OPINION: As Xbox Series X

[Windows Central]

Xbox digital games have reportedly hit a 91% share over physical discs, making the future of physical look bleak.

OPINION: As Xbox Series X : Read more

 

[GraniteStateColin]

100% agree. While I was a PC then PS3 (specifically for the included Blu-Ray drive) gamer until the Xbox One, we didn't have access to sufficiently high speed Internet to be worthwhile over physical discs until recently. So most of my Xbox One games were all on discs (last few on the One and all my Series X game purchases have been digital, everything since Cyberpunk 2077, I think).

I can play all my older disc-based games on the current disc-including Xbox Series X, but I suspect my future Xbox hardware purchases will be discless. I would love to be able to either register my discs with MS for digital use on all my current and future Xboxes or to be able to purchase an external Blu-Ray drive that specifically supports playing older Xbox disc-based games. Between those two, I think I slightly prefer the former (more flexible once registered), but I don't have a strong opinion on that, just ensure there is SOME way for us to play them.

 

[fatpunkslim]

It is interesting to note that PlayStation is the first to have launched a generation of entirely digital console (mid gen in this case), without a disc reader but only as an option, pushing the price to more than $800 with the base and the disk drive.

If Xbox remains in very sober continuity with the design of current consoles, I can't see Xbox integrating a separate reader like Paystation does. So I guess there will be a version with a reader and a version without a reader, which is ultimately much more practical for the user.

Nothing in recent statements from Sarah Bond or Phil Spencer suggests that Xbox will abandon players who have discs. For my part, I have absolutely no fear on this subject.

On the other hand, I have more doubts about Sony's pricing policy, the abuses of which we can already see with this PS5 pro and overall since the start of this generation with numerous price increases in all sectors

 

[duckydan]

The issue with physical media is that most games come with Day 1 patches or multiple updates that break game-breaking errors in the software that makes the disc nothing more than an offline installer before the patches are applied. It's not like before when you would buy an Xbox (original series) or PS2 game and the disc was all-inclusive of the finished product.

 

[fatpunkslim]

The issue with physical media is that most games come with Day 1 patches or multiple updates that break game-breaking errors in the software that makes the disc nothing more than an offline installer before the patches are applied. It's not like before when you would buy an Xbox (original series) or PS2 game and the disc was all-inclusive of the finished product.

You will note that now more and more games are not released simultaneously digitally and physically. They generally come out digitally then physically, which has several advantages:

• This addresses the problems you are talking about, because the physical version is printed after the day one patches and other patches
• The physical version is launched only if the digital version is a success, which minimizes risks

for example, the physical version of black myth wukong is only arriving now and they will probably announce the xbox digital and physical ps5 / xbox series version at the same time

 

[Kaymd]

The issue with physical media is that most games come with Day 1 patches or multiple updates that break game-breaking errors in the software that makes the disc nothing more than an offline installer before the patches are applied. It's not like before when you would buy an Xbox (original series) or PS2 game and the disc was all-inclusive of the finished product.

Thank you for this comment. You are perfectly correct. This is a subtle but critical difference that many people fail to recognize in physical media between music, movies and games.

Modern games are quite unique in entertainment in that they get 'updated' over time just like typical modern computing software.

Music and movies on the other hand are one and done. Maybe at best you may get a sharper image or higher definition recording in a separate re-release. But the content is typically fixed. Once a song or movie is released, that's it forever. The disc contains the most up-to-date version from day one. You can't go back and 'patch' or update a song haha! The same with physical books.

This makes collecting physical media of songs and movies quite a fun and enjoyable experience. Compare that with modern games where the content on disc is almost always outdated at launch, and most certainly outdated a few months post-launch. What's the point of the physical disc then?

This is one reason why physical discs of games are declining at a faster rate compared with say movies that appear to be thriving, despite the rise of streaming services.

 

[Kaymd]

You will note that now more and more games are not released simultaneously digitally and physically. They generally come out digitally then physically, which has several advantages:

• This addresses the problems you are talking about, because the physical version is printed after the day one patches and other patches
• The physical version is launched only if the digital version is a success, which minimizes risks

for example, the physical version of black myth wukong is only arriving now and they will probably announce the xbox digital and physical ps5 / xbox series version at the same time

While this helps to some extent, it does not address the inevitable patch two years post launch. Even games released four years ago get the occasional performance patch, or balancing etc.

How many Elden Ring base game updates have we had post launch? At the moment of typing this, the most recent patch is 1.16 on October 17, 2024. This is for a title released February 2022. What's the point of the game content on disc even if it was printed in 2023 or 2024?

Modern games in physical format are now quite pointless for their content. At best, they may be useful for decorative or collecting purposes.

 

[fjtorres5591]

The issue with physical media is that most games come with Day 1 patches or multiple updates that break game-breaking errors in the software that makes the disc nothing more than an offline installer before the patches are applied. It's not like before when you would buy an Xbox (original series) or PS2 game and the disc was all-inclusive of the finished product.

To a large extent, disk editions are just a form of keydisk DRM.
When I bought FALLOUT4 for PC the disk had zero executable code. It simply authorized the download.

And the patches don't stop with the day one download.
Many games get monthly if not weekly patches so the days of picking up a disk and playing the game immediately are long gone. 91% only refers to where the authorization code resides. Today's gaming requires at least intermittent broadband even for single player.

And the number will only go up as cloud gaming matures. More so if next gen boxes start at $700-800 like PS5 PRO. I've tested the FireTV Max on XBOX streaming and it is better than PC streaming, distinguishable from the SX only in using HD10 instead of DolbyVision. I could see sticking with the SX and playing next gen games via streaming instead of springing for a new box as a common solution for console gaming circa 2026/28.

91%? Expect 98%.

The future is already with us, reflected In the Games only available on disk via LIMITED RUN GAMES and, as the company's name says, for a limited time only. Next gen disk releases will likely be only expensive collector's editions.

Finally, for fans of the disk based games, consider that as Spencer said a while back, disk drive manufacturing has been in steep decline for a decade now and the price of the drives is only going up. Sony doesn't price their external PS5 drive at $80 solely to squeeze blood out of a turnip; they do it because their cost is going steadily up. (Try pricing new BD players on Amazon or elsewhere. I actually got a remnant new OneX for less than a 4K BD player. And I only have a dozen or so disks vs 100 digital movies (you can get them dirt cheap via XBOX holiday sales.)

Expect the delta between the disk and diskless version of the next generation to be $100 or more. And expect the drive to be an optional external unit, much like the 360 HDD drive. Once the BluRay movie market gets small enough, the format will go the way of vinyl: a pricy niche. And the drives will be as rare as 5in floppies today.

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

I've always wondered why everything can't be as good as movies. Buy a disc, get a code for a digital copy, and through movies anywhere connect your entire owned library across every platform and storefront. I mean I know "why" (money), but still that's the standard to beat for me. I'd love it if my books and video games were the same. I could buy my physical copy, also get a code for a digital copy, and sync all my library across storefronts and platforms.

 

[fjtorres5591]

I've always wondered why everything can't be as good as movies. Buy a disc, get a code for a digital copy, and through movies anywhere connect your entire owned library across every platform and storefront. I mean I know "why" (money), but still that's the standard to beat for me. I'd love it if my books and video games were the same. I could buy my physical copy, also get a code for a digital copy, and sync all my library across storefronts and platforms.

Books, blame the big multinational corporate publishers.
Amazon actually had (has?) a program where buying the print edition allowed you to get the ebook for free/cheap. They still do for for ebook and audio.
None of the corporate publishers signed up. (Only some Indies did.) Instead, they maintained (and still do) the legalistic position that the print and digital editions are different products (which they are). Why do the customer any favors, right?

(And then you have free riders like the Internet Archive pretending that getting ahold of a print edition entitles them to create and distribute digital copies for free. Greed comes in many forms.)

With games, the high development cost and the subsequent need to meet quarterly financials has led to consumers becoming gamma testers at best (often beta and even alpha testers) and paying for the "privilege". Games are, in effect, never fully done. And that is before DLC and microtransactions and live service games. A movie-like linked distribution system would never work for those games and there are precious few single release games coming out these days. Patching is eternal. And often desirable. (SKYRIM and FALLOUT 4, anyone?)

And finally, there is the thing nobody mentions anymore: game resales and rentals.
Publishers like digital because digital has effectively killed resale (just ask Gamestop). Imagine what the return on one-and-done single player games like, say, SPIDER-MAN 2 would be like if people could buy it on disk for $70 and a week or two later sell it for $25 to Gamestop to be resold for $50 or less. Would it even make back its cost?

The AAA " blockbuster model is, like it or not, barely profitable as is. Without digital constraints and aftersale revenues, low performers like SUICIDE SQUAD wouldn't be just duds, they'd be studio killers. As is, SQUARE ENIX gave away CRYSTAL DYNAMICS et al for a song because they didn't have the money to cover their burn rate for the time it might take to crank out another hit or miss game. It seemed odd at the time but these days it seems almost reasonable.

The reality is the business has changed and even "good" games at reasonable prices like PRINCE OF PERSIA and HIFI RUSH can't make enough money back to keep the studio/team alive.

Bad as things are, they could be worse with resale.
And, take note, they will get worse.
But that is a different story and off-topic.

But yes: money is why publishers are stampeding to digital-only.
To a large extent it is even necessary.