Xbox's move towards a more digital-focused future is coming under increased scrutiny these days - especially when more reports on the matter keep cropping up. Last month we heard that US retailer Walmart may have planned to pull Starfield discs from store shelves, and now a new industry comment has hinted at a similar situation in Europe.
Speaking on a recent episode of the GamesIndustry.biz Microcast (thanks, VGC), host Christopher Dring made some interesting comments about what he'd heard from a major game publisher in Europe.
"I was told by a major publisher, just before Christmas, that across Europe several retailers have started just not listing Xbox games anymore. So, they've just stopped stocking Xbox games. Xbox is such a digital console now that physical performance of Xbox games is really low.
I couldn't find which retailers these are but it was a proper senior European publishing boss that said it to me."
It's no secret that Xbox games don't perform particularly well on disc in comparison to digital sales - which is perhaps no surprise given the popularity of Microsoft's all-digital Xbox Series S. Still, these sorts of reports are becoming more common, and it definitely feels like Xbox is moving further and further towards a digital-only future, even if we've had no confirmation of the team moving completely away from discs just yet.
What we have heard is that at some point recently Microsoft had plans for an all-digital Xbox Series X, as leaked by FTC documents last year. Microsoft hasn't clarified these leaks or officially announced such a system yet, but we should hear about it soon if it's real.
Are you hoping that Xbox sticks with discs for the foreseeable future? Feel free to discuss these comments down below.
[source youtu.be, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 52
I know people are up in arms about the "death of physical", but if the trend is that certain regions aren't selling physical copies for whatever reason, why spend money manufacturing and sending physical copies to said region to collect dust on store shelves (especially from a company that is really trying to reduce its carbon footprint)?
That adorably all digital XSX just around the corner with Ubisoft classics..
Seriously though, I wouldn't care about physical medium as much if I was able to backup my digital game and restore it WITHOUT network service running. But as it stands right now, buying digital vs physical is just not getting you the same product.
Another week another story how physical games are dying on Xbox consoles
I have been 90% digital since about 2017 mainly due to convenience but with the cost of living crisis I have found myself buying more physical games again recently. For example Tekken 8 was £15 cheaper on Amazon and I can resell if I ever get bored of it. Regardless of how consumer trends are going, an all digital future is not going to be popular with everyone and will only increase the value proposition of the PS against the Xbox if Sony keep offering the option and MS decide not to.
Chicken or the egg?
I wonder if this substantiates the rumours that the mid-gen refresher or successor to the Xbox Series X will be all-digital. At any rate, it's a shame that Microsoft (and other console developers) aren't looking at keeping physical media around for a bit longer, if even just for a premium price.
Well I believe this report, here in Portugal its very rare to see physical Xbox games. And even the availability of Playstation games are decreasing as the years pass.
Last year microsoft admitted that game pass has affected game sales, as this is there business model for the future, this is only gonna get worse, they led the charge for paid dlc and now there doin the same for digital games,because it's what suits them.
across Europe several retailers have started just not listing Xbox games anymore. So, they've just stopped stocking Xbox games
I would be more concerned if they wouldn't stock Xbox consoles anymore😜.
On more serious note, this is not really surprising anymore, my gaming library shows that I own 577 digital games spanning four Xbox generations. We now have GamePass, and the writing starts to show on the wall.
To be honest, for most retailers there's no point - our local supermarkets for example seem to have ancient games and a few new bestsellers (usually just the latest FIFA and COD).
The Xbox section is tiny in each of them, and clearly they're not selling many games at all, let alone Xbox ones - Amazon is usually much cheaper, and if you really want it in person they're often the same price as GAME or other gaming stores where you can potentially trade-in or look at a wider variety.
It's sad, but I last bought a physical game 3 years ago and they now just annoy me as I have to change the discs (it helps I've got the expansion drive and filled it with my favourite games I sometimes give another run out)
@CharlieChooChoo
You are wrong. No one owns their games.
You only own the media that the game is on. There is an EULA agreement in every physical game box. The EULA clearly states that the owner of the media is only licensed to play the game by having the media. At no time digitally or physically does a gamer own any game. We are only licensed to play them. The whole notion that anyone owns a game is factually in correct. We only own a license to play the game. In the digital and physical world these licenses are exactly the same. The only difference is that in the physical world there is a mechanism to change ownership of the physical media. The digital world does not have a mechanism for this.
I've been saying for years that each platform holder should create a digital trade in store. Imagine being able to trade in digital purchases once you've finished a game and get credit towards your next purchase.
@Cikajovazmaj
that adorably all digital XSX just around the corner with Ubisoft classics...
....And in typical Microsoft fashion, beaten to the punch by Sony (on the adorably digital stakes) albeit with an optional disc-drive add on.....including the Ubisoft classics collection 😄.
Why people pay 80€ for a digital game when the physical alternative is often cheaper is beyond my comprehension but here we are.
The problem is that we’re stuck with discs that are slow, make console too big and overall are pointless, since we have to download updates and/or be online anyway to play.
If we, as customers, had shown greater resistance, big companies might have found smart alternatives to discs but now it’s too late.
One day many of you will feel nostalgic but you will have no way to play the games of your youth.
@Sol4ris while I'm totally with you on Sony being just as greedy, and I'm sure they'll follow suit as soon as they feel they can without too much backlash, PS5 Slim actually streamlines production and does not lock anybody out of physical copies (notable improvement compared to previous 2 SKU offering).
Tbh, if you have an Xbox, it's likely you have game pass. Why store physical disks, especially games published by Microsoft. They probably can't shift them.
Personally I don’t care I’m all digital on all three consoles.
But this won’t do Xbox any good with visual presence and general public mind share etc.
Like I have said before Xbox have gone all in on a direction that they wish to go, if gamers and general public don’t like then good by.
It won’t belong before they are all digital and Xbox games turns into Microsoft games and no hardware.
If they have no visual presence and also don’t advertise much then not sure the general public will know who Xbox are, then again console sales are already showing us this happening.
Then Xbox will be losing me as a customer for anything, games, game pass, consoles, etc.
What all the digital head fanboys are missing is they are losing money buying games in all digital future and absolutely filling the bank accounts of publishers.
Many will flame and disagree, so let me explain in actual facts.
Physical books and physical games are not really all that different from each other. And the digital book market is a complete and total shame. Publishers cried for years how expensive it was to put a book out, the cost of paper being biggest on top of all their other expensives. Then came the Kindle into publishing world.
Were the books cheaper? Heck no!!!!!! It was even worse. Apple tried to rig and price of ebooks and got busted hard for it and paid out dearly in court ruling.
The ebook prices were an insane joke since all overhead drastically decreased as ALL the expenses significantly dropped for publishers. Shipping costs? Gone. Paper costs? Gone. Warehouse storage costs? Gone. Return costs? Gone. Amazon even paid for servers for the books. Translation of digital ebooks? The publishers doubled, probably even tripled their profits.
We are basically seeing the same with all digital games. Are the games cheaper for the consumers? Heck no!!!!! Should they be? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!
Game publishers are and will extort this even further in future. So even past the game preservation argument, as a gamer, a consumer, you SHOULD positively be AGAINST and RESIST this draconian digital plague.
Do it if anything for your sake.
Not surprising at all. The amount of physical games carried in general from stores like Target, Wal-Mart, etc is comical at best these days, even for PlayStation.
As I have said many times on this topic, it’s gamers themselves that have dictated this trend, not the gaming companies or stores stocking the games. Digital has been absolutely crushing physical in overall sales. Can’t blame companies for following market trends. And can’t blame companies for not catering to a tiny fraction of the overall market.
@EquiinoxGII @Mephisto2869 @101Force @GeeEssEff The idea of all digital is terrible one. My post above states the reality and facts of what is and will be.
This article acts like Playstation physical games are outperforming digital Playstation Sales. They are not. Physical is dead and good riddance
@themightyant I'll have the steak and salad please, and thanks.
@ZuneTattooGuy That's a heck of a reach..... You went in with that mindset and applied it to the article.... PS regularly posts numbers on digital vs physical and it's not even close. However I think there is still a healthy profit margin for physical Nindy and Sony, even with only "30%" sales being physical and so they are keeping them around, to include higher install bases as well
@CharlieChooChoo
The Series S would be considered the first “adorably all digital” 9th gen console as it was released before the PS5 even hit the market
Oh I remember know (cheers), that Sony never had a plan for the "adorably all digital" PS5.....they just cobbled something together at the last minute in response to Series S😁.
@CallMeDuraSouka
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/11/physical-games-represented-just-4percent-of-sales-for-playstation-last-quarter
This was from a couple months ago and this isn't out of the normal. Physical games are a niche, digital sales and services have completely murdered them. Blockbuster couldn't compete against Netflix and soon physical game sales will fail too.
@CallMeDuraSouka Not only did Sony sell one THIRD (33%) of all full games on disc last financial year, but this number is skewed lower than it should be because many games only release digitally. It also doesn't account for the lending or second hand market. In fact Physical is doing much better than 33% on that platform when all things are accounted for. (Spider-man 1 sold 67% physical)
Anyone that says Physical is dead is a fool, on Sony/Nintendo at least. We don't have figures for Xbox, all we know is they have a much higher digital ratio, it might make a bit more sense for them.
@Cikajovazmaj
I'm not even sure if it's about greed. My point was that Sony actually has a revised console that's all digital, with the option to buy an add-on for physical media, if one choses. Also we don't know if Microsoft will, or won't offer a similar approach.
@ZuneTattooGuy I could have worded that better, what I meant was with you implying that the article was somehow slandering Xbox in comparison to Sony. I think the PS and Nindy install basses are large enough to wheather the storm with physical.
Also important to note is digital game sales were only 21%- so we are talking 75% of revenue was mic4oT's and subscriptions. Which is utterly staggering
@themightyant
I think physical for the other two will be fine as well. We aren't privy to all the information, and depending on what metrics you use it can skew things a little
When the 360 era ended I had over 230 physical games, including a lot of Special / Limited Editions. It used up a lot of space in my "Business room". I sold off most of it on Flea Market and had to argue with ppl. for EUR 10 a game (all in top condition).
Beginning with Xbox One / PS4 I went all digital and don't regret it one bit.
@CharlieChooChoo
A case of gentle trolling? Well played regardless 😉.
@CharlieChooChoo The lending I can see them having a problem with because, as you mentioned, they would lose money. The trade in thing would technically make them lose money but I think would be a massive win for them PR wise. If you could trade your digital games on Xbox and no other platform holder allowed it, it would be a massive PR win.
Unfortunately, I think the Steam model is the way everything will go. Buy a game. Never own it. F**k off if you don't like it or have completed it because we already have your money.
@GuyinPA75 I think it would take a massive scale outage like the one that happened during Christmas 2014 for the "all digital" crowd to realize that digital being the only option is very bad.
@Kaloudz
I sure hope so mate. Having the option digital/physical will always be the ideal way to go.
@ZuneTattooGuy Except Sony's first party are usually selling more physical from the insomniac leaks. That 4% is also just revenue for a 3 month period when Sony didn't release a 1st party game, plus digital software revenue was only 21% the actual split between physical and and digital was 33% physical 67% digital.
Sony's physical fluctuates between 30 to 40 percent each quarter. I'm sure it hit 44% not long ago as well when they had a big 1st party release.
@Sol4ris PS5 with the disc attached has outsold the digital and still continues to do so, especially in Japan.
@Sol4ris You can still buy a version of the PS5 with the disk drive included though. All digital with the optional extra disk drive isn't the only option available. It's exactly the same options that were available from launch. The only difference is you can now choose to add a disk drive later if you decide that you want one. I honestly don't understand why people thing this being available as an option is a bad thing. Surely more choice and the ability to change your mind can only be a good thing. I mean if you buy a Series S and decide you want to use physical media later your only option is to buy a while new, and more expensive console.
Have purchased 1000's of games over the years on cartridges, floppy discs, cassette tape, dvd and blu-ray.
The vast majority of them cost a lot of money at the time.
Now that I can buy cheap digital keys from competing online stores, I very rarely buy physical.
I went on the Sony Store today and saw the same games on sale at the same prices but never have I seen certain titles ever go on sale under that 30%.
As we know, you can only buy digital PS games from the Sony Store and when everything is fully digital you will see more games when going on sale only go on sale for 30% or less because where else are you going to get them.
Then, they will raise the prices again of new games by £10/$10 and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The fan boys applauded the rise saying it was necessary basically giving them the validation for it last time.
Time to tell them all to #@%& off and get PC's.
@GuyinPA75 : I'm not advocating for an all-digital future, I was merely commenting on how this article might relate to the "Brooklin" Xbox Series X refresh / successor rumours. But an all-digital future is clearly coming, regardless of your console of choice. From a publisher's perspective — not mine — the benefits outweigh the detriments: The size of digital games aren't limited to the degree that physical games are, digital games don't support a used market, it's easier to pivot towards subscription-based services, and all-digital platforms like Steam have already proven successful in the marketplace.
From US stores, to my local regional JB HiFi to European stores.
So much for the Japanese retailers Xbox 'said' they wanted to try and expand and have a big enough presence there then a little Xbox area in the corner of some stores, because they clearly don't care to do that anymore.
Well if they want me to go to only EB/Gamestop now besides retro games stores second hand then fine. I only bought up to Smart Delivery games anyway and still they were cheap and used titles due to when I ended up coming across them while other titles I sometimes to get at later times but still 'NEW' like Wreckfest on Switch or others but it's not my fault I barely heard about some titles til later or see copies later and filter through bargain bins.
Can't wait till my Big W (probably a Best Buy/Walmart equivalent as they sell clothes, books and a variety of things and a few TVs, games and such but still a fair Xbox section just a small one compared to Switch/PS4/PS5 but as it's mostly big games then well I don't have much reason to go to them I only did for Clive n Wrench on Switch last year).
Well Sanity the music/movie store in my area went away (I never saw people in there much anyway and I only ever bought a few anime from them when I found series I cared for or had the time/money to). So we have a beauty store in place of it now. Sadness only JB HiFi to get my anime from now.
When Europe still gets or did for a time many Japanese/European exclusives the US didn't (Another Code on Wii, Gran Turismo 2002 Concept or other fair titles) remembering that was great but to see it go is kind of sad.
Given Xbox sales in Europe, the large share of Series S in the sales that have been made, and the trend towards digital games consumption anyway, there must me very little footfall of people looking to buy physical Xbox media. Its only natural that shops wont bother to stock it.
I've been digital for many years, but I do understand the frustrations of those who wish to buy their games physicaly. They may get better service on another platform for now, but the trend towards all digital cannot be denied and it will be the future for all formats eventually - just looks like Xbox will be first like they have always wanted.
@CharlieChooChoo @CallMeDuraSouka Honestly not even try to reason with that guy. Would be different if that person would at least listen to views opposite their one sided, narrow mindset. Very much the classic case of: I'm always right and you're always wrong.
@NeoRatt Yes very true. but at least with Physical i can sell that license on.
Troubling to the collectors of the world of which i am one. I do love physical and rarely buy digital over £10.
But i must say the minute the games companies go all digital i am done. buying new hardware
I will just get more into the retro scene where some great indies are being physically produced for the likes of the Megadrive, Dreamcast, Jaguar , I purchased Three new Dreamcast Indies last year and one Atari Jaguar one.
I suppose in the meantime it looks like Nintendo and Sony will be the final generation of games on physical media, I guess I will heading over to them before the final Nail in the coffin for Physical is hammered in.
I'm getting very tired of these subscription models. . Just about to cancel my streaming services. after seeing all I want to see on Disney. And Primes new scam to get us all paying extra for no adverts . I'll be putting that money to buying DVD and Bluray.
All Hail physical media.
@GuyinPA75 I might have noticed that, but I thought him calling out the article for something the author didn't present was a bridge too far.
Also don't get his hatred for physical, misplaced a bit i think
@GuyinPA75 I never said it was a good idea. I'm against it. Hence why I don't own an Xbox or have game pass. Unfortunately nothing has got me back yet.
If I'm stuck with digital I'd rather play on PC where I can more reliably own, access and tweak games. Xbox going all digital murders any reason to continue to use their console except to play 360 games and no doubt that service will end one day, in which case I'll just stick with my old 360 for the games I can't play on PC (Until emulators catch up).
I personally got no problem with all digital anymore, once you factor in patches, updates and DLC what are you even left with? Not to mention console disc drives and/or cartridge slots don't last forever as we're starting to see with a lot of retro consoles.
But what needs to happen is some kind of law that protects digital purchases for the customer that has paid money for that game, look at what Sony did with that discovery show
@Sifi just buy ps store credit from shopto, it works out even cheaper than xbox digital games ,thats a non issue ,so not worth mentioning.
@DKGXX85 you mean the discovery shows that they was going to remove due to licensing agreements, that they didn't remove,those ones 🙄
@Mephisto2869 ok man relax I wasn't dissin the overlord that is playstation, I was just using an example.
I have several Xbox consoles connected to different TVs throughout the house. The kids play my physical games on them with their own accounts. How am I supposed to do this with digital purchases?
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