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Chris Dring: In Europe, PS5 game sales are 32% physical, Xbox Series sales are 19% physical, and Switch sales are 65% physical (2024 data via GSD)
- Thread starter Thick Thighs Save Lives
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SportsFan581
Member
Interesting. The white XSX might even lower the number a bit more on the Xbox side. I'm surprised that Sony isn't higher. Though the number of digital only items might throw the numbers all around.
HeWhoWalks
Gold Member
Digital probably taking over a little faster than anticipated!
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
It's probably due to Helldivers 2 being sold overwhelmingly digitally on PS5 (this title alone moved million of units on the system). If there were bigger (and successful) AAA releases like in 2023 the physical ratio for PS5 would be noticeably higher than 32%.
Woopah
Member
This is true, physical was 11%pts higher on PS5 last year.
HerjansEagleFeeder
Gold Member
Quite sad to see what people are giving up for a bit of convenience. This problem won't be solved by the invisble hand of the market 
HeWhoWalks
Gold Member
Yep. Microsoft admits it and feels it now. We could be looking at one more full fledged gen from everyone with Gen 11 (PS6, Xbox Next, Switch 2), and then who knows from there!
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
People's worldviews are being absolutely crushed.
Sony based on data increased the PS5 Pro to 2TB and left the disc drive optional lead to pitch forks, but the writing was clearly on the wall as to why they did it.
They've been very data driven this generation and people who don't see that data and don't think critically, but instead emotionally are always quick to respond...
Physical is dead and dying. PS6 will probably have digital only SKUs with an optional drive like the PS5 Pro. PS7, probably no option for optical drives at all. Optical discs simply don't make a ton of sense for gaming into the future.
Sony based on data increased the PS5 Pro to 2TB and left the disc drive optional lead to pitch forks, but the writing was clearly on the wall as to why they did it.
They've been very data driven this generation and people who don't see that data and don't think critically, but instead emotionally are always quick to respond...
Physical is dead and dying. PS6 will probably have digital only SKUs with an optional drive like the PS5 Pro. PS7, probably no option for optical drives at all. Optical discs simply don't make a ton of sense for gaming into the future.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
65% physical for Switch? Wow. I have over 200 digital games on my Switch, and due to prioritizing portability, the only physical game I own is Xenoblade 3. I previously had four or five physical games that I gave to my cousin.
Obviously, for PS5, I was all physical but also cleaned my physical collection, planning for a Switch + PC combo.
As for PC, obviously, I have no choice but digital.
Obviously, for PS5, I was all physical but also cleaned my physical collection, planning for a Switch + PC combo.
As for PC, obviously, I have no choice but digital.
RetroGamingUK
Member
PS6 will be my last console then
Killer8
Member
Better than expected for physical sales. The number floating around for a long time was 90% digital.
I doubt physical will completely go away for the reason that select markets like Japan disproportionally support it. They bought $2.7 billion of physical games last year and the number has risen year-on-year.
The Japanese companies will not risk the ire of their fellow samurai.
I doubt physical will completely go away for the reason that select markets like Japan disproportionally support it. They bought $2.7 billion of physical games last year and the number has risen year-on-year.
The Japanese companies will not risk the ire of their fellow samurai.
Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
2nd best gaming related tweet of the year. He didn't top the Astro Bot tweet, but he came damn close. The combination of words and numbers is masterful.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Okay... congratulations or I'm sorry to hear that?
Woopah
Member
This doesn't include first party games or indie games, so that might make digital a bit higher.
Having said that, I don't think most Switch owners have 200+ digital games!
Genre has a big effect. Shooters and sports games for instance have high digital ratios but aren't that popular in Japan.
Whereas JRPGs or other types of single player games tend to not have as high digital ratios. We can see this by comparing the physical charts we get from Japan with the digital rankings.
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Fake
Member
Not to mention this is just Europe.
Here in South America most of the people buy physical. Sony did even build a factory JUST to make PS5 physical media disc to Brazil.
SportsFan581
Member
Good point. Region is going to change things a lot. With that said, I've been fully digital for ages now and can fully believe the numbers. It stings though for buyers that like physical.
Fabieter
Member
Imagine telling your customers which bought mostly physical ps4 onwards that there whole gaming catalogue is gonna be useless going forward. Easy switch to another platform at that point. The most consumer friendly thing would be that the drive should be forwarded compatible but like you said Sony is data driven this gen not consumer driven
.
James Sawyer Ford
Member
Physical games
Fabieter
Member
Its also that depending on genre this will change to a big extent. Gaas games which are a big chunk of the industry do alot better digital.
PaintTinJr
Member
I suspect it is games getting big discounts outside the launch window from publishers like Ubisoft and sports titles like FC25 that gamers don't want to switch discs for when having a single player game on the go while FC is their daily eSport and so make the exception just for it to buy digitally.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Imagine telling your customers which bought mostly physical ps4 onwards that there whole gaming catalogue is gonna be useless going forward. Easy switch to another platform at that point. The most consumer friendly thing would be that the drive should be forwarded compatible but like you said Sony is data driven this gen not consumer driven
From the NES to the SNES your library did not carry over.
From the SNES to the N64 your library did not carry over.
From the N64 to the Gamecube your library did not carry over.
From the PS3 to PS4 your library did not carry over.
This has been the case for most of gaming history.
Woopah
Member
Plus I'm sure Sony will have a disc drive for PS6. Even if physical is only 20%, you don't want to lose 20% of your sales.
Woopah
Member
Occasionally Chris will tell people if they ask. Astrobot for example had a digital ratio of under 50%.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Like I said, I think there will be a disc drive option for PS6, but I would not be surprised if there isn't one for PS7.
At that point you're looking at maybe 2035... at that point any lingering physical sales revenue is probably better off shifted to digital even if it means losing some overall sales but increases your margin per sale.
A lot of it is going to depend on regulatory landscape too.
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Woopah
Member
Agreed!
Maybe they'll be some sort of way for your PS7 account to know what discs you've played in the past, and give you a free digital copies of those games.
brenobnfm
Member
I'm sure full priced big AAA games still sell most in physical form, but that's not what Sony want people to know.
Jinxed
Member
Doubt it, I'd have all of a sudden access to hundreds of games I sold the discs for lol
The day consoles turn to digital only is the day I'll turn to pc gaming only. I love buying a game, finish it and resell it while it's hot. Gaming is much cheaper that way.
Topher
Identifies as young
Good point. Still glad to see physical has a pulse though.
ZehDon
Member
Sony released their premium console, which is also their most expensive console ever, and it didn't include a disc drive. That's not forward thinking - that's price gouging your faithful because you know you can. That you think Sony deserves a pat on the back for that is fucking laughable. Holy shit.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
That's not going to happen.
People buying physical copies now love the benefits but have not considered the long term ramifications.
You're going to get locked out at the end of this. Digital might be too, but physical will 100% get locked out.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
I've never used my disc drive once on my PS5. I would have bought a PS5 Digital if I could have found one at launch.
You're no more "faithful" than I am, but why should I be forced to pay for a disc drive when I and many others don't use them. It's not logical. Put those resources towards better specs or better margin.
Woopah
Member
Depends a lot on the region and the genre. COD and FIFA for example are not likely to be mostly physical, even on Playstation in Europe.
brenobnfm
Member
I don't mean these live service garbage, i mean the real games. These disposable GAAS crap is what Sony uses to sell the idea of digital taking over.
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GulfCoastZilla
Member
Well yeah, physical is becoming a thing only collectors will care about by next gen.
Woopah
Member
Will be a shame, but yes that's the most likely outcome.
Dollars are dollars. Whether a game is "real" or not doesn't matter when it comes to whether digital is taking over or not.
chokotoureiki
Member
Same way laptop makers price gouge customers for not including a disc drive in their laptops. Holy shit indeed.
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chokotoureiki
Member
Well, blame that on the PC market. They've been leading the way with removing disc drives with every modern PC for a while now.
brenobnfm
Member
Yes, and dollars are coming from physical sales for the single player AAA games, but that's not enough for them, so they're brainwashing the sheep into believing physical is dead so can they can make even more money taking ownership out of people.
That's only if you think the price would not have been even higher with a disc drive included. Nobody is patting anybody on the back for prices these days but saying that Sony were forward thinking to up the storage to 2TB instead of packing in a disc drive (and having it optional) is not "holy shit" worthy. It's true and smart. Xbox ones main issue and downfall was in fact packing in a previously popular piece of hardware that the majority didn't want and upping the price to pay for it. Having an optional add on and realising that those switching more and more to digital now need more space is the way to go and what their data likely showed would be preferred. As long as they keep that option of adding a drive I don't see what the problem is.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Not sure it is a shame.
People buy physical because they can sell it or other advantages in terms of being able to install after it is no longer available on servers, but there have always been downsides to physical. It just seems like people want to ignore those downsides and call it rainbows and gum drops.
Many of us likely will be able to keep playing our games in 20 years, many cases at boosted resolutions and framerates, where as your precious discs are going to be worthless tied to archaic plastic boxes that will break down over time.
People who still buy physical today do so with the knowledge that they're driving off a cliff. Like buying VHS tapes thinking you're entitled to DVDs or DVDs thinking you're entitled to blurays or blurays thinking you're entitled to 4k blurays.
This has always been the burden of physical media. Best that many wake up to it sooner rather than later.
I bought 2 discs of PS4 games that I'll probably never play. Kingdom Hearts collection and Cyberpunk. I paid 10 dollars for Cyberpunk, if I have to buy it again, I won't mind. Kingdom Hearts collection, I also got on sale and don't necessarily want to play it again. The games haven't aged well and I haven't heard good things about KH3.
I still own a PS3 and quite a few digital games there as well. Including most of the PS1 games that I have a special attachment to. Most PS2 games I care about have been remastered thankfully.
Unknown Soldier
Member
European Switch gamers saving gaming as usual
ZehDon
Member
Sony's premium console cutting standard features to save on cost is a funny thing to advocate for. Why not release it with a 1TB hard drive and get the cost down even further?
Holy false equivalency Batman! Laptop internals dictate thickness, unit size, and heat - factors in portability. Based on the design of the PS5, PS5 Digital, and PS5 Pro, Sony doesn't seem to think the PS5 is portable, and so doesn't give a shit about the thickness or size. Do you think the PS5 is portable?
Why should people who don't play online be forced to pay for networking hardware? Sony's making money hand over fist - I think asking for the most expensive console in the history of their company to include basic features is much of an ask, frankly. I do smile that your argument once again advocates for Sony making more money instead of advocating for the best deal with their customers. I think your opinion is a little tainted, friend.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
Once again you've told on yourself.
More people play online than use the disc drive... hence why it would include network hardware, not to mention the network hardware isn't even limited to online gaming, but an entire delivery system for downloading and updating games and firmware, and cloud saves...
The health of the company who is making a product for you is important. Ask Dreamcast fans or Vita fans.
ZehDon
Member
One third of their customers use physical. If that's not enough for a feature to be included in a premium console, then I'd wager usage has little to do with its exclusion.
It's important to the company, not to me. I'm a customer - not the CEO. They sell something, I buy it. Thus ends my involvement with the company. As I said, I think your opinion is tainted, friend.