It's the always online and other DRM bullshit that is the real problem. Even without game disks, you can archive installations of your games on your own.
Once they kill off physical games for good, expect prices to ramp up even more
On PC the opposite happened. We've been all digital for decades. The "physical" cases are just glorified CD-keys and you can't resell them. Prices have actually gone down due to all the sales.
Personally I prefer digital with the huge caveat "on PC" because it's so easy to download, crack and archive games on an external harddrive. Saves a lot of physical space, ensures I can still run them when the distribution service goes tits up and reselling used games isn't worth it anyway with steep sales due to healthy competition among countless online stores.
There's also a lot of competition on PC. If you want to distribute a game you can choose Steam, GOG, Epic, to a lesser extent Uplay and Origin or you can just do it on your own website.
On consoles, as I understand it, there's only one publisher/distributor. Everything has to go through Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo.
I count myself extremely lucky to belong to the last generation able to play > 95% of the games I'd ever care to play without depending on some game dev keeping some server running.
Main issue in the case of PC games is continuing to be able to run a copy of XP in the case of games that won't run on a modern version of Windows.
We're eventually going to hit issues with hardware compatibility and the virtualization layer when emulating old operating systems is my guess. Nothing is safe from the ravages of technological progress. The more we advance, the more that is lost.
Linux with WINE can handle any XP-era software without any problems that I've run into. The fork that Steam uses called Proton has run every single game I've asked it to just as good as a Windows computer would.
While I understand the death of physical is a problem for the entire industry, Walmart specifically I vaguely understand doing it.
They already put their entire game section behind locked cases forever ago, meaning they require often multiple keyholders on staff nearby to keep just that small section functioning. And the section itself just kept shrinking. Not to mention they are allergic to putting their games on sale so they end up having still full priced games that are years old taking up space that gets nowhere until it gets thrown away.
Its really an issue of the demographics who shop at Walmart made them put it under lock and key to prevent theft, which started this entire downward spiral.
So, as always, we suffer the effects of letting niggers exist in our country.
This is a potential answer to the question that I came here to ask: Walmart doesn't want to make extra money? The criminals could be making it unprofitable. Surprising that it could come to that, still.
The Walmart video game section was the first place I ever saw to employ that locked case method. Which tells me it was one of the first places to see enough theft that they couldn't just write it off as the normal level in the budget anymore.
Because those things are an otherwise net loss for both the customer and the company. Customers will pass up on impulse buys because of the extra hassle, and the company has to basically tie a bunch of employees to a small section of the store (with its own checkout) and devote their time entirely to that purpose.
So it must have been that bad of a situation to make them do it anyway, which has probably only gotten worse like everything else.
Every store budgets for shrink/theft, but you can tell society is getting shittier as all Walmarts now have that annoying, one-way alarm barrier, nevermind the exodus from leftist shitholes such as Portland or San Francisco.
I'm just thinking back to the Skullgirls controversy and how lovely it will be once publishers have the ability to "Special Edition" their games at will....
This is precisely why I disable updates for Steam games and always check the updates first beforeupdating a game on or for any system.
Way too often do we have woke game devs "modernising" their games post-release, changing and altering content without the user's consent.
The only safe way to play a lot of games is to download them in full, and then run the client in offline mode.
Even for Switch games -- majority of which I have on cartridge (even indie titles) -- they're constantly asking to update, and I just always click no because if the game runs fine, there is zero reason I need to update it.
This reminds me, there's there's a few ways to disable updates properly while still allowing you to launch it without updating. A few methods are summarized here.
The only safe way to play a lot of games is to download them in full, and then run the client in offline mode.
Only, you say? 🏴☠️
Gabe said that piracy is a service problem. And now Steam has come full circle to enabling a new service problem. Not because people don’t want to pay, but because they don’t want the money to go to these ghouls.
That said, I’m more in favor of picking up used copies of retro games when possible.
So, just like Best Buy? I guess I'm not surprised. After years of not owning a console, I picked up an Xbox about 4 years ago and I've watched the inventories at both those stores dwindle in real time. Target too.
They used to have 30+ current titles, and a decent selection of discount games. Now they're down to a handful of current titles and no discount games at all.
Ironically, every Walmart I know has the biggest PC game section of any possible retailer possible. Its almost entirely shovelware designed for Moms and children, but its enough to fill a 4 or even 8 foot section, whereas actual game stores might have a single shelf of Special Editions of the latest AAA release at best.
I remember PC gaming sections gradually shrinking, starting back around 2002 or so.
Every time I'd ever check out an electronics section of any store that section would get smaller and smaller with every year, and this was before Steam was even at the height of popularity.
It's the always online and other DRM bullshit that is the real problem. Even without game disks, you can archive installations of your games on your own.
Yeah, there is effectively zero reason to buy a console at this point.
I dunno, they're still good value mid range. Xbox x has what is equivalent to about a 2070s. And cost 700.
That's how much a 2070s alone was.
On PC the opposite happened. We've been all digital for decades. The "physical" cases are just glorified CD-keys and you can't resell them. Prices have actually gone down due to all the sales.
Personally I prefer digital with the huge caveat "on PC" because it's so easy to download, crack and archive games on an external harddrive. Saves a lot of physical space, ensures I can still run them when the distribution service goes tits up and reselling used games isn't worth it anyway with steep sales due to healthy competition among countless online stores.
There's also a lot of competition on PC. If you want to distribute a game you can choose Steam, GOG, Epic, to a lesser extent Uplay and Origin or you can just do it on your own website.
On consoles, as I understand it, there's only one publisher/distributor. Everything has to go through Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo.
Luckily, for movies, there will be some physical media for some time to come. At least until most people can't read and the libraries implode.
I count myself extremely lucky to belong to the last generation able to play > 95% of the games I'd ever care to play without depending on some game dev keeping some server running.
Main issue in the case of PC games is continuing to be able to run a copy of XP in the case of games that won't run on a modern version of Windows.
We're eventually going to hit issues with hardware compatibility and the virtualization layer when emulating old operating systems is my guess. Nothing is safe from the ravages of technological progress. The more we advance, the more that is lost.
Eventually XP-era systems (including XP-era GPUs) will have to be emulated like DOS systems and consoles are.
Hopefully this will be an easier task than it was for certain consoles.
Linux with WINE can handle any XP-era software without any problems that I've run into. The fork that Steam uses called Proton has run every single game I've asked it to just as good as a Windows computer would.
While I understand the death of physical is a problem for the entire industry, Walmart specifically I vaguely understand doing it.
They already put their entire game section behind locked cases forever ago, meaning they require often multiple keyholders on staff nearby to keep just that small section functioning. And the section itself just kept shrinking. Not to mention they are allergic to putting their games on sale so they end up having still full priced games that are years old taking up space that gets nowhere until it gets thrown away.
Its really an issue of the demographics who shop at Walmart made them put it under lock and key to prevent theft, which started this entire downward spiral.
So, as always, we suffer the effects of letting niggers exist in our country.
This is a potential answer to the question that I came here to ask: Walmart doesn't want to make extra money? The criminals could be making it unprofitable. Surprising that it could come to that, still.
The Walmart video game section was the first place I ever saw to employ that locked case method. Which tells me it was one of the first places to see enough theft that they couldn't just write it off as the normal level in the budget anymore.
Because those things are an otherwise net loss for both the customer and the company. Customers will pass up on impulse buys because of the extra hassle, and the company has to basically tie a bunch of employees to a small section of the store (with its own checkout) and devote their time entirely to that purpose.
So it must have been that bad of a situation to make them do it anyway, which has probably only gotten worse like everything else.
Every store budgets for shrink/theft, but you can tell society is getting shittier as all Walmarts now have that annoying, one-way alarm barrier, nevermind the exodus from leftist shitholes such as Portland or San Francisco.
I'm just thinking back to the Skullgirls controversy and how lovely it will be once publishers have the ability to "Special Edition" their games at will....
This is precisely why I disable updates for Steam games and always check the updates first beforeupdating a game on or for any system.
Way too often do we have woke game devs "modernising" their games post-release, changing and altering content without the user's consent.
The only safe way to play a lot of games is to download them in full, and then run the client in offline mode.
Even for Switch games -- majority of which I have on cartridge (even indie titles) -- they're constantly asking to update, and I just always click no because if the game runs fine, there is zero reason I need to update it.
This reminds me, there's there's a few ways to disable updates properly while still allowing you to launch it without updating. A few methods are summarized here.
Only, you say? 🏴☠️
Gabe said that piracy is a service problem. And now Steam has come full circle to enabling a new service problem. Not because people don’t want to pay, but because they don’t want the money to go to these ghouls.
That said, I’m more in favor of picking up used copies of retro games when possible.
So, just like Best Buy? I guess I'm not surprised. After years of not owning a console, I picked up an Xbox about 4 years ago and I've watched the inventories at both those stores dwindle in real time. Target too.
They used to have 30+ current titles, and a decent selection of discount games. Now they're down to a handful of current titles and no discount games at all.
At least Starlink going fully nationwide means people in rural areas can actually install digital games, so it could be worse.
Physical media has been dead for a long time on PC. What you see in stores are just zombies, empty shells with an online key.
Ironically, every Walmart I know has the biggest PC game section of any possible retailer possible. Its almost entirely shovelware designed for Moms and children, but its enough to fill a 4 or even 8 foot section, whereas actual game stores might have a single shelf of Special Editions of the latest AAA release at best.
I remember PC gaming sections gradually shrinking, starting back around 2002 or so.
Every time I'd ever check out an electronics section of any store that section would get smaller and smaller with every year, and this was before Steam was even at the height of popularity.
And the PC DVDs are very often a Steam key + download bundle so you don't have to download as much of the game using your internet connection.
Though sometimes people have cracked them so you don't need to have bought them from Steam to play them (eg. Skyrim)