Is this the last real gen of physical disc media for gaming?

Hopefully not. Digital would be giving the console makers complete control and less options for consumers.

very true. The fact sony is charging $70 for games now makes things even worse. We need to keep buying those discs...imagine in the future when games are $100. No way to buy discs, only digital. Talk about being screwed.

No. I buy only physical (on consoles).

Thankfully not.

I hope. Physical disk end. Waste of space. Every thing ia digital including currencies.

Not if they want my money, no.

@ghosts4ever: Yup, that way you can continue stealing everything and then claim to support devs you like!

Hopefully not. These companies sure are trying to make this a reality though. Not like I’m going to stop gaming if this does happen though. I do purchase a fair amount of games digitally. I just have a preference for the physical format.

I hope so, unless it's a card like switch uses. My PS5 was whisper quiet until I bought a game on disc. Not sure what's on the disc, but after installing and playing, I can hear it spinning for whatever reason.

@Chutebox: this is 2022. World going digital why not get rid of disc that waste space plus they can be broken.

@ghosts4ever: Because those that actually pay for their games enjoy buying used.

@joshrmeyer: Just buy your games digitally then. Problem solved.

Yes. I passed by a Gamestop yesterday and wondered if and why anyone still actually bought physical copies of games.

Next gen will likely also be the last generation for actual consoles. Im forseeing a console/streaming 'stick' duo generation similar to this generation's digital/disc duo console launch.

Streaming sticks and gaming services installed on TV's will take over actual hardware, and its happening fast. The faster corporations can cut out the losses of having to sell actual hardware in order for consumers to purchase and play software, the better. For them, anyway...

I literally broke out my launch PS3 earlier this year to play NFS: Underground, and I had a blast. I didn't have to re-up my subscription, check-in with some server or download anything. I just hooked up the system, popped in the disc and played. It felt great!

I've been warning against this for years, and now it's too late. Never sell your control for convenience.

this is an issue, the convenience of not getting off your fatass to swap a disc. People are lazy mofos, nowadays they have drive thrus not just at fast food restaurants, but at the bank, let that sink in for a minute. They have grocery store associates do the shopping for you while you sit your fatass in the car and pickup, or even worse just wait home while someone delivers to your door.

thats true, my nft bro ghosts. But sadly the nfts are doing trash recently, and even crypto is tanking. Still im on the side of crypto, we're going to the moon.

@blaznwiipspman1: Haha, they've had drive-thrus at the bank for longer than I've been alive. But I get your point, and I agree. Everything is geared to keep you at home and never leave. I hate it with a passion.

@Archangel3371: I paid $100 more for a disc drive for a reason. Got Tiny Tinas Wonderlands for $19.99. It's $59.99 digitally. Too bad they don't offer that option for the same price. I rarely resell games, so digital is fine with me, if the price is right.

@joshrmeyer: Well you said that you hope they go all digital next gen but now you’re saying you bought the disc based for the specific reason to buy physical versions of games cheaper. Those statements seem to be at odds with each other.

yeah because there is 0 competition for digital prices because PSN is completely walled, hence physical pretty much always have better prices

Probably. I don't see the need for it anymore.

Yes. Reducing waste and plastic is good for the environment and businesses are already adopting this. We already live in a digital world. It's sad, but we have to face it eventually.

Physical disc gaming will only go away if the consumer keeps purchasing digital only. So if a time comes where a console manufacturer tries to sell a digital only console, people need to oppose it. If no one does, it'll become the norm. I'd like to find out how many children of the newer generation chose digital over physical?

Let's also not ignore that it's more cost effective to get rid of discs.

good god I hope so can't stand physical discs taking up space and swapping them in out all day long

Yup! No questions about that. It's a waste of space and resources. Not only that, it contributes to plastic problem.

Gamers happy about content they pay for being locked to a digital platform is straight up stupid to me.

Hopefully not TC, I love physical.

I hope not. For games I really care about I want to see them on the shelf or lend them to friends. For games I don't care about, I want to get most of my money back by selling them on craigslist.

Also, my local library has games; it's like gamepass on steriods and it's free. They get basically every single Switch/PS4/5 game it's nuts. That's like 95% of my games right there.

We need to drop the optical media for software distribution. If you really can't access the internet then you should be able to request the latest version on a flash drive by mail or local pickup.

Trying to cram an early version on a disk and getting it out to stores by release date is a waste of resources and puts unnecessary constraints on an already difficult schedule. Shipping disks with incomplete data (or none at all) is just plain dumb. This kind of crap should be limited to collector's editions.

No! There is still a market for it.

It wont be the primary console. Heck, the primary Xbox (Series S) already doesn't have a disc drive.

Even though I got the digital only PS5 and I personally don't plan on buying physical games anymore I still voted "No".

There is still too much revenue in retail sales to get rid of. Stores don't make as much money from digital only systems.

No, even if digital is a vast majority of where all transactions happen, physical release will still be a thing.

Haven't bought a game on disc for a long while, because I don't care about PlayStation anymore and never cared about Xbox. Is the quality control as bad as with movies? I get so many scratched discs from the only Blu-ray plants left in Mexico. I'm having to replace that Columbia Volume 3 a SECOND time because one movie or another in the boxset wouldn't read to completion. The workers must be under enormous time pressure to put this back in my boxset:

Kind of hard to imagine games going digital only when you can still purchase music and movies on physical format. I still buy my music on CD and my movies on Blu-ray.

Could be the last gen for optical drives, but not for Switch cartridges. Unlike Blu-ray, Switch cartridge slots are very cheap to manufacture, so removing it will not make the Switch notably cheaper.

Sony and MS... probably. Nintendo, no way in hell

A vast Nintendo fanbase are collectors who prefer buying physical. Thats why Nintendo games are always on top of physical charts sales. They know that and thats why their games rarely go down in price.

I hope not. Internet speeds are extremely slow in my country and do not have time to download games.

While there's a market for it physical will always be an option. Digital is definitely more appealing to me though.