Sunday, December 31, 2023

Disappointing Gaming Trend of the Year: Digital-Only Releases--2023 in Review

It feels like in 2023 we witnessed more and more games released with no physical copies. Instead of a case and disc (maybe even a manual if we're lucky) games are only coming out on digital storefronts where you buy a copy for your PS5/Xbox/PC and at least, "Own," it but don't have anything tangible. Some companies said that skipping a physical release helped keep costs down--like with, "Alan Wake 2." Some games can't even really be, "Bought," and just appear on Gamepass such as, "Hi-Fi Rush." While sometimes a game might get a special deluxe physical edition at some point--"Baldur's Gate 3," comes to mind for that--fewer and fewer titles are even releasing on a disc (or a Nintendo Switch cartridge), never mind any kind of fun manuals or bonus stuff with the game too. 

I understand how with so many games being purchased online and downloaded this makes sense, but a part of me does miss those big old game manuals from back in the day that I'd read before popping the disc/cartridge/etc. into my console or PC and playing a new fun title. The future is often digital, however, so I guess I need to adjust to that. At least sometimes games get special physical releases as a bit of a niche collector thing (like with Limited Run Games), so it isn't all digital.

No comments:

Post a Comment