The death of physical media is upon us!

[RAMROD 117,892]

22 minutes ago, Jill said:

People who say "you'll own nothing and be happy", like they're living in some kind of utopia where you can actually own things when you physically have them (you still don't!) don't seem to understand that as technology advances, formats will keep changing.

 

IMHO you are thinking this wrong. I am sure people know things changes, but that's not the issues. The fact that at its peak iTunes sales can affect Billboard charts  is proof enough that digital media have huge market.  Digital is not the issues, but the fact that today when people pay for stuffs they paid, they will only get license to use it, not own it. And this what people trying to resist. Because today, when you purchase a digital media, and at one point the shop or distributor decided to remove the content from the shop, they are also going to remove it from library too. So it is indeed " you'll on nothing and be happy" is heavily implied. People just don't want it to be that way. 

 

[Jill 31,812]

7 minutes ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

What about this critique implies a utopia? Yes, repossession can still happen in the context of larger scale debt, but the idea that everything you own should essentially turn into a rental is patently absurd and is genuinely dystopian. It’s a trend that also transcends what is essentially conditional access to video games you already own (see: attempts to turn air conditioning in a vehicle you already own into a subscription service).

I’m not patently against the end of physical media, but the system they’re positioning to transition to is blatantly bad for the consumer. The very least they could do is give the gamer unrestricted access to the file for the game itself that can be stored on a hard drive that connects to the console so they can maintain ownership of it that isn’t subject to the discretion of the distributors and manufacturers of the game.

It implies a utopia because it makes it seem that under capitalism, you are free to go out and buy something and that makes you the unrestricted owner of the object you purchased, but this isn't true, nor has it ever been. Even when you buy a house, you aren't exempt from the bank foreclosing on it, for example, like you said. When you buy a DVD, you aren't exempt from the format becoming obsolete in ten years, leaving you unable to play it anywhere. Even though you can freely buy a DVD, nobody guarantees it will work forever (because it won't), therefore, what you are buying is always something temporary. And it also comes with limitations that subsequent formats have tried to solve (such as the inability to use it everywhere).

We aren't talking about renting here. Digital video game stores don't necessarily rent out every game. You can also buy them as a one-time purchase just like we used to do, only digitally instead of physically. And subscription fatigue has an obvious ceiling, which is shrinking in direct proportion to the progressive decline in purchasing power among all workers. Because of this, subscriptions and the rental model will inevitably have to evolve into a more sustainable model in the future.

[Jill 31,812]

2 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

Digital is not the issues, but the fact that today when people pay for stuffs they paid, they will only get license to use it, not own it.

This has literally always been the case. Even in physical media, you're purchasing a license.

[River 128,515]

It brings so many issues, that I hope the EU will step in a deal with them, because the US will not give a f-ck as usual.

Refund - the refund system is almost non existed, every account can have 1 refund for a lifetime.. digital-only must change that, refunds should be like in Steam, if I played a game for 1 hour and didn't like it, don't force me to keep it, when I could buy it physically and sell/trade it and now I can't.

Backward compatibility, PS6 is fore sure digital only, PS5 pro already is but with the option to pay more and have the disc drive.. but digital only would prevent me from using my physicals and force me to re-buy my games.. they must give u the option to get these game digitally for free.

 

There are so many problems with this and I hope Sony will not get away with this anti consumer move.

[Jill 31,812]

21 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

Yeah! But if market dynamic brought about the advancement, then it’s a factor to consider. Corporate greed has always been a hindrance to the development of the capital market. That supposed free and fair competition they preach about is fictitious in today’s market and it’s absolutely affected the adoption of digital mediums as we see more and more people saying, “eh I can’t afford streaming, I’ll pirate, I’ll buy a secondhand dvd, etc.” I agree digital is otherwise the future but I don’t think it’s as inevitable in a lofty, social advancement way like it’s preached but in a sort of nihilistic sigh owing to corporate greed which imo does really impact its role in our society. Already, for instance, younger people prefer twitch and YouTube to movies and tv, which is a great example of streaming and digital maybe being the next step but clearly also in active response to corporate austerity. So I agree in one sense with you that it’s the future but not for this industry. I think their abuse of the consumer is going to kill them, basically.

No no. Market dynamics broadly guide how a technology is adopted, but they don't have the power to decide whether to move forward in a certain aspect or not. That is a physical and natural trait of human society that happens under any system, unless we're talking about a tremendously backward system that is way behind its time, like feudalism (in which case it still happens and sometimes it comes to a point where the forces are so strong that the system ends up being overthrown in favor of a more progressive one). The market decides how to implement the new technology, and under capitalism, the market is driven by profit-seeking indicators. From this, it follows that companies will try to increase their profits as new formats are adopted. When I say that evolution is inevitable, I don't mean it's inevitable that we'll pay more for everything all the time. Rather I say that complaining about the transition itself, to a format that is obviously more convenient, isn't really the point of the discussion. As you say, the point is profit-seeking. 

@River made some great points that need to be addressed on digital. I think the discussion should be centered on things like that, not on the validity of the transition itself.

Edited July 1 by Jill

[Versace 8,081]

If Xbox is smart this is their moment to shine. All they need to do is commit to providing physical. 

[gagzus 24,688]

Just now, Versace said:

If Xbox is smart this is their moment to shine. All they need to do is commit to providing physical. 

the woman who seems to be running Xbox now has got a lot of good going for her, even making Gears of War an Xbox exclusive for the first time in over a decade. And not for a limited time either; entirely.

I feel like they could heavily capitalise on this, but the downside is that GTA is probably gonna be the biggest swaying factor for a lot of people, and since it's gonna be PS exclusive until probably 2028 atp (and then only a PC release) Xbox needs to double down hard against all the things Sony is pushing for like discless media, the right to own vs licence and also live service. Fable is their next big swing since it's about to be the biggest and best RPG game ever released on Xbox, possibly overtaking Skyrim too. 

Sony is more for action, shooting and driving games. Xbox needs to become the RPG/Adventure/Niche title console imo.

[RudraCNG 15,511]

Sony making sure nobody can borrow games from their friends nor buying them cheaper 2nd hand. Also, they can set the prices since PS Store will be the only market. And ofc, lots of retailers and distributors will go bankrupt. What's exactly positive about this? It's not like you didn't have digital option before. Now you just have less options

Edited July 1 by RudraCNG

[Ladle Ghoulash 55,276]

15 minutes ago, Jill said:

When you buy a DVD, you aren't exempt from the format becoming obsolete in ten years, leaving you unable to play it anywhere.

I see where you’re coming from with the obsolescence argument, but I also think this comparison both misses that, even if DVDs become an obsolete format, if you own the player, you can still play the media and is also a format you could rip from, so even if you didn’t have a player, you could still maintain fairly unrestricted access to the media itself on a personal server. 

[Bronco 27,369]

If buying isn't owning.

Piracy isn't theft.

[gagzus 24,688]

14 minutes ago, RudraCNG said:

Sony making sure nobody can borrow games from their friends nor buying them cheaper 2nd hand. Also, they can set the prices since PS Store will be the only market. And ofc, lots of retailers and distributors will go bankrupt. What's exactly positive about this? It's not like you didn't have digital option before. Now you just have less options

As i've said before in the thread. Sony has been trying to force live service into their games since the mid 2010s, meaning they can add micro transactions and pay-to-play for games. They initially pushed for it years ago when they wanted developers to only make so much of their games available and release games in episodic format where you then pay so much per episode essentially pay walling the story and meaning a game releases like comic books do but at a higher price point. GTA6 is already the starting point because they initially didn't announce any "physical" releases and then did only for it to be a digital code in a box. Defeating the purpose.

Not to mention up to 10 features are entirely pay walled behind the Ultimate Edition. 

[Fantina 3,438]

This is very concerning, and everyone that plays games should be against it.

I wouldn't mind this if companies actually tried to have the player's interest at heart. Illegal downloads will skyrocket, and greedy CEOs will point fingers at the players and blame us for their projects flopping. 

[NemoMyName 2,330]

Enjoy paying for time limited licenses lol 

[Fantina 3,438]

1 minute ago, NemoMyName said:

Enjoy paying for time limited licenses lol 

And I wouldn't put it past them to limit future consoles to 1 WiFi network only, so you won't be able to share a console with someone. 

[RAMROD 117,892]

Also, this also will make gaming becoming non affordable hobby anymore for many.

With physicals, there are after market where people can buy pre-loved game disc for cheap. Or borrowing from library for free. That practice will extinct and everyone will have to buy at full price at their online shop now.

Edited July 1 by RAMROD