Author Topic: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?  (Read 4115 times)

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #30 on: January 28, 2024, 12:44:19 pm »
My backlog is huge. I intend to play and enjoy it.  :)
—Currently Playing—
Ace Attorney 4-5-6 (NS)
Raiden IV x Mikado (NS)


Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #31 on: January 29, 2024, 09:22:29 pm »
This topic has come up numerous times recently in various Facebook groups I belong to as well as in a livestream I was watching this evening. Being a collecting site, I figure most VGcollect people are not happy about the inevitable digital only future of modern gaming, but I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's feelings are towards this topic, and how, if at all, will this change the way you purchase and play modern games?
PC only, DRM-Free only (basically means GoG but some titles on steam are actually DRM-Free as well)
I tend to agree with what bunnybear said about many of the new-releases not even being worth your time. It's like they begin with basic structural mechanics like shooting and movement and then just figure out how to make them as addictive as possible so they can monetize the hell out of them. A few years back a friend and I played several Ubisoft titles (IIRC it was the first GR Wildlands and the original Division) because they had them on trial and I was genuinely left yelling at my friend about how boring and pointless they were and how I couldn't fathom how they'd each individually sold millions of copies. Prior to that I'd played several Ubisoft titles and enjoyed many of them but since that experience I literally haven't paid a single one of their titles any mind.
I fully expect streaming-only to come (relatively) shortly after digital-only, at that point I won't even bother, I'd rather make my own games at that point.

Like you said, as of the current generation many games are essentially no better than coasters and the same holds true for many games from the PS4/xbone generation as well.

I've begun thinking that an all-digital future won't happen. At least, not until worldwide internet infrastructure becomes more widely available with higher quality. Below is a comment I've made elsewhere:

People also overlook many other areas of the world such as parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia in addition to rural North America, even. I doubt we'll truly see a digital-only console anytime soon, because regions like these won't be able to support a digital-only system. If decisions like to make certain games digital-only is to come, then they'll just be missing out on sales while certainly not gaining any more.

Of course, this issue could just be ignored with companies deciding to cut their losses in some markets, but I don't think that will happen anytime soon. I've not seen anyone else make this sort of argument, so perhaps that is only wishful thinking.

Quote
"One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don't lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That's not been deleted. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.

"I still have two boxes of DVDs. I definitely understand the gamers perspective with that. But as people embrace that model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you'll be able to access them when you feel like. That's reassuring.

Like the person being interviewed mentions, the majority of people have grown comfortable with subscription-based models for music, movies, and TV. However, that's not to say they enjoy it, as there are so many issues with how it's being managed now, with licenses being sold regularly from party to party. A recent video from videogamedunkey pokes fun at this ridiculousness in a way which only strengthens the argument.

That said, I'm now envisioning a future which has games being treated the same way. While before there were only a handful of major streaming services for visual media, there are dozens of dozens now. Games could easily fall into that model, with individual publishers releasing their own subscription services or, at the very least, selling their licenses to the highest bidder with them being traded around routinely to others. This could easily mean that one game within a series be exclusively available on one service, whereas a second game in that same series be exclusively available on another. So, to play through the entire series, consumers could very well be forced to subscribe to a multitude of models.

The person being interviewed also doesn't mention (from what you've provided as excerpts, anyway) the very real possibility of games being de-listed across all platforms far in the future, which is not uncommon for other forms of media now.

Nobody cares about the regions without access to quality internet. African, South American, and Middle Eastern region releases do exist but the markets are extremely small to begin with (and likely has a large crossover with the ones that can afford high speed internet).
Companies like MS were arrogant enough to say "stick with 360" more than a decade ago when pressed on the topic, arrogant execs certainly haven't gone extinct.
It's also in the best interest for companies like Microsoft, Facebook, and Google to deliberately build out that sort of infrastructure in those places so that they can be the first ones to capture the wider market as their populations gradually get richer.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/01/xboxs-physical-games-departments-reportedly-affected-by-microsoft-layoffs
I'm fully expecting Sony to be next and Nintendo to follow after that. Hopefully we get a PS6 with a disc drive but it's possible they axe it by the PS5 Pro.

Warmsignal

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #32 on: January 31, 2024, 01:56:25 pm »
I was reminded of the site DoesItPlay?, which I'm sure you'll find interesting. The site is vastly far away from making any noteworthy dent in the grand scheme of things, but it should provide a general overview of how many games actually are fully playable without an internet connection.

This is an invaluable resource for modern game collectors, and one I'd invite anyone skeptical about modern game longevity to look into. Evidently, only 11% of games globally in their database don't install fully off of the disc/cart. That's lower than I honestly expected. Internet requirement to play is only at 4%.

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #33 on: February 01, 2024, 07:00:50 am »
Not that this group needed another signal flare, but Spec Ops: The Line was removed from pretty much all digital marketplaces (it was still on GOG last I looked) without warning because the music licenses expired.  The publisher said they have no plans to relist, but knew this was coming and still said nothing until after it was removed.



Warmsignal

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #35 on: February 01, 2024, 03:17:16 pm »
I mean, Gamepass is super popular. Most casuals see no point to buying the games anymore, physical or digital. Congratulations Microsoft, we know it's what they wanted anyhow since they suck at curating talent to make games, and they lack broad appeal as a result. Might as well just make it the easiest platform for accessing slop, as that's all it's really been for a while now.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2024, 03:21:47 pm by Warmsignal »

dhaabi

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #36 on: February 13, 2024, 05:45:00 pm »
Not that this group needed another signal flare, but Spec Ops: The Line was removed from pretty much all digital marketplaces (it was still on GOG last I looked) without warning because the music licenses expired.  The publisher said they have no plans to relist, but knew this was coming and still said nothing until after it was removed.

Since its digital removal, I've learned about just how interesting this game actually is, especially in the context of when it was released. I doubt I'll ever play it, but it's worth looking into for anyone keen on the shooter genre.

Warmsignal

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2024, 11:19:01 pm »
I picked it up a while back on the cheap. Digital distribution is garbage, but also, people loose their minds over FOMO. Look how many copies of this game sell PER DAY now. A month prior, nobody would give it a second thought.

pzeke

Re: What are your plans when everything goes digital only?
« Reply #38 on: February 26, 2024, 12:56:11 pm »
Quote from: kypherion
Either pirate or quit engaging in the "everything".

I can't actively condone illegal activity on a public forum, but I can advocate for actually owning the things you buy. [...]

There's a saying going around that's something along the lines of "if buying isn't owning, than pirating isn't stealing". I can't say I outwardly agree with that, however it's certainly food for thought.



[...] but I have to admit it's pretty convenient not having to deal with disc swaps whenever I feel like playing it.

Well, you could say that convenience has been there ever since emulation, but I obviously get what you mean. At least this instance helps your understanding of why some people prefer that format over the other, so it's nice you went through it even if it's just once solely for that, especially given how you would snoot at digital games in the past.

I think that even if most of the industry goes mostly digital in the future, as long as companies sell consoles that take some sort of physical media, collectors will continue buying physical games.

As long as those "physical" games don't end up being full-blown glorified coasters, then sure; otherwise, why bother? We'll see...

I think one aspect people tend to overlook is the sheer amount of indie games only released for PC at a marginal price or even free. For many of these games, in my opinion, their quality outperforms games published by major studios, although that's an effect caused by publishers rushing developers to meet deadlines. I'd be playing more indie games, for sure.

Oh, definitely, without a doubt and 100%: most indie games, I'm of the same opinion as you, have no problem kicking 'AAA' games to the curb; it's a universal truth at this point, I feel. This, I think, can be particularly likened to Pokémon, where fan games, especially ROM hacks, often tend to be of far superior quality, offering a better experience than the main games in the series have in the past decade; in fact, some of the people behind those projects went on to create and develop games of their own, with Monster Crow, Anode Heart, and CountryBalls Heroes being some recent examples.

My original post was geared mainly toward the "mainstream" side of the industry, given that their reason for pushing digital so fervently is insincere; they see it as a casino of sorts, and it's therefore driven not only by greed but also by the corporate side of it, which worsens it. In truth, I don't have a problem getting games digitally; the majority of indie games, after all, began and often continue to be distributed that way. But the difference between the two sides is, to use a simple analogy, like me choosing water over soda to quench my thirst, so I can't in good conscience go with the least healthy, less satiable option when what they're offering me boils down to renting a license key at a premium that they can in turn revoke anytime they want due to licensing issues or what-have-yous. If the main point of their argument for pushing digital-only distribution by 20XX is cutting costs, then the least that they should do is pass those savings on to their customers since there literally won't be anything tangible in exchange. They want the maximum amount of profit by exerting the least amount of effort, which is irrefutable at this point, I believe.

Truthfully, I've always been of the opinion that modern gaming as we know it began its slow descent into mediocrity ever since the 7th generation, going further downhill as the years passed, so to put it bluntly, whatever these companies end up doing has no immediate impact on me—I'm a shameless cheapskate anyway, if you catch my drift.

One last thought: never give up your freedom for the sake of convenience.

Quote from: weirdfeline
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/01/xboxs-physical-games-departments-reportedly-affected-by-microsoft-layoffs

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/several-european-retailers-are-reportedly-no-longer-stocking-physical-xbox-games/



Slowly but surely, the transition continues.

Let's wait a bit and see if the few rumors that purport that Nintendo's next console is digital-only are true, and then I guess we can sit here to ponder this far more critically. After all, as I said, we tasted the waters already with Sony and Microsoft releasing consoles without disc drives, so my way of thinking is if the third dog in the race, who's stubbornness knows no bounds and has often shown to be staunchly stuck in the past, does end up following the same approach as its competitors, then that would change things, for sure. If, in the next generation, the three biggest names in the industry release digital-only consoles, then I guess we could begin to fully embrace the digital era...maybe. We can count on there being opposition if that were to happen because, as I said, even if it's a "minority", people who prefer physical media still make up a big piece of the pie. But we'll see, I guess. Full disclosure, though: given Nintendo's "always late to the party" way of doing things, I don't see them going all-digital yet, mainly because I don't think Japan cares as much as the West does for digital media.

[...] I do want to address the issue of many modern physical games, particularly on the PS5 and Series X/S, being little more than beefed up CD keys. I say this because the discs are definitely more than CD keys, however without downloading the rest of the game which 90% of them require, the game will either not work at all or be in an unplayable state. I've seen this with various PS4 games as well, although it is less egregious than on consoles from the current gen. What this essentially means is the longevity of collecting for the PS5, Series X/S, and even PS4 and XBONE is severely in question. [...]

Overall, in most cases, for modern physical releases, the game is included on the disc, especially when it comes to single-player titles. It's when developers push day-one patches to account for an unfinished game, cut corners because the game files were too big, or implement always-on DRM that factors in the idea of the discs being "glorified license keys", or rather "glorified coasters", for a far better-sounding descriptor. A game that would require a day-one patch to add missing content or essentially the full game due to being released unfinished will be nothing but utter trash in the future once the servers hosting those files go under—I'm looking at you, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5. This is what separates Nintendo from the other two: Nintendo Switch releases have the full game on the cartridge and, barring a patch or two, are playable straight from the package. A recent example is Star Ocean: The Second Story R, which I posted derisively about given that it happens to state on the cover that a download is required only for it to be just for a language pack, the game being fully playable offline.

My backlog is huge. I intend to play and enjoy it.  :)


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When confrontation comes down to the wire, I'll use my cyclotrode to commence the fire.
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