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[LordOcidax]

In a hypothetical and possible future where physical format cease to exist… what you prefer?

 

[Topher]

At least I can resell key cards. Or I should say, key cards as long as I can still resell them. Otherwise, there is little point

 

[ReBurn]

I'll probably just buy digital if I don't get the full game on the cart. I don't want the hassle since I'm too lazy to sell games.

 

[RoboFu]

Been digital only for years now and I love it.

 

[LordOcidax]

At least I can resell key cards. Or I should say, key cards as long as I can still resell them. Otherwise, there is little point

This is a great feature of key cards, that you can resell digital games… Others companies should make their own solution.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

If they give me those options... I'll pirate them and screw it.

 

[adamsapple]

For a point of convenience for myself, key cards probably cause they can be sold / traded / rented, at least.

 

[Topher]

This is a great feature of key cards, that you can resell digital games… Others companies should make their own solution.

I wouldn't go that far. I'd still much rather have the entire game on the media. I hope this remains a Nintendo thing

 

[LordOcidax]

If they give me those options... I'll pirate them and screw it.

Is going to happen eventually, good luck with that…

 

[Buggy Loop]

Digital should really go to blockchain if it comes to it in the future

You could resell it, the blockchain would transfer ownership. This is fucking basic stuffs that has been used for wide range of solutions. The fact that no one on gaming side have come up with it is clearly anti consumer

So as of NOW, key card is more pro gamer than pure digital.

When physical media disappears, I hope gamers ask for blockchain resell feature or we get fucked in the ass

 

[LordOcidax]

I wouldn't go that far. I'd still much rather have the entire game on the media. I hope this remains a Nintendo thing

In a hypothetical and possible future where physical format cease to exist

 

[LordOcidax]

Digital should really go to blockchain if it comes to it in the future

You could resell it, the blockchain would transfer ownership. This is fucking basic stuffs that has been used for wide range of solutions. The fact that no one on gaming side have come up with it is clearly anti consumer

So as of NOW, key card is more pro gamer than pure digital.

When physical media disappears, I hope gamers ask for blockchain resell feature or we get fucked in the ass

A good solution could be reselling digital only games for credits that can be used only in the store.

 

[Katatonic]

There should be regulations in place to allow reselling of digital goods.

 

[Topher]

In a hypothetical and possible future where physical format cease to exist

Eh…ok. Your post sounded like you were saying other companies should do this regardless, but strictly hypothetical, sure.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Is going to happen eventually, good luck with that…

There's no point in spending money on something digital.

I can wait anyway; I still have titles pending.

 

[Buggy Loop]

A good solution could be reselling digital only games for credits that can be used only in the store.

Blockchain handles that too

It's simply a transfer of token from one hand to another

Be it resell to someone or to a store

This should have been done this gen already imo

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Depends if I can still steal via gamepass

 

[Deerock71]

I'm surprised keycards are hanging so well. It's still got my vote.

 

[Bojanglez]

By Key cards we mean a physical cartridge but no game on it? But you just have to have the cartridge in?

If so, absolutely that's the worst of both worlds, other than if you want to sell games I guess

Happy if companies sell digital codes via boxed retail, but I never want to have to change a disc or cartridge again in my life.

 

[keefged4]

You can only resell one of them. It wins by default

 

[Dis]

In a hypothetical and possible future where physical format cease to exist… what you prefer?

Piracy

 

[dragonyeuw]

Between the two, I would choose digital. I barely resell games now, instead I wait until they're dirt cheap enough that I"m not worried about resale( just as I don't worry about getting money back for attending a concert or going to the movies. The money is spent and gone). The same concerns about preservation are there because if a digital ecosystem goes down and you're no longer able to redownload a game, I imagine that would affect GKC as well as normal digital titles.

Frankly, the fact that you can sell GKC games tells me there's no technological barrier to being able to sell normal digital games. You should be able to decouple any digital game from your account, whether it be a 'normal' digital game or a GKC one. Why are we arbitrarily allowed to sell one form of digital but not the other, because one is behind a 'physical' key access point? Isn't the EULA agreement the same whether I buy it right off the eshop or pop in a GKC and download the same set of 1's and O's from the same servers?

 

[KàIRóS]

Fuck them fuels, give me that useless plastic for my shelves

...but I still chose Keycard

 

[jshackles]

I guess in OP's hypothetical world the answer is digital only... on PC.

 

[Hudo]

If I have to go digital only, I am going to do it on PC. I don't think Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are competent and trustworthy enough to manage and run a digital ecosystem. And while Steam is far from perfect, it's the least-shitty option.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Edit: nevermind, now I know.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Anything is better than an all-digital future, even if keycards pose a lot of the same problems - you can't just install the game offline and the cards will become worthless when in xx years Nintendo will disable their servers.

 

[Holammer]

Digital games can easily be sold. Believing otherwise reveals your lack of imagination.
I wouldn't be surprised if Valve already got the code and infrastructure ready to go the day legislators demand it.

With the digital sales growth it's inevitable.

 

[cireza]

On Nintendo consoles ? None. I will stop buying games.

 

[Fabieter]

A good solution could be reselling digital only games for credits that can be used only in the store.

What makes it better as the blockchain solution. Why would I care if that money stays in that store?

 

[LordOcidax]

What makes it better as the blockchain solution. Why would I care if that money stays in that store?

That could be a good solution too, but is not user friendly enough especially for the casuals.

 

[LordOcidax]

Piracy

Promoting piracy is not a good idea here…

 

[Shadowstar39]

Key cards from these choices... Why competition and physical goods means lower prices. Digital only doesn't do as many sales often (outside of indies) as they aren't forced to. Steam does due to key sellers, console doesn't have this. Without physical goods there is only one seller a legit monopoly in that space.

Game key card at least, hypothetically can still promote completion and force sales. I just bought armored core 6 for $19.99 and metaphor for 39.99 on Amazon. Both are 69.99 on psn and rarely go on sale and if they do it's peanuts. Physical media promoted sales and lower prices.

Now we also have the fact that space is a premium. Game publishers stopped buying larger storage and game sizes ballooned due to people wanting 4k even though the tech isn't really ready for that. (TV makers and people with fomo pushed that). They could of elleviated this by having a base game on cart/disk and a 2k/4k texture download option that would of solved a lot of size issues and kept physical games longer.

 

[Shadowstar39]

If I have to go digital only, I am going to do it on PC. I don't think Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are competent and trustworthy enough to manage and run a digital ecosystem. And while Steam is far from perfect, it's the least-shitty option.

This plus they are notorious for delisting digital games so they can save 2 cents. They never try to regain rights to songs to list old games and let servers laspe all the time. At least steam has people who can create servers, backups and their are alternatives to steam.

 

[LordOcidax]

This plus they are notorious for delisting digital games so they can save 2 cents. They never try to regain rights to songs to list old games and let servers laspe all the time. At least steam has people who can create servers, backups and their are alternatives to steam.

You are painting the worst possible scenario, i think that all the companies are going to improve on digital services. I also think that physical is going to disappear in the future, at least with key cards we have the option to resell the game, others companies should bring an solution too.

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

I fully understand the argument for wanting a physical collection of our games. I have a bookcase full of special edition games, books and movies. But truth be told most of the entertainment I consume these days are digital (apart from comics, but that's mostly because I don't have a device with an ideal screen). So I went with digital.

This would be the perfect use case for some evolved version of NFT/blockchain IMO, just got to rebrand it and make it effortless enough that casuals can easily wrap their heads around/use it. It would massively reignite the second-hand market and people would be more at ease investing into digital products.

But that would require the gaming industry backing down on the licencing bullshit. And that the implementation of digital ownership didn't come with any extra scummy monetary hooks attached to it.

 

[dragonyeuw]

Digital games can easily be sold. Believing otherwise reveals your lack of imagination.
I wouldn't be surprised if Valve already got the code and infrastructure ready to go the day legislators demand it.

With the digital sales growth it's inevitable.

Exactly as I said above, and I'm surprised ( at least in the gaming spaces I frequent) I haven't seen the ability to resell GKC titles spark a wider conversation on post-sale DRM rights. Why can I buy, for example, Street Fighter 6 on the Switch 2 digitally and it's locked to my account forever, but the GKC copy which AFAIK is the same digital game with special instructions to allow you to 'free' it from your account....why are 'digital' customers and 'GKC' customers being given different DRM rights? Or am I oversimplyfing it? I know the obvious retort is that the companies don't want people to undercut their prices on the stores, but they can put certain restrictions on it, like you can only sell so many games a year, or the publisher gets a small percentage back and you get the rest in credits, so the money can only be recycled back into the eshop.

 

[Dis]

Promoting piracy is not a good idea here…

Yeah i get you
However if its all digital i atleast would like the option to burn it legally on 1 blu ray for me to use on whatever console i want.
1 digital buy equals 1 dyi copy. And then you need your copy to play your digital game or else it doesnt work, you can sell your legal copy, trade lend. Thats what i want.

 

[Deerock71]

I wouldn't go that far. I'd still much rather have the entire game on the media. I hope this remains a Nintendo thing

It's already not just a Nintendo thing. Any game that isn't completely on the medium and requires a download is in the same boat. A key card is LEAGUES better than a one-and-done code in a box.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

On consoles? That would be such a deal breaker to me that i wouldn't buy a console because of it. On pc, because you can't resell the game, digital is fine. Not to mention that games are usually cheaper as well, som i can deal with digital.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I can resell key cards.

 

[Majukun]

key cards are digital only with extra steps

 

[Topher]

It's already not just a Nintendo thing. Any game that isn't completely on the medium and requires a download is in the same boat. A key card is LEAGUES better than a one-and-done code in a box.

Seems to be rarer on other platforms, but yeah this is definitely better than a code in a box that might as well be digital.

 

[Danjin44]

key cards are digital only with extra steps

I mean isn't that what been doing with physical version for PS5 games?

I mean even if you do buy the physical version of PS5 game you still need to download it before playing.

 

[Nydius]

Until copyright law catches up to include the right of first sale for digital licenses, I'll take key cards that still have physical copyright protections every day over pure digital.

 

[nial]

I mean isn't that what been doing with physical version for PS5 games?

I mean even if you do buy the physical version of PS5 game you still need to download it before playing.

Game-Key Cards:
-lack any substantial amount of actual game data
-require internet to be fully downloaded

Installs of PS5 discs (usually) aren't any of that.

 

[Shadowstar39]

You are painting the worst possible scenario, i think that all the companies are going to improve on digital services. I also think that physical is going to disappear in the future, at least with key cards we have the option to resell the game, others companies should bring an solution too.

Problem with that is its already been done. Microsoft with series x was all in on backwards compatibility. Yet only a handful of OG Xbox games work. There are tons of 360 games both AAA and digital that don't.

Then there are games that were on the digital store but removed. I got yhr system after Ms said they were no longer adding any games from the back catalog. They removed: Splinter Cell 1, Pandora tomorrow, graw 1, mortal Kom at, forza 1 to 6, forza horizon 1 to 3, skate 2, bad company 1 and 2, silent hill downpour, just to name a few. I had to buy them all on disc. Luckily they still worked. If not I would of been shit out of luck.

Sony is worse they put tons of ps1 games on ps3/psp digitally (you could also play all ps1 games on ps3 and ps2 at first) then to remove the functionaliry from ps4. Why because they were too cheap to license the compact disc license it's why ps4/ps5 can't play cds at all. Hence no ps1 compatibility. They have since with ps5 added a handful of titles back (. Mostly 1st party) when they could allow all games released previously to ps3 on ps5, but they won't. It's not technology stopping me from playing mega man legends, Parasite eve and Vagrant Story. So why? It makes no sense.

At least with physical I can play older games on older systems. Let me know when I can play the thousands of games from nes to ps3 digitally without resorting to piracy?

They don't care. Game preservation is shit in the digital age. They hate old games. Jim Ryan said it himself. They want you on GaaS sucking up micro transactions and cosmetics. Playing woke of duty with Nikki manage, not playing complex single player masterpieces.

Digital future looks grim, constant price hikes, limited crap sales and no competition.

 

[Griffon]

I'd rather have the games linked to my online account and not have to bother with swapping cards.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Neither. Physical carts and transferable digital licenses. Game key carts are the worst of both worlds.

 

[bender]

Neither. Physical carts and transferable digital licenses. Game key carts are the worst of both worlds.

GKCs are probably as close as we'll see to transferrable digital licenses.