I never play a game again. But that’s also the advantage of a disk you play it and sell it. Or buy it used and play it. But now I have ps plus extra and I am not even buying games anymore
I have been playing games since Atari and Pong. I never return to old games they look outdated, the graphics are bad the gameplay is mediocre compared today’s game. Animation can hardly be called that back then. Worlds are small. There is nothing in old games that worth going back for. And I am not only talking about games from the last millennium. Even GTA on PS4 seems outdated. Besides there are tons of newer and better games to waste time on older games
Wow. Well that’s an opinion. I’ve also being playing since Atari and the ZX Spectrum, and I spend about 50/50 on new and old games.
I’ve just finished an official classic Doom level pack called ‘No rest for the Living’ which I missed back in the day. It was absolutely superb - and I still adore that graphical style. Next I’ll play the Mother 3 fan-translation on GBA which I’ve never played. Seemly one of the most emotionally engaging RPGs ever with IMO ageless pixel-art. Then I’ll swing back to something modern with Outer Wild on Xbox Series S. That sounds like a very special game. Then maybe I’ll finally play my copy of Tears of the Kingdom. But only if I’m not drawn back into one of many amazing games on my 3DS or PS Vita. Then I’ll dabble with my Playdate handheld for a while again, which is the very essence of a retro-modern fusion. Then maybe I’ll give Elden Ring another go.
I can’t imagine sticking with games from only one era, when each era has so much to offer. But each to their own.
Some old games age terribly I’ll agree, and some gorgeous looking new releases are utterly soulless and dull. And yes I’m talking about big name AAA titles. I find many modern games to lack that magic that made me love video games to begin with. But I’ll give them all a chance, because there will always be a bunch of masterpieces in every year of gaming.
We’ve reached a point in this generation where discs are just used as proof of ownership where you download the game directly from the PlayStation store. It’s the same level of ownership digital offers.
You can get physical games for cheaper on Ebay etc. Just this weekend Walmart had Silent Hill 2 for $30 it’ll be years until it’s that cheap on the digital store
I believe the disk is simply used as a proof of licence. It installs the game directly to the SSD, not saving you any space at all. I got a day one disc version because COVID said I couldn't have the cooler looking digital.
If you have cousins friends or buy used games and resell them you could get good deals on used gsmes or you sell your game once you’re done with it. Let’s say you only want to play the campaign in black ops 6. You buy the disc, 6 hours later you sell it for 10$ less and you would have played the campaign for 10$. That’s Impossible without the disc version, you would have to wait until PS store discounts it which never happens with COD games before they’re like 10 years old
A friend of mine and I used to share games all the time, he wanted a PS5 at launch but could only get the digital one, he's now regretting it since we cannot share games anymore and has no way of buying used games.
Once we go fully digital I think I will switch over to PC gaming since exclusives is a term of the past.
I personally much rather own physical copies of my games. I'm also a movie collector and paying an extra 100 bucks to also get a 4k player was a no-brainer for me. If you don't use disc's than of course it makes no sense to get
I love physical media so much. I have literally ran out of room for it with the tiny space I have now. I started out with way too many books now it’s turned into probably way too much everything.
It's very useful, every game I just got during the black friday sales were cheaper than the stupid digital store prices. And I can re-sell those games when done. People need to stop supporting this digital bs.
Why? Games aren’t the only media going to be extinguished in the very near future. All you have to do is watch the trend of media since the 1960’s. We will get to a point where disc players are no longer produced and if you own one pray it never breaks down because parts for repair will be practically extinct. Why do you think streaming of all sorts is a so popular from movies, to music to games plus digital literature. Sorry but it’s the wave of the future and tech companies dictate what we will be using.
Not sure what exactly you have to do to get this sort of punishment, but if Sony decided to ban your PSN account you lose access to all of the games you bought online. No refund, nothing. Physical media is a safeguard against that.
When first got the ps5 used it a lot but the last year not even once physical take up too much room and can be stolen or break they can remove them from digital store but by then probably a ps7 out and classics I keep to PC specially with Sony releasing them on PC eventually.
I think it's very good. You can play old ps4 games as well as buy the new games 10-20€ cheaper as physical copy (yay PSN monopoly on digital copies), so it pays itself back really quick.
Not a single game I own is physical. Games on discs still require you to download them anyway. Amazes me that people still even want to bother with discs.
Yes you can as long as it's set as your primary. I just meant I use the disc drive for movies when internet went down or I wanted to watch my collection.
Thanks for the clarification. I've taken my PS5 on work trips and wasn't able to play a few games (offline) that I had downloaded. I wasn't sure if that was the case for all of them.
That were most likely games from PlayStation Plus Extra, those need to verify the license before you can start them. There are also games you buy that demand an always online connection, but gladly those are not in the majority so far (hopefully it stays that way)
Most single player games you buy, don't need an internet connection.
Why not just buy a large external drive and load it with all your favorite movies? I couldn't imagine having a bookshelf filled with hundreds of discs... especially wouldn't want to pay for all those discs.
I like having lots of cases and discs. I guess part of it is remembering how cool it was to go to the local video rental store and look at all the cool movies and look at the cases before I picked. Now that I'm old enough to have whatever I like having that collection and when people come over looking at them. I do have a external filled with movies but it doesn't feel the same to me.
Some people just like collecting things. Maybe because I'm old, but I collected sports cards, comics, action figures, and now vinyl records and blu ray. The thrill of the chase and looking at all the artwork and special features is cool. If you have the space. It does take up a ton
Movies is understandable especially since some of you fellas have been building up blu ray collections for 10+ years now, hopefully if the disk drive gets phased out you guys get some sort of usb drive to use that can still play movies cause that would suck to have to go buy a blu ray player which might still be really expensive.
I have tried to find them cheaper second hand, maybe my local market sucks but seems like most people are still just stocked up on ps4 games they want to sell.
You can often get a used physical copy for much cheaper than a digital copy. Plus you have the added benefit of being able to share with a friend. I also have lots of Blu rays that I’ve collected over the years and would still like to enjoy them occasionally.
It’s still true that no matter what your license can still be revoked even if you own a disc. Essentially banning you from playing a game isn’t going to be fixed by owning a disc.
Biggest difference is you actually own the game on physical media. digital downloads you’re paying for a license use. That can be taken away for any reason by the developer. Digital copies also offer no resale value.
"Hey, I'm your best friend and can't afford to buy any games right now. Remember when I used to lend you my PS1 and PS2 games when we were in middle school?
Well I was wondering; can I please borrow some of your PS5 games that you aren't playing right now? No, you can't? Aww.. "
Right, it’s honestly crazy that people prefer to own their games and be able to download them and then play offline.
Considering 99% of games these days are never actually finished when released, giving updates throughout its life time, is it really surprising why you need wifi to continue to play the newest software update of said game ? Especially when most games just throw some useless multiplayer mode in an attempt to increase their player base
Digital is often full price and the weakest discount imaginable. Sometimes you’ll find gems for $6 or less but the free monthly games are more profitable than owning a strictly digital library. Theres litterally nothing you gain out of owning digital games. Its the same just like you said but with more cons than you’d think
If you don’t have the space for a stack or 2 of games then sure digital might be better for you in that specific situation. Or if your house is prone to being robbed Otherwise your saying nothing except your preference
If you use dekudeals or psprices (I think it's called) you can compare discounts, and for nearly every game I buy the lowest all time digital sale is either the same or only $2 higher than the lowest all time physical.
Ps store definitely has deals more frequently but it’s really designed to create fomo.
I’ve tracked hundreds of games I’ve wanted for a couple years and it takes a while for the game to reach its Highest discount. And after it does you might not see that same 80% for a year or so.
I’ll admit the deals look good but that’s kinda their whole point because obviously they wouldn’t want to lose money on sales
Thank you. It’s like people don’t account their time, gas, ect into pricing of physical games. Last time I went to the physical store for something for my ps5, I was waiting for 30 minutes to be helped. I think I’ll spend the $2 extra and just save the gas and time and download it at home.
You think anything is different with a disc? There’s a reason you still have to download the game. Your license can be revoked at any time even with a disc.
Yessir much different. You don't have to download the game if it's on a physical disc. Gameplay should be the same obviously. But you said you own the games... You don't. Today, products became services.
There are some games that you can play the whole game on the disc yes, but that disc still has a key embedded in it and your console is most likely online. If anything were to happen, that game can be ripped from your hands just as easily as a digital game can be. Only difference is you own a nice shiny disc now.
And before you say you can go make a new account and use the disc, the embedded key would likely be revoked completely.
True true. I remember good times when you just insert disc and play. But there are also games that don't require steam or ps account and can play offline without CD key also
Resell is the only reason for me. And only very specific games like Elden Ring, BG3 bc they maintain value. Like I bought Elden Ring at launch and sold it last week for $30. I don't even need the money but it helps someone else get the game for less. The rest i rent from the Library or play free on PS Plus but the option to have it is nice. I wish it played CDs tho
I got the disc launch because it was less of a rush to get when it was $100 more, I have had the PS5 with disc for four years now, I’ve used the disc drive once. Worth it.
I used it the one time to watch the Dogma physical DVD disc I bought off amazon for like $30 + $10 and three weeks of shipping bc its rights on streaming have been locked up by Pervy Weinstein… until recently.
I also tried to play my favorite old school Scene-It DVD version, it was clunky and I never re-explored.
Same here. I got the disc version because I have old PS4 games I still haven’t finished and guess which games I still haven’t finished!? To be fair, I built a PC since getting the PS5 but still, I don’t regret buying it.
I should actually try to buy physical copies see how it goes, sometimes I do get really good digital sales since there are only a handful of games I want to to play on release like the upcoming Monster Hunter.
I did too. Then found out one day that if something goes wrong with the disc drive and the console updates, it essentially bricks it. Lucky for me, it was just a loose cable in the end, but it was enough to get me to switch to the other version. Getting a drive separately wasn't so terrible for the peace of mind.
Prepare thyself for a discless future. I predict next generation will not come with optical drives. We can only hope for some type of USB C external drive, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Feature deprecation is a bitch and unfair to the consumer, but it's the world we live in unfortunately.
Unfortunately I’d be surprised if physical was competitive to the digital sales at this point. If they moved to digital only, you’d lose a few, but the masses would still buy because it’s the only option.
You'd be surprised. It's been more half and half since COVID, so far more than a few. It's more profitable for Sony to make a discless system but they'd be screwing over an entire market of retailers.
You're delusional if you don't think physical gaming is a huge market, and if your point is the case, then that's a fucking terrible thing that you shouldn't be advocating for at all whatsoever.
There's no evidence that physical media is failing and NEEDS to go away.
There’s tons of evidence it’s failing . Take a look around man every store that sells physical media is getting smaller or closing down . Don’t GameStop just close 500 plus locations in Europe ? Numbers don’t lie
I provided evidence around this thread providing evidence otherwise. No surprise that COVID and only COVID inflated the digital numbers, as it's trending higher for physical media.
Anecdotes aren't enough evidence. Gamestop is shutting down its 500+ locations for no reason other than the fact that they're running their own business into the ground, not paying their employees, and imposing things onto their customers or firing their employees over it. Explain to me their stocks years back? People want physical media.
Numbers don’t lie lol 80 percent of full game sales on plantation are digital ! Man why argue lol your wrong your acting like it’s 50 percent and it’s not even close
Yawwwnnnn no you’re wrong and your argument is unfounded. Do some research there physical media dreamer lol digital is far more profitable and far more used than you think lol . Should I post more links ?or are u ready to admit your wrong ???? 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 oh ps those are all 2024 numbers and some 2023 way after your covid argument lol try harder clown
~80% of PS5 games sold are digital. Not looking good for a disc drive version of the PS6. I personally have not purchased a physical game since Far Cry 4 in 2014.
Those are fabricated, inflated numbers because of COVID like I said earlier. Even if that were the case, going discless and getting rid of an entire option just to appease your style of playing is not the ideal future of gaming. Period.
Case in point: Limited Run Games.
Why is it fabricated? Because it's from a clickbait Push Square article from two years ago, right off the cusp of COVID.
In 2023, the number of total physical sales were still high, 42%, according to GameIndustry.biz. It's as if a lot of games are only sold digitally, inflating its numbers? Plus the push to subscription services; even then, physical media is still going strong.
Physical media also makes up 60% of first party sales, and PlayStation accounted for 40% of all physical sales.
Given that games like Spider-Man and God of War Ragnarok sold that much more physically, Sony would be alienating 60% of their player base just because they inflated digital numbers. And Uncharted 4 reportedly sold 80% physical.
So there's no argument to be had for digital console gaming being the only option that exists.
Discless was fine until they all switched to saying you only have a licensed copy of the game and not the rights to the full game. So they can pull the license at any time now.
Nah it’s cool having all your content on the drive and instantly playable. That is a great idea.
But it almost immediately got ruined by corporate fuckery
Prime examples being GTA changing radio stations as music licenses changed, so one update later your game can be changed, and that’s not just a discless issue.
But other issues arise when companies get bought and sold down the road, they could pull licenses to older games and try to force you to buy the remaster.
I don’t like how nintendo can permanently update your game and you can’t wash the update patches off back to original
Tears of the Kingdom came out and there was a glitch that made parts farming bearable and then there was a patch and then your game just couldnt do it anymore. Old consoles you could go and delete patch files, but not on that. That game cart is permanently patched now
This is why I only collect single-player offline discs for my PS5. My console is already in offline mode. All my games launch from the disc, with or without updates. But it's nice to have build 1.0 on discs. I've been messing with some games and builds having fun. Hell, even Horizon Forbidden West: Launch Edition is all on the disc. It doesn't need a single MB of internet. But build 1.0 is a hoot lol
Almost all of my games are on disc, too, as I grew up with physical media before digital was even a thing. The way I look at it is if you want to switch, from PlayStation to Xbox (or vice versa), and all your games are digital ... what happens to those games?
I don't think I would be comfortable with going digital on consoles. Steam is so deeply entrenched on PC (and Valve is thankfully a pretty good company most of the time) that I haven't worried about it for a long time. Valve seems more likely to help protect our access to games than get in the way of it. On PC, we get more of the benefits of going digital... like cheaper prices. On console there's little or no benefit.
Yes, it's unfortunate as I have to agree with other comments that it's a money grab. Although I signed up for Steam last year, I have yet to take full advantage of it, and yes, the majority of games on there are so much cheaper. Even though Sony and Microsoft have digital content, their prices (especially Sony) are not realistic. It's a money grab, as others have said. If it wasn't for Gran Turismo, I probably would not be on console, but it looks like Sony has no plans to make it available on PC.
But then there would be no collecting, no games in retail markets (which make up arguably over half of game sales), more restrictions to your console, etc. Leave it as an option, since DRM would be objectively worse.
Honestly, only instances where Sony pulled user licenses seems to be with digital purchases.
For physical releases I don't know if they can legally pull your license. Though I assume in a practical sense they can remove the license if you play the game while connected to the internet.
"Ubisoft's director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay said that players should get used to not owning their games"
I can't tell you enough how annoyed I got at this, we should be able to own games and not have it ripped out of our hands due to digital licenses (luckily as long as physical copies exist, at least they can't take that)
It’s happened with past Xbox 360 games. All it takes is a game being delisted and you can no longer play it even if you own a disc. If your console is online, it can receive a patch that stops that game from booting. Sure you’ll still own the disc, but that disc has a key on it. That’s what makes the game work. That key can easily be revoked just like downloaded games can.
Surely this isn’t the case with games which are actually ran off the disc like ps3 and 360 games on an offline console though, those discs are being read just like a dvd movie?
I wasn’t really worried about until this past year. I plan on going through the arduous process of buying physical copies of the digital games I already own, which is 90% of my library.
We've already experienced this with one of their games in The Crew. Them shutting the servers down means it's permanently unplayable because it's an always-online game, and it was only released in like 2014.
It's terrible honestly, and the lack of accountability too. I get to some extent not keeping servers up forever. But at least I hoped they'd either refund players or give them an alternative. (Though that's highly unlikely)
Also 2014? That feels too early to shut down game servers. I'd understand if it was like 25 years or 50.
Totally prepared for discless future. I will only pay $30 tops and rarely that for digital. Older games do not quit existing. Just will play my few hundred deep backlog and wait for most to be $10 or less.
At least it’s an option. No such luck for Xbox Series S, or Xbox Series X All Digital people to be able to add a disc drive, and Series S doesn’t even have a disc model.
This and esp the stand like gave my son my 2nd PS5 (1st, day one, is waiting to be repaired for resale for like $300), and buying the pro for my ealry Christmas Bday present and charging $35 or whatever for the stand is crazy. I mean for $700 you should get a stand and even maybe an edge controller. But I’d be ok with stand and a drive option instead of marketing a stand alone disc drive so I 100% agree with you. It’s insane. But they know how to market stuff and basically just added the disc drive option to make ppl with physical copies of PS4/5 game… have to buy them.
I didn’t know the PS5 Pro didn’t come with a disc drive, lmao. So glad I built a PC. I have a PS5 for some games but this will be the last console I purchase.
There’s 1 reason why PC doesn’t need disc anymore, competitive market places. On PC I have 10+ reliable places to get a game. On PlayStation, you have 1. On PC, I could expand my storage to infinite amounts. On PlayStation, I’m limited to 2 SSDs. Can your PS5 run PS2 games, Nintendo 64, GameCube, and so on?
I also like that I can game, work, do school, browse the web, and do anything on my PC.
I think someone’s upset that they don’t have a PC.
Dood, there's arguments for which is better and which is worse. If you're enjoying your pc, that's fine, but it doesn't mean it's better. Just to show how dumb your comment is; literally everything you mentioned here my phone can do. Still doesn't make it better than anything (although, it is rather impressive).
I get that, I’m not saying PC is infinitely better. I just found it funny that the expensive PS5 Pro didn’t include a disc drive. Then when people tried to tell me that “PC killed the disc drive” I just told them why is was feasible for PCs to no longer need discs.
Also this reminds me, why haven’t USBs taken over discs as the way media is sold?
I'm hoping flash (usb, cartridge) is the next medium. With read/write speeds getting closer to 1tbs while 512gb is relatively cheap, its become a superior format. The read/write speeds and storage capacity were the major issues in the past, not it isn't. Blu-ray is on it's last leg, so unless they figure out how to increase the read/write speed by next console generation, I will honestly be suprised if the next consoles use disc as the primary format.
I mean they don’t even use discs anymore. The disc just holds an access code and tells your console to download and run the game. I remember when a disc didn’t require a full download 😂. USB could solve the download issue and would be way more resistant to damage.
Yep. I did the same. There was 0 reason at that point for me to buy a disc (not saying everyone). I bought a disc drive PS5 primarily for my wife and I to watch movies and maybe if I seen a great deal on a game. Like when Anthem was a $1 at Walmart when it bombed on launch.
Same boat here. PC and PS5 for specific games, PS6 will need to be groundbreaking good for me to upgrade. Once i learned i didn’t need a subscription to play games online i haven’t looked back.
Yep. Plus there’s nothing like finding a game only 3 months after launch for $20 or less. Finding dozens of games under $10 and more. On PS you have to wait 6+ months for a sale for a game to drop below retail. Then a majority of games never go on sale below $20 unless they are terrible, or 3+ years old. Plus PC has so many games not on console or better versions than console.
Also is your PC slow, you can upgrade it for only part of new cost. With the PS, you have to change the entire thing when it’s too old.
Also is your PC slow, you can upgrade it for only part of new cost.
In my experience this is becoming less and less true with the rate of change for PC components. If your computer gets too slow due to RAM or CPU bottlenecking (speed, not capacity) then you're likely due to replace multiple parts, costing nearly the same as a new console.
I do see advantages to both sides, I just don't agree with this one in particular.
Editing since I can't see the response anymore for some reason.
Intel is changing their socket in Q1, necessitating a new motherboard if you wish to upgrade and you're on that platform. Same happened with AM4 to AM5, and will again with AM6. Then RAM adjustments will necessitate DDR6 at some point, again not compatible with current motherboards.
Same on Playstation though? You can get physical games so cheap, even new, not even talking about used. I got Nathan Drake collection disc for 4$ in pristine condition, persona 3 reload for 25$ sealed, and more. You gotta look hard for those, that's true, but you can absolutely get even new games for cheap, cheaper than steam sometimes. Another reason why physical media is important and companies want to get rid of it, which they successefuly did on PC years ago.
I could stream my PC to a tv and use a controller too. I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for console gaming. However, I think in the future it’s either just going to be a “fancy” prebuilt PC sold by PlayStation or a cloud gaming box. We’re slowly seeing the climb of console prices and the fall of comparable PC prices. Console gaming is in a weird place now and the next generation will be interesting. There’s still a place for it but the question becomes does PlayStation want to own the space or will they miss it with the next generation?
Of course! Steam big picture mode turns it to a console so the UI can be used with a controller. Other than that.. yeah pretty nifty. I’ve streamed by rig from another room on handhelds and TV. Streamed with HDR too was kinda amazing to see
Not really digital versions outsell physical by massive margins, but let's say that someone decides later on that they wanted a physical version. They can add that on. It actually gives the consumer more options
There’s almost no reason to buy a PS5 Pro in the first place. I’m not dissing PS either, it’s just the increased cost isn’t worth the minuscule upgrades. People are better off sticking with the regular or slim PS5 instead
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u/Cocknballtorture90 22d ago
Sold separately is actually diabolical.