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"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.
Push back but won't boycott. Tread on me harder daddy.
This is the song of the world, a ton of angry voices but then the vast majority of them still buy (in both meanings) the thing. People want to be mad but never inconvenienced. They'll spend so many hours being angry both internally and externally but then still use their vote, be it a political or wallet one, for that specific thing they're angry about. "I'm mad this costs so much, that it's so bad, that it doesn't align with my views but there's no way in hell I'll miss out on it".
Fucking cowards.
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.
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 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.
edit: today I found the List of DRM-free games that has many games that DRM free from many PC platforms (1867 games in Steam and 604 in Epic). Meaning that you can launch an installed game directly from the .exe and even make a zip the installed game as backup.
PC gaming all digital is ok because it’s not a closed ecosystem
This is the crux of the issue. I have a few games in my library that have been de-listed from the store but my access to those games is unaffected and I can still install and play them, and it's a problem that Sony's approach isn't analogous to this.
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.
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.
My backlog is big enough and I'm old enough that I don't see a need to buy a new game for a long time.
Fight the establishment by getting kids addicted to old games.
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.
Why is it ok for PC to be all digital? I don't remember the last time I've even seen a physical version of a PC game. Everything is through steam, While console it's not ok? I can't remember the last time I purchased a disc version for xbox.
Like I used to have the physical versions of Deadpool and both marvel ultimate alliances but I lost the discs in a move I wish I could purchase them digitally again but that's about the only downside I've encountered with digital only is some license rights gets a revoked
I've been thinking about this since the announcement from Sony. I see alot of friends complaining when I fully know they have massive steam libraries and no optical drives.
And I think it comes down too we have Steam. Steam is run by Valve a non public company with no shareholders. And Valve not only says but does. They keep things open and accessible. Game removed from Steam, that's file you can still download it and play. Things like GoG where you can get an offline installer. And we can pirate probably fits in There some where
But console you only have the maker and not a single one can be trusted. Sony removed movies and TV shows a couple times at this point.
And if you try to modify your console, they'll fuck your shit up.
PC hardware is not vendor controlled. They can't delete your game because sales of the sequel are low or a license agreement ran out. Buying is owning on a pc where the game can be backed up, reinstalled on new machine etc. without any need for the agreement or permission of the publisher. You bought it. Can't do any of that on console. Cant back up to your own systems, cant copy and if the console vendor decides to withdraw it from your library and delete from your device, you cant stop them (short of never connecting the device to the internet again) Historically console physical media has had a good second hand market, no such thing without physical media.
You'll hand your money over, own nothing and have no recourse.
A few things.
One is that steam frequently has actually cheap games more readily than the console digital stores.
Another is that if I'm buying a digital entitlement anyway, I'll go with the ecosystem with the greatest track record for long term compatibility. A game purchased 20 years ago on steam is still generally playable in brand new system. A PlayStation game purchased then is not playable on a new Sony system. It is in fact only playable on PC through emulation, so PCs have been covering for console incompatibly.
Once upon a time, consoles brought some unique values. Easy to plug into TVs, consistent gamepad experience, and just turn on and play.
Nowadays PC operating systems and console operating systems act the same, tv output is just HDMI, gaming controllers are well supported on PCs... The last reason to bother with the console gaming was the physical media. So while sure, they can go digital only, but then why bother with a console at all? They've already lost every other advantage.
I'd be more fine with it if it translated to lower prices for the consumer but I have doubts the shareholders will allow for even the tiniest hit to their profit margins.
I’m not sure there’s a great argument for why it’s different that’s not just vibes but the case for owning a console is getting smaller.
A console is basically a single purpose computer. The reasons to own one are that they’re cheaper, plug and play, you can buy and trade physical games, and the exclusive games. Seems like they’re converging towards PCs to the point that the only real benefit next gen will be ease of use and exclusives. And both of those reasons are fragile. Steam has pretty much solved the barriers to getting games running.
Nintendo figured out how to sell consoles based on exclusives but I don’t know that Sony will be able to make the transition. Third party developers will just go elsewhere if Sony can’t sell the hardware. As a child of the 80s/90s, I like the excitement around consoles. The hardware is cool, having a shelf of games is fun, I like going to GameStop and trading in old games and finding weird used games to buy. But the kids now don’t have that nostalgia. They have a Nintendo Switch and a gaming PC.
Maybe I don’t understand the vision but it seems like Xbox tried the whole “it’s just a computer! Play on your computer too!” and people said “good idea, I don’t even need an Xbox.” I need a computer to do computer things but I don’t really need a second computer that doesn’t do computer things besides games. Maybe I’d consider if I could install Linux on the PlayStation 6.
But I think a lot of the backlash is from people who like to buy consoles and remember how fun it was to own an N64 or PS1. Are consoles fun anymore? It feels like they get a bit worse every generation. Maybe the master plan is to ruin the business so they get out of making the PS 9 with the butterflies that fly in your ear, if anyone remembers those commercials.
The arguments are all over the place but in quick. You can't resell digital games. Also PC is an open platform, Xbox and Playstation are not. Steam might feel like a monopoly but they have to keep in mind the competitors like Epic and can't rip you off too much.
They aren't closed ecosystems to the extent that consoles are. PC gaming isn't just Steam, and you're generally free to do what you'd like with the files once they're on your computer.
You can chase sales, modify and fix games, play online without a subscription, use your preferred controller, buy DRM free (or bypass DRM if you so choose), share and revive old games, etc.
I doubt I've covered everything, and (respectfully) I'm genuinely surprised that so many people still ask this question.
Bad take. They'll give you an install disc and then make you enter an account locked code to access it anyway.
Demand digital rights instead, before a big player goes bust. Because at some point that will happen, and you'll lose more than a handful of discs.
::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.
DRM is the issue not physical. No drm means I can just keep replicating my product when physical fails
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?
Isn't it easier to turn it on and simply select the thing you want to play?
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.
Console gamers should just try to bully these companies into apologizing and pulling back
I have sold my PS4 after what I felt an unjust price hike for PSN and built a pc, didn't buy a console since
Actions speak louder than words. And money screams. 71% absolutely do not buy physical media.
Legislation should force all digital marketplaces to allow selling and gifting purchased media without a middleman taking a cut.
Lol ask this same question on Tiktok and Instagram it'll probably swing 71% the other way
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.
They knew before they started, either people took it lying down (unlikely) or there was backlash and reversal... Followed by announcement that disc version of next console is now $500 more expensive than digital, and physical discs will be produced, just at 1/10th the volume and doubled the cost of current.
Yup. It’s always by design. Corporate bullshit has been playing the long game.