Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name looks pretty awesome – after all, how can you not fall in love with a seemingly superhero Kazuma Kiryu, who appeared to use ethereal tethers to tackle thugs in the latest gameplay trailer. The one problem: it may be a digital-only release, with apparently no plans for a physical version.
While we’re still awaiting confirmation from SEGA – we’ve asked the publisher for comment, and will update if and when we get word back – fan channel Kamurocho Bros noted that it has “spoken to retailers that have reached out to SEGA” and has concluded there is “no physical ESRB version” of the game. Obviously, this only applies to the USA right now – there may be different plans in Europe.
None of this rules out the potential of a physical version launching later down the line, of course. SEGA has approximately three months to change its mind, or it could partner with a company like Limited Run to get boxed copies out into the wild. Of course, this is beginning to become a trend – the upcoming Alan Wake 2 will also not have a physical release as things stand.
Obviously, there’s still plenty of people who prefer to purchase boxed copies of games, but that doesn’t change the fact that digital sales are gradually beginning to overtake retail ones. There are still advantages to physical, of course: games can be displayed on shelves and retain resale value – but perhaps, in this instance, SEGA doesn’t believe the market is big enough for a retail release to justify the effort.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 106
I’m sure this won’t bite them in the ass. It’s not like it happened before… Oh wait.
Won't play until it's on PS Plus then. Guess they've got some data to suggest this is the best move but I think it's completely bogus.
No physical, no buy.
Having no physical for a Yakuza game makes absolutely no sense, other then being lazy and want to save money.
I prefer physical but will buy digital, if it's something I want to play ASAP. The big upside to digital for publishers is there no logistics involved and they all but eliminate the second-hand market. That latter part is what bugs me the most but it's the same for PC games. Most of the keys market is like some back alley fencing operation.
Us digital only converts have been telling you that this is the future of gaming. You scoffed at the notion but as we continue on with the gen you'll find more and more examples of this happening.
@rawzeku those lazy b@stards, trying to save money. I’m up with the starlings every morning, burning mine in the yard.
In that case, I’ll wait until it’s £25 maximum. Which is only because it’s my favourite franchise ever, normally my limit is £10 for a non VR digital game.
That's what I got a PS5 with disc drive for /s
@ATaco Indeed, but let them die on whatever hill they want to.
Seems to be a theme. This, Alan Wake 2. I'm wondering if it's to push sales, to maybe make it so you have no choice but to pay full price. In which case subscription services would suddenly be very much more valuable. Um, but yeah, this is concerning. Personally I'm subbed to Ps plus and Gamepass and tend to buy digital only, but no way do I want physical games to die. This will be the end of Cex and GAME, though GAME have been going that way for ages.
If it's digital only it reduces the urgency for getting a single player game for me. I have far too many digital games but don't think I have paid full price for any since the PS4 came out.
It's been a good run, y'all. But I think our worst nightmares might be starting to come true.
@Gamer_Guy
I kind of agree but I can understand their thought process. They want to own their games and don't want to see the used games market die. That being said this is just the way I see the industry headed. We've already got games subscriptions and the like, once the technology catches up we'll be streaming our games just like we stream Netflix. The one positive of that will be that storage won't be an issue. We won't have to deal with 100GB files and updating games will be a thing of the past. The downsides are obvious as well, actual ownership of your games being the major one.
If it's digital only, then I'll be waiting for a hefty sale.
Those making their games digital only will end up regretting it, more and more people will just not buy it on release and will wait for hefty sales.
Also an all digital future will effect both new physical and second hand sales and will end up shutting down businesses like Game, Gamestop, CEX, and all online game retailers like shopto etc meaning thousands of jobs will be lost.
@ATaco I don't understand why even digital only people like you would want this though? It helps no one. Taking away options is never a good thing.
It was only a matter of time before this started to happen. Give it a few years and this will be the standard.
Looks like this is no longer a day 1 buy for me then, plenty more games to play anyways.
This gives the impression the rumoured detachable disc drive PS5 launching in September is real and it'll replace both current PS5 models. If you make the disc drive rare to obtain to the extent of the Kinect adapter for XB1S/XB1X, you've essentially got forced digital only PS5.
Nooo! Like a Dragon games always had amazing box art!
You can always count on SEGA to make the worst decisions!
I still haven't even played the main Yakuza games yet so probably wouldn't even pick this up right away even. Still sucks that this is starting to happen to big games that could and should go physical, but they just won't do it. It will be super sad if this happens again but with a new Judgement
@Cloud39472
Never said I wanted it but I've been complaining about things long enough to know when something is a losing battle. This is one such situation. This is the way that gaming is headed and you're going to see everyone voting with their wallets. People happily ate the $70 price hike, they continue to support shady companies if the game is good. They continue to purchase broken games and wait for patches later. Prepare to continue to be disappointed.
Annnndddd.... I'll never buy it now. Congrats Sega. 🙂
With Digital purchases now so much more popular, as well as 'most' hardware being 'digital' only (PC, PS5 Digital and Series S) they are only printing PS5 and Series X versions for Physical release.
Its really only those who choose/prefer to buy Physical on PS5/Series X that are affected - the rest will buy Digitally and its not as if those who 'prefer' Physical can't play if they really wanted to. Making Physical discs, the costs etc for the 'few' that will ONLY buy Physical as the rest will just buy Digitally if they want to play - even if they wait for sales maybe isn't worth the it for something that may only sell a few 100k Physically at best...
Games don't run off of Physical media - its just a way to deliver the Code to the customer these days - like downloading is. It has to be installed on internal Storage to 'run' so the 'disc' is nothing but a 'licence' to verify you have valid access to the installed software on the SSD.
In fact, nowadays, the disc doesn't even need to have the game code on it at all and rarely these days have something you'll want or even can 'play' without online access to update, patch and/or download/install the [rest of the] software as its not all on the disc.
If you bought Cyberpunk 2077, Gotham Knights etc on Disc would you really want to play the 'software' on Disc in 20yrs time when you can't update it? Its nothing but a 'coaster' then...
Silent Hill, RE, MGS, GT, Yakuza and a few PS 1st party I have full physical collections of being my favs so this naturally sucks for me if theres no physical but at the same time it's not shocking or unexpected in anyway. It does feel random though all of a sudden with AW2 recently making headlines for it. Just feels unnatural to be randomly happening smack bang in the middle of a consoles life where randomly some will have physical and some will not. Why now all of a sudden and not at the start of the PS6 or something like that instead
I am a staunch proponent of physical and will buy physical whenever I can but it won't stop me from buying games I am looking forward to. Alan Wake 2 is still a day one buy for me. However, I may be more selective or wait for sales for other titles in the future.
I'm assuming they've done the maths on this? The second the gains outweigh the losses, physical will disappear in a blink, sadly. I'm interested if the physical : digital purchase ratio is different between 'Twitter/gaming news' gamers and Joe Public gamers.
@Beerheadgamer82 I agree with you there. It seems kind of abrupt to do things this way. I'm guessing some publishers will take the plunge sooner than others. I wonder if the 10th gen will even have a disc drive after 4 more years of this trend?
Doesnt make any sense. The Yakuza Remastered collection literally came with a PS3 case for Yakuza 5 to make up for the digital only western release of Yakuza 5 - there is a clear collectors market for this series.
Only way it makes sense would be if they see this game as a prelude to Like a Dragon 8 rather than a full release
@tselliot if only it meant a similar upside for the consumers like they have on pc.
This digital era has made me have a better understanding of why people pirate games, excluding drm and all that.
@UltimateOtaku91 I hate to say it but the physical media shops seem on life support, anyway. The amount of tat they sell that isn't physical media (how many branded t-shirts a d funko pops do people need?) Isn't a good sign
Comments full of emotional tweebs. Physical media is in decline. Crazy how ppl still don’t get this. 80% of games sold on PS are digital. Either get with it or get left behind.
@ATaco I don't know if it's that certain. We still get DVD's and CD's and even records to this day so it would be bizzare to eliminate physical games entirely. All making games digital would do is push people over to PC.
@Fyz306903 difficult to say at this point. 10th gen I'd guess Nintendo got a good chance of still being physical more than Xbox And PS and who knows maybe this detachable disc drive rumour thing could be experimental for the PS6 too, as well as the current PS5
@SirMarshmallow Why do you care so much about how people consume media? You buy digital? Cool. I buy physical and that's fine too. It's having options that matters.
SEGA can shove it where the sun don't shine then, no physical, no buy, if smaller studios can find ways to produce physical copies of their games despite having much smaller budgets, then SEGA has NO excuse.
@Beerheadgamer82 I'm sure the Switch 2 will be physical, but the Switch 3 could be released in 2029 at this rate. Would that be physical? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Alan Wake 2 and now this too. Still, I don't know why people buy there games physical when games digital is the inevitable future? At least if you always bought your games digital you can turn around and say when that future comes, yeah I was already doing that future years ago. That's how I see it anyway. Plus, when that future does come all your physical games are now useless.
Feckin sick of this digital only on major releases already.......😪
@Wheatly I’m pretty sure games not getting a physical release are released at cheaper price points. Alan wake 2 is digital only and because of this the game is $60 instead of $70. And digital sales aren’t bad. There’s usually always sales events going on. Same thing is happening to movies/tv shows. I’d say digital sales in that industry far outsell physical.
Chocolate bars have gotten smaller but raised in price. Video game collectors editions with physical figurines will be a thing of the past. All cars will sound like your microwave. No stores to go out on a weekend and grab your favourite piece of entertainment. Buying clothes online and then wondering why it doesn't fit them properly. Wouldn't be surprised if I'm paying £84.99 for a digital PS6 game in 2029 with physical not even an option anymore. Paying more and more for less and less appears to be the future. Sucks a**
@Snake_V5 some if us are just collectors of things. I'm not anti digital, just give us both options please
@SirMarshmallow I'll happily be "left behind" as I won't buy a digital only game system. Besides, the way modern gaming is, there's almost no reason for me to stay up to date anymore. I'll wait for games like Instinction, Mass Effect 5, Witcher 1 and 4, and the new Tomb Raider, and then I'll bow out of modern gaming.
The best that gaming has to offer has already been made.
@Uncharted2007 So you’ll wait for the new games just to bow out of modern gaming. Aye man pick one
@Wheatly Of course you can still play them on the last console that supports discs but after that you can't ever again once console switch to digital only, no disc drive of course.
Get ready guys. PS6 and Xbox Series Z will be digital only. I think Switch 2 will be physical but Switch 3 will be digital only.
A damn shame, but this is what is going to happen.
Of course people will say “but PC is all digital now so what’s the big deal” but the deal is that the PC is an open platform. There is competition between digital storefronts like Epic, Steam, GOG, etc. So prices tend to be much more flexible on the PC.
These consoles are locked to one digital store each. There will be no competition beyond developers competing with each other when the games are similar. But the days of big digital sales that we do get to enjoy (granted they aren’t as good as they were just two years ago; why is TLOUP1 still 55 dollars on sale??) will go bye bye.
Now if they allowed extra digital stores on each platform (for example, Steam on console) then it wouldn’t be nearly as dire. But that will never ever happen unless some laws get passed.
No physical = no buy. Will wait for PS+
@Cloud39472
I too used to have more faith in consumers but they continue to let me down in supporting business practices that actively harm them.
Urgh, if this is the common theme going forward, this will be my last gen of gaming. This game im not too bothered about, but i was definitely getting Alan Wake 2 on disc until their announcement.
@kyleforrester87 All mocking aside, there are legit advantages to physical copies to the point where I completely understand people refusing to buy a game that is digital only that should have a physical copy. Besides the usual reasons people always state, it also makes it easier and quicker to install games (and re-install if you have to manage your hard drive space), especially for people who don't have fast internet. Between the Kraken compression and all games being on UHD discs, a lot of games can be installed straight from the disc (besides the day 1 patches). Obviously there are lazy ones that only put a portion of the games on the disc, but there are a lot of games that I have installed in a 30-45 minutes that would take some people a day or more to download.
It's different if it's an indie game, but Alan Wake 2 and this are definitely not. I don't blame anybody if they wait to buy games like them until they are on sale. It'd be different if these games were $50 (I don't think $60 is cheap enough to get away with their excuses).
Yeah, so a few surprisingly large releases are getting digital only releases now on PS5.
Those of you with a physical preference would be wise to skip these releases, because if they sell well, a number of companies will go all in on this.
I have a section of shelving literally dedicated to physical Yakuza/Like a Dragon games 💀 I hope they change their minds...
@SirMarshmallow Correct. Those are all slated for PS5. Given what's been shown outside of those I listed, have proven to me that PS5 should be my last game system for keeping up with modern gaming. That means when PS6 releases, I more than likely won't bother purchasing one.
No physical No sale….you fools Sega!
@Uncharted2007 Sure pal. Keep telling yourself that
@KilloWertz but once you factor in the patches, and in many cases this is almost essential, the argument is basically nullified to all but resale value, and since I’ve personally traded in about 5 games in the past decade I basically don’t favour one over the other anymore. The main reason for me to go physical is on the shelf I am less likely to forget a game exists and that I own it so may well pick it up again down the line. Sometimes I check my digital collection and I’m surprised at some of the games I own.
I get what you’re saying if you have particularly slow internet, though.
Anyway, the argument is pretty played out, if you love physical more power to you, but the transitional phase is well, well underway now.
No buy, then, eventhough I love the series. Sick of these scumbag companies pulling this garbage.
Then it shall not be purchased. A fool it is that buys digital when there is no actual ownership.
Wisdom has spoken
@OrtadragoonX
Of course the other big deal with pc is that if you choose to you would never have to buy a game ever again. Not that I condone such behaviour.
So here’s the thing. I’m not ready to jump down their throats just yet over this because from the beginning they’ve made this game out to be a small intermission for both the story between Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon 8 but I think they’re also using it as a way to hold over fans until 8 comes out. It’ll have been 4 long years by the time 8 officially comes out since 7. It’s the longest dev time I think the RGG guys have had like ever. So not only do I think LAD8 is gonna be the biggest one ever. But I think they might be using the profits from this for some of the developing. So yeah opting digital probably makes them more money. But weird conspiracy rambling aside the flip side of the coin where I give them crap is this is the same company who when they sold you a collection of 3 4 and 5 physically on PS4 included a Physical case of Yakuza 5 to complete the collection since that was digital only over here so they know how much physical matters to people. Unless that was a Nagoshi decision in which case well we’re all screwed now that’s he’s gone.
@ATaco I’m the type that knows it’s inevitable, but will continue to get physical releases as long as it’s an option. At least half of my game library is digital, so not opposed to digital.
No physical no buy simple as that,there's absolutely no reason why these companies can't release physical utter madness ,I bought a ps5 with disk drive for physical games
@lets_do-this_1999 it seems they are making the choice for us if we should have physical games or not regardless if the ps5 does have a disc drive
@kyleforrester87 Not really as a lot of patches are an extremely small fraction of what the actual game is. There is still benefit to physical other than resell value.
Not looking to start yet another argument like I did about Nintendo, so while what I said above is definitely true, you are also not wrong that the transition is well underway. The one issue with publishers right now though is they are just driving people to do what they don't want gamers to do, and that is to wait on games for sales like they already do with physical copies already.
At the very least, a transitional phase would have been nice. Not one major AAA game all of a sudden announcing it will be digital only at their first showing of the game and then another possibly following suit if this does end up being true.
@KilloWertz I have no memory of you starting an argument about Nintendo!
I'm sure this is upsetting to some folks...but I'm not one of them so I'll still be buying it.
No physical then I’ll wait until it’s free on PS+. I enjoy owning my games and being able to sell it or lend it to someone when I’m done with it. Also for most cases, you’re able to play the game without having to patch the game. Only goober companies like Activision put no data on the disc.
@KaijuKaiser i prefer my videogames physically yeah. I beat Hogwarts Legacy a couple of days ago and sold it in Cex earlier today and got £19 for it, can't do that with a digital game on console. Nothing 'weird' about that
Not a fan of digital versions. Got burnt pretty bad when Google Music switched over to YouTube. From the 601 songs I purchased from.99¢-1.99 the license has expired for 50 of them and more each month. You no longer own but rent. Sad. Mhhhhhmm check please!
Edited:
Look at the original GTA San Andreas disc copy compared to the digital one, they removed a lot of songs due to license loss, same with GTA 4.
Gaming looks more and more miserable every day. At this rate, I might not ever get into next gen.
Sucks for the guys who strictly prefer physical. On a personal note I've been buying RgG games digitally for a while anyway, so it doesn't affect me.
by the end of the console cycle, the big 3 will want digital revenue to account for a minimum of 75% of all sales so that the transition to digital-only consoles won't be met with severe backlash. they seem to be on course and these new digital-only releases are clearly forshadowing what is to come. not interested in supporting closed ecosystems with less choice and competition so it is sad to see things ramping up in the wrong direction.
Hi All, - Just to play Devil's Advocate - A Physical Copy only puts Money in the Developers Pocket on on its initial Sale - Once sold on they may be recompense from the New Owner if there is DLC available. And Yes some Season Passes are not far from the Retail Game Price, therefore if all Main Copies Sold are Digital, would this reduce the cost of DLC ....?
I’ll wait until it’s very cheap. This push for all digital gaming just blows.
Don't care. I buy digital anyway. I'm not gonna lose access to those games if I can download and emulate them elsewhere, or archive the game. It's more convenient for me having digital. I'd have 1000's of games, or I would have traded a lot to Gamestop (which sucks, I'm glad I can't do that anymore, as I like to go back to older games here and there).
You gotta adapt or die. Gaming is a tech hobby and it's constantly evolving. That's one of the reasons I love it.
"... or it could partner with a company like Limited Run to get boxed copies out into the wild."
No no no no NO NO NO NO GOD NO. Stay away from LRG as much as humanly possible. I'd rather RGG keep it digital then go with them.
@Deadlyblack fully agree with you. they hold back stock during pre-orders so that they can flip it on ebay (after demand surges) to make even more revenue for themselves. on top of that, their entire strategy is to prey on those who are vulnerable to compulsive game collecting by way of slimey FOMO tactics. they are shameless to a fault.
@Porco Exactly, and it seems like once they sink their claws into an IP, it's like they're there forever.
The reaction is funny as it's revealing just how much of the anti subscription, "$70 games are fine" people were only "fine" with it because they weren't actually paying it and were back dooring it with physical and ignoring the reality of digital and the future. Those of us that went digital prior have been warning of the pricing.
Well I won't be buying it then. I think they are making a mistake assuming the remaining physical purchasers will just move to digital when their hand is forced.
Gaming in general could well be heading for a crash within the next 2 to 3 yrs I feel, to many games released unfinished ,bugs galore and quite honestly the pandemic has certainly not helped matters in more ways than one ,its just a hobby at the end of the day ,it's a great hobby when everything falls into place but at the minute there are some big issues that need really addressing in the games industry
"Well I'm not buying then"... Nothing final and everyone here is soiling themselves over possibly nothing. Can you people stop being such drama queens.
I'm sure there will be enough places to buy it physical. Worst case scenario is that I'll have to import it over playasia, which really isn't so bad because it usually costs the same. And if they see lot's of people importing physical they'll get the picture. Sega and RGG are still on my good side.
@tameshiyaku I wont be buying it if it doesn't get a physical release. It's not a dramatic statement, it's just telling the world where I'm personally at with this.
@Wheatly i have been 100% digital since the mid way point of the 360 and PS3. All my games for PS and Xbox are digital, it works for me and it’s the way i prefer to collect and play my games, that said i am in no way a supporter of getting rid of physical. Some people strongly prefer the games on disc, and yeah i know most of the game is no longer on disc really, but the license is and that can be resold. Physical still has a place, i am lucky, me and my wife work from home, since 2020 and we have fiber 1000mbps internet, so on Series X i downloaded Diablo 4 in 12.5 mins at a file size of 76GB. Not everyone has that or even wants or needs it. I like options for all people, yes even including Gamepass and PS+ services. There is no one size fits all when it comes to media and i would hate to think what it would do to some people’s way to pay to play. I am in the drivers seat as digital is here to stay but i don’t just worry about my needs, all gamers should have choice.
@PSXDave i have learned to never trust google, they are the king’s of pulling the plug on services. I have been with Apple Music since it launched and even had 1600 songs i bought on iTunes and i still have everyone, plus access to millions on the service. I ain’t trying to start a Google vs Apple debate, i am just saying even as big of a digital content collector as i am, i don’t trust Google with my purchases or services. They throw too many idea’s at the wall to see if they stick and when they don’t they axe them. Surprisingly their fan base tends to allow it.
My recommendation for physical only owners is to buy physical when you can and then year or two later grab it digitally on the cheap cheap, sometimes you can get 60%-80% off. That would future proof your more cared for games. That why if physical goes away you have a collection to play. I am a digital only gamer but i feel bad for those that like physical, i want that to be there for you gamers. Choice is always good.
No physical no buy. I want my games that single player to be physical.
If that's the case why buy a PS5? Might as well go PC.
@kyleforrester87 Ok, it came close to an argument at the very least in the Nintendo Switch thread.
MS have marketing rights for Yakuza these days, as well as a very strong relationship getting these games on Gamepass. I wouldn’t be surprised if they negotiated this with Sega, along with day one Gamepass launch. But also wouldn’t be surprised if Sega release a physical collectors edition after 3-6 months. They just won’t advertise that yet.
If the digital prices were the same as retail prices then it wouldn't be such an issue. Ever since I got my digital PS5, I've only bought a handful of games on release. Digital games also retain their full price a lot longer than physical games which is frustrating.
@Balosi all I'm saying is that I wouldn't be so adamant based on one news report that may just be accurate for one region of a globalised market.
Yakuza 5 didn't make it on disc back then because it wasn't financially feasible. Eventually we did get it on disc anyways.
No physical, no buy for me.
Im saving more and more money no problem for me. Alan Wake no sale and now the same at Sega also no issue with waiting if it releases physically if not no problem either there are enough games to buy elsewhere.
Backlogs are getting huge and im not in a hurry anymore. Have yet buy God of War so it's all great. The Spider-Man 2 €249 edition with again a steelcase and no disc makes it also easy to wait a year to get a normal edition on discount can't be bothered about a few skins.
Will be skipping this then
And this is why I will be PC and steam after this gen going forward. Unless the console ecosystem prices come down, only fools will carry on paying the inflated costs.
@Old-Red So people who have accumulated enough wealth to not be bothered or remotely affected by what you describe as 'inflated costs' are fools huh?
Not sure about that logic. 🤣
I have a wee chuckle anytime someone brings up the $70/£70 price tag. Haven't paid full price for a game since the special edition of TLOU2. There's plenty of deal sites out there. Deals being chucked up before and after the games been released. Shopto and cdkeys always have decent deals on their PSN credit too (which helps reduces the cost of digital)
Whilst it will take a while for this to become the norm, its clearly inevitable. Whilst I made the move to all digital media consumption years ago (and have zero regrets), I do still feel for those of you who want the physical option and who will be left behind by the change.
The problem is that you are an ever shrinking proportion of the market, to the point where publishers can afford to write you off.
Personally I'd pay the extra costs of digital just to not ever change discs, but I appreciate others will have other values!
@ApostateMage
Plus the sales aren’t nearly as good most of the time. That’s my main problem with digital even though a decent bit of my library is digital (certain games I don’t see the point of a physical copy, like Diablo IV for example).
This is the beginning of the replacement of retail games. Makes me want to buy more retail than digital now actually
@kyleforrester87 What do you do with the burned Starlings? Burning money is understandable, it's the harbinger of adulting and a fun way to offset grey hairand eventual complete baldness
@CallMeDuraSouka nothing “extraordinary”, but it really depends entirely on how many I have.
@Fyz306903 I truly don't know how they survive, except the second hand market where they give you $5 store credit and turn around and sell your game for $20. More and more digital is definitely going to be the perfect storm that sends them into remnants of the past.
No problem, I will buy the digital because I´m big fan of the series. Physical discs are almost dead anyway and there is a serious chance that game companies will make more money. For example, Everybody played Days Gone, but lot of people played it from second-hand discs and Sony saw the results as not enough successful game to have a sequel. It would never happen, if Days Gone would be digital only.
@CWill97 @thaidanh @Beeeee-AHH-eer @UltimateOtaku91 @crimsontadpoles @thefourfoldroot1 @MrSensical
I was already planning to wait a few years for this game to be $20 new or free with PS+, but this no disc news just makes me wanna double down on my decision.
@Ralizah @OrtadragoonX Hard pill to swallow for us physical gamers, but sadly I can see this becoming reality.
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