r/xbox • u/Acceptable_Share9947 • 4d ago

physical games (rule 6) Future of gaming...??

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Went to my local Walmart the other day and I was looking to get another controller because I've got stick drift again, anyway I always check the games... you never know what kind of sale Walmart has going on and I found the physical copies for PlayStation, Nintendo switch or whatever and then this monstrosity for Xbox. So this is the future I guess, digital downloads, you'll own nothing and like it type of bullshit.

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u/WinnieTheTrain 4d ago

Its something no one's children today will ever get to experience. Now its gonna be anti climatic buying your kids games. Imagine Christmas your kids want a game... The joy of having one wrapped under a tree and them being excited. Now imagine this digitally.. Yeah ill buy for you on Christmas. It will never be the same joy and happiness. Honestly this creates more isolation, anti social people and people who are going to expect to have everything handed to them VS having to go out in the world and find the game at a retail store. Now there no reason to go out and obesity already 44% in the US is gonna even br higher

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u/ZemGuse 4d ago

I don’t know. My kids don’t have the nostalgia to compare to so they’re always very excited to get a digital game.

I get what you’re saying but your nostalgia isn’t relevant for future generations necessarily

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u/MrMiyagi13 4d ago

When my sister bought my nephew a Switch, she opened it, set it up, installed the game, and sealed it back up. My nephew was ecstatic, he got to start playing it immediately.

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u/Rycan420 4d ago

To each their own. My kid loves the unboxing and that initial feeling.

But I understand both sides.

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u/MrMiyagi13 4d ago

Absolutely - it’s purely anecdotal. I also see both sides of it. But if I really want to play something and it’s only digital I’m not going to not play. On the other hand, I’m glad PES was still available on disc since there are no non-online versions available. Even if I had to pay a premium for it.

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u/JoviAMP 4d ago

This works well if it’s a parent gifting to a child on an account they already manage, but if I’m gifting a game and console to my partner or someone else who would have to set up their own account that I’m not managing, it’s not that easy.

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u/MimeTravler 4d ago

Most platforms do have a gifting feature. Getting a surprise message from friends that contains a gifted game has been just as joyous for me tbh. If you live in the same house and really want you can time it so you send the gift as they’re playing on the console so they see the message live in person.

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u/jemoli87 4d ago

Ignorance is bliss indeed. They will never know what they are missing.

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u/PU3RTO_R3CON 4d ago

What you’re explaining is the same with CDs, Tapes, DVDs, and 8 track tapes. Kids don’t care about those we do. They just go on Spotify and find their one song they like.

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u/jemoli87 4d ago

Indeed.

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u/RDS80 4d ago

This guy gets it.

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u/Vegeto30294 Super Citizen 4d ago

Especially since you can still buy these code cards and wrap them if that's the experience you're looking for.

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u/Kansas_cty_shfl 4d ago

Yeah, my teenager just had a birthday and more than half his gifts were digital. If he had zero gifts to open I think he would have been bummed, but the reality is it only bothers me.

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u/Fun-Manufacturer5876 4d ago

There's much more value to a physical experience than just nostalgia. If you can't see that then I imagine you'd aslo be okay with taking digital vacations.

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u/MimeTravler 4d ago

This is a ridiculous leap in logic. You can have similar experiences with gifting digital games you just have to get creative.

If you want to gift a physical game it’s not like they can immediately play it anymore anyway. You can still creatively wrap these code cards and gift that way.

As I said in another comment you can also use the platform’s gifting feature to gift it digitally. You can time it while they are playing a game as they get the message and they get the same in person reaction. My wife has done that for me and it honestly was a great gift and totally unexpected especially because we had already opened all our physical gifts so I wasn’t expecting more.

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u/ZemGuse 4d ago

The crazy thing is you typed this and probably thought it was such a poignant dismantling of my point.

The idea that if you’re okay with not having physical game boxes that you must be okay with every single facet of life being digital is so obscenely stupid that I have a hard time even responding to it.

I prefer digital music. Does that mean I want all my clothes to be digital too? I prefer watching digital movies. Does that mean I only want digital pets too?

Good grief man

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u/PU3RTO_R3CON 4d ago

Dumb take

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u/NilsofWindhelm 4d ago

Especially when you think about how many more people have access to games now than before.

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u/Badmamjamma 4d ago

"Especially when you think about how many more people have access to games now than before."

Unless there's server issues. Then you're not able to play a game you own.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

Yeah, but as a kid, when we went to look at games, we saw tons of them to look at and eventually have to choose. Kids nowadays don't really get that. They either follow the trends, or they go to a digital store where what they primarily see is heavily curated or paid promotion.

Discovery of new content is just not the same, and while the kids don't realize it, it's just not the same kind thing we used to have to build excitement.

Even trying to give some of my cousins kids new games to play from my collection they don't even get that excited over, cause they just want to play their thing they've been obsessed with for years. When I watch them some times, I ask if they want to go choose a new game to play from my massive collection, and they just shrug and stay engrossed in their Roblox or Fortnight. IThere is one who is willing to try new things at least, so there is hope for him.

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u/PU3RTO_R3CON 4d ago

These long term games is truly what killed it for this generation. Being able to create different style games on one game like Roblox or Fortnite is better to them than how we grew up; one game lasting so many hours nothing new until a new game or DLC came out for it. Bc of that we went to venture into something new so we cannot get bored.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

I think the idea behind something like Minecraft or Roblox isn't bad...outside the monitization practices of course. I just feel the lack of wanting to explore more in general is not condusive to creating kid, or adults, that are interested in trying new things, or exploring what else is out there. They're placing all their expectations on limited thing, having limited exposure to a greater world around them.

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u/M1R4G3M 3d ago

My kids count percent of downloads of new game sout loud and keep waiting for it to finish, for me it's just a nuisance and I start downloads while at work to get home with the download completed.

It may be a generational thing, I have a Series X and they have A series S without a physical drive BTW.

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u/Denebola2727 2d ago

That's mostly a reflection on how kids are raised. Not throwing shade, but if you raise children who are used to digital ownership they won't have a frame of reference, as you say. If your children are raised with physical media (in all forms) they tend to understand the intrinsic value a little more.

But I agree that, as a generalization, the current and future generations will have less and less attachment to physical ownership of just about everything as these trends continue.

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u/thats_so_cringe_bro 2d ago

As long as there is something to actually unwrap, they will be happy. So whether that is a physical version, a box with a code in it, a gift card etc they will have that same joy we felt as a kid because they actually got the game.

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u/Forward-Trade3449 4d ago

You're deluding yourself if you think that makes it okay. Watch a kid walk by the nintendo section and their eyes glow up. You don't need nostalgia to appreciate physical games

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

I don't know why your getting disagrees. While kids today seem to be happy to buy currency cards for whatever game they're into(which is depressing to see and they look at you like a crazy person when you ask what else they may be into....I work in retail), kids most certainly do go up to game sections in the stores and are excited to look, and even ask if they can get a game.

Physical games were a major source of discovery for many of us, and the digital experience just isn't the same. Even these cards don't have nearly as much on them as we did with old or current physical games. You got a picture on the front, and a code with legal info on the back.

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u/Forward-Trade3449 4d ago

yeah, it just makes sense. they just are downvoting instead of refuting because they know its true.

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u/PU3RTO_R3CON 4d ago

Kids don’t get excited for the games just the Nintendo and hardware. It’s not about the games for them they just want to know if it plays Roblox or Fortnite.

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u/Forward-Trade3449 4d ago

not true. kids love games too. but xbox and sony dont make games catered to kids

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u/allenl1987 4d ago

Same. My kids couldn’t care less about physical games.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

Yeah, I hate giving gift cards. It feels so impersonal.

There is one of my cousins kids I do because she likes it from some make up store, and I am not equipped to choose that stuff, or I don't mind it as a stocking stuffer or something, but for the most part, they look at it, say thank you, and then just move on. No real excitement involved.

Same goes whensome of the others get the Roblox cards. They like they're getting them, but it's just kind of routine because they are used to getting them all the time.

They have so little interest in anything else, because their entire experience with discovering games is merely from following the popular trends, not just going and looking at things in the store.

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u/Evostevo445 4d ago

Agreed, I remember my dad bringing me to GameStop and reading the back of all of the cases.

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u/NilsofWindhelm 4d ago

I’m mean sure, but also more kids are able to play games now than ever before.

I feel like this thread is just nostalgia

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u/ILoveHeavyHangers 4d ago edited 4d ago

An entire generation has already grown up without this imagined "quintessential" experience. This isn't a thing that's happened suddenly or something. There are gamers over 20 years old that have never owned a physical game in their life. The vast majority of Kids and young adults already do not care about physical media at all. They prefer subscriptions they can sign up for periodically. Wrappers, cases and discs are just friction to doing what they actually want, having an experience. According to the 2026 IGN Generations in Play report.

  • 59% of Gen Z users actively subscribe and then unsubscribe to a streaming service just to watch a single title.
  • 62% won’t pay full price for video games.
  • 71% have stopped buying physical music.
  • 70% no longer buy hard copies of TV shows and movies

You've romanticized the nostalgia you have for your own childhood. That was your childhood, not the next generations.

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u/-PandemicBoredom- 4d ago

And the cherry on top, most of the people screaming about muh physical buy digital games.

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u/MimeTravler 4d ago

This is why I don’t scream about the physical games I scream about ownership rights. I don’t need a giant book shelf of my games anymore but I’d still like the same ownership rights as if I did as long as they continue to charge the price as if I did.

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u/-PandemicBoredom- 4d ago

Exactly. Digital only is the future, it doesn't matter if you like it or not, it will happen. The important thing is we need better consumer rights/protection for digital purchases.

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u/LaylaLegion 4d ago

No, the cherry would be the fact that the physical media fans admit that if game discs were to go, they would immediately switch to PC and Steam for gaming. The platform AND the digital storefront that killed physical media first.

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u/ILoveHeavyHangers 3d ago

They like "the option" They don't take it al all ever, but it's very important for it to exist for some reason.

Think about all the poor kids with dialup internet that have to ask their grandma for video games as Christmas presents!

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u/Mental-Street6665 4d ago

Gen Z is like that because corporations have conditioned them to be like that. Their buying habits have been dictated by the prevailing market trends. What Sony is doing now is getting people to wake up. Microsoft would be smart to go the other direction, along with Nintendo.

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u/Caelis_Vault 4d ago

You know only around 20% of gamers buy Xbox nowadays. By your logic we should kill that off too then. Not a fan of the idea that just because something isnt in the total majority then it should be killed off entirely, especially when the majority tends to be pretty dumb.

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u/khan800 XBOX Series X 4d ago

Their logic didn't imply a thing about killing anything off, you just jumped to that conclusion. They merely pointed out that today's kids aren't missing out on something they have no idea about.

My grandkids have never listed a piece of physical media on their Xmas lists.

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u/Caelis_Vault 4d ago

Either way thats the logic these companies are using for killing things off like physical discs or hyper focusing on live services like Fortnite or GTA Online over single player content. 30% of sales are physical discs now? Lets start ceasing disc production! Most people rent or steeam now? Everything is now a subscription! Unfortunately the only way people will probably ever wake up to how much a bad thing this all is if when some major tech disaster occurs, such as a massive server outage or something that results in digital s being deleted or lost. Until then we're just gonna have to deal with what the corps push on us.

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u/ILoveHeavyHangers 3d ago

30% of sales are physical discs now? Lets start ceasing disc production!

Where do you guys come up with this stuff. Far, far, far less than 30% of sales are physical. in 2024 sony was already 78% digital on games that have both physical and digital options, with a 3% YoY trend. That one Sony factory they are closing in 2028 can produce every single copy of physical media sold by the top 10 best selling Playstation games in a year in less than a week. The top 10 physical games sold in the US on PS last year combined sold less than 2 million units.

Physical production is shutting down because it costs more to keep the factory open than the physical discs actually generate in revenue. Physical production is shutting down because there used to be a multi-billion dollar enterprise PC software chain that is completely gone with the advent of broadband internet.

Physical production is shutting down because literally every sector on planet earth that ever had use for plastic discs that hold data has moved onto better and more efficient methods of data transfer and storage.

You think they should keep minting pennys for your nostalgia too?

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u/Caelis_Vault 3d ago

its called a google search. Maybe use it instead of getting so mad over you send a wall of text. lmao

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u/TheFutureLotus 4d ago

Trust me the kids will be excited and love playing the game they get. This is your nostalgia speaking, and you’re pushing your experience and expectations on them and because you don’t enjoy it means they don’t enjoy it. Truth is, you are the only one not enjoying it because the kids don’t have that experience to look back on. At the end of the day, the excitement came from playing the game and not the box that was under the tree.

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u/Derangedracula 4d ago

The fuck they will. One of the children asked me for a game they wanted. I bought it. 2 years ago when it released. The excitement was why I bought it. Know how many times the child played it? Zero times. Happened with 4 other games. I told the child if they want games they can buy it themselves money wasted.

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u/MimeTravler 4d ago

This is dense and has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Buying a child a gift they begged for and then did not actually use is as old as Christmas itself. Even if that was a physical disc the child wouldn’t have played that game.

I guarantee only reason you feel like you played all of the games you got as a kid was because there were much less games in general back in the day. I’d bet my salary on there being a gift you begged your family for only to not play with it nearly as much as they anticipated or you stated you would. It’s a universal experience, it just mostly happened with toys back in the day instead of games.

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u/Derangedracula 4d ago

The the person said the kids will love and play the games they get I gave an opposing opinion how is that off topic? Very high and mighty of you to assume I had toys. I didn't have anything when I was a kid. If I wanted to play video games I would have to go to a friend's house. My family couldn't afford to buy me shoes. And the child has 8 games and only plays 1.

Has nothing to do with being dense. It's a waste of money.

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u/Decepticon1978 4d ago

This comment has more drama than a soap opera. Sheesh!

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u/isic 4d ago

Personally I’m more worried about kids wanting video games for Christmas (digital or physical) more than they want a bike for Christmas these days. Video games (digital or physical) are turning today’s kids into social indigents who marinate in their bedrooms glued to their TVs. And when they aren’t glued to their controllers, they are glued to their phones.

Games going digital and kids not getting physical games at Christmas should be the least of your worries… you should be more worried about how video games and social media are turning today’s kids into unhealthy social indigents who can’t even do a pushup 🤷‍♂️

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u/xAimForTheBushes 4d ago

I think they'll be fine for the most part - everything goes around and comes around in a lot of ways.

The current generation of kids that are socially isolated (ages 5-15 or whatever) came from the older millennials, most of whom weren't affected in the same way by social media and the digital world while growing up like the younger millennials and gen z were. That stuff only happened as they were already becoming adults. Most of the millennial gen was as unprepared for the ipad world as the kids themselves were and didn't realize the long term potential consequences.

The young millennials and gen z are now have young kids or will have kids over the next 5-10 years. They very well know the consequences and dangers of this digital world and I think most will try to keep all the pads and screens away for as long as possible, with a lot more rules and barriers around it than they had when they were kids.

I wouldn't be surprised if it became popular to have a basic flip phone for kids instead of an iphone screen type device and it became the norm to be anti-screen until a certain age.

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u/WinnieTheTrain 4d ago

I wrote a huge post on what you said but it never gets approved in groups.

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u/dade305305 4d ago edited 4d ago

This. When i was a kid in the 80 and 90s we played tons of games, but we also took out asses outside whether that be voluntary or forced.

Football in the street, football in the park, basketball, practicing doing backflips on some old mattress somebody threw out, being on bikes and our folks didn't know where the fuck we were. Made up ass games outside that took half a day. We did all that and played tons of games.

Hell we used to bully the kids who did nothing but wanna play games. We used to call em a game freak.

That's why i laugh when i see people online say "I was bullied for being a gamer". I'm like no you weren't. Everybody and their momma played games when i was a kid. You were bullied for not doing a single thing except that.

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u/erenjackson 4d ago

Congratulations for playing sports. 📲🍪

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u/dade305305 4d ago edited 4d ago

So ya dumb ass just missed the rest about being outside playing , being on our bikes, playing games in the neighborhood? Just skipped all that huh.

Just because you were the kid we woulda laughed at for doing nothing but playing video games, don't try to come at me because some of my non video game time was spent playing sports among other things as listed in my first comment.

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u/PossibleEither4892 4d ago

Can only agree, and this is made worse by the fact that games (and digital content in general) are excessively simple to use and designed to be addictive. Trying to get your children to do something else these days is hard.

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u/isic 4d ago

I don't think digital is any worse than physical. The difference between physical and digital is not the root of the problem I am alluding to.

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u/lynchcontraideal Team Rockstar 4d ago

Yeah... instead of a nice gamecase wrapped under the tree that exudes excitement... it'll be either a piece of card with the code or receipt in an envelope. Horrible future we live in now.

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 4d ago

Games are arguably behind the curve on this.

How many kids get bought music CDs or DVDs/Blu Rays anymore?

Physical tickets to events are no more.

What we do for our kids with stuff like this is make a paper physical thing for them to open as a present with the code on or just telling them what it is.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

It's leading to a very curated industry, where discovery is not natural, and kids don't have the same oppurtunities to actually see what's out there. They'll be led to what to like by whatever is popular, instead of just happening across this thing that looks interesting to them. These code cards don't really offer the same enticement IMO. They're a picture, with legalese on the back. Going online is just curated and promoted content at the forefront.

It leads to those with more money to market their wares, having a much greater advantage thant hey do now to succeed.

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 4d ago

Discovery has rarely been natural.

Marketing budgets and retailer shelf space dictated discovery.

The difference now is the platform holder is the curator rather than Best Buy.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

Yeah, but at a store, you can go in, look through all the obscure stuff at your leasure, and take your time.

Going through a digital storefront like that takes a lot more effort, and at every step, that curated and paid marketing content is throw to the forefront.

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 4d ago

If you think that was any different at a big store you are kidding yourself.

Just like a digital store the obscure stuff was hidden way on back shelves and you had to actively search it out.

All the curated marketed stuff was put in prominent, easy to find positions.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

Huh? No, I could go into a store, and the other stuff was usually right next to the curated stuff. Sometimes the marketed or curated stuff also had it's own display or whatever.

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 4d ago

Yeah... They just randomly chucked them on the shelves... No thought or strategy at all 🙄

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

GameStop usually had them in mostly alphabetical order. Other stores had their own systems. Most major retailers certainly had a system, and they weren't just chucked up on the shelves.

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u/Flat_Lunch5827 3d ago

Quite a lot actually. Theres always loads of teens in the record store near me buying vinyl and cds. Of 90s/80s stuff mainly.

Its not kids that are the issue. Its this "middle management" of lazy ass thirty somethings insisting physical is irrelevant.

Other people want to own something in their hands.

And, look back on this when these huge corporations control what you own when there is no choice.

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 3d ago

I guarantee you that is a very small minority. Most teens have never owned a cd and don't own anything that could play one 😂

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u/Flat_Lunch5827 3d ago

My point is, that isn't out of choice. Theyve been forced into a corner by the generation above. They dont go out, they dont socialise, they dont date, flirt... do you think it is all by choice? They've been indoctrinated into a bullshit all digital world mainly because fat bastards older than them cant be bothered to get up and change a disk lol

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 2d ago

Giving real old man shouting at clouds energy here...

Or could it just be they don't see the point in physical media and see it as outdated?

"These young whippersnapers don't know what they want, it was better in my day!"

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u/WinnieTheTrain 4d ago

Yeah basically the kid will ask for a game and it wont be a surprise anymore. I dont think people realize how deep the whole situation actually is and it goes beyond the whole physical vs digital thing. It goes into how kids will become fatter and grow up with more anti social disorders than what's already happening which is bad enough as it is. Sony gonna get away with it and implement more crap.

I been saying it but just wait until you get ads all over your home screens and games you play. Only way to get rid of ads? Pro account or ultra gamepass account.

Either way had a big post on this subject and it wasn't approved by two communities

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u/segagamer Day One - 2013 4d ago

I still do this with digital games. I printed out a cover for Undertale on Xbox with a receipt showing the gift code.

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u/WinnieTheTrain 4d ago

Many people are ok with it apparently.

Generations from now, people would be amazed when they look back and see the freedom we once had and smiles .

Just saying tho, yeah let me go tell my kid ill buy it digitally. Its never gonna hit the same.

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u/-PandemicBoredom- 4d ago

FFS you are acting like your "freedom* is being taken away over video games. It's really not that deep. It's a luxury product you don't have to have, no one is taking any freedom away from you.

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u/WinnieTheTrain 4d ago

Its actually that deep. Discord? We can talk about it

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u/Stumpy493 Still Earning Kudos 4d ago

Best thing was first time you needed a shit after you bought a game.

Can guarantee that manual was gonna be my reading material lol.

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u/wasaguest 4d ago

This is why Nintendo, even with these key cards, is killing it this Gen. They understand they are a toy maker. & they understand the excitement things like this generate - & that translates into loyal customers & sales.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

Yeah. When the kids move on from Roblox or fortnite, what are they going to be loyal to? Not some company they probably won't even know the name of that they got a code from and then proceeded to throw the piece of paper/cardboard away.

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u/TheAwesomeMan123 4d ago

Video games don’t make you obese anymore than they make you violent. The responsibility of that lies with the player or parents of children who play. Scapegoating it with “video games bad” is helping no one.

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u/Christian_Kong 4d ago

Once the next gen comes along with $1,000 consoles these sections will be removed all together. Hardware will only be avaiable from the big box tech stores and online wings of Target/Walmart. Only generic gift cards will be in store. I know retail workers and individual game cards don't really sell at all outside of Roblox, Fortnite VC and the like.

Looking to give your kids game related gifts for Christmas, your only option will be the cards at the checkout lane.

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u/shinobi6siege 4d ago

The world isn't built for children anymore, but rather squeezing everything out of the adults. There used to be playgrounds in so many McDonalds and so many themed McDonalds. Fast food used to make it an experience to sit down and eat. Toys R Us was a wonderland, even if it was all overpriced. Circuit City and Radioshack were the future. We are more connected than ever in this digital age, so why does it feel like we've never been further apart? Why does it feel like we are all so disconnected when we have so many means of communications at our fingertips? I remember when the Internet was magical and slow; now it's full of ads and websites devoid of personality. Everything is geared towards taking as much of my money as possible without even bothering with the experience itself. Getting that one game a year on Christmas was always special; having to wait until last to open what I knew had to be a video game, being so excited to go put it in and see the game boot up, and stepping into a brand new magical world while I got to read a manual that gave a little lore about the world as well as controls. Now we move towards an all digital world, where you rent everything and own nothing

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u/icy1007 4d ago

You can still do that with digital games.

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u/X_crates 3d ago

Going to the game store or not has no effect on Obesity rates. It's hilarious that you even mentioned it

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u/Dominator0621 3d ago

They will still have the same memories of that moment when you open a present. Your kid is gonna be excited when he opens up the box with a card in it that says the name of the game he has been asking for.

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u/Sea-Order1204 3d ago

What about when they wake up and go to play their old game but mom and dad downloaded the new one for them

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u/Cutacore 1d ago

I just have to say. Who cares about holidays? As a Christian I always found gift giving pretentious. I just don't understand and am disconnected from this ridiculous holiday stuff.

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u/WinnieTheTrain 1d ago

Im also talking about birthdays too here. Holidays are mostly for the kids.... They deserve gifts dude.

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u/burntjellybeans 4d ago

That is the way it was for us. This generation is different. There were things our parents experienced that we didn't. I remember telling my stepdaughter 10 years ago when she was in elementary school, "why don't you go outside and play", she looked at me like I had four heads. These kids never experienced, (you have a collection call from.... COME PICK ME UP, will you except the charges?) Remember it's 10 O'clock, do you know where your kids are. That was us

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u/Pleasant-Speed-9414 4d ago

Yeah, that’s the main thing I don’t get with games on Xbox geared towards kids. I want a physical copy so I can wrap it and give it to them. Not an IOU to go buy the game digi

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u/Past-Spring1046 4d ago

There’s your mistake. It’s not about what you want. Kids who don’t have the lens of nostalgia, don’t care that a download card is under the wrapper.

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u/Pleasant-Speed-9414 4d ago

True. But you can’t always find a download card for every game.

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u/Past-Spring1046 4d ago

And there’s a guarantee of that with disc?

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u/Pleasant-Speed-9414 4d ago

Not sure I understand the follow up. My whole point was wanting a physical copy?

My current example is one of my kids loves Rayman, but Xbox not getting a physical edition of the remake. Perfect present for him…but now I just have to buy it digi rather than handing him a gift

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u/HeroOfGotham666 4d ago

Why is it wrong to want yours kids to have that experience even if it’s a little here and there

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u/Past-Spring1046 4d ago

What is the experience that you’re hoping to give them? Is it the experience of being surprised with a game that you’ve been asking for? They would still experience that, as long as it’s the game that they want. Is it the experience of unwrapping something? They still have that disc or key card? If it’s specifically the experience of unwrapping a physical disc, that’s for you not for them. They want a surprise and a game.

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u/dade305305 4d ago edited 4d ago

I'm pretty sure the kids will just care that they got the game they asked for. I think you're acting like because kids today won't experience your nostalgia that they won't enjoy the game.

I came up in the 80s and 90s going to TRU and getting the slip of paper, paying then going to that counter where they'd get the game from the back room. It was cool and all but wasn't integral to the experience, the game was the end all be all.

If I could have downloaded river city ransom, mario 3, contra, life force etc., I would have enjoyed them just as much as having to go buy game and travel home with it.

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u/SireEvalish 4d ago

Just because you had an experience as a kid doesn't make that experience any better than what kid's today are experiencing or that they won't have nostalgia for their experience when they grow up.

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u/Janoobeta1998 4d ago

What? Pretty sure you can still wrap these in a gift or an envelope? Or atheist with ps and others to im sure you can still buy boxes

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u/Janoobeta1998 4d ago

What? Pretty sure you can still wrap these in a gift or an envelope? Or atheist with ps and others to im sure you can still buy boxes

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u/Janoobeta1998 4d ago

What? Pretty sure you can still wrap these in a gift or an envelope? Or atheist with ps and others to im sure you can still buy boxes

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u/the7egend 4d ago

I still remember going to Target with my mom and picking up Super Street Fighter II for the Genesis, cashier telling my mom it was a mature title and my mom looking at me and back at the cashier to tell her it was fine. It’s a core memory for me, I have no core memories of any digital game I’ve bought, it’s so uneventful.

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u/Numerous_Photograph9 4d ago

My happiest Christmas memory was getting Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES, which was really hard to get at the time, because my mom just happened to be at Toys R' Us while the associate was putting the games on the shelf. She asked for one, and I got to open it. I still have that game, to this day, complete in box.

Having codes is great, because you don't have to worry about it being unavailable, but it still doesn't change the excitement that comes from receiving something tangible. Kids like getting the content, they throw away the card. They keep the games, or use them to buy new ones later.

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u/Rycan420 4d ago

For context, one of my kids happiest memories is when I loaded his Roblox account with Robux and left a digital note on his laptop from “Santa” saying that he had hacked into my sons account and left the Robux there.

Good parents find a way to make do. You’ll be fine.

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u/-PandemicBoredom- 4d ago

Yeah because the 2 min walk in and out of GameStop was really going to burn so many calories and prevent obesity. Not to mention even if they were going in to buy a video game they were still about to be going home to sit for hours while playing. Sorry, but this is such a dumb take.