This is just the beginning of the end for physical games. When you think about it, most games now don't come in physical form. Only well established franchises and developers are still doing it, but of those, most of the games are also available as a download. Doubt that any next gen console will have a disk drive. Technology has triggered cannibalization in many industries, like games, and will continue to do so until fraction of what once was is left.
Gaming companies seem really, really eager to cut production of physical games out. They want you to think it's because they've become irrelevant, but it's not true. What's sad is customers having to beg companies to still produce physical copies. It's the opposite of what they'd have you believe, people still want it, they just don't want to invest in it anymore because there's a cheaper alternative for them as a company now.
I have to disagree with the first part. Though a large number of independent games are released digital-only, the majority of major studio titles are released on disc. What we are actually seeing is that game development costs have risen to the point where developers and/or publishers are playing it safe and not taking risks on new IPs.
I support indies when they put their titles out on disc. Stick It To the Man I picked up right away. Terraria I will get when it drops uner $30 because...that's just too high. I have seen that Brothers is getting a physical release and will support that as well.
These companies aren't fooling me into believing that physical media is irrelevant. The entire reason they want to go digital is they make double what they do on physical releases. There is no cost associated with production of physical items nor any shipping costs. They also don't have to sell the games for half-price (approximation here) to a retailer who then makes their own profit on the game when they sell it to you as the end user.
I know they are working on how to go digital-only, but they are stuck between a rock and hard place. If they charge half-price for digital games (which is all they should be charging anyway) under retail price, they will piss off retailers who will retaliate by not carrying their products at all. If they go digital-only, they again piss off retailers who in turn won't carry the systems that are used to play the games.
I personally hope game companies don't find a solution to that mess anytime soon. Offering digital or physical copies of games is just fine with me. Those who want a download can go ahead and those like me who want a physical item for their money can go to the store or order it online.
