Comment on Trump tariffs threaten the future of physical video games, analyst warns
Jackthelad@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Physical media has been dying for years. If you look at the sales statistics between physical and digital, it makes for grim reading if you care about physical media.
75% of game sales in Europe in 2024 were digital. In 2022, 90% of game sales in the UK were digital. It’s a similar story pretty much everywhere. And whilst there’s a lot of noise on the internet about how bad a digital-only future would be, the average consumer doesn’t care.
spizzat2@lemm.ee 4 days ago
I realized a while ago that it’s not actually the physical media I care about. It’s the unfettered access. Physical media is just the easiest way to achieve that. I still buy from steam and pay for streaming, but I recognize that those could be taken away at any time. I want to feel like I actually own something. I buy digital music because I get a DRM-free file. I buy from GOG because I get an installer that I can store locally for as long as I want to.
When it comes to movies? I have to buy the disc because (almost?) no one offers a DRM-free video file that I can store locally and play whenever or however I want.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 4 days ago
It pisses me off that there’s no GOG for movies and TV. I don’t want to have Blu Rays, but it’s the only way to actually own that stuff.