The decline:
1: Games come in physical cartridges/discs in boxes in a store, included will be a user manual and sometimes special booklets with world maps or posters. Special editions come in fancy or metal cases, special colour variants, figurines and other trinkets. Expansion packs are released that add between 80-150% the amount of content as the origional game.

2: Special editions start coming with lower quality physical items and less often. Expansion packs start getting replaced by DLC packs, which are usually good value for money and add meaningful content to the game.

3: Games start shipping with less content and less testing as DLC's become more about bug fixes and adding content origionally planned as main release content.

4: Special editions consist basically just of a couple unique character skins or weapons whith no real lasting perks. DLC starts becoming rediculously expensive and underwhelming as shitty value for money.
Loot boxes and similar mechanics start preying on gamers with the same underwhelming content.

5: Games can be bought physically, but you install on a console/PC and it gets locked to your account, no sharing the disc with friends.

6: Multiplayer is moved to almost exclusively online only with no couch co-op for the vast majority of games. Online multiplayer only accessible with platform exclusive access subscription.

7: Games are sold as digital download only.

8: Games are downloaded but only sold as a subscription access.

9: Games are subscription only, but the game runs on their server and you just get the display stream feed + all inputs go back to the server to control the game.

10: You dont play games, you watch AI models play against each other whilst wearing VR headset, you dont enjoy it much but at least with the VR headset on you cant see the destruction outside your bunker since the climate change food riots.
Hope is on the horizon, apparently an indie dev is releasing a new version of tetris you will be able to play by actually pressing buttons yourself, 2035 is starting to look better after all.

Good. Boycott until a physical copy is sold at a lower price. Stop pre-ordering incomplete games and vote with your wallet.

The lack of a disc version is ridiculous.

But not as ridiculous as the lack of online multiplayer at launch. I'm ancient enough to remember the GTA V release. The pre-release trailer specifically said, "Complete heists with your friends!" or something very close to that. Then the game launched and you couldnt do anything with your friends. Once online was finally added, it was broken for a month or two. And heists weren't added for 2 years.

Maybe I'll buy GTA VI in 2 years, because $80 for a single-player-only game without a disc is 100% not happening for me.

Also, for extra GTA-doomer content, I still expect them to put online mode's in-game currency on their own blockchain to prevent exploits, better enabling their bullshit monetization schemes.

Buying only a download code is essentially a gift card.

"Security measure to not leak the game"

Entirely BS. How has the entire games industry existed before then?

Can we also talk about how they're locking full on content behind the ultimate edition? Not just some cosmetics, but the actual shops you'd go to in game to customize your character. In a single player game. That's fucked.

It's enough that I'm not getting the game. I can wait for PC and we'll see if they release it as a full game rather tham carve it up. This is just an excuse not to have a $100 base price so they avoid that backlash while they effectively have it for the full game.

Remember when you bought a game and it was yours?

Remember when you unlocked things in game through completion and achievement?

Remember when you bought a game you got the whole game, not 70% and access to a storefront?

Fuck AAA gaming man. I feel sorry for the devs and artists who work so hard on a game only for executives to slice it up and smear the goodwill the game had by attempting to be predatory and parasitic capitalists.

Fuck the billionaires.

Most sales are already digital I don't like what they are doing but this will not affect them at all.

[for consoles] if it doesn't have a disc, i won't pay more than $5 for it.

unless it's stardew. then i'll buy it for every system.

Retailers should know that selling this is a poison pill. If no disc launches become the norm, then retailers will no longer serve a purpose in the industry.

They've been trying to kill the second hand market for decades and this release is the biggest threat to it yet.

Sorry, I don't see an issue here. Everyone is perfectly happy giving Steam loads of money for games they'll never physically own, but when it comes to consoles, suddenly we're supposed to make a stand?

No. The overwhelming majority of game sales are digital downloads.

If you think having a disc somehow solves this, try playing Gran Turismo on the PlayStation 4. Sure, you get a disc, but you still have to sit through roughly six hours of downloads and installation before the game is actually playable.

The lack of a disc isn't the issue.

This is a tough one because on one hand I'm old school I like to own physical things. Going to the music store and looking at, and then buying, CDs was my favorite. I like my CD and BluRay collection

On the other hand, it's a waste of money and material to make a physical copy of something you can sell digitally. Plus you got to package it, ship it, etc...

It's better for the environment if we don't make physical products