DISCLAIMER: This video was recorded before the news of Walmart ceasing sales for physical Xbox games, as well as before the rumours about Xbox shutting down its entire physical games department. This essay started off as a rant that was meant to be posted on Nathan's Threads account back in early January. He wrote up to almost 10 posts before he decided that he should turn it into a video.
I recently bought a PS5 and I’m so glad to be back on physical gaming for a change. My wife and I broke out our PS4 collection and rediscovered all of our previous-gen games and game saves, it was a blast.
With xbox's backwards compat program, i buy disks of old games all the time because its usually cheaper, or some games like FEAR needs the disk cuz its not on the online store. So i guess ill hang on to my xbox series X with the disk drive
That's what I love about Microsoft. They really nailed down backwards compatibility better than Sony and dare I say... even Nintendo. The fact that you could potentially pop in an original Xbox game into a Series X and get some crisp and buttery smooth emulation still shocks me to this day. Sadly, because I don't have any previous Xbox consoles or their games, I had no reason to get a Series X. - Nathan
Backwards compatibility has evolved to become more of a novelty rather than a genuinely good feature, especially since the Series X isn't 100% compatible with every original Xbox and Xbox 360 title. However, the fact that it still exists helps with prolonging the usage of those discs until you don't actually need them anymore or when they actually stop working, even if it's just a license to get an emulated version of those games. - Nathan
I see the pinned comment, but even still, I think it is naive to assume that physical games aren't going anywhere just because there is some demand. The thing is, corporations have a lot more control over the physical game space. And corporations will impose their will whenever they see oppurtunities to maximize their profit for shareholders. It would seem to me that we are in the process of going digital as we speak at the behest of the major players. Now, I don't think physical games are going away completely either. There are many countries in South America and Asia that would most certainly not be okay with going digital. But that doesn't mean they can't do it for the US, Canada, and western Europe. Still an interesting vid.
One of the reasons for maintaining physical games is price control. Most of the prices we have today are due to manufacturing costs of games, and that price tag is applied to digital versions so that they can be sold at a price arguably higher than what consumers would be willing to pay for. - Nathan
@TheSwitchClicks most of the price of games are from the development of said game. Especially with there being no manuals in cases anymore, they are probably cheaper to produce than ever. I would bet, no more tan $5 (I just did an initial Google and it seems I was more or less right.) Not to mention the relatively recent price raise of games, I don't think that can be explained unless the prices of games are based on the value of the work put into the game. And if that is the case it would probably be reasonable to assume that if we went digital tomorrow, prices would likely be unaffected as the work to make games has not changed. I really am not trying to be too combative, btw, just something to think about.
For me, I tend to jump less between games when I play the games using a disc. The act of removing the disc and putting a new one, coupled with my laziness, basically pushes me to play a single game and finish it before jumping to another one. We are so easily distracted these days and things like this keeps me focused on one game at a time instead of hopping between different games like I’m on Netflix. The paradox of choice applies here because we’ve all heard about the people having hundreds of games in their Steam library but never even downloading them. Also, when I pay 70€ and get a nice case with a disc in it, it feels valuable and I’ll definitely play that game to its end. With a digital version, the sense of value doesn’t exist because you just downloaded a piece of code. Humans need tangebility. This is why some things feel more premium than others because of tangible difference in their build. Lastly, you can lend your physical games to your family and friends. Or you can just resell it and get some of your money back. Can’t do that with digital games and I don’t think publishers will ever make it possible unless forced to legally.
@@TheSwitchClicks I just purchased Octopath Traveler 2 for the PS4 for 18 bucks at Gamestop. The PSN store charges 60 for that game. This is why they want to get rid of physical games, so you can't get used games cheaper somewhere else and will have to pay full retail price even on older titles.
Getting used games for cheaper and actually owning them is the one thing i like about console gaming, but it's clear that physical releases are slowly dying.
I'm holding out hope that Nintendo will be the one to maintain physical releases. I think as long as it continues to be in demand in Japan, it will stick around internationally. At least Nintendo Switch Game Cards still hold more relevance than Blu-ray Discs. - Nathan
This video was more meant to be addressing modern day physical mediums as opposed to retro games. Partway through the video, I did say that physical games suck at preservation because of their limited usage. I must admit, there are some games I had to resort to dubiously legal means to acquire, because of inflated prices or limited retail availability. - Nathan
@@TheSwitchClicksI had to set sail to get some of the older 3DS titles because here in Japan you can actually still find them on shelves, but at a steep markup.
I would. I do on my PC. But I don't wanna jailbreak my playstation. I donno, there's this sense of accomplishment after buying a game and playing it rather then just, well, downloading it onto your USB. Plus the achievements and all that
@@The-Creative-Hub I adopted the optical disk format very early in the 90`s, have books and books of disks, and quite frankly want to have an ODE for everything and forget those days entirely. The lack of load time alone is enough for me to jettison the format, forget the convenience of having every game in one place.
DISCLAIMER: This video was recorded before the news of Walmart ceasing sales for physical Xbox games, as well as before the rumours about Xbox shutting down its entire physical games department.
This essay started off as a rant that was meant to be posted on Nathan's Threads account back in early January. He wrote up to almost 10 posts before he decided that he should turn it into a video.
I recently bought a PS5 and I’m so glad to be back on physical gaming for a change. My wife and I broke out our PS4 collection and rediscovered all of our previous-gen games and game saves, it was a blast.
Dakota and I both have PS5s for the reason of missing out on the PS4 games. It certainly has a great library of games!
- Nathan
With xbox's backwards compat program, i buy disks of old games all the time because its usually cheaper, or some games like FEAR needs the disk cuz its not on the online store. So i guess ill hang on to my xbox series X with the disk drive
That's what I love about Microsoft. They really nailed down backwards compatibility better than Sony and dare I say... even Nintendo. The fact that you could potentially pop in an original Xbox game into a Series X and get some crisp and buttery smooth emulation still shocks me to this day. Sadly, because I don't have any previous Xbox consoles or their games, I had no reason to get a Series X.
- Nathan
@@TheSwitchClicks now if i can find a physical copy of deadpool at a decent prices, that would be greattttt
Backwards compatibility has evolved to become more of a novelty rather than a genuinely good feature, especially since the Series X isn't 100% compatible with every original Xbox and Xbox 360 title. However, the fact that it still exists helps with prolonging the usage of those discs until you don't actually need them anymore or when they actually stop working, even if it's just a license to get an emulated version of those games.
- Nathan
i agree i feel accomplished when finally get a psychical game after busting my back off for it and sleep well knowing it won't get nuked the next day
I see the pinned comment, but even still, I think it is naive to assume that physical games aren't going anywhere just because there is some demand. The thing is, corporations have a lot more control over the physical game space. And corporations will impose their will whenever they see oppurtunities to maximize their profit for shareholders. It would seem to me that we are in the process of going digital as we speak at the behest of the major players. Now, I don't think physical games are going away completely either. There are many countries in South America and Asia that would most certainly not be okay with going digital. But that doesn't mean they can't do it for the US, Canada, and western Europe. Still an interesting vid.
One of the reasons for maintaining physical games is price control. Most of the prices we have today are due to manufacturing costs of games, and that price tag is applied to digital versions so that they can be sold at a price arguably higher than what consumers would be willing to pay for.
- Nathan
@TheSwitchClicks most of the price of games are from the development of said game. Especially with there being no manuals in cases anymore, they are probably cheaper to produce than ever. I would bet, no more tan $5 (I just did an initial Google and it seems I was more or less right.) Not to mention the relatively recent price raise of games, I don't think that can be explained unless the prices of games are based on the value of the work put into the game. And if that is the case it would probably be reasonable to assume that if we went digital tomorrow, prices would likely be unaffected as the work to make games has not changed. I really am not trying to be too combative, btw, just something to think about.
I'm definitely a Physical Gamer
System of choice (PS2)
95 (PS2) at the moment
For me, I tend to jump less between games when I play the games using a disc. The act of removing the disc and putting a new one, coupled with my laziness, basically pushes me to play a single game and finish it before jumping to another one. We are so easily distracted these days and things like this keeps me focused on one game at a time instead of hopping between different games like I’m on Netflix. The paradox of choice applies here because we’ve all heard about the people having hundreds of games in their Steam library but never even downloading them.
Also, when I pay 70€ and get a nice case with a disc in it, it feels valuable and I’ll definitely play that game to its end. With a digital version, the sense of value doesn’t exist because you just downloaded a piece of code. Humans need tangebility. This is why some things feel more premium than others because of tangible difference in their build.
Lastly, you can lend your physical games to your family and friends. Or you can just resell it and get some of your money back. Can’t do that with digital games and I don’t think publishers will ever make it possible unless forced to legally.
im a physical game type of player, i dont buy many games but when i do, they are physical.
I'm in the same boat as you. I don't buy many games, but I try to go for physical unless it's digital exclusive or overly tedious to get.
- Nathan
@@TheSwitchClicks
I just purchased Octopath Traveler 2 for the PS4 for 18 bucks at Gamestop. The PSN store charges 60 for that game. This is why they want to get rid of physical games, so you can't get used games cheaper somewhere else and will have to pay full retail price even on older titles.
@@TheSwitchClicksI remember when games were physical exclusive and only smaller games were digital back in the early 360 days
physical media games is always here to stay never give in to an only digital world
Getting used games for cheaper and actually owning them is the one thing i like about console gaming, but it's clear that physical releases are slowly dying.
I'm holding out hope that Nintendo will be the one to maintain physical releases. I think as long as it continues to be in demand in Japan, it will stick around internationally. At least Nintendo Switch Game Cards still hold more relevance than Blu-ray Discs.
- Nathan
Buying games is a scam. If your a retro guy, go ODE or softmod your system, ride the high seas, and enjoy. Yaar.
This video was more meant to be addressing modern day physical mediums as opposed to retro games. Partway through the video, I did say that physical games suck at preservation because of their limited usage.
I must admit, there are some games I had to resort to dubiously legal means to acquire, because of inflated prices or limited retail availability.
- Nathan
@@TheSwitchClicksI had to set sail to get some of the older 3DS titles because here in Japan you can actually still find them on shelves, but at a steep markup.
Yeah, it can be quite annoying to get ahold of some 3DS games, especially when Nintendo (prematurely) killed the eShop.
- Nathan
I would. I do on my PC. But I don't wanna jailbreak my playstation. I donno, there's this sense of accomplishment after buying a game and playing it rather then just, well, downloading it onto your USB. Plus the achievements and all that
@@The-Creative-Hub I adopted the optical disk format very early in the 90`s, have books and books of disks, and quite frankly want to have an ODE for everything and forget those days entirely. The lack of load time alone is enough for me to jettison the format, forget the convenience of having every game in one place.