Physical Gaming Setback

I Want My Money Back

So not long after the jubilant tone of my last post, Sony announced that the sale of physical games will end in 2028. For me, that’s it. Aside from a brief amount of time owning an original NES I’ve always been a Playstation gamer, all the way back to PS1. I’ve owned most of my media so I won’t be simply buying revocable licenses from Sony in our digital future. In case there’s any doubt that Sony will do this, they only recently revoked 500+ movie titles from their platform due to licensing changes. No refunds!

Stop Killing Games

The ‘Stop Killing Games’ movement recently laid out some very good reasons a generation of gamers are fed up with the status quo. Sure, you could buy physical games - but typically you’d still need to download gigabytes of data before you could even load the thing. Online games would shutdown soon after release leaving you with a wonderfully colourful drinks coaster. Even offline games would require a connection to play. Gaming became at best, a choir and at worst - a con.

Endgame

Given the current trajectory gaming has been headed since its inception, maybe this is the inevitable conclusion, or at least the penultimate moment before ‘cloud gaming’ (shudder) takes over. Physical media formats have increased in capacity over time with modern games requiring more and more space. With some games exceeding 100GB+ the move to digital was inevitable. This also makes a great time to switch over to an access based model rather than ownership. After all, when everyone is simply buying licenses to ‘own’ and play a game, moving to a cloud/access based model would be easier. If a newer generation of gamers can be convinced that this is the new normal for gaming then it would be paradise for corpos everywhere.

The Last Generation

All of this got me thinking about my current games collection. Mainly, when did it all change. I think for me it was when console games become dependent on the internet, or if not dependent then certainly interlinked. This would have been the PS3 era for me when DLC, patches and digital purchases become a thing for the first time. Many games of that era can still be enjoyed on an offline PS3 without requiring a connection, but it was the beginning of where we are today. Prior to that I can only really consider my PS1 and PS2 games collection their own, self-contained media. No internet required. Just the simplistic joy of placing the disc in the tray and that’s it.

I’m not unreasonable. Internet connectivity becoming faster and more abundant would mean the pure offline experience would change. However, time marches forward and the spectre of corporate greed and enshittification rears its ugly head. Where a balance could’ve been struck between ownership and connectivity, a soulless digital licensing model takes over instead…

The Retro Future

Given the backlash by many over these recent changes, this may be where many of us gamers get off the train. There’s a wealth of amazing games to play already. Online physical marketplaces and second hand shops are abundant with older titles and that classic experience is still there to be enjoyed.

Newer generations of gamers may not care. To be fair to them, digital marketplaces are all many of them have ever known. In addition, the sheer volume of games released now makes ownership of beloved titles seem pointless. On to the next thing… However, nothing lasts forever and those gamers may find the sheer number of titles leading to burn out, eventually culminating to a sense of dissolution at the current model. This could lead to an interest in the simpler times of gaming, as well as a nostalgia for a time that passed them by. Consumer sentiment could change and the industry might need to react. After all, it’s happening to the music and media industry so gaming’s time may come around again too…