I've been hearing about the death of physical for the better part of 10 years now and it has yet to happen. Sony and MS are still putting disc drives in their consoles, though they do of course offer cheaper 'all digital' versions now. I have plenty of digital games on my Switch, but I will revolt if they try to force us to go all digital. Heck, I am one of those people who still buys some Blurays and DVDs, mostly select old school horror movies and the like, but I am an old fart who grew up in the 80s and 90s with everything on physical media so I am rather attached to it. Also physical media had been written off as dead with music and to my shock and amazement vinyl has now made a comeback of sorts.
I would say that the next consoles from M$ and Sony will be digital only. We see it with Series S and PS5 Digital Edition, which ship without a physical drive.
Physical media isn’t going away. It has far greater potential to reach consumers that digital distribution over internet connections and cloud. Many places, even here in the US, don’t have access to reliable cheap internet especially in you live in a rural community.
@Matt_Barber@skywake Surprised you both came to that conclusion. Nothing in that text says to me I don't own the product I've bought. All it says is that if I attempt to modify the hardware or the software then it might not work anymore. That doesn't mean I don't still own the cartridge. If I hack my Switch and then get a brick-ban from Nintendo, I still own the game and can still use it on the hardware for which it was intended.
Even if, in 10 years time, all of my Switch devices have malfunctioned beyond repair, I'll still own the physical games I bought, and will be able to play them on any hardware capable of running or emulating Switch OS. And I'll still be able to sell them in any market that might exist for them. I just don't see how you conclude otherwise based on that text.
Nobody's saying that you don't own the cartridge. You just don't own the game. While they were one and the same twenty years ago, there's a subtle difference between the two now that the game is typically going to include components download from servers. Once those servers are turned off, the cartridge alone may not be enough to play the game with and, even when it is, it's probably going to be in a rough state without the inevitable day one patches.
If you want to keep a copy of the full game, including all patches and DLC, you're going to have to do the same as everyone who bought the download and modify your console in order to dump it. This sucks, I know, but it's where we are now.
Worse than that, with the live service games that are becoming increasingly prevalent, you won't even be able to do that. Having a physical copy of something like Destiny 2 or FF XIV isn't going to help you; when the servers eventually get turned off, those games are gone for good.
While they were one and the same twenty years ago, there's a subtle difference between the two now that the game is typically going to include components download from servers. Once those servers are turned off, the cartridge alone may not be enough to play the game with and, even when it is, it's probably going to be in a rough state without the inevitable day one patches.
Patches can be wirelessly transferred between consoles without an internet connection, so one, in theory, could have an extra Switch console (or two, or three) to serve as a back-up of this data, so the situation isn't quite as dire as you imply. It's not a flawless system, of course, and some of us may resort to "other means" to preserve our games in the years to come, but physical still beats digital any day of the week in this particular case.
Nintendo themselves also routinely reissue cartridges with the latest version in reprints, so it may be worth waiting out until the creases are ironed out rather than buying a copy at launch. I've decided not to buy Switch Sports and Mario Strikers at launch for this reason due to the missing content, and I'll probably wait another year or two just to have a higher chance of picking up a copy with all of the post-launch content on there (Australia isn't very good in this regard as we are a lower-priority market). Either way, it's going to be a gamble (unfortunately), unless I can somehow inspect the cartridge prior to purchase.
The situation, however, is much more dire for games with DLC (of any kind, be it paid or free), and I absolutely detest the practice. I'd rather wait and/or pay more for a complete release. Now THAT would be done and dusted once the eShop servers are terminated.
@Sisilly_G
Even if you do get the patches across some games require online components. I mean sure there are ways around that like setting up custom servers and the like. But at that point you might as well just emulate anyways
It's kinda like, the console itself will eventually be unable to play the game anyway whether you got the physical copy or not. And when it does your only option will be emulation. At which point you're entering a legal grey area where the ownership question is an ethical and legal one not a technical one
I'm all digital for games. When they make it so digital is no longer an option I'll get the ROM and emulate the games I purchased. Physical isn't a solution here
Getting full games on carts is a rarity nowadays. Even with Nintendo 1st party, you can't always rely on it. Zelda TotK is in a disastrous state off the cart. So sure, you "have the game" but what good does that do you if it's a stuttering, unplayable mess without the updates? There are still games that release fully complete on cart, no updates required (Metroid Prime Remastered, for example) but it's becoming rare enough you certainly can't rely on it.
As far as I'm concerned, physical is an illusion. We say "physical" because there's a physical storage medium that's tangible. You can hold and feel and touch it. But the game itself is not physical. It's digital 1's and 0's on a proprietary storage card. The only difference between that and a digital game on a micro SD is the format, and where you purchase it (either pre-downloaded onto a proprietary card and sold at retail, or you download onto a non-proprietary card at home).
The advantage with the proprietary card is that it can work on any system, and sold. And that is definitely an advantage. But for those who have no intention of selling games they buy (such as myself) there is no advantage anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact. If you lose your physical cart you're SOL, gonna have to re-purchase. If you lose your micro-SD, no prob. Just redownload on another. Granted, this requires the storefront to still allow downloads, but that's gonna be required for most physical copies too, for reasons outlined above. Difference is, digital copies on micro-SD can be backed up to PC or another storage device, and simply copied onto another card, completely negating the need for online. That's not something that can be said for physical. Once that store goes down your physical cards are borked forever. Whereas with digital, you can perpetually store that game for centuries to come.
Downside is, if the system breaks and you switch to another, you can't restore those backed up games without redownloading. But again, same is true for borked, incomplete physical copies (which is the majority). But this is extremely unlikely anyways. And can be mediated through having a backup system with extra copies of all games installed. You can do this for both digital and physical updates so it's a solution for both.
At the end of the day, I've embraced digital. I can still download any Wii, 3DS or Wii U title if I need, despite those stores dating back 20 years ago they're still going strong. But I doubt I'll ever need to anyways, as I've never had a system just brick out of the blue, and even if it did, I have spare systems with games installed there also.
I think more and more people are recognizing the benefits of physical just aren't what they used to be, and any remaining advantages have worn extremely thin, especially when countered by the unique advantages of digital.
However. There will always be a contingent of players who are loyal to the physical format. That contingent will slowly die off over time. But by the time it does, nobody will even care if physical is gone because at that point everyone will prefer digital anyways. In the meantime, as long as there's a significant portion of the market who prefers physical, physical will remain.
At least, it'll remain until it actively hinders the gaming experience to the point the pros of including it no longer outweigh the cons. Such as with Switch 2. If even Switch games barely fit on cartridges, even fewer will fit on Switch 2 cartridges. Not to mention it's actively holding back load time improvements due to the ancient technology. But that's also true for microSD. Both will ultimately need to be left behind for faster storage at some point.
But ya, I wouldn't worry about it. At least not for another 10 years. Then it may be time to reassess.
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Topic: Anyone get the feeling that physical gaming may be on its way out?
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