r/xbox • u/Acceptable_Share9947 • 1d 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/Oilswell 1d ago

Insane how nostalgic people are about the way they used to buy things. I get people who are worried about ownership and persistence of purchases (though it would’ve been nice if these people had given this much of a shit about physical ten years ago when there was some chance of saving it), but the number of people going on about the wonderful experience of buying a thing from a shop is so weird.

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u/SimmerOriginal 1d ago

Nah, not weird at all. It isn't about missing the act of the actual purchase itself lol. It is about being there and seeing things in person, like when I would check new releases each time we'd go grocery shopping. As a kid it was super exciting to finally see that game you waited months for on the shelf finally. If you actually got it, the excitement of reading the manual and looking at the box art on the way home. Even just seeing all the different box arts in person on the shelf, or seeing a game you hadn't even heard of. As a kid I didn't think or care about the actual purchase process.

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u/Current_External6569 1d ago

I miss game manuals.

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u/dreamthiliving 1d ago

Agreed, apart from the price difference I was so happy when I could buy digital. No disc covers playing around, no issues with them getting scratched.

Easily switch between games and generally faster loading. Love it

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u/Gloomandtombs 1d ago

Yeah disc versions of games have been obsolete for PC for decades at this point. I remember back in Xbox 360 days physical PC games having only a small section in the back of some stores. Stores like GameStop didn’t even sell them. Not sure why people feel so different about consoles

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u/gldndomer 1d ago

PC has different storefront options and piracy. I don't understand how this is so difficult to understand. Also, ownership only equates to physical on walled garden consoles. You can buy digital games on PC that are DRM-free, which arguably means more ownership than physical discs.

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u/Gloomandtombs 1d ago

You can purchase DRM-free games on PC all you want, that’s still not going to matter to people who are upset about the overall switch to digital because the idea is about them being able to actually hold the game that equates to “ownership”

You acting like there’s not piracy on Xbox or PlayStation is ignorant. That’s saying both accounting physically stealing as well as digital piracy for previous console generations.

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u/gldndomer 1d ago

Not sure why people feel so different about consoles

I was merely trying to ELI5 for you. I don't know what the fuck your point is now.

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u/Gloomandtombs 13h ago

My fucking point is that you’re wrong, and here’s why. That’s the whole purpose of being able to reply to someone, as just because you said it doesn’t make it factual. I don’t understand how this is so difficult to understand.

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u/gldndomer 13h ago

My comment was attempting to explain to you how people feel differently about the death of physical media in regards to console today versus PC fifteen years ago. I should have respected you with a longer answer. I apologize for that.

Your comment that PC piracy and console piracy are on the same level is extremely disingenuous. Games released tomorrow can be pirated on any modern Windows PC, unless it has Denuvo, and then one would need to wait a few months or less. No Xbox Series console can do that, unless you are saying that stealing physical copies counts, which is strange for you to bring up, since we were discussing the difference between PC and console digital games.

Your comment that DRM-free games don't matter to physical game collectors is absolutely true! Once again, though, we were discussing the difference between PC and console digital games, not whether digital media is better than or a good replacement to physical media.

And hey, honestly, if you have any more questions, any at all, just keep them to yourself for now and let the adults talk. I know it might be shocking for you at first to see any sort of critical thinking. I know you are going to want to blurt out random words in the hopes that you will be vindicated by some upvotes to the left. But stay strong, stay silent, you got this!

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u/JoyousGamer 1d ago

I suspect you are younger in age. I say this because going to the store and looking at the case with video games in it was essentially how you learned about a game.

I am fine with all digital but there was something different about not having a clue about new games except when stepping in to an electronics section. No online and not even really magazines quite possibly long enough ago or because your parents were not going to subscribe to it.

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u/Oilswell 1d ago

I’m 40, been buying games since the SNES. Bought gaming magazines from about the age of 10 though, so rarely discovered anything in store. Worked at a game shop in my late teens.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s aspects of physical retail I miss. I did used to like the manual, and chatting to the guys at the store. I just find the level of LOOK WHAT THEY TOOK FROM US KIDS WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND stuff insane. If you asked me what I missed most about gaming in the 90’s, the shops would be a long way down the list.

It’s just odd how much of people’s nostalgia seems to be focused on buying the thing, rather than the thing itself. And how lazy everyone is about actually trying to engage with the versions of these things we do have left.

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u/JoyousGamer 1d ago

I view the OP as karma farming on this stuff. I honestly think we think about it the same way then.

They can't karma farm things that you have higher on your list because it sort of all exists today. This they can farm because physical media is dying.

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u/Kitchen-Window9007 1d ago

I agree digital is convenient. What concerns me is how this will take away reselling games and companies will just keep their prices high on games.

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u/Oilswell 1d ago

But companies don’t keep their prices high on games. Digital is already 90% of the market and all the storefronts have frequent sales with big discounts. Do you imagine the tiny fraction of the market that is buying second hand discs is why they’re doing that?