Digital killed the physical star....

[Void99]

Just been a recent outrage that's resulted in mass debating ....sorry, couldn't resist!!!

No but seriously, the recent controversy of Sony announcing that all games released on Playstation consoles from January 2028 onwards will ONLY be digital. Effectively ending physical games for the platform. And to say it's caused a huge shit storm is a huge understatement.
Lot of people now at each others throat over the whole thing.

I can see both view points, as someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s where physical was the ONLY option, not just for games but VHS and cassette tapes etc. Heck even had a record player.
There definitely was something unique and special about going and buying a game, then trotting over to Burger King for a meal, read the manual with a cigarette on the go. Before they banned smoking in public places of course.

But I would also argue that TRUE proper physical game ownership died after generation 6 (PS2/original Xbox) era. The moment you started needing patches for games, actual sign in accounts and when DLC became a thing .... you never truly had the full unfinished game on a disc.
I mean try running Fallout: New Vegas on an Xbox 360 with no patches installed....it's a broken mess with your save files guaranteed to become corrupt.

Have to say I truly embraced the introduction of digital. For the following reasons:

-Space - no clutter of tons of plastic boxes everywhere.

-Ease of use for switching between games.

-No worry of disc degradation, ie, scratches.

-Better long lasting console functionality. Before switching to digital in 2013, I never had a single disc based console that would last the course. Sega Saturn, PS1, Dreamcast, PS2 and first Xbox 360 console. All would eventually malfunction due to the disc lens reader becoming compromised.
Alright maybe the Game Cube was an exception, but I only had that initially for a small number of years and rarely used it.

PC gaming has pretty been digital only for years now, and I did not see any uproar over that. But that is an open platform and there are ways to ensure you can keep your games permanently.

Do you prefer digital? Do you think that digital only now leads to serious abuses by publishers who can yank a game from your library even though you paid for it? That has never happened to me on with Xbox or Playstation....yet.

Will we truly "own nothing and be happy"? Just some thought for food there. Been a hot topic for a long time but now getting very real indeed!

[Stormtrooper1990]

Hi Void

The funny thing about this is that I was chatting to my best friend the other day about the recent controversy over the launch of GTA VI. We both lament the fact that soon hard copies will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

I grew up with hard copies and for me nothing beats that physical ownership of a game. Once you purchase it then it becomes yours to do with has you please; sell it or give it your mate to borrow. But with digital, it doesn't feel like it's yours but rather a string of code that you can't touch or feel and say "That's mine!" It didn't matter about space or even degradation because that taught you vital lessons like how to take care of your stuff and take pride in it. But with digital it's just showing credence to the modern and toxic throw away culture.


However, that being said I've only accepted digital because I don't have a choice and I have to keep up with the times. Do I like it? No but I have to live with it, and it is what it is.

Sorry, about going on. I bet I sound like a doddery 36 year old shaking his fist and going on about the "Good old days."


P.S You had a game cube? Now there was a fun little console. You had great games like Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Star Fox Adventures. It was a real shame that Nintendo pulled it and decided to stick with handhelds.

[Trackman281]

NO!.......I'm sorry, but this is the end of ownership......."you will own nothing and you'll fucking like it!"

So I've watched replies from the following people.....

1. The Angry Joe Show.
2. The Critical Drinker.
3. Born 2 Game.
4. Gameranx.
5. Whatculturegaming.

.......To name a few....

This genuinely is the end of it all. Now look, look. I follow musicians such as "Tom Macdonald" and even "Dax!" who expose the horror of ownership and finally everyone will see it.

The end of psychical media will soon be upon us as the whole "Fuck you, give me money!" will be in full swing. Yeah, by then, I'll be out yo! I feel so, so, so sorry for the Gen Z people who never grew up with discs. I feel so sorry whose people who people lives revolve around "day 1" buys and DLC content. You will never know the joy of a "Blockbuster" midnight release......to be honest, you will never the joy of just putting a game disc inside of a console and guess what...IT WORKED!...no day one patch, no bulshit download.....it..just...worked! who'd have thought eh?

Now yeah, yeah, I can already hear the next gen shouting "gen gud bro". But here's the thing. You'll NEVER have it as good at us. You will never be able to put a game disc in and....IT WORKS!......Game developers know this and all they have to do it is basically "outlive" us golden gamers, which apparent is becoming easier by the day.

[Void99]

Hi Void

The funny thing about this is that I was chatting to my best friend the other day about the recent controversy over the launch of GTA VI. We both lament the fact that soon hard copies will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

I grew up with hard copies and for me nothing beats that physical ownership of a game. Once you purchase it then it becomes yours to do with has you please; sell it or give it your mate to borrow. But with digital, it doesn't feel like it's yours but rather a string of code that you can't touch or feel and say "That's mine!" It didn't matter about space or even degradation because that taught you vital lessons like how to take care of your stuff and take pride in it. But with digital it's just showing credence to the modern and toxic throw away culture.


However, that being said I've only accepted digital because I don't have a choice and I have to keep up with the times. Do I like it? No but I have to live with it, and it is what it is.

Sorry, about going on. I bet I sound like a doddery 36 year old shaking his fist and going on about the "Good old days."


P.S You had a game cube? Now there was a fun little console. You had great games like Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Star Fox Adventures. It was a real shame that Nintendo pulled it and decided to stick with handhelds.

Yeah I literally lost the ability to secretly make fun of the age of other forum members....turned 45 a few weeks ago in mid June! I still remember playing on a Commadore 16 and waiting 45 minutes for the cassette tape to fully load up! Heck I can still remember when certain friends had black and white televisions!

The Gamecube was a good reliable system, I just did not have many games for it. N64 and GameCube are the only Nintendo products I ever owned.

It was Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem that made me grab the Game Cube....TWICE! First in 2003 but eventually traded it off for the Xbox 360, but in 2009 I really wanted to play Eternal Darkness again so bought the system for a second time off Ebay with a copy of the game.
If Nintendo ported Eternal Darkness over to Switch 2 and it was available to buy and play offline without no subscription requirements ...I would make that investment just for that game again!

I did have a few other games on GameCube, Zelda Windwaker and Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 1 remake, Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. Not had a Nintendo system since then.

[Stormtrooper1990]

It was and the small discs that the Gamecube had made it unique along its contemporaries. It was a shame that it was overshadowed by the gaming giants of Sony and Microsoft, and not many games were marketed for it. It really was an underrated little console that deserved so much better.

One of my other favourite games I had for it was a Rainbow Six game that I adored and 007 Nightfire, which had some hot female NPC models.

But it was because I didn't own many games for it was the reason I traded it in for a PS2 and inevitably a XB360. I do have a Nintendo Switch but it's old and the battery only lasts a couple of hours.

I have been debating whether to get a Nintendo Switch 2, or save up for a X-Box Series X/S.

[Void99]

If you are currently on base Xbox One and have no plans to invest in a 4K TV, the Xbox Series S is actually the cheapest option that would be an all round improvement over what you currently have.

Games like Oblivion, Fallout 3, New Vegas, Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition all benefit from the 60 FPS Boost feature on Series S.
On a non 4K TV, the Xbox Series X would have no additional benefit over the Series S for these games.

The only issue is I would definitely not go for the 500GB model, the UI instantly gobbles up 200GB of that leaving only a lowly 300GB of useable storage space. If a future game you might be interested in getting exceeds 300GB ....that's going to be a problem. Storage expansion SSD card prices are through the roof right now, costing more than the console itself!

[Trackman281]

Would you believe it now?

I got told I was an idiot roughly 4 years ago, because I warned everyone this would happen. But hey, ho, who has the last laugh now. Let's break it down and I'll show you what I mean.

1. With a so called "restaurant tariff" prices rise, people find it hard to eat out. Eeerrmm, with both my wife and I taking 2 - 3 full years of cooking classes before we even met, means we can easily avoid all the "what's new" in all fast food delivery service and here's a shocker, We host multiple dinner parties per month because we know that as a society. Homemade food will always be better than any fast food crap.

2. We as a society rely too much on AI. Now as a part of my job, I have to really, REALLY look at all the applicants that sign of to us and here's the shocker. I have to tell exactly 48 applicants (as of today) that they were not successful in their interview, due to AI or chat GPT reliance....So in other words, I can NOT trust you.

3. people who think they can't afford a household because they are a "millennial".....Eerrmm, I'm sorry but really? Really? My wife and I invested in a 5 bedroom and 3 bathroom house (3 showers and 3 toilets) and we've been making it work very easily. So when people say things like "Millennials are screwed." No...No, we're not, us millennials are the last true generations behind the "Gen X" group (our parent generation) and the boomer generation (our grandparents), it's very easy and I do mean EASY to see that it's the "Gen Z" and the "Gen Alpha's" that have been screwed over for themselves.....Simple as yo!

3. The actual meat and potato of this.....Aaaahhhhhh psychical media. Me as a child in most of the 90's and the early 20's I remember getting so excited every Christmas or every Birthday, hoping that I got that 2 or 3 special games. There was nothing more amazing than unwrapping a game you've waited for for months. It meant your parents knew what you wanted and you (yourself) were going to be as happy as a pig in...sugar..yeah?

The situation of..Disc thing has been a topic for years and I get it, I actually get it. PC people have had to deal it with years (gullible lack of ownership people). But now it's stretched everything wide. Soooo, does this mean, no more blue ray discs? people of a certain age and everything will know that this pretty much spells doom for the industry as a whole. Now, yeah, yeah. I can already hear the PC gamers quarrel, but here's the thing. I was genuinely a die hard PC gamer until 2014, when all disc support virtually stopped. Wasn't going to support it then and I won't support it now.

CONCLUCSION......

....It's fine. it just means than I sell all my gaming equipment and everything else. To which I have about 10 to 20 thousand pounds worth of equipment in 2026 and I just use it all to take my wife and family on some really expensive holidays and flights all around the world. Fine, easy for me.

.......The fact remains. Remember how easily it was to take ALL those films away from things like the PSN store a little while ago? Well, whose to say they won't do this to you games either. Don't be stupid!

A thanks as well too......

1. Tom Macdonald
2. Yong Yea
3. Drax

For breaking this down evern more.

Don't be dumb people. You have a brain, now bloody use it. Bye now!

EDIT!! - This can also stem to film quality. So when the "marvel" universe was in its full swing. Do you remember what seeing a pre endgame film was like. It was literally packed out screenings here in the UK. The wife and I had to book days in advance before of how jam packed it really was. But after "Endgame part 2" it really did die out didn't it. I mean, can you blame people? This was also the same month that the third "Rey" star wars film came out and even my wife said this was such a waste to bring end to an otherwise fantastic year of films......But that's it (again). Ever since 2019.....Films have become to safe, too boring and too just.....meh....don't forget your speaking to both a male and a female opinion and we are both going. "Meh, that's kinda shit." We are just saying
.........my wife and I both like gore films, we like true consequences.