i haven't actually seen them. I just did a quick check on the website to see if they even sell cds and it showed a bunch of cds and in stock at my store lol. It isn't what it was of course.
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Rumor from a single tweet: Target to stop selling physical media (movies and series) in-store and online by 2025
Dr. Wilkinson
Member
they might sell them online-only but keep some on-hand in the stockroom for online purchases
I think I haven't seen them because I just have never looked for them.they might sell them online-only but keep some on-hand in the stockroom for online purchases
That and it's a small enough selection that I never accidentally ran across them in recent times.
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Mr Hyde
Member
Rental services were good when you were a kid with literally no money. As a working adult with a lot of disposable income? Not so much. Although they can be good for trying out certain games before buying. That's how I did with Callisto Protocol. Was on the fence buying it due to negative reception but when it landed on PS plus I subbed for a month to try it out. Ended up really liking it so I bought a copy. So it's not all bad. But I'm still gonna be a hater because physical is where it's at
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Giallo Corsa
Member
...if it wasn't for the fact that "retro games" are also digital in their vast majority.
A good 70-80% of retro-like games are PC/Steam first (i.e digital only) and console 2nd (if there's a physical version to begin with).
Unfortunately, there's no escape from the all-digital future, I suppose that...it is what it is (for better or for worse).
PS : unless you literally meant retro gaming on older consoles ?
Gambit2483
Member
They do get the big new releases but those are always kept at an end cap or other specialized location..but yeah, their main aisles are almost always super low stock or barren
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Punished Miku
Human Rights Subscription Service
Its now literally every form of media except 2 consoles. Suck it digital users that arent impacted in any way whatsoever.
Hero of Spielberg
Member
I usually go around Target, etc and check out the games section while my wife is shopping and it’s beyond pathetic. Tiny space, very few games, empty shelves. Don’t think I’ve ever seen another person looking in the section when I’ve been there in the last 5 years or so
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
nikolino840
Member
Wow an another fake twit
StereoVsn
Gold Member
That still sucks. And 4K disks sell decently well, especially if they come with steel books.
MiguelItUp
Member
Man, to each their own, but I really don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to own anything physical anymore. I think allowing people to have a preference is great. Doing away with one or the other has always felt unnecessary and excessive to me.
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Gambit2483
Member
Edit - my bad re-read what you said, thought you were saying the opposite of wanting to own physically.
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Red Crayon Aristocrat
Member
By this point, it seems like they're trying to crash gaming into the ground on purpose, Larry Fink types hate us because gamers are seen as too unruly a group and not as easily controlled, there's got to be political motivation behind this.
Are you seriously telling me they're not even going to sell Switch games? This is NOT motivated by profit, this is motivated by agendas.
Are you seriously telling me they're not even going to sell Switch games? This is NOT motivated by profit, this is motivated by agendas.
Alan Wake
Member
The trend is quite clear, though. This is just an illustration but this is the direction in which we're heading. I'm one of those who will keep buying physical as long as I can. I've done that for 22 years on Xbox and now I am buying third party titles on PlayStation instead since Xbox is a lost cause in this regard.
Shadowstar39
Member
Ill have fun playing old games that you can't as they delisted them. I'll have fun buying cheap dvds at second hand stores and continuing to build my expansive library, before everything is fucking woke and censored or burned for wrong think.
It seems to have bottomed out but is that premium game sales only? I've noticed the bizarre wording "playstation downloads" vs disc sales. Does this include dlc, mtx, ftp, and games that don't get physical releases?The trend is quite clear, though. This is just an illustration but this is the direction in which we're heading. I'm one of those who will keep buying physical as long as I can. I've done that for 22 years on Xbox and now I am buying third party titles on PlayStation instead since Xbox is a lost cause in this regard.
If you look at digital vs disc sales on premium game sales the splits haven't declined like this I think. However as overall "game software revenue" we've had a surge in f2p, mtx, gaas, subscriptions and a lot of small digital only releases making money in addition to the smaller shift in digital premium game sales.
If you look at physical premium game sales on its own how much has it declined YoY? I think that's what retailers would be interested in. I don't think places like target will stop selling physical games in 2025 because that hasn't declined that much. DVD/Bluray movie revenue though dropped 28% in 2023. Not as a percentage market share in revenue vs digital or subs but just revenue of physical movies in isolation.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
If physical games eventually go away, ultimately, there is going to have to be some new way they're managed other than being tied to someone's account. Because as it currently stands, if you own a thousand games and your account gets banned, you cannot play those games. That can't happen. It's essentially companies stealing back something you paid for. I suspect at some point this will make it to the courts like loot boxes did. Especially now with sensitivity culture, you could be playing a game online, let one F bomb go or something, or say something and you could have your entire catalogue of games worth thousands and thousands of dollars taken away from you. In no just world is that remotely legal.
This is not a problem with physical games. You get an account banned, you make another and pop the game disc in.
This is not a problem with physical games. You get an account banned, you make another and pop the game disc in.
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Valedix
Member
Also EBGames, JBHiFi etc.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
Guess what the terms of service will say...
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
That's why we gotta take it to the courts, baby. Can't just rip people off because you put stuff in TOS. If you buy games and they just take away your ability to play them, seems very unconstitutional to me in some way, shape, or form. I think if challenged in the courts, they'd see it the same way. That if you purchase a game, they can't take away your ability to use it.
Bojji
Member
They will say what you "owned" was a fiction anyway, and that "buy" means "rent" - you only need to read 100 page EULA to know this.
Fucking scumbags
At this point I hate all gaming companies, more or less...
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DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
They will, but I am hopeful they will lose in court. It’s just trying to use semantics and word games to excuse stealing.They will say what you "owned" was a fiction anyway, and that "buy" means "rent" - you only need to read 100 page EULA to know this.
Fucking scumbags
At this point I hate all gaming companies, more or less...
Hero of Spielberg
Member
This is the incredible games section at Target near me. Would be a great loss if it were to go
My real fear with a streaming only future is companies going back to "modernize problematic parts" of old shows. Currently it's expensive to do this but eith AI they could very easily change dialogue, replace guns with walkie-talkies, or add more persons of color to crowd scenes, even wholesale replacement of an actor that gets canceled (Snyder did this on Army of the Dead, it took massive resorts. Imagine how AI could do it).
We see this with books. Encyclopedias. Maps. With streaming only it's much harder to have a repository of original content and so far there seems to be very little public concern about protecting the thing you paid a "temporary viewing license" for if you don't have it in your house in a physical format.
We see this with books. Encyclopedias. Maps. With streaming only it's much harder to have a repository of original content and so far there seems to be very little public concern about protecting the thing you paid a "temporary viewing license" for if you don't have it in your house in a physical format.