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PlayStation 5 owners prefer boxed games to downloads

KAL2006

Banned
Been all digital for over 10 years. I'm not meeting some random people out in the street to sell them a used game nor am I willing to sacrifice the convenience of digital for physical.

Physical media is useless and it will be obsolete in the near future.

Weird I didn't know on some countries you need to meet random people on streets to sell games. Here in UK we have what you call a trade in store. It's very safe you go inside and you sell your game or get a trade in voucher. With that money I then use that to buy another game that saves me money. Another option we have something called eBay in the UK where you can sell games without needing to trade on the streets. But to be honest some people I know when sell on Facebook marketplace and meet outside peoples doors but i guess that may be a unsafe suggestion to you and it's a shame your country doesn't have eBay and trade in stores and you risk your life trading in the streets.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
ps5 digital prices are too damn high. $50 for ghosts of Tsushima "on sale". Cmon man.

ya sony is on my shitlist this year.
Sony sales were better than steam sales last gen. And steam sales used to be great.

I think what happens is that these companies go for broke early on with great sales and once they have you, raise the prices. Steam sales are awful nowadays and have been for years. Now it's sony's turn. They know they have you by the balls.
 

HTK

Banned
Weird I didn't know on some countries you need to meet random people on streets to sell games. Here in UK we have what you call a trade in store. It's very safe you go inside and you sell your game or get a trade in voucher. With that money I then use that to buy another game that saves me money. Another option we have something called eBay in the UK where you can sell games without needing to trade on the streets. But to be honest some people I know when sell on Facebook marketplace and meet outside peoples doors but i guess that may be a unsafe suggestion to you and it's a shame your country doesn't have eBay and trade in stores and you risk your life trading in the streets.
I find eBay a huge hassle along with packaging and shipping and with all fee's they have now days simply isn't worth it to me for the small profit I might get.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
True gamers ™

But yeah, new releases on the EU PS Store are consistently around 30% more than physical copies (sometimes even more). No thanks.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Weird I didn't know on some countries you need to meet random people on streets to sell games. Here in UK we have what you call a trade in store. It's very safe you go inside and you sell your game or get a trade in voucher. With that money I then use that to buy another game that saves me money. Another option we have something called eBay in the UK where you can sell games without needing to trade on the streets. But to be honest some people I know when sell on Facebook marketplace and meet outside peoples doors but i guess that may be a unsafe suggestion to you and it's a shame your country doesn't have eBay and trade in stores and you risk your life trading in the streets.
lol. Bestbuy had the best trade in program for GCU members. First they sold you the game for 20% off so you only paid $48 for it. Then they gave you a $10 coupon for preordering. Then when you went to trade in, they would give you 20% extra credit AND extra points so you could actually make some money back if you returned the game in the first couple of weeks.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
Right, I wouldn't set my foot into that dirty ass store for their shitty offer of $3 for a 3 month old game. or support their shitty business practices of trying to sell me a opened Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for retail price. I'm good bruh.
I tend to agree with you to be honest. If you complete a game quickly and resell then you can get a fair bit of your return back. Some folks are maybe not as wealthy as you “bruh”

I’m basically of the opinion that when the sales are good for digital I will pick up a few games but generally I will but physical as it’s cheaper. It is a bit of an inconvenience in terms of swapping discs but if digital prices were cheaper then it would be a less bitter pill to swallow.
 

HTK

Banned
I tend to agree with you to be honest. If you complete a game quickly and resell then you can get a fair bit of your return back. Some folks are maybe not as wealthy as you “bruh”

I’m basically of the opinion that when the sales are good for digital I will pick up a few games but generally I will but physical as it’s cheaper. It is a bit of an inconvenience in terms of swapping discs but if digital prices were cheaper then it would be a less bitter pill to swallow.

Wealthy? It's called patience and discipline. I'm willing to wait for the 75-80% digital sales for single player games. I see no need to buy games on Day 1, especially single player only games. Games I buy on Day 1 are mostly multiplayer where I know I'll sink in 500+ hours in and by the time I'm done believe me there is no resell value there.
 

KAL2006

Banned
I find eBay a huge hassle along with packaging and shipping and with all fee's they have now days simply isn't worth it to me for the small profit I might get.

You don't have trade in stores in your country?

I personally use trade in stores and Facebook market place in the local area.

The amount of money I have saved not just selling but buying.

I've sold Nintendo games in trade in store and got majority of my money back.

I've bought games on Facebook market place for a fraction of the price as a digital game.

All those things didn't really require much effort the trade in store I'd just go to when I got other shopping to do and just grab a bunch of games im done with in one go to sell.

I remember when I was into digital and it was very frustrating I had a collection of digital games that I no longer played and thought to myself wow so I can't sell none of this it's just wasted money, never I'm going to go back to buying digital again unless it's a game in going to replay alot such as a multiplayer game like Street Fighter.
 
Been all digital for over 10 years. I'm not meeting some random people out in the street to sell them a used game nor am I willing to sacrifice the convenience of digital for physical.

Physical media is useless and it will be obsolete in the near future.
You can sell your used game in almost every gameshop
 

Flutta

Banned
Been all digital for over 10 years. I'm not meeting some random people out in the street to sell them a used game nor am I willing to sacrifice the convenience of digital for physical.

Physical media is useless and it will be obsolete in the near future.

So basically you are 1) lazy, 2) afraid of meeting people, 3) clearly never used ebay or the likes. 😵‍💫

Whats really useless are those completed digital games of yours. You have no right to sell them, give them away or even put them in a effin microwave because you dont OWN THEM. And you have the nerve calling physical media useless. 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

KAL2006

Banned
Wealthy? It's called patience and discipline. I'm willing to wait for the 75-80% digital sales for single player games. I see no need to buy games on Day 1, especially single player only games. Games I buy on Day 1 are mostly multiplayer where I know I'll sink in 500+ hours in and by the time I'm done believe me there is no resell value there.

I never buy games day 1, and I too buy some games digital if it's like £5. I used to buy digital games for like £15 and even that was a waste of money. Now what I do is wait for sales and go to the trade in store and grab a game for £5 or £10 physical, so you can wait and be patient but even physical will still be more beneficial than digital sales.
 

HTK

Banned
So basically you are 1) lazy, 2) afraid of meeting people, 3) clearly never used ebay or the likes. 😵‍💫

Whats really useless are those completed digital games of yours. You have no right to sell them, give them away or even put them in a effin microwave because you dont OWN THEM. And you have the nerve calling physical media useless. 🤦🏻‍♂️
I've used eBay twice this year to sell a PS5 and a Series X.

I think you're placing too much energy on possessions. All these things are useless, I don't get a boner by having a physical disk in my possession. I value the experience and time I had with that game and that's it. I already save money by not buying games on Day 1 and only buy single player games when they are heavily discounted.

I don't like to do business with GameStop/Best Buy or have time to deal with random people trying to haggle with me over $5.
 

Azurro

Banned
I'd rather get digital, but for example, I was able to buy Ratchet and Clank for ~42 euros, while on discount in PSN it's ~52 if I recall correctly. So....yeah. I also found a store where I preordered Elden Ring for ~60 euros, while at PSN it will probably be either 70 or 80 euros.
 

yurinka

Member
Game sales for PS are primarly digital, so pretty likely in Europe (its biggest market) too. In my case I like to have the games in the room as decoration, and to be able to resell them in the future if I want. I get digital if way cheaper or if are heavily discounted way old games or indies.
 
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KAL2006

Banned
I'd rather get digital, but for example, I was able to buy Ratchet and Clank for ~42 euros, while on discount in PSN it's ~52 if I recall correctly. So....yeah. I also found a store where I preordered Elden Ring for ~60 euros, while at PSN it will probably be either 70 or 80 euros.

I still don't get this when your done with ratchet and clank and Elden ring, wouldn't you like to have alot of your money back. When you finish digital games how often do you go back and play these games.

So let's say Elden ring is 60 dollars, and if you resell the game for 25 dollars, that's 45 dollars Vs whatever it costs on PSN
 
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Saber

Gold Member
Good to know people have yet not going out of their minds.
My physical games are not locked by anything. I can install and replay them whenever I want without stupid time and spacing consume updates. Free of internet.
 
Yeah, why would I ever buy a game that I can't sell if I don't like it, or if I'm finished and don't plan on playing it again any time soon? 🤔

I love collecting games, but I only collect the ones I really love. To me personally, downloadable games don't make any sense.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Sony sales were better than steam sales last gen. And steam sales used to be great.

I think what happens is that these companies go for broke early on with great sales and once they have you, raise the prices. Steam sales are awful nowadays and have been for years. Now it's sony's turn. They know they have you by the balls.
I’d say it’s the opposite, and more like an early adopter tax.

PS4 games stuck at £49-£55 everywhere for a year to 18 months after launch and PS Plus games were pretty dire at the time aside from Resogun. Same situation then, no heavy discounts on exclusive games.

After 3 years everywhere was back to selling games for £40 on launch day and Sony started discounting games pretty heavily.
 

aclar00

Gold Member
Do they also prefer boxed DVD movies to streaming?

I do for my rentals...Redbox for the win! No 4k TV, so just get blu-ray for $2/nigh which can basically be a 36+ hour rental (depending on when you get it) and have better quality video and audio compared to streaminh....oh and $4 average cheaper per movie, or even more given regular discounts.

edit: Main downside is that physical Redbox movies tend to release 1 month or so after digital...so longer wait.
 
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th4tguy

Member
Always funny to me how the same people screaming for physical are also screaming for PC as main platform. Like they aren’t all digital on PC.

In regards to the article, it makes sense for Europe as sale trends heavily favor physical. Even at launch games tend to have a steep discount from the msrp.
I think it’s more telling that even with digital being so much more expensive than physical in Europe, digital is still pushing as many sales as it is.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
You don't have trade in stores in your country?

I personally use trade in stores and Facebook market place in the local area.

The amount of money I have saved not just selling but buying.

I've sold Nintendo games in trade in store and got majority of my money back.

I've bought games on Facebook market place for a fraction of the price as a digital game.

All those things didn't really require much effort the trade in store I'd just go to when I got other shopping to do and just grab a bunch of games im done with in one go to sell.

I remember when I was into digital and it was very frustrating I had a collection of digital games that I no longer played and thought to myself wow so I can't sell none of this it's just wasted money, never I'm going to go back to buying digital again unless it's a game in going to replay alot such as a multiplayer game like Street Fighter.
The time it takes to go to a store to buy or sell a game just isn't worth it for me. The time it takes to sell, package and ship a game I'm finished with isn't worth it for me. The cons to physical far outweigh the single pro, cost difference, for me. It's not even close.

For the most part I've taken to waiting to play the majority of games until they drop to a price that I'm comfortable paying. If it's something I'm highly anticipating I'll pay full price if I don't want to wait. But honestly, from a consumption perspective I'd prefer to rent 90% of the games I want to play because I have no interest in owning something I'm only going to play once and probably won't finish.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Always funny to me how the same people screaming for physical are also screaming for PC as main platform. Like they aren’t all digital on PC.

I'd buy physical for PC if I could. I have a massive Steam library with a ton of games I'll never play again. Sure wish I could sell them, but I can't.
 

dano1

A Sheep
All digital starting with my PS4. Love how convenient it is to have all my games sitting in my library!
 

isoRhythm

Banned
I bought Guardians of the Galaxy brand new on disc. Paid $64.19 after tax. Completed the game, got the plat, and then sold it for $38 (after fees) on eBay.

Net cost of the game: $26.19
This doesn't seem like a fair cost. Obviously, it's very nice to be able to resell physical but some people (me) like to keep their games forever.
 

Topher

Gold Member
This doesn't seem like a fair cost. Obviously, it's very nice to be able to resell physical but some people (me) like to keep their games forever.

It doesn't seem fair? Why?

Nothing wrong with collectors who want to keep their games. I'm just not a collector.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
Prices on digital games on PS Store is absolutely ridiculous here in Sweden. 80-90€ full price while boxed goes for 50-60€. Fuck that. Plus I like collecting games physical and have a nice collection with different editions and such. It's more fun than a boring digital license. I will forever be physical I think. If gaming goes all digital and streaming I think I will focus on what I have and just go retro.
 

kingfey

Banned
Why pay 50$-70$, when you can pay 20$ for complete edition in 2 year.

This is more of early birds, who have money to waste.
 

taizuke

Member
As a European ps5 owner its more realistic to say I prefer paying less for a game than I do paying more lol

Same here. While I do prefer physical I don't mind going digital for the right price.

For example in the last three months I bought Hades, Jedi: Fallen Order, and Kena: Bridge of Spirits all digital.

1) Hades - Could've gone with the physical copy but I love Super Giant games and I own all their games digital. Plus, it was $5 cheaper than physical.

2) I never played Fallen Order on PS4 and had every intention to get the PS5 physical copy but when I saw the digital deluxe edition for $25 and the physical version on Amazon for $40... I went digital. Plus, the digital deluxe edition gave me access to both PS4 and PS5 version of the game.

3) Had Kena been $60 or $70 I wouldn't gotten it right away. Being $40 certainly made the game more appealing. By the time I decided to get it, the physical version was sold out on Amazon. I could've waited for a restock and then waited for it to arrive or I could have it instantly which is what I did.

These are exceptions though where going digital was more convenient. I love physical copies but I also love saving money if I can.
 

isoRhythm

Banned
It doesn't seem fair? Why?

Nothing wrong with collectors who want to keep their games. I'm just not a collector.
A) It takes time and effort to resell games
B) You pay for the game, part of the cost is owning the license & being able to replay it.

So in your case, you essentially paid that net amount to 'rent' the game for a playthrough.
 
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Kupfer

Member
That's reassuring to hear and it backs up my post from a few days ago.

Of course, digital sales are pushed by the manufacturers and you read everywhere how great the digital sales figures are, so that the customer thinks it's the new norm and everyone only buys digital. It's just easier to earn money with it.
But that is obviously not the whole truth, as this article proves. I am glad that physical sales are still ahead and hope it stays that way.
The manufacturer of course tries to push us to enter the digital only market, see the digital only console versions. There they have a price monopoly and make the most profit. I think we should put our comfort behind us in this respect and not go along with it. The only leverage we have left is our wallets.

MrFunSocks MrFunSocks
KqUG2rJ.jpg

I hope you take it with a laugh :)
 
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Topher

Gold Member
A) It takes time and effort to resell games
B) You pay for the game, part of the cost is owning the license & being able to replay it.

So in your case, you essentially paid that net amount to play the game once.

Yes, and I'd do it again. Perfectly fair to me. I have no interest in replaying the game or letting it sit on a shelf.
 

KAL2006

Banned
The time it takes to go to a store to buy or sell a game just isn't worth it for me. The time it takes to sell, package and ship a game I'm finished with isn't worth it for me. The cons to physical far outweigh the single pro, cost difference, for me. It's not even close.

For the most part I've taken to waiting to play the majority of games until they drop to a price that I'm comfortable paying. If it's something I'm highly anticipating I'll pay full price if I don't want to wait. But honestly, from a consumption perspective I'd prefer to rent 90% of the games I want to play because I have no interest in owning something I'm only going to play once and probably won't finish.

Oh so you never been in a situation where you go to the shop for something else and you happen to just walk in a trade in store while you are at it.

Or sell something on Facebook marketplace and just sell from your door step

It's not very time consuming at all, and in terms of saving money I have saved a ton of money. I look back at some of the digital games in the past when I was like you waiting for digital sales and think to myself I could have sold all the shit I will no longer play but oh well. I'll give an example I've made around £50 just selling smash Bros and Zelda alone, that enough money to buy another new game or buy 4 games on sale or used. So if I bought those games digitally I'd basically losing £50. Now add these reasale costs for years of console gaming and that money adds up and not just stuck in a digital account which will you no longer going to go back and play those games. I've also borrowed and lent games to friends and family which is another good thing about physical games.
 

KAL2006

Banned
nightmare-slain said:
i can't take people seriously who buy physical games. i look forward to when consoles are all digital and you have no option but to buy digitally. the sooner MS/Sony abandon the disc drive the better.

Can you clarify why you can't take people seriously who buy physical, and why you look forward to a full digital future and less options for the consumers. I'm sure you will have a nice logical repsonse that makes sense thanks

Seems like nightmare-slain is thinking of that logical answer
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Obviously, why pay more for a none physical product to be looking at a download counter while physical owners are playing way before you for less and looking at Digital Only gamers like
Cracking Up Lol GIF
 

OrtizTwelve

Member
Physical games make no sense anymore in 2021 and beyond, and serve no purpose other than being a “CD key” or “token” of some sort to authenticate your game as 99% of games released in the last few years almost require several patches and updates to get the most up to date experience regardless of you thinking you have the full game on disc, and some even require an internet connection to work.

I do miss the old days of having a physical game collection, I had a lot of fun doing that as a child and teenager. But physical games are nothing more than nostalgia tokens much like physical music and physical movies / tv shows on disc.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
1st party games cost 80 euro digital here... that is over 90 dollars.

Now, I just bought Guardians full price, I have no problem supporting some games and encouraging good development behavior....

However the current PSN sale is pretty poor and I can say I am so happy we still have strong physical retail options, Returnal is 60 euro on PSN and 50 for the physical for instance and I decided long ago that I wouldn't pay more than 50... so it now meets that threshold.

Several other games are also cheaper at retail including Sackboy, Demons Souls (40), Far Cry 6 (40) and Rider Republic (35).

Retail is a very very important part of competition and keeping the online stores in check and everyone that loves gaming should make an effort to support them, as well as the local and distribution jobs that depend on them.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Physical games make no sense anymore in 2021 and beyond, and serve no purpose other than being a “CD key” or “token” of some sort to authenticate your game as 99% of games released in the last few years almost require several patches and updates to get the most up to date experience regardless of you thinking you have the full game on disc, and some even require an internet connection to work.

It has no use for you maybe, but clearly there are plenty of people who see the value in owning the physical disk. Whether it is someone like me who wants to be able to sell or trade the game when done or others who want to collect games. That makes it more than a "CD key" or a "token" and the patches/updates have nothing to do with it.

That was exactly my thought when I was reading the OP.

I mean...people can talk, but in the end, the majority went digital.

One report is referring to PS4 and PS5 combined while the report in this thread is focusing just on PS5.
 
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KAL2006

Banned
Physical games make no sense anymore in 2021 and beyond, and serve no purpose other than being a “CD key” or “token” of some sort to authenticate your game as 99% of games released in the last few years almost require several patches and updates to get the most up to date experience regardless of you thinking you have the full game on disc, and some even require an internet connection to work.

I do miss the old days of having a physical game collection, I had a lot of fun doing that as a child and teenager. But physical games are nothing more than nostalgia tokens much like physical music and physical movies / tv shows on disc.

Yeah it don't make sense. You would be stupid to buy a CD key that costs less and can resell than a digital only purchase
 

Boss Mog

Member
1st party games cost 80 euro digital here... that is over 90 dollars.

Now, I just bought Guardians full price, I have no problem supporting some games and encouraging good development behavior....

However the current PSN sale is pretty poor and I can say I am so happy we still have strong physical retail options, Returnal is 60 euro on PSN and 50 for the physical for instance and I decided long ago that I wouldn't pay more than 50... so it now meets that threshold.

Several other games are also cheaper at retail including Sackboy, Demons Souls (40), Far Cry 6 (40) and Rider Republic (35).

Retail is a very very important part of competition and keeping the online stores in check and everyone that loves gaming should make an effort to support them, as well as the local and distribution jobs that depend on them.
Guardians full price? It's on sale for 35€ in stores near me, I almost bought it today but went with other games in the end.
 
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