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[Dr. Wilkinson]

Damn this really feels like the beginning of the end for Xbox game consoles with all the third party news and now removing physical games.

Edit: if more stores start to remove/not stock physical games for xbox does that mean that the series X is going out of production soon?

. Good Lord, the hyperbole.

No, to answer your question, it does not mean the Series X is going out of production. Yeesh, people need to get a grip.

People have largely stopped buying physical copies of games. This is an established fact. It has nothing to do with console sales or production.

 

[poppabk]

If that's the case, then it really makes no difference. The point is that MS aren't paying more than they received in order to reclaim these copies, which I think the post I replied to was implying.


It could well be that this was MS's plan - oversupply with an agreement that Walmart will provide more shelf-space, which advertises the game and the platform, then buy back remaindered stock.

Or, the game just didn't sell as well as MS anticipated, at least at Walmart.

Or both.

Or Walmart are starting the process of removing physical media and MS don't want a bunch of copies going on fire sale.

 

[Mr Moose]

Or Walmart are starting the process of removing physical media and MS don't want a bunch of copies going on fire sale.

"I would expect to see this trend continue in 2024. I've heard rumblings that Wal-Mart is dropping physical Xbox games soon, and I have to imagine further cuts to physical gaming sections will be made as we get deeper into next year. […] I'd expect deeper changes in their gaming department as time goes on. Retail is becoming more and more challenging and in-store game sales are declining, only makes sense they'll reduce the department in time."

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Nvm

 

[Valonquar]

Physical media collectors about to be on suicide watch.

 

[Mr Moose]

In terms of physical sales?

I think it did OK physically (most of them were PC digital), but apparently this was going to be a thing anyway. They are going to stop selling Xbox games.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

Don't really get this. So why is it being sold for $0.03 in a few days but nobody can buy it?

Why is it only Starfield? Where does it say it will apply to other Xbox games and it's just starting with Starfield?

This has gotta be some of the strangest news I've read in the gaming world in a long time.

 

[Mr Moose]

Don't really get this. So why is it being sold for $0.03 in a few days but nobody can buy it?

Why is it only Starfield? Where does it say it will apply to other Xbox games and it's just starting with Starfield?

This has gotta be some of the strangest news I've read in the gaming world in a long time.

From last year:

Best Buy Reportedly Dumping Physical Media, Walmart Ditching Xbox Titles as Boxed Games Fade [Update]

Worrying news for fans of boxed games, as both Best Buy and Walmart are reportedly cutting back on physical media.

wccftech.com

"I would expect to see this trend continue in 2024. I've heard rumblings that Wal-Mart is dropping physical Xbox games soon, and I have to imagine further cuts to physical gaming sections will be made as we get deeper into next year. […] I'd expect deeper changes in their gaming department as time goes on. Retail is becoming more and more challenging and in-store game sales are declining, only makes sense they'll reduce the department in time."

It's honestly a little depressing.

 

[demigod]

Don't really get this. So why is it being sold for $0.03 in a few days but nobody can buy it?

Why is it only Starfield? Where does it say it will apply to other Xbox games and it's just starting with Starfield?

This has gotta be some of the strangest news I've read in the gaming world in a long time.

Channel stuffing. They thought Starfield physical was a banger. Turns out its a dud.

 

[Mooreberg]

Does the $35 "Expansion Pass" work for people playing on Game Pass, or just owners of the base product? Would be weird to own the DLC for a product you only have access to through an ongoing subscription. I wonder if those are slated for destruction too.

 

[Syphon Filter]

Don't lump xboxes failure with playstation and nintendo. I'll be buying physical even next gen.

digital is inevitable for all platforms. even now you dont get the full game with important patches,etc or games being online only like gt 7.

 

[Represent.]

Damn. The Xbox is dead.

 

[DeepSpace5D]

From last year:

Best Buy Reportedly Dumping Physical Media, Walmart Ditching Xbox Titles as Boxed Games Fade [Update]

Worrying news for fans of boxed games, as both Best Buy and Walmart are reportedly cutting back on physical media.

wccftech.com

It's honestly a little depressing.

Hmm ok…so it's going to apply to all physical games from all consoles eventually and they are just starting with Starfield for some reason?

What's up with the heavy discount that nobody can take advantage of? MS just wants to buy them all back and have the copies sent back to them?

 

[Pelta88]

What about the Sky High MAU?

 

[diffusionx]

33 copies of Starfield?

 

[Three]

Hmm ok…so it's going to apply to all physical games from all consoles eventually and they are just starting with Starfield for some reason?

What's up with the heavy discount that nobody can take advantage of? MS just wants to buy them all back and have the copies sent back to them?

They don't send copies back, they dispose of them in a bin or damage them somehow so as to keep the perception of value elsewhere. There are people who dumpster dive at places like Walmart and Gamestop trying to get goods that go through this process, things that have not sold and they need to get rid of.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

What is happening?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

.

This should include PS5 and Nintendo as well right?

 

[Mr Moose]

This should include PS5 and Nintendo as well right?

I can only see the title, what does the article say?

 

[Dane]

I'm not surprised, Xbox physical here in Brazil was discontinued last year and it has been a major leftover in stores alongside PS3 games (they're cheaper than in USA ironically), vast majority are digital whether is gamepass or the store being the cheapest of the three consoles, and Eneba keys. And the production of PS4 copies here have been really tighted ever since the launch of the current gen, back then we had games going 75% cheaper from its launch price in a year and half, not even that today.

Don't really get this. So why is it being sold for $0.03 in a few days but nobody can buy it?

Why is it only Starfield? Where does it say it will apply to other Xbox games and it's just starting with Starfield?

This has gotta be some of the strangest news I've read in the gaming world in a long time.

Tax purposes, write them off as losses.

 

[kiphalfton]

So you can't actually buy it?

For all intents and purposes, no.

However, years ago when a bunch of games went on clearance for $0.03, I remember a bunch of people from the cheapassgamer forum were able to get some games. Will probably require an override, if that even works, and after that you have to hope the employee will let it slide.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Yep, time for all the Xbox people to accept their digital future.

Fixed.

 

[XXL]

.03rd Party Developers

 

[mitch1971]

3 cents!

Robbing bastards.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

 

[mitch1971]

Wonder if they are re-releasing for whatever strange reason.

 

[adamsapple]

I can only see the title, what does the article say?

It says they will discontinue all physical games, starting with Xbox.

So it looks like the other platforms will follow soon.

• Given the recent decline in sales of physical copies of games, Walmart is opting to offer them only digitally, starting with Xbox games.

 

[IAmRei]

I dont know i get insight, the second hand disc market price for starfield will rise soon ...

 

[damidu]

all the hype paid off and it finally made video game history next to e.t.

 

[Xaeroxcore666]

You all talking about how psysical media should dissapear from console games, but have no idea how unfair can be the digital game market in Latinoamérica, where local currency is devalued vs US dollar. Second hand physical market is still important here, because the newest AAA games in any plattform are normally verry expensive on retail. Another "fair" option are smuggled games....The thing is, with only digital in consoles, the most viable option are subscriptions like gamepass or PS Plus Extra/Premium or sales in older or no AAA "exclusive" games, so probably fake or robbed accounts market is gonna grow even more here.

 

[Heisenberg007]

I guess it only sold kinda well on PC, and sales on Xbox consoles must be below 1 million globally (to the fans before jumping to the throat, think two minutes, if it had sold well Walmart would not take this decision)

Todd and Phil when thinking about the 10 million sales potential which were forecasted on PS5 and that they decided to let go

They must have forecasted a total of 25-30 million sales on all platforms and decided that even if we let go of 10 million sales on PS5, we will still have 15-20 million sales on PC and Xbox, which will make it a very profitable project.

But they ended up with like ~5 million sales in total.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Repent... for the the Xbocalypse is nigh!

 

[Heisenberg007]

Or Walmart are starting the process of removing physical media and MS don't want a bunch of copies going on fire sale.

Isn't $0.03 for a $70 game a fire sale?

 

[adamsapple]

Isn't $0.03 for a $70 game a fire sale?

That price is not for people to buy.

(the memo says the system will block the purchase)

 

[BlackTron]

But why? I don't get it. Why this game? It did quite well in sales.

My guess is, being a big tentpole release, they distributed too many physical copies and Walmart is now sitting on a metric shit ton they don't want. So before they move on to the next stage of the Xbox physical death plan, step 1 is to get rid of ET 2 junking up their warehouse

 

[nick776]

. Good Lord, the hyperbole.

No, to answer your question, it does not mean the Series X is going out of production. Yeesh, people need to get a grip.

People have largely stopped buying physical copies of games. This is an established fact. It has nothing to do with console sales or production.

I have not bought a physical copy of a game for PS or XBOX since 2015. I have a few switch physical games, but that is only so my kids can play them.

 

[jroc74]

What is happening?

Happy New Year to Xbox...

What a week....

 

[yazenov]

Thats one way to reach Skyrim numbers by selling it for cents.

 

[BlackTron]

. Good Lord, the hyperbole.

No, to answer your question, it does not mean the Series X is going out of production. Yeesh, people need to get a grip.

People have largely stopped buying physical copies of games. This is an established fact. It has nothing to do with console sales or production.

People still buy a ton of physical games on PS and Switch, it's not a fact. Weren't the recent numbers that came out that the ratio on PS is 70% physical sales?

They just don't buy physical on the one platform that didn't put a disk drive in the base model, with a sub service that disincentivizes buying games in the first place.

We already knew that Microsoft was planning a replacement Series X without a disk drive and that's actually the best-case scenario for Series X's future. The way things are going it might get changed and not even be that.

 

[Guerilla Munch]

this game went from a $7.5 billion investment that would save Xbox to a pile of unwanted discs with the value of an AOL free trial cd in the span of 4 months

lol...lmao even

 

[Xion_Stellar]

People still buy a ton of physical games on PS and Switch, it's not a fact. Weren't the recent numbers that came out that the ratio on PS is 70% physical sales?

They just don't buy physical on the one platform that didn't put a disk drive in the base model, with a sub service that disincentivizes buying games in the first place.

We already knew that Microsoft was planning a replacement Series X without a disk drive and that's actually the best-case scenario for Series X's future. The way things are going it might get changed and not even be that.

If the files we got at look at from the FTC court case are anything to go by then yeah as it stands the next system (assuming there is one) will not have a disc drive and be heavily reliant in the "Power of the Cloud ©" and maybe some form of AI because Microsoft will be looking to implement two of their biggest technological cash cows into whatever they do with the Xbox.

this game went from a $7.5 billion investment that would save Xbox to a pile of unwanted discs with the value of an AOL free trial cd in the span of 4 months

lol...lmao even

They just spent $69 billion dollars on the Activision Blizzard purchase and that doesn't include whatever money they lost fighting the regulatory bodies around the world for the past two years to make the sale go through Satya Nadella isn't going to be playing any games here he's going to want that money back and if that means going more 3rd party for the Xbox brand then so be it.

 

[woahwoahwoah]

Is this what it was like watching SEGA fall apart in the late 90s and early 2000s?

 

[Flabagast]

They must have forecasted a total of 25-30 million sales on all platforms and decided that even if we let go of 10 million sales on PS5, we will still have 15-20 million sales on PC and Xbox, which will make it a very profitable project.

But they ended up with like ~5 million sales in total.

Yeah it's not a total flop and it had a good first month but the overall sales must be very disappointing for MS execs. And I guess the legs of this thing are miserable, specially on Series consoles.

2024 ROI analysis on Bethesda acquisition must be ugly as hell

 

[Crayon]

I could see them having stacks of starfield that are mathematically impossible to sell for the $40. Whatever would be on edge of bomba discount territory. $40?

And you don't want to constantly have a 14.99 red tag on these things. Or worse, a bargain bin full of them. It may not actually signal anything except they have way too many of this game.

The Xbox section will absolutely be the first to go, though. It's getting hard for stores to justify having aisles of games, and if the compacted selection is poor, why bother going?

 

[Firestartah]

If you guys care about actually owning a gaming library you should embrace PC gaming. I have a small in size 10tb external hard drive with all my gaming library and it fits in my pocket. It is as backup for my Steam and GOG games. I dont depend on any authentification server, publisher, subscription etc. in case those become a problem in the future. Not gonna lie, feels good.

 

[Skifi28]

If you guys care about actually owning a gaming library you should embrace PC gaming. I have a small in size 10tb external hard drive with all my gaming library and it fits in my pocket. It is as backup for my Steam and GOG games. I dont depend on any authentification server, publisher, subscription etc. in case those become a problem in the future. Not gonna lie, feels good.

And then your hard drive dies one day with no prior warning and try as you might you can't recover any data losing everything. Been there. I'd make backup copies of my backup copies if I were you.

 

[Firestartah]

And then your hard drive dies one day with no prior warning and try as you might you can't recover any data losing everything. Been there. I'd make backup copies of my backup copies if I were you.

Dont worry, I have ) and they are not even in my house, 1 at parents 1 at a friend. I'm sorted bro, its the only hobby that I have, I made sure it is safe. Fuck them greedy publishers.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Jokes aside collecting physical copies of new Xbox games isn't very wise. It's not just because you can play the MS games on GP, it's also because it's getting more likely that the successor won't have a physical drive. At least Sony is continuing the support with stuff like offering a drive for new Slim models (even if it's crazy expensive).

Sony will follow, guaranteed. They're expanding rn to platforms that don't have any physical media to begin with.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Sure will. Switch 2 will sell gangbusters and they will be stocking them.

Maybe Walmart knows something about the Switch 2 we don't?

 

[Krieger]

Damn, this game of the generation is gonna end up in the desert, right next to E.T.