person yet I am PRAYING for physical media to remain. So much value to all with used games being a great way to try something new or get into a franchise. I’ve had so many great experiences shopping for classics at my local used games store.
The thing to remember is that this is US sales. We all know that these companies are global. What will be a problem is if this data also applies globally.
Anyway, I'm pretty much that we're going to see physical media as well on PS6, but I would think that at launch we're going to see a digital only SKU with a PS6 disc drive add on you can buy separately like on the PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro.
The thing I'm confused about is how he can claim half of ps5s can't play discs, when the pro literally didn't have the option.
Americans think that they are the main character as usual
Dudes, physical media will never die. We still have reel to reel, vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes… someone somewhere will make and sell it.
I just lost my game collection to the La fires dating back to the ps2 days. I will be going full digital as I do not want to recollect all those games again
I've been digital for years and years but I'm currently staying at a friend's house where they have data caps on their internet so I've had two temporarily switch to physical and I'm absolutely blown away by how difficult it is to find physical copies of certain games. I had to go to two different GameStops just to get a copy of Dynasty Warriors because each one only got one physical copy in. Then I went to Target and they don't even sell physical media anymore and Walmart has a paltry selection of games at this point. GameStop as well. Their stuff is mostly all pop figures and other crap they barely even have video games in there anymore!
If console physical dies for me there is no reason for console anymore. I will just go pc all the way. As a pc gamer, I enjoy my ps5 for physical copies and exclusivity.
I couldn't imagine having a digital only ps5 when I was shopping for one. Paid more for the disc drive and haven't actually used it.
Smh 🤦🏾
It will be the same development as with cinema. Big-budget video games will still be released on disk, while small games will only be available digitally. The equivalent of blockbuster movies in theaters and everything else on streaming services.
Its actually going to be the opposite. Are you high?
@16xthedetail76 What I'm saying is already happening. There are many smaller games that are only being released digitally.
In the anime market, blurays (especially of less popular and/or older series) are getting rarer and rarer. While you can find more anime than ever on streaming services, there seems to be less anime available now on disc than 20 years ago during the DVD days.
Something tells me that it's not the convenience of digital games that's affecting the buying habits of consumers, but the calculated move to purposefully limit physical media to limit the sales of physical games by the industry itself is the real problem. Don't get fooled by the lies of these companies telling you that it's somehow the consumer “forcing them” to rethink physical media because “no one’s buying physical discs anymore”. Limiting physical games on purpose to promote digital downloads has been the biggest money-maker they've ever had. Consumers aren't the problem, it's all these companies convincing everyone that it's somehow “all the consumer's fault”. They make more by denying consumers their rights to the products they buy in the long run, and it's been a growing problem for the last few decades. Don't let them get away with it so easily, make sure you fight for every single inch they try to steal from us. It’s the industry doing this and NOT the consumer!
I'm surprised more people don't realize this because that is exactly what is happening.
This is EXACTLY what’s happening. . A lot of these Statistics & Stats Are produced with an agenda behind them. . Companies are Greedy & far too often the Wrong people are put in positions of power.. they want to kill off Physical Media so they can have a Monopoly on the gaming industry. . It’s all Greed & Control
Great reply and I mostly agree, however consumers *are* part of the problem because they keep spending on digital rather than boycotting it and sticking with physical media. Big gaming companies love digital because in a lot of cases, they can keep a huge chunk of profit from a game selling digitally at the same price as physical copies without worrying about pressing discs/carts, packaging, shipping, distribution, monitoring physical sales etc. Even if they put a game on sale/discount, if someone chooses to buy a game at £10 on sale digitally rather than £10 for a used disc where the publisher only sees a return on it once, that's still profit direct to them.
@@Elzilcho87 sounds like a conspiracy theory to me and I don't believe it.
People aren’t buying physical. Cope harder.
They really should change the “purchase” “buy it” button in all digital stores and put “rent” instead cause that’s how it feels like since you don’t own it like a physical copy of any piece of media
They should call it "tie to account", that's what you're doing. It's not rental, but if your account goes, the games go with it. If you keep it in good standing, you should be fine for decades.
PS5 SLIM is sold as a digital and disc version and the pro is sold with no disc drive no surprise half the PS5's sold were sold with no disc drives. Ignoring how many used PS5's with disc drives and how many used games purchased is an incomplete view.
I actually prefer playing games that i downloaded. Ever since i learn how to purchase games from the PSN all the games i have been playing are digital downloads. My physical games are gathering dusk in the shelf.
For me it is the convenience that i can just open the console and play. No need to plug a disc and i can easily change a game that i am playing when it is a digital download game.
I know what you mean, but I like the ritual of opening the case, removing the disc and watch it glide sexily into the console! I've only ever bought digital if there is a massive discount in a sale.
Yes you can easily lose all your games in a sitting too I hope you also appreciate that feature.
When the two hurricanes happened in 2020 and my house was destroyed, that ended my collecting of physical media. I was able to save my stuff but the pain of boxing it all up and moving it to a storage unit. Never again
I will tell you what, if there comes a day, I will not be able to buy and own my games physically, I would just stop buying anymore games and after finishing my backlog probably move on to a new hobby.
I’ll probably either pirate everything or only buy games exclusively on PC and not touch a console again
I've heard this so many times.. no you wouldn't... If you can drop a hobby because of a format change then you weren't invested in the hobby in the first place
@@jjnet123 you would be surprised to see how quickly people lose interest in their hobbies over what might seem like little things.
@sarthakbaghla6274 well I've got all platforms and alot of discs of my own. if I want to preserve games these days I get it on GOG on PC as that's the best way to preserve games
@@jjnet123 That's awesome man! I personally love to own games on discs, that is why I game only on consoles plus I also worry about my account getting deleted or banned and me losing access to all my purchased games while with discs I don't have to worry about that. Else digital is great too but only Digital that's Big no for me! Lol
Of all games I bought in 2024, 80% of them were physical (PS3, PS4, PS5). Other 20% were digital only games. I'll keep buying physical media as long as I can, 'cos I don't believe in digital only future.
@@Djordje_Jovanovic about 95% of the games I buy are physical . Digital purchases are temporary and you can’t sell on, your freedom of choice has been taken away… and as an added kick in the gut, you don’t own the game as I and it can be taken away from you at the flick of a switch.
@@amnril you 2 both made a choice, yet you claim, your choice has been taken away....which is it? Make it make sense.
This shit is happening, these numbers are real, it's not because it's the only option, it's because that's what MOST people want. You still very much have a choice, stop being dramatic
@@AnEyeRacky I’m stating that purchasing digitally takes away your freedom of choice to sell on. Sure, today the choice remains but it’s clear physical will be killed off sooner rather than later which suits the big companies as it means maximum sales and therefore profit for them? No choice for the consumer which to me is not a good thing. Am I being over dramatic? Well maybe to you but to a physical collector like me, no. Hope that makes sense.
@@amnril in that specific scenario, I agree with your claim, you can't sell your digital game to someone else. You are correct. But that isn't the same as taking your choice away to buy digital vs physical, which is what I thought you were claiming, like most people commenting on the video.
It also isn't the platform holders forcing this. Its the consumer. If the vast majority of your consumers don't engage with the more costly version of your product, why in the hell are you continuing to invest more into it?
They are giving the customer what they want, while also saving money themselves, it's a win win. Every company on the planet, including your own (if you owned one that is) would also do the same. Its a no brainer
I never made a digital purchase on PS3 and I only download digital games on console when I can't find the physical copy of the game (which only happened to me once) and when the games are given for free. Otherwise, physical all the way
I don’t own one single digital game besides the ones included in the monthly ps+
Cheaper to buy physical discs and the second hand value 👌🏻
You can't really own digital games anyway
I only own the remaster of Tomb Raider I - III on digital cuz they delayed the physical.. I then bought 2 versions of the physical once announced!!!!
@@1Aquadondamnnn 2 copies 😂 . That’s nice, did you see the announcement for the remaster of 4-6? Can’t wait for that one too (in physical of course) 😊
@@sam_20_ I certainly did.. but I will not purchase a digital copy this time .. i'll wait out the Physical Edition!!!!! but Yes will preorder once its announced for hard copy
They sold more digital consoles because the Pro doesn’t come with one. They should release the numbers for the disc drive add-on.
Oh well if console games go all digital i won’t buy new games anymore. My backlogs will last me a lifetime anyway
There is no Disk driver , how they want us to buy disk when there is No disk drive to use???
Physical sales are going down inorganically - much more limited stock than back in the day and a lot of releases are digital-only.
Thank you!! So tired of people spinning this bs narrative. Plus there hasn’t been near as many games released either!! Like wtf😂😂😂 i think people dont realize how many less games are released now. It’s wild honestly. Also how come Nintendo is still 65-70 percent physical?? They cant blame japan for that because the switch sold massive everywhere
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I literally was the physical king. When PS5 dropped and I seen digital was $100 cheaper I instantly bought one. 4 years later and it’s still the best decision I’ve made. The worst part is I have to wait for sells for some games. Like Undisputed Boxing I refused to buy at full price. So 2 months later it was on sell for $20 bucks less on PSN and I felt that was a fair price and I bought it. Even the MK1 DLC was $60 a few months later and it’s on sell for $20.
Then grow up and don’t buy it. Or just always do what your told
And alot of "physical" copies only come with a code to download the digital copy lol
@@Tampafan33 in regions they are, total, it's ALOT closer to 50/50 or lean higher towards digital.
The thing about physical media is that all the big box stores are getting less and less of it and once a game launches most of the time they only get a few extra copies. For GameStop Canada if you do not pre-order the game you may not get a copy just walking into the store because over the last 2 or 3 years they no longer get extra copies in unless it's a bigger title like GTAVI or Call of Duty...etc. in terms of Xbox and PlayStation. Nintendo on the other hand they'll get more copies in.
does the the stats include detachable disc drive sales? Should know the disc drive was sold for the sole purpose to play physical game on discless consoles.
Non story here. December 2024 shouldn't be considered for how physical vs digital is going on playstation. This implies half of what was sold was digital for december, not the year. We had a Major hardware release in november which resulted in optical drive shortages to the extreme. You can bet the PS5 Pro was being counted among those digital hardware numbers. Until we have an actual count on how many Optical drives are paired with pro's. I'm pointing to the offset leading into the holiday season being directly corelated with that. I say that as someone with two friends still trying to get ahold of drives for their 5 Pro. The rest of the year digital only hardware sales on the playstation remain the same.
We need to be talking about legislation for games availability and account sharing posthumously that's the real issue people have to accept digital is the dominant future so it needs to be about making digital accessible beyond death of companies and consumers even steam doesn't even allow account to change to another person
Finally somebody that gets it..
The problem with comparing physical to digital sales is all the digital-only (or digital only at launch) being factored in. To truly measure the trends, comparisons have to be limited to games that launch simultaneously physical/digital. 2008 peaked cause 2009 was the rise of both simultaneous launches and digital-only games.
All the physical media peole forget is they not making money people have jobs and more and more stroes are closing down its on the people who did all the looting in 2020 . And if someone has limited time they not going to go from store to store looking for a game wasting time . I can push a button on my phone and comes home and my game will be downloading and i get to play it .
Hardcore gamers exist in their own bubble and they don't understand that the majority of owners (who are just casual) prefer the convenience of all digital. And that isn't just for video games. Movies and music have gone even more all digital. The fight for physical media, unfortunately, is a losing battle.
I don't like it. I would much rather own my media on disc. I hate that it is so hard to find films on bluray anymore. I hate that companies (like LG) are starting to halt production on disc drives. But it is what it is. I won't stop playing video games if things go all digital, just like I didn't stop listening to music or watching films. I may, however, consider sticking more to PC where there is less restrictions and better refund policies.
If physical media goes, I'm done with consoles and moving to pc and steam
Can happen to pc and steam too, duh! lol
Steam will go public when Gaben dies and will ruin pc gaming forever 😂
@@FaZeNoble83what he’s saying is that if your gonna be all digital you might as well go to PC
And I'm quiting modern gaming as a whole
Steam has a commitment to give you all your games DRM free if steam ever shutdown, no other company does that & it needs to change if they insist on a digital only future
Physical games will never die
I hope they stay alive like movies dvds
Its only a matter of time. Whether you like it or not, it’s going to happen eventually.
@wadehowlett567 as long as people are buying them, there is no need to be worried
I can see the PS6. Being a digital only console and you need to purchase the disc drive separately
@@justanotherguy972 nope
No physical, no sale.
Every individual has their own reason to buy physical or digital.
I’ll never quite understand when the vast majority of customers know that when they pay for digital they don’t OWN it and it could simply disappear,they still spend hundreds and even thousands on games.
Because a lot of us don't care about that part. Not all people who play games care about the colleting or keeping game forever aspect. For me, I buy the game, play through it once or twice and that's it. If it goes away then so be it because I likely stopped playing it years ago. So I'm 1000% ok with these being long term rentals.
That's their problem, lol. Just because you haven't lost access to your digital library yet, that doesn't inevitably mean that you'll always have access to every digital purchase you made
Simple. Not everyone cares about owning especially something they'll only make use of a couple of times before moving onto something else left to just take up space and collect dust after they get their money's worth.
People who dont know, when you have digital games, you dont own, you only own the licence to play them. Same with Steam games , it's in license agreement too you accept before you buy.
Physical games are kings like always, sad that lots of people dont understand that .
That’s fine. I play a game. Complete it and rarely go back to it. I don’t like hoarding shite so a box with all my games on it fine.
I understand but also don't have a choice or the room to store hundreds of discs.
@@JonJonJonJonJonJonJonJon so your fine with loosing things you paid for?
@@MichaelJohnsonAzgard you can sell all of these games. just saying
Technically, physical games are licenses also.
It gets even worse when games are broken at launch (will stay broken after servers goes down) and most games are not even on the disc itself, you would have to download the game (can't play those games when servers goes down either).
I am trying to say is that when you buy a game after the store or servers goes down, then all you have left is either a broken or unplayable game.
I will never support the possible future of owning nothing. If the PS6 has no possibility of physical media then I will never buy a console again. If everyone who loves physical media spoke with their wallets then a difference would truly be made.
Time to buy some physical games fam
I'll put it simply. I don't want to "rent" my games.. Make some god damn systems to solve my ownership or I'll stop spending my money.
Once physical games die you might as well just play the game on PC. It takes away the main point of having a console
Console is cheaper.
@@krissv2386 not steam deck
I think more than likely, PS6 will not launch with a disk drive. Maybe be able to use the external drive so you can play PS5 games with backwards compatibility. PS6 exclusives will be digital only, in my opinions.
I expect PS6 will be sold as digital & detachable disc drive sold separately.
There needs to be a massive protest on this
FACTZ
I have a launch PS5, a PS5 Slim, and a PS5 Pro. They all have disc drives. If we lose physical media, it's because of all of you, I'm doing my part.
None of my friends I know who owns a PS5 owns a digital version. Even the one who bought the digital only edition bought a drive. Is the overall chart based on statistics in the West or worldwide? Because new game stores selling physical copies are still popping up in my country. I believe why the sales are down may also be caused by the lack of quality AAA games or games that connect with the players. A lot of big games have failed their sales expectation from Dragon Age Veilguard, Star Wars Outlaws, Concord, SS: Kill the Justice League, etc.
Exactly same here
Aren’t most game buyers not hardcore hardcore meaning they just play cod, Fortnite or sport games? So it makes sense to just get the cheaper digital version and just buy the game on the store.
Also with being able to add the disc drive I would also get the digital version because I’m not hardcore like that so only use Plus. If I actually wanted to use a disc i would get the disc drive separately
I’ve noticed on a consistent basis that the numbers were given do not account for US buyers buying physical media from other regions, and I do believe that that includes Canada, which has some prominent retailers that games are being sold from at this point to North American US buyers. Personally, I think that the overture of this argument is greatly inflated because of the fact that we don’t have more data than what we’ve been given by people like Matt Piscitella.
Comparing current day, physical media sales to what it was at its peak is of course going to look very different and I think that’s a rather rash comparison since really in 2025 that’s not relevant nor is the rewritable media being discontinued relevant to actual game sales by Sony.
Game sales from other regions of the world are not being incorporated into this argument, and those comprise a significant amount of physical game sales as well for Sony. I don’t personally believe there’s any real concern that they’re going to remove the ability to play discs on the next console they make
That has almost no impact on these numbers bud. Its WAAAAAY to drastic of a split.
This is happening. Its real. There isn't some mass amount of physical numbers being swept under the rug haha
@ lol you can always trust a dude called “aneyeracky” to give you the real info.
@@MiamiSunrise Ryan gave you the info, not me. Racist
Customers letting manufacturers and publishers take away physical media is infuriating. We keep trading our rights for "convenience" sake then bitching later on when we get fucked over by digital.
Save the Physical Media!
A bit of a conspiracy theory here but… Maybe Sony are purposely limiting production/supply of the disc drive attachment but also selling the new PS5/PS5 Pro console stating that they can get the attachment separately. After not being able to easily buy the disc drive attachment, in the end people will give in and start to build up a library of digital games as they’ll want to use their new machine that they just picked up. Maybe they’re selling people a product with the promise of being able to use discs but limiting that factor to the manufacturing rates. They can then control how many consoles they want to remain digital by not allowing people to buy the DD.
out of interest how many people who want to use Optical media on PS5 also use Video Streaming services, be fascinating to know the crossover on that
Probably most people, because a lot of content is only on streaming and not on physical media. However, most people who like physical media for games also probably like physical media for books, movies, etc. I have Netflix like everyone does, but I buy Blu-ray and physical books all the time too.
As someone who works in a department that sells game consoles (as well as other things with a variety of prices) I can tell you that most people will choose the cheaper option
@@PuNkMaN1987 Do you inform them that the disc drive edition will recoup its price after just two or three games because of the price difference of disc vs digital games? Hogwarts Legacy for instance was $80 forever and on disc it was at least $30 cheaper.
No physical no buy!!!
But they take up room in your house
@DerrickFinzer I don't live in a matchbox
Theres no point in buying consoles if they completely take away disc drives.
Once they do that they have handed the market to PC and when it comes to digital gaming they have there shit together. Also the hand held Steamdeck is well known. I wonder how many people know there working on a home console. ?
1st thing i did was buy my disc drive while waiting for the Pro to release. Physical media forever!!!😢😢
And how much did you pay? 🤔
I'm in the weird position of totally understanding the concern of others about physical media going away and at the same time not giving a flying eff myself. I look at the four boxes full of old games and movies that are currently sitting in the living room of my new flat and all I see is useless clutter that I can't even give away because nobody wants it.
One of the problems I see with the decrease in physical media game sales is that you can't find them in stores unless they're the high profile games. I go to a retro video game store in my area and there are so many times I find games I never new existed. Mind you these are USED games, so I'm guessing there are a lot more out there I've never seen. I would imagine if I was a very hard core collector I would use the internet to find the latest releases but let's get real, most consumers are not doing this. That itself cuts down impulse buys and contributes to the decline of sales. Another minor issue that I personally have is the policies of GameStop. They sell open games as "NEW" by just resealing it with a sticker. They say that it's because it's the new display box ( that they take the game out ) and if they have extra in their supplies then they sell the consumer the new "sealed" one. Unfortunately they never have extra copies! 9 out of 10 times the display box is the only one they have left. So if your an actual collector this would be a no go. Worse yet if you do buy it your basically purchasing an open game for the brand new price. Another addition to why physical games are not selling as much as they use to.
That's why you always have to do your research and shop around. Whenever I want to buy a game but it's not available on the most popular retailer, I search around stores and usually I find them
That's a weird policy by Gamestop if what you said is true. Here where I live, there is no Gamestop and the stores that sell games always have them brand new factory sealed. You have to dig deep to find used games in a store in my country
@ what you say is true but I'm speaking about the casual gamer or even people who are buying games as gifts but have to clue. Basically people who are not doing their research. And trust me on the GameStop policy- it's very true and very stupid. The circle sticker they use to seal it up is actually so hard to peal off it's comical! On those rare occasions when I do buy I game from them like this I tell them to not put that stupid sticker on it.
And that right there is why I don't shop at GameStop unless I have to.
The disk drives are always sold out…
Cool. This will be my last generation then. I got 20 years of backlog to catch up on. New games just don’t have heart like the old games did.
Consumers choose the format. I own a PS5 Pro, bought the drive. I always buy physical games, I even bought the BG3 physical edition because I wanted that hard copy. I suspect the next generation will be all digital with a separate drive that can be added. There will be no option for a straight disk version. Is it sad? Yes IMO but the consumer makes these decisions. Same situation happened with Record stores, they moved to CDs and when MP3 came about consumers of music want to go back to physical media and now Records and CDs have become hot commodities. You can’t fight what people consume media on. Very few people own Record Players or CD players anymore. I just wish that companies releasing physical media would provide the digital format . Figure out a way to link the two without having the disk as a key!
The day physical disks die is the day I will become a PC player. The only reason I have a PS5 is for physical games, as soon as that disappears I’m gone.
Same.
The day physical games die is the day I quit modern gaming as a whole
It's the same situation as with money. Why does someone see a problem in the existence of one or the other, which allows for a choice? It all comes down to full digitalization, which takes away such a possibility completely.
Interesting how gamers will fight tooth and nail for physical games but not physical currency to pay for said games with.
You know why disc games are not selling because everything is getting expensive so you have to choose keep a roof over your head pay for streaming services and cable and food
You’re exactly right. Gaming is luxury spending and people have less and less disposable income for these things in the current economic climate.
Digital games on the PS Store are almost always more expensive than the physical ones
Many people like the convenience of digital. Gen Z and younger people probably don't want to deal with discs.