"Gamers push back." Just like they pushed back against $70 and $80 games by lining up around the block to buy a Switch 2 so they could buy $70 and $80 games to play on it. Like Rockstar will make a mint selling $100 copies of GTA6.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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Yeah if they aren't ready we would see GTA 6 flop hard. Personally I'm not getting it until pc release, and even then we'll see if I have to buy on their shitty launcher.
Actions speak louder than words. And money screams. 71% absolutely do not buy physical media.
::eyeroll:: 71% percent of people we asked an obvious leading question, but mostly already buy their games online and will mindlessly buy all their yearly copies of FIFA, Maden, and CoD regardless.
I mean, I hate Sony and this BS too, but the stink over this "change" is complaining about a horse that left the stable years ago.
Yeah, I can't think of the last time I bought a physical copy of a game. Hell, I haven't had a PC in over a decade that could load a physical CD/DVD any longer.
This is why we have governments and regulations. The current situation is one for consumer protections to step in. There needs to be a legal way to "burn" any game onto a physical media for archiving, preservation and transfer purposes. This needs to be written into law and enforced.
The whole point of a console is ease, I pop in the disk, I play. If you take away that ease, it becomes just a locked down PC… why would you want that when you could just have a full PC?
I don't want to make digital seem better, but for this argument it is... you don't even need the disc, you just turn on the console and select the game. All from the comfort of your sofa. Hell, you don't even need to go to a store or wait for a delivery in the first place, all those bytes just come to you.
I think something to realize here is that A.) The above is why the majority of people just use digital at this point, and B.) Inserting a brand new game disc into your console still requires downloads, installing and often being online to do so anyway. Modern games rarely even fit on one disc, so the disc is less useful that it was in the XBox OG and PS1 days. It's more like what Nintendo is doing with the Game Key Carts.
I think the point us more tied to the eol for the ps3 when everyone lost all their digital content, whereas the same player on pc would still have all their titles playable on steam or gog.
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Isn't it easier to turn it on and simply select the thing you want to play?
Yes. This is mixing up console advantages. The "game just works" one will still exist - in fact, it will pretty much be the only advantage left. Not worth the much higher cost of games and playing online.
Even at $100, it's still cheaper than games of yesteryear. If you take an average PS1 game, most sold for $50 in 1996, so $110 today. Games themselves are cheaper than ever, and consoles still have major advantages of just hooking it into a TV, and it simply works.
That whole "adjusted for inflation" thing is BS because the average wages haven't kept up.
consoles still have major advantages of just hooking it into a TV, and it simply works.
That's part of the "game just works" thing. It's not worth the higher cost of games and playing online to me, but you do usually have to have some tech-savvy to use a PC that way.
Depends on how you take it, but wage growth has matched for core services and grown. Now if you are talking about education or housing costs, then no, they have went beyond wage growth. But electronics and energy? Wages have outpaces their costs and inflation quite a lot.
Okay, general cost of living, then. How much the average person can afford to buy has not kept up.
Umm, I mean you just turn on your console and play the game. Even easier than popping in a CD/DVD and zero worries about scratching and having to rebuy the thing.
Because a console will still be plug in and play.
If we're going to transition to digital only, a couple things need to happen.
When we purchase a game, we own it. This is not a long term rental.
If we want to sell it or trade it, we can.
The Corps called they said no and fuck you.
i don't think it matters though tbh. they will go ahead with the plan anyway.
The only thing that would make them consider changing course is if a significant portion of gamers refused to buy games unless they come in a physical format. Sony knows that'll never happen. People will complain to their heart's content and then happily plonk down $80 for the next big digital only game release. Capitalism largely works the way it does because people don't want to go without.
Which is gta. And yes, they will waste our time bitching about this and buy it anyways.
yeah i agree.
Steam on pc shows that gamers can be okay with not having physical media - as long as they trust the vendor that the thing they pay for actually means a persistent access to the game.
Unfortunately this move also gives much more power to the vendor. Once he decides to withdraw access to the player, the ownership of the paid-for thing becomes useless (until a lawsuit were to be filed and won).
Physical media without mandatory internet servers (like in pre-internet consoles) means true ownership - after buying a game, the vendor has no longer any control.
The key point to me is not directly the difference between physical disk or cloud download, but between truly offline versus online-required games (or goods in general).
PC gamers accepted the inability to sell and loan games and to have extensive DRM on a large number of games. The console players are the last holds against this anti consumer practice. Just because PCs has multiple stores it doesn't change the fact Steam is a near monopoly and while its relatively consumer friendly we still don't own games on it, they can not be passed to others in any way legally. People have a weird love for Steam but the basic facts are the same, it uses DRM, you can't sell or loan games and you have a licence and don't own them, you can't pass them to someone else in a will. Steam is pretty anti consumer on the big items here compared to disks on the consoles.
PC gamers haven't pushed back as hard because the basic facts are NOT the same. The ecosystem is entirely different. I'm not interested in defending Steam or its use of DRM, but the fact that something is illegal doesn't mean it can't happen. Piracy is one of the big reasons PC gamers aren't nearly as affected by the lack of physical media being sold: you just make it yourself. I've even pirated games I already own just because it's the easiest way to have an unmodded install alongside a heavily modded one.
But the lack of options for console gamers doesn't stop there. Not only are the hardware and software environments completely locked down, but demographically, a much greater number of console buyers are going to be those with bad or no internet. They can't just download whatever from wherever. If they lose the discs, they may lose access entirely.
Folks like me love Steam because I have a huge backlog, and don't care if I play the latest thing as soon as it comes out. Combine that with their sales every few months let me pick up older games at a steep discount, without having to deal with a Gamestop.
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In practice doesnt everything basically get leaked/mass disseminated anyway regardless of the vendor/developers anti-consumer shit or best legal efforts/public meddling?
PC gaming all digital is ok because it's not a closed ecosystem. I can install whatever platform I want, and buy games. And there are huge sales.
Also there are drm free shops like gog, a huge community with emulators, mods, and in the need pirated copies of the games I bought.
Trust is one thing, but monopolized market is another.
Leave PCs out of this console nonsense. On PC you can write whatever you want to whatever media you want by yourself, without kissing some Nintendo-Sony ass.
The VAST majority of gamers don't identify as "gamers". They don't read gaming media, they don't engage in online discourse about video games, and they don't give two shits about any of this sensationalist nothing burger fear mongering.
If YOU are a "concerned gamer"; physical media is dead. Acknowledge that you are an INFINITESIMALLY MINISCULE minority and get over it, or find a new hobby.
A couple thousand chronically online whiners don't get to decide the future of the industry.
It's important to remember, there's no point in fighting against a worse future. Especially if you are in the minority, since you'll lose anyway. Resign yourself to things getting objectively worse because nobody likes a whiner.
I’m fine with digital for convenience. I just don’t want physical to disappear. Having both options is better for everyone.
I would be fine with digital only, but only if there was no DRM.
And alternative stores with alternative servers so I don't have to buy a subscription for online capabilities and the ability to install whatever software I want... I guess a PC will do just fine.
Huh their own survey doesnt even say people are not ready to let physical games die. It just says that 71% of people say they miss physical games but doesnt suggest any intention to buy physical games. There has been no time to miss physical games so the only reason you'd say that is if you werent buying them when they were available.
Actually kill me, this must hell. An entire subreddit dedicated to windows updates and xbox updates. I cannot think of anything more depressing. These people have had a rough decade https://www.reddit.com/r/windowscentral/
Actually revive me, most of the comments are people saying they've switched to linux and only use windows because they're forced to for work. Sanity restored.
People voting with their wallet will decide how this ends.
They will like PC gamers swallow all the DRM and digital downloads as we see everytime there is complaints about Denovo or the latest game has been withdrawn on Steam gamers keep going back and buying more. It will end the same way on Playstation.
I'm not aware of Steam ever having removed a purchased game from a library.
If you have a reliable source that says otherwise please link it.
Technically they could do that of course.
But it would be bad for their business and have people do more business with gog.com.
Steam gets chosen over gog.com for convenience.
If purchased games disappear that will be even more inconvenient.
edit: I mean "Steam ever having removed a purchased game from a library" in the sense of for no good reason.
Following legal requirements or being dependent on external resources (e.g. game servers) outside the responsibility of Steam are different things and I wouldn't blame Steam for it.
There's a reason for the trust people have in Steam.
And there are plenty of reasons for not having trust in Sony.
external resources (e.g. game servers) outside the responsibility of Steam are different things and I wouldn't blame Steam for it.
What if the publisher decides they no longer want it to be available? Is that a "good reason"? It's outside the responsibility and control of Steam.
It's certainly a ways away but Gaben won't live forever. I'm assuming there's a clear succession plan in place and hopefully that everyone lined up are on roughly the same wavelength but... well, there're no guarantees.
Reselling isn't a thing with any PC game store I know. Which is the only drawback for me. Is it possible to sell my old PS game discs or are they attached to my PS account?
You can sell your old PS* discs. There's a few used stores around here. That said, you probably won't get tons for them, but it's worth a look, I try to buy used games if the new ones hold their value too long.
When I got my PS5, I picked up like 5 PS4 titles I always wanted but went from 3 to 5. Got 5 pretty popular triple A games for like $30-40 at the time when it would have been like $100+ for them all new.
Discs are not attached to any account.
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