Why Physical Games Are Going Extinct

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It's nice to see the industry promote piracy again.

Call me old but I’m still advocating for physical media ownership. I don’t like the idea to have my stuff being pulled away from me just because they feel like it. The money you earn it’s done by hard work and actual time that you won’t get back.

Call me old-fashioned but as a collector, I'd like to have a physical copy on my bookshelf.

As a gamedev, even if the industry focuses on subscription only stuff, I'll always put an option to buy a copy, at least digital, physical if possible. It's yours and you can do whatever you want with it, independently of any service that may go down in the future. If it is a physical copy, then it will last as long it exists, like a book.

"Here, kid; try this. First one's free." -- Every pusher ever

I never jumped on the subscription train for any media. I prefer to buy my games and movies outright, either digitally or physically, because I know that I OWN them.

This is exactly why GOG games is really important, you own all the media you have, and they work hard to keep it all up to date and working on newer systems. Honestly I feel if subscriptions become the norm, and even steam steps away from their current model, then GOG is the last hope

my main problem with this industry shift is that its vindictive of the world we live in. These companies are doing what they find to be more profitable, and it just so happens to align with us at the moment. But these companies are driven by profits that must go up. So once we're all safe and subscribing - the next logical step is putting ads in their storefronts, and ads inside the games. Its already happened with mobile gaming, and i fear that's the direction these companies are going to take to writhe you of more money. An industry-wide subscription model works only when its regulated and the things you get out of it are the same quality as they were before. And we know that will not happen. Its often not profitable to make a good game - as making art takes time, time big corporations wont give any care to when they get money simply for existing as a service. That's my worry with this shift, not the lack of owning games - but the lack of ability to enjoy the hobby without forking over an arm and a leg to 5 or 6 different corporations to play the games I enjoy. - and forever reminiscing on the days when games were a form of artistic expression, instead of the bottom line for a CEO. If it reflects the movie space at all. Good games driven by artistic expression are going to become few and far between.

I can assure you will 'own' my games. HDD is a penny a gig and I know a really fit-girl.

One of my main problems of subscription gaming are the timed title limitations. I want to play the games I want to play, not be told what I can by a service. And don't want to be pushed by a limitation to finish the game faster, drains enjoyment out of it

If this ever happens I'll just go back to playing old games.

Nintendo will hopefully continue to make cartridges. We can actually own our stuff.

Subscription services do NOT make games cheaper or more available, they are exponentially more expensive than buying a physical copy and can and will dissappear and grow more broken over time. Same goes for every other media service. To say this, you have to have never thought of how you spend money. You will not consume everything that is on the service, as a matter of fact quite a few people rarely even boot up their subbed services, they just subscribe and delete their money on a fixed schedule.

Beyond just gaming, subscription services in general need to be HEAVILY regulated, with strict and clear consumer protections that mandate companies provide services. The model fundamentally upends the health of the economy.

I just want the option to have a physical copy, and the option to own what I buy.

In nearly every single industry, so called "market disruptors" come in with the sole goal of aggressively undercutting legacy businesses, forcing those competitors out of the market, then steadily increasing their prices to match or exceed what consumers were originally paying. Streaming, food delivery, ride sharing, and lodging are just the most obvious examples.

I have found that the subscription model has become more and more unappealing. Last thing I have a subscription to is Playstation plus and that won't be renewed when it's up because of sonys ridiculous price hike. I used to be subscribed to loads of things. You know when they were best value.

I think what is an important thing to mention, the thing that most people don't realize, is that you don't even own games on Steam. Yes, you bought them for full price, but Steam is just a library for "your" games. If Steam suddenly stopped existing, you have no right to want your games back. I really recommend reading Steam's terms of conditions. In other words, the only way how you actually own your game is to buy the game physically.

I really fear of the cloud compute boom. Stuff like Logitech G Cloud really makes me think that in future it could be illegal to buy and own a damn computer...