twilo99
Member
It’s already ded
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Microsoft also shut down departments dedicated to bringing Xbox games to physical retail
- Thread starter HeisenbergFX4
- Start date
It’s already ded
Papa_Wisdom
Member
I can never justify spending full price on digital releases I like to have something physical then buy a digital version when there sub £20. If the next Xbox is digital only with no option of a disk drive I’ll be all in on pc.
Nydius
Member
Sorry to be that guy but: It never was.
Copyright infringement is a completely different legal classification and is only a civil penalty unless you reach a crazy high threshold to elevate it to criminal charges. But that's usually cases where people are making thousands of illegal copies and then selling them for a profit without permission.
I hate when people conflate copyright infringement and criminal law. A minor pet peeve born from years of having to do software copyright compliance audits.
ReBurn
Gold Member
I could see them killing off brick and mortar sales and going with their online store, their eBay store and Amazon. May not be the smartest move but someone has to go first so it might as well be them.
Wizz-Art
Member
Kinda makes sense since the vast majority of Xbox gamers aren't buying physical anyway.
Hell, I haven't bought a new physical game on Xbox since GTA5 released on the 360.
Nearly all my Xbox purchases are digital since the digital storefront opened on the 360 back in the day.
On PS it's roughly 80-20 in favor of digital and on Switch it's 5-95 in favor of physical because of the low storage the system has and their games hold a lot of resale value so I buy all the games physical there and it's the complete game on an sd card instead of a disc with the bare minimum.
I buy my movies mostly physical though because there is no alternative for the same quality otherwise without spending big on a Kaleidescape system. Games are completely the same digital, no difference in quality so I don't mind.
Hell, I haven't bought a new physical game on Xbox since GTA5 released on the 360.
Nearly all my Xbox purchases are digital since the digital storefront opened on the 360 back in the day.
On PS it's roughly 80-20 in favor of digital and on Switch it's 5-95 in favor of physical because of the low storage the system has and their games hold a lot of resale value so I buy all the games physical there and it's the complete game on an sd card instead of a disc with the bare minimum.
I buy my movies mostly physical though because there is no alternative for the same quality otherwise without spending big on a Kaleidescape system. Games are completely the same digital, no difference in quality so I don't mind.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
Adorably Digital.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
Well it's coming for everyone. Just look at that new detachable disc drive on the PS5 and tell me Sony wont make a play for +30% on all software sales. We'll see. Wal Mart stopped carrying blu ray movies too.
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cireza
Member
Obviously, you only get codes on the discs, they are actually empty. Everybody knows this !Nobody needs physical games.
LordCBH
Member
Exactly how I feel. I really REALLY like my Series X despite microsofts awful output over the past few years, but digital only will be a dealbreaker for me.
bitbydeath
Member
Not that one, but this one.:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24934027/xbox_series_x_brooklin.jpg)
Edit:
HeisenbergFX4
this reads differently after hearing about MS outsourcing the hardware.
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ChorizoPicozo
Member
jm89
Member
SonyToo™
Mr.Phoenix
Member
Notice how its shaped like a disc? They did it that way to make up for all the discs you will never be able to buy.
Probably because they get substantially less money from a physical release than digital.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
I don't care if you guys stick with Sony. I'm trying to tell you what is happening in the world around you. You can keep buying whatever you like. I don't care. I started on a Series S with Xbox this gen so it's been all digital this whole time.
ManaByte
Member
People pretending the next generation won’t be all digital like PC has been for 15 years are living in the land of make believe.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
I'm a physical gamer through and through, but not 100% probably like most. Having said that, I'm 99% digital on Xbox already.
Topher
Identifies as young
Yeah, if anyone is going to be first, it will be Xbox. There will be a mindshare impact for those who shop and only see PlayStation on store shelves, but if sales are down to the point where games are no longer feasible for retail then a more limited approach to selling consoles makes sense. Also, it really isn't in the interest of retail stores to sell consoles at low margins without repeat traffic for game sales.
lefty1117
Gold Member
i came here to post that
Topher
Identifies as young
Maybe, maybe not. People said the same thing last gen.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
It isn't in the interest of Gamestop, but it won't matter at all to Wal Mart, Target, everyone else. They sell Quest, Roku, TVs, toasters. Every electronic device in the entire store is not designed for repeat game sales except like 2 devices. It wont matter.
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FullMetalx117
Member
Honestly haven't bought a physical Xbox game since gamepass, I just don't value those anymore. I still buy my nostalgic favorites like halo for the collection.
My first ever collector's edition I bought was the Halo 3 Legendary edition. At $129.99 which was insane at the time but absolutely had to have it.
Sad day and end of an era. Fuck Phil Spencer and Microsoft
My first ever collector's edition I bought was the Halo 3 Legendary edition. At $129.99 which was insane at the time but absolutely had to have it.
Sad day and end of an era. Fuck Phil Spencer and Microsoft
GHG
Gold Member
Wouldn't it be better if people had the choice at least?
TransTrender
Gold Member
The biggest difference for me, is on PC, prices drop hilariously fast on Steam. Not even key resellers. Most any game I want will be $15 or less around one year after launch, and many hit $5 no long after that.
I don't ever, EVER see those types of price drops on Console Digital games.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
nani17
are in a big trouble
But but Microsoft is amazing game pass is brilliant.
Meanwhile Ubisoft get used to not only your games: ubisoft are so evil.
I put a comment here a few years back Stating that I believe by 2028 cloud gaming will become the norm just like Netflix it looks like we're slowly moving towards it
Meanwhile Ubisoft get used to not only your games: ubisoft are so evil.
I put a comment here a few years back Stating that I believe by 2028 cloud gaming will become the norm just like Netflix it looks like we're slowly moving towards it
Killjoy-NL
Member
You ignore the fact that the vast majority of PS5 sales are Disc Edition, not the €100 cheaper Digital Edition.
They also released a detachable disc drive for the latter.
Audiophile
Gold Member
If MS go full on digital and even further, no longer make dedicated local consoles in the next gen. I can see a good chunk of the core userbase just migrating straight to PlayStation. If you don't wanna blow a load of cash on a PC at one end and don't wanna play on cloud at the other, then unless you're content with old-gen hardware your only option would be PlayStation.
bitbydeath
Member
The future isn’t digital for MS, they’re switching to streaming.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Within the next 18 months, I think Xbox won't be seen in physical retail as a hardware brand.
But again, none of this is surprising when you've seen the sales out of Europe and Asia and the fact that despite massive cuts, they were unable to really gain any traction in December in the US.
People are deluding themselves into thinking that Xbox is going to stick around. It isn't. The biggest difference between Xbox and Dreamcast is that Microsoft has produced likely millions of Xbox units and make so much money on digital software that they don't want to give it up just yet.
They will limp into 3rd party support.
Werewolf Jones
Member
If gaming goes all digital then I'm going backward and full Boomer.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
Personally, I think they'll have a digital Series style console and a much cheaper Keystone option. But who knows. We'll see.
I'm surprised anyone on Xbox is invested in physical between Series S, Gamepass, Cloud and Quick Resume. All of that relies on digital.
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rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Because you can resell physical console games. PC games are tied to "cd keys", so you can't resell.
GHG
Gold Member
The plethora of 3rd party key sites are a big reason why prices drop so quickly on PC (predominantly for keys that redeem on Steam). The whole ecosystem essentially mirrors what you'd tend to see for physical media when retailers have excess inventory and need to compete in order to clear stock.
That's why, overall, game prices on PC are far lower than they are on console. As things currently stand, that's not happening on consoles, a huge systematic overhaul would be required in order for people to benefit on those platforms in the same way that people currently do on PC.
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Topher
Identifies as young
It matters if those other products have margins making it worth selling at retail. Otherwise they would only sell direct, like Valve and Steam Deck.
ManaByte
Member
That didn’t answer his question why people are fine with amassing a giant Steam library on PC where it’s 100% digital.
Wizz-Art
Member
Seriously? I bought the new Like a Dragon almost half off from Kinguin for Xbox and PC.
At least with Xbox you can get games digitally for cheap through the key selling stores.
Killjoy-NL
Member
Different demographics.
I play on steam, Xbox and PS. Whenever I buy a game I go where it’s the cheapest usually. And in my findings they are all extremely similar. Maybe steam used to be that way?
But with your point you think it’s more of a value problem than actually having physical copies?
Gamer_By_Proxy
Member
MS trying to force digital only. Just like paying to play online. Just like renting your games. Just like charging for fomo real release dates.
What a wonderful company!!! They do so much for gaming!!!
What a wonderful company!!! They do so much for gaming!!!
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
I'm sure they will figure it out. They can lose a little more on consoles if they make more on digital software. Quest is doing it, and it's cheaper than PSVR2.
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