Seems to be an issue. Now I like box art and touching shiny, shiny discs as much as the next guy; but we're at the point where they are pretty obsolete. Not to mention the fact that they require plastic to make, which requires oil, which is something of a non-renewable resource with many many other, more useful applications. Disc based mediums are also slow. Really slow; making a local installation now necessary on whichever platform you use. Plus you have to go to the store to pick it up or order it and pay for shipping.
I think people know they are slow and wasteful, this is not the source of fear and anger; but what if your purchased game gets removed from the market and you can't download it anymore :o. This is a real issue for people with closed platforms like console/phones/tablets who can't (easily) back up their game data. I guess that's more of an issue with the idea of a closed platform though. However, I think this will be that last generation of gaming consoles to see disc-based releases, so backup functionality will most-likely be provided.
When I purchase a digital game on my computer I just back up those 1's and 0's to a separate HDD (space is so cheap now, another reason why digital releases make sense). I can play all my games, even if half of the world (not my half) sinks into the oceans. Yeah yeah.... some of them feature DRM, if something extreme happens I can just crack them; it would be legit at that point.
It won't happen today, or even 2 years from now (because people too often provide resistance to the progression of technology); but it'll happen soon. I just hope we get there before all gaming moves to the cloud for $5/hr flat rate. I still like having my 1's and 0's run locally.
It's been well over 30 years, time to retire the disc. Seriously I've lost way more games because of lost/borrowed discs than I ever will because a company goes out of business or loses a license (has that even happened to any notable games?).
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