Digital killed the physical star....

[Void99]

Just been a recent outrage that's resulted in mass debating ....sorry, couldn't resist!!!

No but seriously, the recent controversy of Sony announcing that all games released on Playstation consoles from January 2028 onwards will ONLY be digital. Effectively ending physical games for the platform. And to say it's caused a huge shit storm is a huge understatement.
Lot of people now at each others throat over the whole thing.

I can see both view points, as someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s where physical was the ONLY option, not just for games but VHS and cassette tapes etc. Heck even had a record player.
There definitely was something unique and special about going and buying a game, then trotting over to Burger King for a meal, read the manual with a cigarette on the go. Before they banned smoking in public places of course.

But I would also argue that TRUE proper physical game ownership died after generation 6 (PS2/original Xbox) era. The moment you started needing patches for games, actual sign in accounts and when DLC became a thing .... you never truly had the full unfinished game on a disc.
I mean try running Fallout: New Vegas on an Xbox 360 with no patches installed....it's a broken mess with your save files guaranteed to become corrupt.

Have to say I truly embraced the introduction of digital. For the following reasons:

-Space - no clutter of tons of plastic boxes everywhere.

-Ease of use for switching between games.

-No worry of disc degradation, ie, scratches.

-Better long lasting console functionality. Before switching to digital in 2013, I never had a single disc based console that would last the course. Sega Saturn, PS1, Dreamcast, PS2 and first Xbox 360 console. All would eventually malfunction due to the disc lens reader becoming compromised.
Alright maybe the Game Cube was an exception, but I only had that initially for a small number of years and rarely used it.

PC gaming has pretty been digital only for years now, and I did not see any uproar over that. But that is an open platform and there are ways to ensure you can keep your games permanently.

Do you prefer digital? Do you think that digital only now leads to serious abuses by publishers who can yank a game from your library even though you paid for it? That has never happened to me on with Xbox or Playstation....yet.

Will we truly "own nothing and be happy"? Just some thought for food there. Been a hot topic for a long time but now getting very real indeed!

[Stormtrooper1990]

Hi Void

The funny thing about this is that I was chatting to my best friend the other day about the recent controversy over the launch of GTA VI. We both lament the fact that soon hard copies will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

I grew up with hard copies and for me nothing beats that physical ownership of a game. Once you purchase it then it becomes yours to do with has you please; sell it or give it your mate to borrow. But with digital, it doesn't feel like it's yours but rather a string of code that you can't touch or feel and say "That's mine!" It didn't matter about space or even degradation because that taught you vital lessons like how to take care of your stuff and take pride in it. But with digital it's just showing credence to the modern and toxic throw away culture.


However, that being said I've only accepted digital because I don't have a choice and I have to keep up with the times. Do I like it? No but I have to live with it, and it is what it is.

Sorry, about going on. I bet I sound like a doddery 36 year old shaking his fist and going on about the "Good old days."


P.S You had a game cube? Now there was a fun little console. You had great games like Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Star Fox Adventures. It was a real shame that Nintendo pulled it and decided to stick with handhelds.

[Trackman281]

NO!.......I'm sorry, but this is the end of ownership......."you will own nothing and you'll fucking like it!"

So I've watched replies from the following people.....

1. The Angry Joe Show.
2. The Critical Drinker.
3. Born 2 Game.
4. Gameranx.
5. Whatculturegaming.

.......To name a few....

This genuinely is the end of it all. Now look, look. I follow musicians such as "Tom Macdonald" and even "Dax!" who expose the horror of ownership and finally everyone will see it.

The end of psychical media will soon be upon us as the whole "Fuck you, give me money!" will be in full swing. Yeah, by then, I'll be out yo! I feel so, so, so sorry for the Gen Z people who never grew up with discs. I feel so sorry whose people who people lives revolve around "day 1" buys and DLC content. You will never know the joy of a "Blockbuster" midnight release......to be honest, you will never the joy of just putting a game disc inside of a console and guess what...IT WORKED!...no day one patch, no bulshit download.....it..just...worked! who'd have thought eh?

Now yeah, yeah, I can already hear the next gen shouting "gen gud bro". But here's the thing. You'll NEVER have it as good at us. You will never be able to put a game disc in and....IT WORKS!......Game developers know this and all they have to do it is basically "outlive" us golden gamers, which apparent is becoming easier by the day.

[Void99]

Hi Void

The funny thing about this is that I was chatting to my best friend the other day about the recent controversy over the launch of GTA VI. We both lament the fact that soon hard copies will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

I grew up with hard copies and for me nothing beats that physical ownership of a game. Once you purchase it then it becomes yours to do with has you please; sell it or give it your mate to borrow. But with digital, it doesn't feel like it's yours but rather a string of code that you can't touch or feel and say "That's mine!" It didn't matter about space or even degradation because that taught you vital lessons like how to take care of your stuff and take pride in it. But with digital it's just showing credence to the modern and toxic throw away culture.


However, that being said I've only accepted digital because I don't have a choice and I have to keep up with the times. Do I like it? No but I have to live with it, and it is what it is.

Sorry, about going on. I bet I sound like a doddery 36 year old shaking his fist and going on about the "Good old days."


P.S You had a game cube? Now there was a fun little console. You had great games like Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Star Fox Adventures. It was a real shame that Nintendo pulled it and decided to stick with handhelds.

Yeah I literally lost the ability to secretly make fun of the age of other forum members....turned 45 a few weeks ago in mid June! I still remember playing on a Commadore 16 and waiting 45 minutes for the cassette tape to fully load up! Heck I can still remember when certain friends had black and white televisions!

The Gamecube was a good reliable system, I just did not have many games for it. N64 and GameCube are the only Nintendo products I ever owned.

It was Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem that made me grab the Game Cube....TWICE! First in 2003 but eventually traded it off for the Xbox 360, but in 2009 I really wanted to play Eternal Darkness again so bought the system for a second time off Ebay with a copy of the game.
If Nintendo ported Eternal Darkness over to Switch 2 and it was available to buy and play offline without no subscription requirements ...I would make that investment just for that game again!

I did have a few other games on GameCube, Zelda Windwaker and Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 1 remake, Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. Not had a Nintendo system since then.

[Stormtrooper1990]

It was and the small discs that the Gamecube had made it unique along its contemporaries. It was a shame that it was overshadowed by the gaming giants of Sony and Microsoft, and not many games were marketed for it. It really was an underrated little console that deserved so much better.

One of my other favourite games I had for it was a Rainbow Six game that I adored and 007 Nightfire, which had some hot female NPC models.

But it was because I didn't own many games for it was the reason I traded it in for a PS2 and inevitably a XB360. I do have a Nintendo Switch but it's old and the battery only lasts a couple of hours.

I have been debating whether to get a Nintendo Switch 2, or save up for a X-Box Series X/S.