Will you embrace all digital streaming subscriptions?

[seether]

That’s the way all entertainment (music, movies, games) is going.

Are you on board?

I think as much as people dig their feet in they will cave eventually.

Things change whether you want them to or not. You can’t buy physical PC games anymore and the few you can just contain a code to a digital download on Steam.

What are you going to do, just never consume any new media?

PS Now and XB Game Pass are already testing the waters and normalising it to consumers.

Physical media will look eccentric and archiac in our lifetime.

All these blu ray cases we have now will be kinda like going to an old person’s house and seeing VHS and cassettes everywhere.

When little Tommy age 13 is streaming Xbox on his smart watch, phone and toaster the discs are going to look like relics of a bygone age.

[courtlyhades296]

The only further streaming service I'd get after Netflix and Amazon Prime is Xbox Game Pass, and that's only if Xbox Live for Switch adds Game Pass.

[tripredacus]

I don't pay for any now and I doubt I will in the future.

[bikingjahuty]

It really depends.


First off, I'm not happy about media's death march towards all digital. I enjoy having and owning physical media, and the prospect of having all or at least most ownership possibilities taken away from me really irritate me. With that said, there will likely be some new games I still want to play, but the way I play them and when I buy them will dramatically change.


For one I doubt I'll pay more than $30 for any game digitally. Hell, I struggle with even $15 now. If I can't actually own a game, it makes it very difficult for me to justify paying full price for something. This means I will likely be waiting months, if not years to play certain newer games that come out. If streaming services like Netflix emerge for gaming, I can't imagine paying more than $20 a month for a service like that, and there would have to be a lot of titles available to me in order to justify the cost.


Maybe I'm finally starting to show my age, but I can't stand how digital distribution is taking over. I also accept that it is and will adapt to a degree, but certainly will not be greeting it, or have been greeting it, with open arms.

[aliensstudios]

There will always be a niche. Look at vinyl, It's relatively impractical but you can still get lots of new and reprinted albums on the format. Companies like Limited Run, Super Rare and Play Asia put digital titles on disc. I'm not saying there won't come a day when physical media will cease to exist but at least when it comes to gaming, I'm not going to drop 60 bucks on a digital release or pay for a service to "rent" the right to play a game for a month. I'll just consume older, physical media like I do now. I've got physical games enough to last several years if not a lifetime. Either way, I'm banking on at least the next generation of home consoles having an option for physical media, maybe the generation will last another 8-10 years.

As for film and music, that media is already much cheaper to consume physically than games. I still don't really like the idea of paying to watch or listen limitedly like with a subscription, but buying digitally usually means I can still burn a cd or blu-ray of it and back it up.

[kypherion]

Probably not. I only need Netflix and Amazon prime. For anime I'll just find some random website online.

[droaa]

Im sort of already there between Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, WWE Network and on the gaming front Xbox Game Pass. If PS Now was in the same vain as that and better priced then I would get that as well.

[seether]

I read in the news today that Samsung will no longer make blu ray players and have scrapped plans to make 4K blu ray players.

If you just google ‘blu ray’ and go to the news tab there’s several stories on it and the ties to the end of physical media.

[chrismb]

I'm more of a gamer first than collector, and even tho I much prefer having a physical copy, If I can get a game for cheaper I don't mind having a digital version, even if I don't own it. I have the game pass and I've played a lot of game thanks to it. I also used to have PS Now but the fact that the game aren't in HD was really bothering me so i'm not subscribed anymore because even't tho I don't mind digital gaming, I still want it to be the best quality.

[oldgamerz]

No unless it's free, watching YouTube can be an example of this, I probably would not mind the ads as much as long as they don't break your equipment

But I don't even get or play free any modern digital games now, because I am suspicious, and too paranoid, and I admit it.

[pzeke]

[baileykun]

All I have is amazon prime video... and that's just cause I have prime. I generally don't get any use out of sub services cause they never end up having what I want and I have to buy it anyway. Also digital platforms are too unstable still. Servers go down and all your games/movies are gone. It's too much of a gamble for me. I only buy steam games cause I can always pirate them if the service goes down. Rarely, I cave in and buy a digital only game for console.

[hoshichiri]

I read in the news today that Samsung will no longer make blu ray players and have scrapped plans to make 4K blu ray players.

If you just google ‘blu ray’ and go to the news tab there’s several stories on it and the ties to the end of physical media.

There's ALWAYS news stories on the end of physical media. It sounds good. For a local-to-me example: 'Seattle sees record snowfall, transportation and business disrupted a few days'... boring. 'Snowmageddon Brings Seattle To a Standstill! State of Emergency declared!'... now that's a headline!


Companies are going to keep pushing for an all-digital future, becuase it puts them in control of the content. However, we don't have the infrastructure to support that yet... you ever try to get a good cell signal in the mountains or decent internet in a rural community? These people can't get cable, they sure as hell don't have broadband! We're a good way away from the all-digital world, thanks to people who need physical to get content at all, and people like me who will cling to this stinking ship until we're dragged away kicking and screaming.


For the record- I have ZERO digital subscriptions. I have an active PS Plus subscription because my fiancé wanted to play Monster Hunter World... and that's it. I don't even download the monthly free games from it. No Xbox live, no Switch Online, no Netflix, no nothing- I even get the print version of Game Informer that comes with my Gamestop pro membership. I want my junk, dammit!

[tripredacus]

I read in the news today that Samsung will no longer make blu ray players and have scrapped plans to make 4K blu ray players.

If you just google ‘blu ray’ and go to the news tab there’s several stories on it and the ties to the end of physical media.

The end of new physical media, perhaps... But that is just Samsung, they license the Bluray technology. When Sony stops making BD players, then you can worry. But even so, no one makes VCRs anymore and that didn't mean the end of VHS.

[seether]

I read in the news today that Samsung will no longer make blu ray players and have scrapped plans to make 4K blu ray players.

If you just google ‘blu ray’ and go to the news tab there’s several stories on it and the ties to the end of physical media.

The end of new physical media, perhaps... But that is just Samsung, they license the Bluray technology. When Sony stops making BD players, then you can worry. But even so, no one makes VCRs anymore and that didn't mean the end of VHS.

Bruh Sony didn't even put a 4K blu ray player in their console.