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[Alan Wake]

We all know this is the trend and it has been for years. It saddens me that physical gaming is dying but what can I do except keep buying games on disc as long as it's available. I'm in the minority. I hope the disc drive will still be an add on for another PlayStation generation but I don't think Xbox will offer one next gen. It makes no sense for them.

 

[jm89]

Those UK game sales numbers will look a lot different when digital is included. But not in the way xbox fanboys were hoping.

That's true.

The last time Chris dring from gbiz gave out physical+digital splits between Xbox and playstation was for Re4 remake in the UK were Xbox does better then other regions, the split was in favour of playstation.

The favourable split wasn't due to marketshare difference either, just that it sold alot more on playstation.

Chris since then hasn't given out any splits between Xbox and playstation. He use to give them out regularly but stopped after that. Someone putting pressure on him? Who knows it's just weird he suddenly stopped after Re4 remake split was an eye opener into declining Xbox game sales.

 

[BigLee74]

Oh you will care… you will be probably the first one to b and moan if we reach to the point where the only thing we have is digital rentals…

I really won’t

 

[ZehDon]

There is further room for error that goes beyond that with the way some publishers are trying to push digital too. Some games get late physical releases or they get limited runs only. As Matt says they would have their numbers skewed not by demand for physical but by availability. More and more some specific shitty publishers/devs do late or limited physical releases to reduce second hand sales.

That's fair. With that said, the industry as a whole has been pushing digital for at least two generations. Even if the real numbers are 10-15% more in favour of physical, physical would still be done because the people who make the money want digital and no one put up much of a fight. Case in point: Sony's most expensive console ever doesn't come with a disc drive.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I really won’t

Sure sure .

 

[BigLee74]

Sure sure .

Haven’t bought a physical game since 2017.

Haven’t bought a DVD in 10 years.

Haven’t bought a CD in 15 years.

But random stranger on internet knows me better

 

[Panajev2001a]

Haven’t bought a physical game since 2017.

Haven’t bought a DVD in 10 years.

Haven’t bought a CD

Digital was not yet the pure default, but keep the chin up in the first hit is free phase mate. I have patience .

 

[SweetTooth]

No wonder sony made the drive an add-on. That's wild....

Edit: Edited for posting in wrong thread.

 

[pasterpl]

And people wonder why MS is not releasing disc drive for their digital only consoles.

 

[Robb]

Digital split:
Switch 53%
PS5 78%
XBS 91%

LTD sales:
Switch 143M
PS5 62M
XBS 28M

 

[acm2000]

91% god damn, we knew Xbox players were mostly digital but wasn't expecting that high

 

[Radical_3d]

Digital split:
Switch 53%
PS5 78%
XBS 91%

LTD sales:
Switch 143M
PS5 62M
XBS 28M

After abandon them in the 32 bits era looks like the last refuge for me will be them all over again…

 

[MisterXDTV]

Wait people buy stuff on XBOX?

91% of 0 is still 0

These percentages mean nothing without numbers

 

[kikonawa]

I bet those subscription games are included

 

[MisterXDTV]

Digital split:
Switch 53%
PS5 78%
XBS 91%

LTD sales:
Switch 143M
PS5 62M
XBS 28M

No shit,

Switch came out in March 2017

Add PS4 to the count then

 

[Woopah]

Isn’t digital more prevalent in the US due to it not being as urbanised as Europe and Japan?

I'm sure there's many reasons but you are correct that most of the ROTW not US is still mostly physical

Of the major markets, the US does look like the one with the highest digital splits.

Europe is lower than that (although UK is higher than the Europe average) and then Japan is lower than in the West.

Can we please stop with the fake news. This is 100% fake news and I really hate how it's used to justify that "physical is dead".

The truth is that the vast majority of games available on the PS Store are digital only. All DLC sold on the PS store is also digital only. So of course sales in dollars or amount of software sold will skew heavily towards digital. But if you look at AAA titles which have a physical version individually, you see the actual truth and the split for each title is nowhere near 78% for digital.

DLC and digital only titles aren't included though.

 

[ArtHands]

You would have to be borderline retarded to buy at that price on a 3rd party store. RDR2 is an old ass game that regularly goes on sale at a similar price on steam and PSN. Plus, you cannot refund that 3rd party key on Steam. I have bought and refunded RDR2 twice on Steam.

It is just an illustration for the point. I am using RDR2 as a random example, and you can fit the point with other games. You have thoroughly missed the point

 

[Woopah]

Again this lie. Most indie games have no physical edition. You need to compare game by game in both versions for an accurate report. This is as wrong as those surveys claiming gender parity in gaming.

I think it's not that clear. I think he meant all titles where they had digital data available in addition to the retail data they get but I don't think it excludes digital only releases from the stats. It's not just indies anymore that have digital only releases. The stats from publishers like sony who have very good physical support don't show this large a percentage split from the leaks we have.

He even says this after

Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social)

This doesn't represent true demand, however. Retailers have been more conservative in its assortments and buys, while publishers have been more aggressive in promoting digital. Lots of reasons for both, but it can be tough for consumers to find physical versions of games they'd like to buy.

bsky.app

It's only for titles where both physical and digital are available. So doesn't include games with no physical tracking like indies or ganes with no digital tracking like Nintendo first party.

The software splits between ps and xbox are more likely to widen when you include digital.

Those UK game sales numbers will look a lot different when digital is included. But not in the way xbox fanboys were hoping.

Going by the Europe averages, the % difference between Xbox and PS would shorten when digital was added in.

 

[kyussman]

I was certainly a physical media purist when I was still gaming(still am for movies and music),but what actually is a game on physical media these days because it sure as shit is rarely if ever a finished game and in far too many cases a broken one.

 

[Guardian Monkey]

Nintendo makes sense for multiple reasons. The carts are small and Nintendo has an iron grip on first party digital sale prices. Some first party games don’t even go on sale over the course of a year and they normally keep a lot of their first party games at the launch MSRP. Plus the resale value of Nintendo games generally outperform the other two system by a large margin.

 

[Gexxy1]

This is for titles that have both physical and digital versions. Things like digital only titles aren't factored here either.

Tbf this doesn't include used game sales either.

 

[Boss Mog]

DLC and digital only titles aren't included though.

Please show me specifically where it says this.

 

[twilo99]

No wonder sony made the drive an add-on. That's wild....

Completely eradicating the “drive” can’t come soon enough. What a complete waste of space and resources…

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I was certainly a physical media purist when I was still gaming(still am for movies and music),but what actually is a game on physical media these days because it sure as shit is rarely if ever a finished game and in far too many cases a broken one.

Depends entirely on the publisher

Nintendo, Sony, Capcom etc are good for full game on disc

EA, Activision, Microsoft are trash in this regard

 

[Moriarty1889]

Depends entirely on the publisher

Nintendo, Sony, Capcom etc are good for full game on disc

EA, Activision, Microsoft are trash in this regard

Very true. Spiderman 2 and Ratchet and Clank on PS5 are complete on the disc with no patch after installation. I was quite surprised after installing them and being able to play. I later read an article where one of Insomniacs people had made the statement that Spiderman 2 had the whole game on disc and no internet was required to apply any needed patches. Those are two that I know of and I’m sure there are more. Nice to see a disc based game actually be completely on the disc and not just a code or key for the game file to link up to and download.
Sadly, more and more people are going digital for convenience and don’t give a shite about the pros of physical. I will always support physical for as long as possible and have spare drives for my PS5’s if needed.

 

[adamsapple]

Tbf this doesn't include used game sales either.

Used game sales aren't added on any sales charts tho.

 

[Woopah]

Please show me specifically where it says this.

"For the Jan-Aug period, for all titles with both physical and digital sales tracking"

 

[Labadal]

I wonder what the numbers will be for Europe.

 

[Larivel]

Given how easy it is to buy the games digitally and the fact that there is digital only console, 1/4 PS5 userbase is still choosing to buy physical copies - I think that's still a healthy number. We've also seen from Insomniac's leak, that when it comes to 1st party games, physical sales account for ~60% of units sold. The demand is still there, but publishers are REALLY trying to push people into a digital future.

I also wonder if he includes physical releases from Limited Run, Super Rare etc. and compares their sales vs digital, because that would be dumb af.

 

[chokotoureiki]

No shit,

Switch came out in March 2017

Add PS4 to the count then

PS4+PS5 tag team = 180+ million units sold

Take that Switch

 

[sachos]

It seems like physical will never die for Nintendo (touching wood), surprised how the numbers for PS have grown more digital recently, not too long ago it was more like 60-40. Sad for that. I think this is the first time we get a data point that properly compares only games that get both type of releases and nothing more, correct?

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

That's not too surprising, honestly. The Xbox figure looks huge, but it also feels like you can hardly buy most games on the Xbox physically - feels like everything there has super limited distribution, if it exists on a physical disc at all.

I'd say I don't love the trend, because I really do miss the era of just being able to buy a game on a disc and having that be the end of it, but even I've accepted that in the modern era of patches, DLC, and whatever else, the physical copy just doesn't hold much appeal for me anymore.

 

[Mr Moose]

And people wonder why MS is not releasing disc drive for their digital only consoles.

 

[ArtHands]

doesnt have to reach 100%. Once digital reaches near 100% it become senseless to continue offer physical, because a small pitiful percentage could even incur losses like manufacturing and shipping cost for the disc drives and physical games. At that point it is worth dropping physical entirely

 

[Alexios]

Idk how some folks write like Nintendo's digital % is bad? It's over 50% and shows that whenever they choose to relent on physical support, if they deem it's time, it will be an easy migration for them and their audience. That high an average probably means it's way higher for some games too (and way lower for others, yes). It also goes against the idea physical only charts are so off they paint a wrong picture since they also do great digitally (and potentially even better in that one territory folks like claiming this for most).

 

[RickMasters]

Oh you will care… you will be probably the first one to b and moan if we reach to the point where the only thing we have is digital rentals…

Where do you guys get this idea that the option to by digital games will disappear? That’s not the case with music or movies.


Selling games at full RRP will always be a great idea to the pubs and devs.so that option is not going anywhere.


The last physical games I bought were back in the x360 era and even then I was starting to choose digital more and more. I pretty much stopped buying CDs when iTunes became a thing. And I don’t think ive ever owned a DVD movie…. I’ve always seen movies and ‘one and done’ things so I’ve always been happy to rent movies or go cinemas.


That’s said…. I’ll always fondly remember my bio shock limited edition with the statue that I still have to this day….. mass effect 1…. In the tin box…. Gears in a tin box… halo in a tin box. But then I just sort of…. I wasn’t bothered about that sort of thing no more. What I like is seeing my whole game library on my screen and just tapping the A button to start.

 

[rm082e]

I stopped buying physical games in 2012. I let go of my remaining consoles and physical games in 2014. I've got a 4TB external drive hooked up to my console, and a 4TB SSD in my PC. I have more games than I know what to do with and I can play everything that isn't a live service game offline. I just don't get the doomer attitude about digital. Seems like the doomers are dooming to justify their love for physical items they can collect.

 

[Woopah]

I wonder what the numbers will be for Europe.

We have some numbers from Europe from Chris Dring:

• For Xbox, so far in 2024, 81% of new game releases were digital (up 7% compared to 2023).
• For PS5, 68% of new games are digital (up 11% compared to 2023).
• For Switch (3rd party only), 39% of new releases were digital (down 1% compared to 2023).

 

[Sw0pDiller]

Switch owners saving gaming as usual

Lets be real: most switch “owners” are kids and parents who buy games for their child. Its nicer to give an actual box.

 

[Dodo123]

I bought the new Mario Party this week. I can resell it later + just checked and the digital version on the eshop is 25% more expensive.
Just don't get why I'm supposed to shift to digital?

 

[Sw0pDiller]

Well, these statistics can and should shut up most people who cry about ps5 pro having no disk drive. I stopped buying games on disk since ps4 pro.

 

[Gambit2483]

And people wonder why MS is not releasing disc drive for their digital only consoles.

Yeah, their physical sales have been in the shitter for a long time now.

I'm sure some publishers are even questioning why they still bother or probably only do so out of some kind of obligation.

 

[mckmas8808]

It's way more convenient to have all your games on the PS5 especially when you have portal & can play the games away from home or even in different rooms.

This is how Sony has tricked me into almost going digital only now. They got me!

 

[pasterpl]

It's way more convenient to have all your games on the PS5 especially when you have portal & can play the games away from home or even in different rooms.

I though that console and portal have to be on the same WiFi network and streaming to it doesn’t work when you are away from home? Or am I wrong with this?

 

[pasterpl]

We have some numbers from Europe from Chris Dring:

• For Xbox, so far in 2024, 81% of new game releases were digital (up 7% compared to 2023).
• For PS5, 68% of new games are digital (up 11% compared to 2023).
• For Switch (3rd party only), 39% of new releases were digital (down 1% compared to 2023).

Thanks this is very interesting.

Yeah, their physical sales have been in the shitter for a long time now.

I'm sure some publishers are even questioning why they still bother or probably only do so out of some kind of obligation.

Have a look at another quote (one above), seems like publishers are more and more moving to digital only releases. It makes sens for them as they don’t like the fact that gamers can resell their games - it’s all about the money.

I myself buy physicals version of the game only if I am not sure I will like but still would like to test it myself. If don’t like it I just re-sell it. I would say that 9/10 games I buy are digital nowadays.

 

[onQ123]

I though that console and portal have to be on the same WiFi network and streaming to it doesn’t work when you are away from home? Or am I wrong with this?

You're completely wrong it works anywhere with a good Internet connection

 

[pasterpl]

You're completely wrong it works anywhere with a good Internet connection

So it is via standard remote play app?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Do better PlayStation bros. What happens when you lose your account on some new woke AI social media scanner dystopian bullshit? Didn’t your mama never teach you not to keep all your eggs in one basket. You sold your soul for convenience boys. Sad part is, it ain’t THAT much more convenient. Pure laziness and lack of forethought.

 

[onQ123]

So it is via standard remote play app?

Not sure what you're talking about there is no "App" it's OS level on both devices. But yes it work like Remote Play because it is a Remote Play device lol

 

[Thebonehead]

Which only makes sense. You don't want to be forcefully charging people for a disc drive when more of the public don't necessarily want it. As long as the option remains there then there isn't a problem. The issue comes from publishers ignoring the shrinking minority.

I didn’t say Steam is DRM I said "with DRM". The Steam Client is DRM though and the games that are DRM free are the ones that do not require the Steam Client after install.

Steams original raison d'etre was just as a drm client for half-life 2. Coming up on my 20th anniversary soon