Why are studios shying away from physical releases so much?

[Zombie Enthusiast]

Or why is it that the digital release comes first and the physical release comes later? I would like to play this game on my PS5 (among a few others), but I would rather have a physical disk instead of my library being entirely digital.

And before anyone says it; yes, there is the Limited Run Games edition, but it is all sold out. Bummer.

[Serious]

There are different reasons for this.
• physical edition are less important nowadays
• require more management work
• Very different fees for different countries and even stores
For detailed info you can check Remedys explanation on why no physical releases for Alan wake 2.

[CHAO$$$]

it just costs way more

thats the funny part about games becoming digital only but prices going up anyway

they save a CRAPLOAD of money on physical media/packaging/distribution but still want more cash

[(Shadow)]

I would assume also to avoid leaks as well.

[CHAO$$$]

Originally posted by (Shadow):

I would assume also to avoid leaks as well.

ehh, could always send out physical products with delay alongside a digital key on release
they just choose not to because
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m37G-06ibAU

[kiteless 凧無し]

In an era of massive day 1 patches and full installation requirements disc media is completely and utterly redundant now. In some cases you’re just getting a download code in a box or a disc with barely any data on it

Just embrace digital and never look back. I don’t miss physical media one bit.

Also you’re better of getting this on pc where you can mod the original music back in

[Ereson]

Originally posted by kiteless 凧無し:

In an era of massive day 1 patches and full installation requirements disc media is completely and utterly redundant now. In some cases you’re just getting a download code in a box or a disc with barely any data on it

Just embrace digital and never look back. I don’t miss physical media one bit.

Also you’re better of getting this on pc where you can mod the original music back in

Only problem with digital only games is it enables companies the right to license games out for a set period of time, instead of buying them outright like you can with physical media. Otherwise I agree with you, digital games just seem way better overall. Hopefully most companies making games will have enough integrity to not making that the standard of """ownership""" a temporary license fee.

[invision2212]

Originally posted by Ereson:

Originally posted by Ereson:

Only problem with digital only games is it enables companies the right to license games out for a set period of time, instead of buying them outright like you can with physical media. Otherwise I agree with you, digital games just seem way better overall. Hopefully most companies making games will have enough integrity to not making that the standard of """ownership""" a temporary license fee.

game companies now pull the sleaze move of not even having the game on the disc and you have to download it anyways.

[Neptune(Purple Heart)]

if you want if physical just buy the Japanese one

[kiteless 凧無し]

Originally posted by invision2212:

Originally posted by Ereson:

game companies now pull the sleaze move of not even having the game on the disc and you have to download it anyways.

It makes me laugh that one of the worst offenders of this practice is activision with the call of duty games, one of the biggest game files out there

Nothing like getting a boxed game then have to download 150gb's of data

Yep, physical media is on it's last legs, it's not even with gaming, who buys films on dvd or BR anymore? Nobody really, streaming is king

[gtamike_TSGK]

Hopefully it will come to limited run
https://limitedrungames.com

[kiteless 凧無し]

Originally posted by !X_Jolly_Cooperation_X!:

Originally posted by Neptune(Purple Heart):

if you want if physical just buy the Japanese one

Looks like I'm gonna have to. Physical media cannot die, especially since digital media can be taken away from you at any time.

And so can physical

if you're on a console, your console might die, if it's an old console no longer manufactured, have fun looking on ebay

Same with the discs, if you break them

I wouldn't get hung up on 'digital can be taken away from you', steam isn't going anywhere, there is plenty of DRM free titles,

we all are limited by time, you can hoard games boxes but they'll come a point where games just sit on a shelve never to be played again.

[LastOfArcadia]

I see both sides to this argument, however, pre-2020 games, physical is king, you would be amazed with how much money I have made on eBay in the past three years. That is the true caveat of digital (i.e.,: I own nothing and reselling is not an option). I conjecture in two to three years Nintendo will be the only company still selling tangible media. By 2035, it will only be streaming, you will not be allowed to download anything, intellectual property rights protection for the corporations. I love Steam and PC but I am also aware that these purchases are glorified rentals with an expiry (read the EULAs). That is why I kept my childhood consoles from thirty plus years ago; if I want a non-internet based experience with legit physical media, I can do that. If something breaks, I have adult money to replace it...Once gaming goes to a streaming, subscription, service box, I will retire from gaming on modern machines as it will lead to the death of control for the consumer.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by !X_Jolly_Cooperation_X!:

t the EULAs clearly state that a game can be taken away at any time due to any cause put forth,

This is true of physical games, note. And also note that a EULA can't actually trump the law.

Originally posted by !X_Jolly_Cooperation_X!:

There should be a federally mandated law that declares anything digital shouldn't cost any more than $30. I know a lot of the corpo bootlickers around here will hiss at such a suggestion, but still. Anything digital shouldn't cost more than $30, especially since so many games these days are nothing more than buggy, unfinished messes that require 30 patches to be playable.

First off, 'federally mandated' would only be valid in one country. You're certainly never going to have it be a thing everywhere.
Second, who the hell would want the government trying to control the price of media? That's just....I don't even have words for it.

[kiteless 凧無し]

Once again I wouldn't get hung up on this idea of 'not owning digital media'

How many games do you guys have on your steam accounts that you can safely say that you will never ever play again, probably tons.

Generally speaking we buy a game, play it, finish it, move on, we may revisit it now and again but we're all limited by time, can't replay everything and we probably won't replay anything we never enjoyed much to begin with

As for physical media, your console/hardware and discs might die, natural disasters could destroy your entire collection, all sort of weird things could happen where you could easily lose your possessions

There are pro and cons to both but in terms of convenience, digital is king. I haven't got the space for tons of different old consoles or game boxes. Maybe the rich people out there who just like collecting stuff and have the space might appreciate it more, but that's going to a very small number of people

[Ereson]

Originally posted by kiteless 凧無し:

Once again I wouldn't get hung up on this idea of 'not owning digital media'

How many games do you guys have on your steam accounts that you can safely say that you will never ever play again, probably tons.

This is true, but doesn't change the fact I still want to "own" that game in case I want to show it off to someone at a later date. I'm not going to support any game that just licenses out the game for a couple of years with a modern price tied to it. That feeling of ownership is not to be trifled with.

If these Game publishers/developers ever get super greedy, and impose like a 3 year limit on game ownership for a full price title, I hope they get boycotted to oblivion, they deserve to go bankrupt.