Path to death of Xbox hardware - Several European retailers are reportedly no longer stocking physical Xbox games

Which will surely lead to less and less space for Xbox hardware and then...bye bye

“I got told by a major publisher just before Christmas, that across Europe, several retailers have started not listing Xbox anymore,” said Dring.

“So they’ve just started not stocking Xbox games anymore, Xbox is such a digital console, the physical performance of games is really low, and ultimately when you’re selling a console that most people are just downloading games for, it doesn’t really benefit the retailer very much.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/several-european-retailers-are-reportedly-no-longer-stocking-physical-xbox-games/

Xbox Series S which is the best selling xbox barely move units compared to PS or Nintendo offerrings, dont have a disc tray so it make sense. Nobody is buying Xbox X cause its better to just get a prebuild $600 pc at that point.

IMO boo 👎

Sweet. Less competition is great news... according to Sony fannies.😂

MS are pricks for devaluing physical media and if they don't release physical versions of their games I simply won't buy them.

However if the OP thinks that Sony is not going down the same path (there are more games purchases digitally on the PS5) then he needs help (nothing new there)

The stupid part about this is the OP sees this a win for Sony, when it's a loss for the entire industry.

I can see MS ans Sony's next gen consoles being all digital. If that happens I will bow out and go full retro.

Oh, yes! "Sony too" Xbox peeps mantra. Mind you that according to Insominac leak, of all sold copies, 65% are physical for Sony's games

The stupid part about this is the OP sees this a win for Sony, when it's a loss for the entire industry.

It is a win for an entire industry. Subs needs to die, game ownership which Sony and Nintendo are pursuing must win.

I have updated your response to show the parts that were correct.😏

Not cool.

@loudheadphones: Xbox is transitioning hard, moving from physical to mostly digital. Our revenue has shifted that's all, and is even increasing.

Why are you celebrating plastic games and plastic junk that's going to litter the ocean? Have you seen the plastic island in the middle of the pacific...they say it's the size if new york.

Xbox for the gamers and the environment, heck yeah. Uncle Phil is a Saint. Sony and them cows keep on polluting our oceans, even worse junking it up with remasters and remakes. How sad.

@Pedro: I enjoy coming to these kind of threads and seeing your “edgy” commentary as the narratives start to shift. Your post count is gonna quadruple in 2024 since you and Antwan are gonna be BUSY.

As a once die hard lem, my heart is sad because Xbox and 360 were such awesome consoles. But to see the Xbox franchise slowly sinking into an abyss , I can’t help but feel sorry for my once felllow lems. Well back to playing prince of Persia lost crown on the ps5

@loudheadphones: Listen to yourself. You're in denial. Yeah Sony want you to own your games that why they don't have a rental service...oh wait.

You thinking Sony and Nintendo care about the customer is about as dumb as it gets.

They care about the bottom line just like EVERY other company on the planet.

If you think Sony and Nintendo like giving a cut to retailers when they can sell games digitally and take 100% of the profits then you are crazier than I thought, and I think you're the craziest person here.

Sony right this instance are fighting lawsuits that stop retailers from selling digital codes of their ganes, so everyone has to buy through their store. Sony don't give a 💩 about you.

This is based on a few European retailers? What about other European retailers and retailers from other parts of the world? Are the European retailers mentioned have locations throughout Europe?

TC is on a mission. 😅

He's already crazy, he completed that mission a long time ago.

Remember lems, we, cows, we welcome you with open arms, and no questions asked. Sell your X/S before its too late, and join the most powerful clan in gaming history.

@last_lap: Fair point. 😂

"Reportedly", is just as good as "rumor".

Ahh, some quality inference from OP..

It wouldn't surprise me though.

MS is trying its hardest to move away from physical and is trying to get everyone on Gamepass. Gaming is getting worse, can't see it changing for the better either.

I'll happily tap out if physical games go away.

Christopher Dring is a pretty respected journalist covering European market. He is the guy that everyone quotes for reports monthly and yearly European physical charts. He being vague but likely its a piece for market research purposes gauging European reaction to potential xbox withdrawal from physical media.

Yes Kill the Xbox and then kill Sony Next. Nintendo will rise up and the Switch will become the ultimate system. 🤭

@ghostofgolden: Damn, not only am I living rent free but Phil Spencer.😂 I broke you real good.

Eh Sony's been trouncing MS in Europe for like a decade and physical's market share has been decreasing so... this wouldn't be too shocking.

This poster gets it!

I haven't bought physical games for either my Xbox or my Switch for several years now.

Hermits haven't bought physical games since forever.

No one cares. Maybe join the Amish if this worries you.

Digital is the future. I don’t get it. Why cling to physical, with digital you have all your games in one place. I wouldn’t go back to physical on the PC either.

The fact that Sony released a digital only version speaks volumes to the path they’d also prefer.

And that makes you happy?

I've been to several European countries and, with the exception of the UK, the physical presence from XBox was always a fraction of Nintendo and Sony. That news doesn't surprise me at all.

Pirating seems a better proposition now for Xbox games. If buying a digital game isn't owning for some *"© reason. Pirating a game isn't stealing... it's sharing.

Why should we become suckers of the corporate capitalistic greed. We need to stand up, and throw at them what they deserve.

It isn't about clinging to plastic waste. It's about fighting for our right to own what we pay for. I am no sucker and I support what is right for us and not what is best for a trillon dollar greedy corporation.

Some people care about resale value. Some people have a shit internet connection. There are some good reasons to buy physical still.

In my case, I buy physical Switch games so I can loan them out to others.

It would be neat if you could download the game you've bought physical, convert it to digital somehow. If Switch 2 is BC with Switch games, but doesn't have a Switch cartridge slot, I'm fucked.

Yea, but that's maybe because those countries don't care about the xbox as a whole. If its not popular, no point of having any inventory.

This isn't Sony fans' fault. You say that like MS doesn't make moves to wipe out competition. Only thing is, it makes Xbox even more unpopular. Oopsie doodle!

@Litchie: Nintendo’s different though, I think their games still carry collectors value.

GameCube games are worth a ton.

If I had known, I would have kept mine sealed.

It’s worth collecting Nintendo’s products physically for sure.

Even their NES themed GBA SP new is worth loads.

I don’t think Sony’s games have carried high collectors value since the PS1. I THINK there’s a few PS2 games though, but not many.

Other than that my reasoning for digital on the other consoles is because you need to fully install the game, they all have huge game updates and a load of dlc. So it’s just a bit redundant to me.

Nintendo is the only one I’d go out of my way to buy physical from. I have tons of GC games, 50 plus Wii games, as many Wii U games as I could… Even have a boxed Pokken controller.

Poo cows have had nothing but hope and prayers for a looooong time now...

lol :P

deflecting and bringing up sony fans. sound familiar? lol

Over 90% of Xbox games are digital sales. So, you fail again.

You might as well delete this alt account now.

It's a chicken and egg situation; they don't care about Xbox because Xbox doesn't put in the work to support that country. Ex. PlayStation games supported more languages and are actually marketed through physical and online methods like putting up Christmas lights in the center of Lisbon. Heck, Xbox games support Brazilian Portuguese in their games but, not Portuguese ... from Portugal. PlayStation does both.

@SUD123456:

As a consumer I like to have the option of physical or digital. I also find MUCH better deals at second hand stores for physical copies over digital, through out the year.

It's more about consumer choice. Personally I like the ritual of going to stores and picking up a game. Then having a collection. It's a big reason VINYL records came back of all things.

I dont see me buying a phyical copy of any game, unless it's some collectors edition. Even those are coming with a key for a digital copy of the game.

I don't really like game stores, I was getting them from Amazon during the 6th gen mostly. We have a store called GAME in the UK and their pricing and some of the other stuff left a bad taste in my mouth. Hold on, I like the independent stores, it's the chain stores I don't like. You can feel the passion in the independent stores.

I miss shops where you could buy physical music though. Not a lot of places around that I know of any more. I miss the browsing. Browsing digital music isn't the same.

I wonder how these companies that produce and control physical formats feel about this. Wouldn’t they want to keep physical media prevalent so as to keep that money coming in that they get from companies using it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW7LwaU1xMw

This is an interesting video where the creator comments on how Microsoft is moving away from the console market. I think Sony also will in the future as well. Consoles do not make good financial sense anymore. The PC market can clean up if they get their act together.

This is decline of physical games not Xbox hardware in general. The PS5 will eventually head down this same path of removing optical media at some point, so the same thing applies to them.

@Nonstop-Madness: This reminds me trying to play Halo 3 on the 360 it being in Brazilian Portuguese.

I addressed the topic and the thread creator. Now point the deflection.😏

@jcafcwbb: That's too bad because I appreciate the appliance like nature of consoles. Hopefully Valve will make a Steam Deck-like TV box that isn't restrained by battery considerations.