Balosi

It still supports quite a few streaming services too last time I checked, honestly the price they've been selling at has been quite the bargain considering you get a blu ray player (and music cd!) too. I think they've been creeping up out of bargain territory lately though.

@RadioHedgeFund I think that's more dislike of phone games general standard of being free to play gacha models nowadays. Years ago when mobile phones were developing into what they are now, gamers were quite excited about being able to play games on them.
Though I don't really know how that evolved. I guess it could be argued that players don't buy phone games released the classic way. Have the mobile audience become trained not to accept them, or did they never like them in the first place?

@RadioHedgeFund I think people are allowed to express their disappointment if a game franchise they enjoy has taken such a different path. That's not entitled or snobbish.

PS2 was the one playstation I missed at it's peak, because I was addicted to everquest at the time. I caught up since then though, still got one set up. Playing through champions of norrath at the moment, an everquest spinoff strangely enough. I still play outrun coast 2 coast a lot too, that's definitely a lifetime comfort game for me at this point.

@nomither6 I find it frustrating that gamers even argue over physical Vs digital. Why can't we be happy that both exist, why does one have to 'win'?
I personally very much prefer physical, to the point that if it does disappear, then the gaming industry will be seeing significantly less of my disposable income.
Future proofing is my biggest concern. Admittedly companies have done a (mostly) decent job of keeping old digital libraries available to download so far, but the thought of my library of games being wiped out by one executive decision or a company running into financial trouble does not sit well with me.
Though, I know many people don't really care about that, some see games as far more one and done or whatever. Digital is beneficial to them, and maybe people with young kids etc.

It's quite surprising, the steam deck gets talked about everywhere, and I see quite a few floating around in second hand shops.
But still, I think hand held/cloud gaming, while fun, isn't the 'future' in that it's going to kill regular gaming. Most people don't travel enough to have an interest in it. Honestly, judging by forums, most people just claim to play it on the loo.
The switch's huge sales isn't the concrete proof that everyone wants mobile really. Other elements are boosting it's numbers too. Such as many households owning multiple switches, especially if they have kids. And Nintendo collectors are crazy, they'll buy every special edition switch that Nintendo puts out.

@nomither6 yes at which point all of your work is wiped out. I don't know, maybe games programmers don't care that much about legacy or whatever, but just seems wasteful to me to see years of work just wiped out.

Must be so miserable for people working on making these games. To have them just blotted out of existence. At least single player failures still hang around, sometimes gaining a belated cult following.

@Nakatomi_Uk yeah the PS4 version was an anniversary release, they gave it a new set of trophies, including a platinum. Price of the physical game has rocketed recently though.
I remember that PS3 hack, they let you pick two(I think?) games from a list. I don't remember bttf on it, though I'd already bought it so maybe I didn't pay it any mind.

Digital games need to 'check in' online now and again don't they? So a day wouldn't affect people, unless I assume you happen to pick that day to turn your console back on after an extended period. A much longer period of downtime would cause issues.
Unless I'm completely wrong, wouldn't be the first time.

@Orange_Juice probably mostly people who played it when it first came out. It really was a stand out title back then, the graphics on the Dreamcast version were well above the ps1 games. I think it was the first resi to have moving/scrolling areas too? Might be wrong on that.
Even the intro movie seemed really cool back then.

If they do release this, I hope they finally increase the size of the split screen boxes. I could understand them being so small on PS3, but I was a bit disappointed when they weren't increased for the PS4 release. And I'll be even more disappointed if ps5 can't handle it.

This made me Google best ever selling games. GTA is second only to (unsurprisingly) Minecraft at 300m. The most surprising is third place. Wii sports, which only ever came out on the original Wii.

Obsession with player growth, like final fantasy. So obsessed with with growth that it ends up alienating the people who helped it become popular in the first place.
Meanwhile, franchises like dragon quest and persona stubbornly stick to their turn based tactical roots (much to the dismay of some of the more 'progressive' video game journalists) and grow stronger with every release.

Bear in mind if companies do get their wish and get all digital, they will start going all in on pushing making streaming the standard.
And if that happens, games preservation will be in big trouble, no data at the users end to preserve.
It's in even digital only users to at least defend physical, because that won't the end of the story.

That's sad, I played darkest dungeon 1 for ages and his voice absolutely made that game something else.
He didn't sound particularly old in it though.

Such a good game, just reading about it makes me want to play it all over again.

Honestly can't see it changing that much, BC technically makes every PS4 game a ps5 game too by default, so if any PS4 games do pop up that Sony consider worth including there's nothing stopping them.

Valve has come a long way getting their store suitable for consoles. Maybe an Xbox with integrated steam os would give PlayStation a run for its money. But I guess Xbox also consider valve a competitor, so there's prob no way that will happen.

@SuntannedDuck2 I'm pretty sure blu rays generally last a lot longer than 10 years, to be honest the talk about any disc media dying or rotting away seems very much guesswork, plenty (I dare say even most) discs from even the 90s are still working fine.

@nomither6 playing them online perhaps, but short of getting your entire console bricked, having your account suspended doesn't stop you playing your physical single player games.
Worst case scenario you can just move them to a new account.

@Bamila you may have lost interest in physical, but the fact that you were able to sell them for a decent amount of money suggests lots of people haven't.

I can't see them charging £100. Well I'm sure there'll be deluxe editions etc which I'm sure the big fans will happily buy, but I'd bet the base game will be the standard price. If (and I'm sure it will) it has multiplayer similar to 5, that's where the big money is anyway.

@DaveSimonH yeah the memory card situation was the single biggest problem. Psp had a similar situation, but it had less impact because most people were still using the uhds.
Lack of initial success meant the games cartridges were considered limited collector's items pretty much straight away, which made vita feel too premium for most people I think.

@TerranIV I probably would've got one if it had been backwards compatible, despite already owning a quest. There's a ton of psvr1 games that I enjoy. Admittedly there's a few you can get an update for (for a price.. 😕) but not enough.

I think when I was younger I would've loved game pass, I probably would've seen it as great value if it had been a thing in the ps1 or Dreamcast days. I used to enjoy trying as many different games as I could get my hands on back then.
But now I just tend to find one game, usually my favourite, a lengthy turn based game and play that for months. Maybe occasionally trying out a few on sale indie games.
I bought ps+ premium for a year, and despite the seeming value, I barely touched the vast array of games on it so I went back to essential.
The essential free games at least hang around 'forever' on your account so even if you end up not playing them, you feel like you are getting something, rather than the time limits of game pass and premium.
I think kids of today seem to be a different too, finding one game like Fortnite or whatever and just sticking with that indefinitely, rather than trying everything like we used to.

@neillaw Yes it's unfortunate. I've had a love/hate relationship with final fantasy for years too, though I have given all but the most recent one a chance for all my complaining. They usually even win me over in the end.
Having a moan on the internet about the direction your favourite franchise is taking is in no way comparable to the stuff listed in the article though, kind of irks me that I risk people thinking I do stuff like that just for complaining sometimes.

I leave it on, but not really sure why. I just clear all the videos out now and again. The only time I did anything with one was getting the slay the spire platinum which I proudly shared. It got a whopping 8 views.

I'm standing my ground personally. If a game costs over £20 or so then it's got to be physical as far as I'm concerned. If it does disappear then I guess I won't be spending so much on gaming any more.
Though, as others have mentioned, if the digital revenue includes subscriptions and micro transactions then the numbers aren't really a fair impression on the base game revenue.

@MrMagic it works both ways I think. From my (admittedly very uneducated) view, it seems Chinese companies get a lot more freedom to operate in the West than Western companies get in China. Everyone's protecting their own interests.

@belmont Well not pointless, you have more consumer rights with the physical version. The game isn't locked to one account for a start.

At my subscription limit personally. Something has to go if I get a new one. Sega do make a lot of RPGs though, so maybe they'd get a chance of being in the group if it was good enough.

It's crazy that Fortnite is still a powerhouse. The kids who originally played it are becoming adults now. I'm not sure if they are still playing it or it's attracting the next generation too.

It's my favourite of all the elder scrolls. But I do worry that the inevitable 'quality of life' improvements of a remake might sour my memories of it. I'll keep an eye on it if it is real though.

I've mentioned this before I think, but there are actual poker games that only have a 12 rating. It makes it even stranger that balatro got an 18.

@Dampsponge that's true, dedicated disc players have likely been niche for a while. Most households have likely been using games consoles for it for some time.

@ChimpMasta lol what odd advice. Sell them asap? You act like they are all going to explode one day. Even if physical did disappear, the old copies will still be fine.

Edit : as for degredation, my ps1 cd discs are still fine to this day. So blu rays, they are probably going to outlive me.

@Flaming_Kaiser ps1 was revolutionary at the time. I remember being awe struck, accustomed to megadrive/Amiga graphics and seeing what seemed like arcade perfect games running at home. Though I'm still not sure how I thought resident evil looked like real life lol.
I think the last time I was truly amazed by gaming was my first few goes at vr. Console generations just seem to add subtler improvements rather than mind blowing experiences nowadays. Though you can't really blame them, it's getting harder to offer such huge jumps.

@Flaming_Kaiser that's true. People can make predictions about the future of consoles, streaming etc all they want but it's all irrelevant if no attention grabbing games are being made.
Though I admit it's getting harder to impress us, increases in FPS and resolution (for those who can afford the TVs) aren't really the same as yesteryears jumps between consoles.

Many households have multiple switches, I got one friend who's got like 5 or 6 floating around, and he's not even a collector, just got one for each family member for some reason.

@Friendly if it runs ps5 games straight from the library, it won't need as much support as a system with completely different games I suppose.

@Deljo I played ridge racer so much. Seems crazy in hindsight, so little content compared to modern racers yet it's prob my most played racing game.

It let me extend last year, though I did upgrade from extra to premium I think if I remember right. If current premium members get no discount option at all, that would be pretty lame to be honest.

Another homm3 type game came out on playstation a couple days ago, confusingly also having songs in the title. 'songs of conquest'. It's pretty good, has gained a following on pc.

@Medic_alert what is wrong with providing for a minority, their money is as good as anybody else's.
And physical is very much my personal reason for not moving to pc. Unless I am a very special human being, I doubt that I am alone.

@Medic_alert I honestly believe that the physical option is still a huge benefit to console makers. It's the reason many people stick with consoles instead of moving to pc.
Also a drive allows you to watch blu rays and dvds. Something many people still do, even if they have a streaming service as well.
Though I believe that Sony probably realise this, it's more likely underestimating rather than some sneaky push for digital. Also we don't know how many drives scalpers out there are sitting on. They are obviously a lot easier to stockpile than a console because of their price and size.

I would be tempted, but most my big games are still physical though, so it's not even an option until the stock issues with the drive are sorted out.

I'm definitely down for a new sci-fi space series. I still miss the glorious 90s when there were seemingly hundreds of them.

@BlaizeV I can't remember if the PS3 collection even got a digital release, I can't seem to find any info on it, I'm not even sure if it's currently there to be delisted. I guess the only way to check for sure is through a PS3, mines not at hand at the moment though unfortunately.
I do know the disc version is still (currently at least) fairly cheap to get hold of.

It's probably more Sony underestimating how many people still want one rather than a forced attempt. There are many companies keen to see and accelerate the demise of physical, but Sony and Nintendo are two that seem happy to keep providing while the demand is there. Indeed, Nintendo could even be seen as actively defending physical.
It happens a lot with physical games too. Big releases completely unavailable physically in the first couple weeks because retailers massively underestimate the demand that still exists.