67 Per Cent of UK Game Sales Were Digital Last Year

This 67%, is that including games which are only available digitally? Game sales are only really going one way though and whilst I have largely been against this push towards digital, these days I don't really see the point in physical as its a bit of an illusion given they have to be installed anyway

With all the sales they have on the PSN/XBL like the January sale you see why, really good deals at times.

GTA V though....still..

As already stated, whilst an important statistic it does come with some caveats. Many games are released only digital first (or only ever) and thus many people will jump rather than wait.

Then there are the sale hunters like myself who generally prefer physical but will buy the game digital during a good sale and they only expect to play the game once with no real emotional attachment. Basically a replacement for game rentals.

Then there are the doublers, also like myself, who will buy a game digitally that they own physically already, cos it was cheap and allows for easy plays (arcade games usually).

And then the Collectors, who buy cheap digital cos they don’t want to devalue their precious sealed babies.

Im 85% digital now myself.

I've started going Digital more and more as using discounted PS Store top up cards is sometimes working out almost the same or cheaper than physical games, and when on a discount in the PS Store its an even bigger saving.

I still like to buy physical if possible, especially when I'm paying full price. Lately I've been buying more digital when things get super cheap on sale. Digital hasn't let me down yet, but I really hate the hard stance sony takes on refunds, etc. It hasn't happened to me in at least ten years, so maybe it's a thing of the past, but I remember getting corrupted downloads in the past, and as far as I can tell sony doesn't want to refund if that were to happen.

Still 90% physical me and that will remain the case for some time to come.

Good year for many but especially Nintendo, Sony, Rockstar, EA and Ubisoft. Xbox as well as I'm sure they have substantially increased their subscription base.

There's enough variety in games and platforms to suit all tastes. Hopefully this will lead to less whining from the so-called gaming community in 2021.

😝

@FX102A something tells me those are a tiny percentage, though.

Yeah, digital is the preferable way of purchasing for me too, but now I consider more buying Playstation 5 disc version, because some important games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Mortal Kombat 11 are available in physical only.
MK 11 is not available digitally in Ukraine, as WB saw risk of local law violation with some of the game's content (some USSR-themed costume for Scarlet or smth), and instead of excluding this content for Ukraine, they banned the whole game.

To workaround such, dare I say, stupid decisions of some publishers, physical is still the way to go.

I wonder if that 67% also includes games given away in plus.

I usually go physical but the last two games I've bought (WD Legion and Cyberpunk 2077) have been digital and both have had a similar theme about them - cyberspace.
It's a conspiracy, the corps have already won. They will enslave us all!

I only buy digital when something is drastically reduced in a sale or is digital only.

I would never pay full price for a new release (digital). Never.

I’d like to see what percentage of new releases were digital/physical.

Still always prefer physical, and will continue to do so. I only buy digital if it's only available that way, or if it's heavily discounted in a sale. New games at store prices? No thanks... and that will go double when it comes to PS5 and the hiked prices.

Starting to feel like the UK sales charts are borderline useless at this point.

Even I have bought a few digital games in sales. It will ALWAYS be in sales however. Digital prices are 3-4 times higher than the price at which you can find physical copies

I always buy digital. Too lazy to swap discs around. If you could install from disc and then not have to use the disc again maybe I'd buy physical because of resale value, but I don't buy games day one anyway, always a year or two later when they are £15 or less, so not too bothered about resale.

Last line article “* Digital sales not included” guessing that’s a mistake as above it says they are ? @get2sammyb

Edit never mind I understand now 😅

So with Bethesda’s and Nintendo excluded does that mean it could actually be higher ? As there physically should be taken out of the equation if it wasn’t.

67% of all game sales were digital - including ALL those games that are ONLY available digitally and inc PC (Steam for example) which is basically ALL digital too these days.

Its misleading because this would seem to suggest that Digital is by far the most popular format when gamers have a choice - particularly on Console. Most AAA games releasing on Console with a Disc as well tend to sell around 65-70% via physical media. This would indicate that Physical is still the most popular choice for the Console gamer.

That's not so surprising as Consoles have a 'shelf life' and gamers want to play their games after the console is discontinued.

I’m pretty stubborn with buying physical games but between PS Plus, the excellent sales and a lot of the smaller scale/indie games I enjoy being digital only, the reality is that I actually own more digital games than physical.
I like to hold onto my personal generation defining games and look forward to giving them to my kids. I can’t wait to relive these treasured experiences through fresh eyes while also passing my kids a tangible product that tells them something about Dad on a level they can truly understand and interact with.
For me, buying physical is also about the process. I enjoy hopping in the car with a few buddies, heading to the city, grabbing some crap food, catching a movie, picking up a CD to listen to on the ride home, sparking up a conversation with buddy behind the counter of EB games and excitedly discussing the game we just picked up on the way home. Just my two cents.

What percentage of those were only bought digitally because they were on sale?

I am 100% digital, so got my PS5 digital version too, even started buying games on sale before owning one lol. But i was lucky and got mine in early Dec.

New games - I'll buy physically because they are £10-£20 cheaper than digital. Plus they will sell on and make an even bigger margin compared to the digital

Older Games - I'll buy digitally.

That's my PS5 mantra.

In the past I would buy all games on disk, but can't be bothered with switching disks anymore.

Heavily missleading statistic if you note that 80% of games are released as digital only...

You can easily say: "100% cars were sold with electric engine in 2020." (says Tesla retailer)

Better write comparison between sales of digital vs physical copies of games ONLY released in both versions and if physical was already sold out. This article has no weight.

I only really buy digitally on sales

@stu123 if you are basically downloading the whole game again as a patch though it won’t be quicker.

there's a large number of caveats behind that report. the 42m sales includes steam, etc. which is pretty much all digital. so even if PC was only worth 20% of the overall market, that's still 8.5m sales - meaning the 18.5m physical sales on consoles is still more than the digital counterparts. how many of the sales were digital only games? (which seems to be way more than half of all games released on PSN)... all those 20,000 trophies hunters that bought my name is mayo 2 skewing the data. how many are older games on sale? and basically aren't stocked anymore by retailers?. the last 3 months of the year which is huge for physical purchases, the shops were closed for all but a couple of weeks.. people who bought PS5s or XBS|X couldn't pick up them up in stores so impulse purchases went out the window. if £65-70 becomes the norm for next gen games at launch, i think the could be a resurge of physical due to resale value.

i bought only physical games (5) in 2020.. i can't see that changing in 2021.

I'm digital but what gets me is the price. I'm paying for the bandwidth to download said game and yet in some cases i'm paying more than physical (with all of the manufacturing and shipping overheads included). What is that about?

Lately, usually with switch games, people are clamoring for physical copies. Scott pilgrim copies are highly talked about and, seems to be, sought after. Deadcells was a digital first game, that eventually had physical copies.

For me, I usually just go with the best deals. Which is why I would want a disc-version of either ps5/xbsx. That way I can go digital or physical.

@leucocyte I bought a ton. Mainly through sales. Got 13 sentinels and Valhalla for $65 after taxes and delivery. From black friday sales, got cyberpunk for $40.

Does this include digital only stuff because that doesnt really give a clear/good image then. Its like we sold 90% red shoes we only made 10% blue ones though.

I go for the best deal and that's physical. Digital games are extortionate when you consider the massive savings they make in production. You'd think they'd pass those savings onto the gamer.

Been all digital since PS4 launched in 2013 and have a PS5 digital console this generation. I think disc drives may be gone by PS6 and definitely by PS7.