Physical Game Sales Took A Nosedive In The UK Last Year

It doesn't help that companies like Capcom have stopped selling physical copies of some recent titles in Europe. My Switch Mega Man collection is made up of Japanese imports.

i mean i personally hate being forced to have to buy from LRG and wait god knows how long before i receive a game. I mean there are other small producers obviously, but the whole system for getting non-major titles is really not great. hopefully some technological advancements will make it easier for devs/publishers to just whack out a bunch of physical products instead of having to rely on places like LRG

I have a strict policy of no physical no buy.

@Jack_Goetz : As an Aussie fan, I know the pain all too well. I'll spring for US imports when there's such releases available.

My only new releases last year were Marvel Vs Capcom Collection (Physical Switch import) and Sonic X Shadow Generations (£26 on Amazon over Xmas). A lot of my gaming has been the backlog which has been a joy.

Besides whatever the Switch 2 might bring, I don't see myself being in a rush to buy many games at launch this year either.

All the video game shops are closing across Europe: so it's harder to get them. I think people still living in the UK are dirt poor too: they keep talking about the 'cost of living crisis'. So going digital probably saves them some money.

@Dazman yep. UK is poor mans land now. and we are only getting poorer and it will get worse. Everyone is broke, no one wants to spend beyond their means much. Digital is just much cheaper

Unfortunate. Still buying loads when I can, though I think my last purchase was Sonic x Shadow Generations back in Early Dec from HMV of all places.
Last time I went into my local GAME (in Sports Direct), no staff were at the till, the store only had a couple of employees and they were either serving the Sports Direct customers or playing security at the entrance. I gave up buying from them and not yet gone back. Only real way I get physical is online retailers now and mileage varies. The self sabotage from the industry is disgusting.

ps dominates in uk over nintendo that why less physical game sales it makes sense..more and more sony gamers are digital buyers as every year passes..

When I can import the same games, or games I want that aren't stocked locally, from Canada while paying less, I'm going to buy from UK sellers less.

I haven't stopped buying physical games, but I've started buying them from different countries more.

But these figures aren't a surprise. The trend has been obvious for years. It makes sense for publishers to do whatever they can to kill the culture of consumers owning their games, especially physically. And it'll happen in the UK earlier than in many places, because the UK market is smaller, and the UK population is particularly willing to bend over for short-term, mis-perceived, gain. Which is why a few of us have been going nuts for physical on Switch - making hay while the sun shines (just before it disappears below the horizon).

@smithyo There's perhaps also an element of fear regarding backwards compatibility too for some. I have a large physical collection and I worry it'll become useless going forward whilst people who bought digitally will retain their collections into new generations.

I will ALWAYS purchasing PHYSICAL games.
Keep supporting physical media for our next generations.
#keepplayingphysicalgames 🤟

You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.

@Jack_Goetz I know what you mean. I've had to import about 10 Capcom games, just so I can have the physically. It's really annoying. The Marvel vs Capcom collection was the most bizarre one. They released a physical disc copy for PS4 and then released a code in a box for Switch. What is even the point of that? 🤯

What I will say though is this, if physical gaming was to ever stop, or at least, the way it is today (I guess we'll always have things such as Limited Run, Pix and Love, Strictly Limited, etc), I will probably call it a day buying new games and just focus on playing all my older games. Buying something and not really owning it seems somewhat silly to me, but that's just my opinion. Each to their own. 🤷

I was over in the UK for the first time in a few years for Christmas, and one thing that stood out is the reduction in shelf space for games in general. When I was last over in 2019, for example, my local Asda has a whole aisle for physical games, that is now down to a fifth of an aisle. HMV stocked barely any games. GAME is no longer a games retailer that also sells merchandise, but is instead a tat retailer that also sells games on the side.

Of course, this could be a case of catch-22, with demand informing what shops stock, but I would suggest in factor that has informed a decline in physical media is that they aren't as readily available on the high street as they were pre-pandemic.

2024 wasn't a great year for games, that probably had something to do with it? Switch nearing the end of life, PS5 re-releases and a couple of exclusives, I don't know what xbox does, but I'd imagine GamePass brought the most and does PC do physical?

Switch 2 will bring it back up if the lineup is good.

As a physical collector this obviously isn't great news but one thing I'd like to point out is that Smyths Toys are a private company and do not report data into Nielsen. They are probably now one of, if not the biggest, and fastest growing video game retailers in the UK. The overall trend is definitely down but it may not be quite as doom and gloom as it first appears.

Part of the problem in the UK is that there aren't many places left to buy physical games any more. GAME barely exists any more and is overpriced anyway, bigger shops are scaling back or even completely getting rid of their games sections, independent stores are a real rarity. You can still buy physical games online of course, but at that point I'd usually rather just buy it digitally.

I saved 600+ Euro during the lifetime of the Switch just due to getting games second hand or far cheaper than at the eshop. I never paid more than 30 Euros for a PS5 title. Even GT7 and Horizon 2 I got for 20 Euro each two month after release. The 100 Euro the drive cost where regained quite quick.

99% of my purchases are physical and sometimes I'll have to wait years to get a physical release of a game but I'll do it when I have to.

Occasionally I'll go for digital if I know that it's incredibly unlikely to get a physical release, or the game is so cheap it wouldn't make sense to go for an out of print physical copy, but almost always I'd rather own the game for my physical collection, and the resale value should I ever decide to get rid of them.

I will continue supporting physical media and I am thankful, that Nintendo will support it too, with the Switch successor.

90% of my collection is physical. I only buy digital if there's no physical release, or if its way too expensive for my budget to get a physical copy of a game I know I will only play through once in my lifetime.

Unfortunate to hear. I always dread to hear game physical sales declining EVERY TIME. It's the one thing that really irks me. That & the word "digital".

No matter what, I'm always gonna support physical media whether folks like it or not.

@eltomo PC do have physical games but it's a marginal amount that do. Not like back in the 90's & 2000's. I honestly don't know what games do have a disc release for PC since I never keep up on that stuff.

Like others have pointed out, there's less physical games available so obviously it can't sell more. I buy most of my games physical, also have to wait several years sometimes before they become available, some need to be imported, and some games I skip just because there is no physical version. What a crazy world we live in. I like my games in a box on my shelf, is that too much to ask? XD

I live in the Netherlands, just fyi, so the situation seems the same as in the UK.

I never buy digital. In fact, I consider it kind of an oxymoron.

If game companies refuse to properly sell me their games, I simply won't buy them. ... I will play them though. Without guilt.

For me I currently rent 50% of the games I play through the year, 25% are bought new physically and 25% are digital games that were on a sale. I do not buy digital copies on day one as they are £10-£15 more expensive than a physical copy which I can get most my money back by reselling on ebay once I'm done.

So if there was an all digital Playstation that would mean I play less games and I spend less money on Playstation and spend more money and time on Nintendo (who respect physical media too much to ditch it).

2024 was pretty much the downfall of GAME between the end of trade-ins, end of the rewards/elite program, becoming unreliable for preorders and the stores now being filled with non-gaming stuff like Funko Pops.

I rarely buy physical. The main way or switch gets used is for family gaming nights. As mouse off or games are digital it makes switching games far easier. The odd game I do have physical is a real chore as we don’t switch physical carts too often.

@johnedwin Switch is huge over here. Look at UK charts. Nintendo handhelds have always done well here.

Of course physical sales in the UK were down, most places where you could physically buy games either shut down entirely and stopped stocking games. I would imagine the latter in particular hit a lot of people. I suspect a lot of far more numerous casual crowd got there games in places like supermarkets alongside their weekly shop. That's no longer possible, so they switched to the only "easy" option made available to them.... digital.

I'll never go digital on consoles. I like to own the things I buy.

I only buy physical, as I have had too many bad experiences with digital products as a whole and been burned too many times..

@SilvercatMoonpaw same. I’ll be going fully digital on switch 2 except for my old switch games.

Games will be all digital sooner or later. My bet is one more console generation and physical games won't be a thing. There's only like 3 stores [2 of which have very limited selections) and amazon I can go to for physical games.

It's a shame but there's some perks to digital games too.
-Generally available for longer
-Sale reductions tend to be far better throughout the year
-they require huge physical storage space
-disc or cart can't be broken or lost
-ease of access to play.

Bad side is the online stores would be a monopoly, prices don't reflect as much as a saving as they should need for more memory , no second hand marker and big one is if the ecosystem goes down .

Physical all the way for me, unless a game is only available digitally (such as 5 of the Sega Ages games I've bought on Switch).

@Steel76 definitely those giant boxes were things of beauty. After that pc games in cd and dvd cases only looked awful in comparison

laughs at those with 50 tons of plastic in 1tb SD card superiority

@Jack_Goetz same here. I had to import everything (paying a lot of customs =/).

I am not surprised as most games don't even get physicals anymore.
Even some of those "physicals" are just codes in the box.
I am still only 2 digital games all the rest physicals

I only buy physical. Times are hard though and I don't have as much cash as I'd like to buy games.

Oi bruvs, go buy physical games

I understand the eagerness to justify why the sales decreased, but some of you are switching cause and consequence.
There is lesser physical gaming stores due to the decrease in physical gaming, not the other way around. That's something that's been shifting in every industry in the last, I don't know, 20 years, even more so after covid.
Also, there were less games released in 2024 but the decrease in software sales is 15% against 35% of physical copies. That's a huge drop, I can't see how one can clearly correlate a number of games released and the decrease when the raw numbers are this discrepancy.
.

i prefer phsyical over digital cause they dont kill storage like digital does.

@Bored_Cosmic_Horror I have been buying digital since the PlayStation 4 and I have yet to run into an issue so I am curious as to what these problems are. What issues is buying digital causing you? To much shelf space?

Strange to see the skew of people favouring physical over digital to be honest, swapping cartridges seems so 90s

It’s a shame as it’s increasingly more difficult to purchase new physical copy games in the high street. CEX does not count. GAME is merged with Sports Direct and House of Fraser. It’s a joke. Using online stores are really the only way if you don’t have an independent games shop near you.

And this is why most of my games are digital. I have now 183 games on the Switch since 2017, with so many of them being on sale on the e-shop. The only time I buy something physical is when it’s a big release (not always though) - Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Paper Mario and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

I did buy Tears of the Kingdom digitally as it was sold out everywhere! But digitally I have games such as Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pikmin 4, every Sonic game imaginable, all Bayonetta’s, DKC Tropical Freeze….yes I feel bad but if it’s on offer I can’t help myself. This is why digital gaming is so popular. But I still try to buy a game physically every so often.

not surprised - there's hardly anywhere to browse physical games in the UK anymore! i'd either have the option of click & collecting at Argos/Smyths or hoping that the game i want is big enough to be stocked at Game (although visiting there vanishingly less recently).

i've been following the reporting on Game on this site and it really paints a picture of a company in steep decline. they have the unfortunate burden of being one of the only outlets left for new, physical games in the UK and recently they've just not been up to the task. staff treated poorly and products sidelined in favour of selling Arena time, slushies and Pop figures.

@AdolBannings-Laylee I have bought software (mostly music related like tools .vst's) and games where the websites went down and could never get them back, gone back to streaming services like netflix to continue watching shows that have been removed for whatever reasons, and also a few Steam games that had also been removed off the client - so wasnt able to redownload them. Due to those unfortuante experiences, i decided to stick to physical for the most part. Glad you've had better luck than me with it, i dont trust my luck though lol

@SilvercatMoonpaw A small annoyance like swapping cards is the lesser evil, compared to paying through the nose, when the market is a digital monopoly. You’ll soon find out. Which is ironic, because you were talking about being able to afford games =P

@Gaymer90 You are of course correct, but that doesn’t make the impending digital monopoly and consequent price hike any less lamentable.

@Bored_Cosmic_Horror see, I can accept that answer and appreciate your stance. Thank you for your time

@SilvercatMoonpaw Ok. Valve has cranked up the prices on Steam four to tenfold since 2020. The same is about to happen in console gaming. Which is why affording hardware will be the least of your worries.

When you create a shortage on physical copies people will stop going that route. I would prefer all my games to be physical still if they could be but I'm being forced into an all digital world with no protection for the consumer.

I'm going to prefer physical media for a long time, largely because the contractual licensing and the tendencies for listings for digital to come and go at a moment's notice is extremely off-putting to me. I also don't particularly like to stream when I can own. I mean, I use streaming services, but I also own the movies I like most. Just recently got Godzilla Minus One for Christmas, as well as the Marvel vs. Capcom collection physical.

We'll be digital only one day, I'm sure. But when that day comes, it's my hope that the industry is in a healthier place with preservation, availability, and convenience.

I didn't know there was a physical version of BotW expansion pass.

@Zuljaras Me too, nearly all physical. Although, if it's it's absurdly cheap or digital only I will buy it when on a discount.
I go physical first if possible, and digital as a last resort.
I've got 92 Physical Switch games and 52 digital, I have double dipped for a few both physical and digital (don't ask why.....)

Game stopped trade in and ended rewards, I wonder if that made an impact?

I knew physical sales were declining but 35% in a year is still quite surprising. I imagine it's a trend set to continue though, just given the convergence of technology and overall convenience of digital. One positive by-product is that it's at least a bit better for the environment.

I still buy physical copies where available, especially since you can sell them second-hand instead of being stuck with a game you end up not liking. Maybe they'll make a resurgence one day, like vinyl records and, more recently and inexplicably, tapes.

Do these sales numbers account for boutique retailers like limited run? There are more digital / less physical games in general. Take that into account.

@Zuljaras 225 physical Switch games, that's a lot. I thought I had a big collection but it's nothing like that. 😅
(I'm not surprised you need a spreadsheet)

I expect to get perhaps another 20 Switch games by the end of it's lifespan. I'm sure there's still quite a few which I'll pick up over the next 2/3 years....

Hmm, regarding never buying a game I didn't like. The vast majority I've purchased I have enjoyed, but I will admit there's been a few that I regretted picking up, in that case I've then sold/traded them in to get something else instead. 😄

Really sad to read. I will support physical media for as long as possible. As a collector yes, but also to protect us as gamers and consumers. Will we be able to stop an all digital future or, even worse, only streaming games in the future?

I don't know. Sony and Microsoft are going that way. Nintendo is still hesitating as they consider their consoles as toys/games still.

The next Nintendo console might the last one I buy in my 45+ years of gaming. That makes me sad...

Sadly most of the physical Switch games I buy are AAA first party titles like TOTK, which works out of the box and require very little updates. What annoys me are:

1) Major publishers going the cheap route by using the smallest cards and expecting the user to download the rest. For instance, with the latest updates, Monster Hunter Rise requires another 10 GBs of downloads.

2) Specialist publishers like LRG cheapening out on their customers and thriving on artificial scarcity. Often I have to pay double the price for a physical copy of a game I like compared to the eshop, and then I have to wait for deliveries which often goes unfulfilled.

@Steel76 That's true. I'm glad the indie space exists. And in those cases I would love them to use crowdfunding to bring them to life when possible.

Also, a lot of studios (not usually indies), need to cut back spending money on gigantic bloated games with gigantic bloated staffs that then can't afford to put that game on a 2-cent plastic disc (or a $15 plastic cartridge in Nintendo's case).

Note to self, stop buying digital. When they start taking away digital content from users ***** going to hit the fan and people and going to be all "why did they get rid of physical games?" 🙄

I'm just bummed out there won't be a second hand market anymore in 1 or 2 gaming cycles. It's the thing that brings me the most joy at cons etc.

And I think only digital will ultimately lead to more expensive media because they can ask whatever they want. And then lock it behind 1 console's profile like they do with Pokemon games at the moment. You don't het to tale your games to your (boy)friend!

Not to mention they can apparently also scrub it off your system, as demonstrates by Concord!

"People will just have to get used to not owning anything anymore.." -that evil Ubisoft guy

@Dazman It shouldn't be a price issue, with the exception of digital sales physical is always cheaper here, and physical sales are usually cheaper still, I got SMT V new for £18 over Xmas, it was still £54.99 digital at the time and didn't even get as cheap as £18 when it was on sale. Games that are £60-70 on release day are usually only £50-60 physical, it's nearly always in the £10-20 cheaper range for physical simply to try and compete with digital. It's usually cheaper to buy the physical version and buy the season pass then it is to buy the deluxe version digital as well.

The primary issue will be the complete lack of places to actually buy them, I have one dedicated game store left where I am in the centre, the only other choices for new games are Argos which is only situated in the two Sainsbury's supermarkets and Currys, which is a home electricals store and isn't even in the town centre. Every other choice is online, and most people would rather pay more for instant digital games then pay less for a game they'll get in a day or three.

It's just simply harder to buy physical games now then it was here, and the sales reflect that.

Last console where I bought physical was 3DS. With Switch the only physical game I’ve ever purchased is Ring Fit Adventure. I just find the instant access and convenience of digital impossible to beat, even if it does mean I’m often paying a little bit more for the privilege.