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> [...] five years from now when digital distribution is the only way video games are sold? Tangent - is that direction really guaranteed for console games? Di

> [...] five years from now when digital distribution is the only way video games are sold? Tangent - is that direction really guaranteed for console games? Digital sales have been around for a long time and I realize the console world is really pushing it now but I'm curious if console gamers are buying in to it as fast as other markets (e.g. computer gamers and general entertainment markets (movies))? Maybe the pandemic is speeding it up[0]? I've bought exclusively digital for computer gaming for over a decade (maybe two decades, yeesh) now but continue to cling to physical for console gaming because of the trade-in factor. E.g. most recently when the Switch came out I waited a few months for one to come in to a local used games store and traded a Wii U + games for the Switch + Link's Awakening all on trade-in value. I have done pretty much that or something similar for console upgrades for as long as I can remember. I don't even have a sense of what a new console costs at this point. I have always assumed that is sort of the norm but I suppose that wouldn't make any sense for the broader market, hah. [0] https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/11/21363951/video-game-sales-digital-online-xbox-one-ps4-publisher-figures-ea-activision-2k-games https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/11/21363951/video-game-sales-...

notafraudster 6y ago
It's not just % digital that hurts GS. 1. An increasing amount of video game spend is now add-ons. EA makes as much off FIFA Ultimate Team as they do off FIFA, maybe more. GameStop gets a bite off the first retail sale, and off used sales, but they don't get a bite off all the various aftermarket transactions. All three consoles now have pay-to-play online. 2. An increasing amount of video game spend is now free to play. Fortnite is free to play. Call of Duty Warzone is free to play. Apex Legends is free to play. Valorant is free to play. 3. An increasing amount of video game spend is on subscription plans, obviating the need to buy software. Microsoft has re-aligned their entire company around Xbox Game Pass. EA has EA Play. Ubisoft has their equivalent. So even if 50% of nominal unit sales for digital + physical software remain physical, that's now far less than 50% of dollar spend. Every console is hooked up online, and with the new generation some models don't even have disc drives. GS can probably retool itself to do a better job of competing with Amazon and eBay -- and they should! -- but it can't do a better job of competing with all of the secular pressures killing games retail.

notafraudster 6y ago

It's not just % digital that hurts GS. 1. An increasing amount of video game spend is now add-ons. EA makes as much off FIFA Ultimate Team as they do off FIFA, maybe more. GameStop gets a bite off the first retail sale, and off used sales, but they don't get a bite off all the various aftermarket transactions. All three consoles now have pay-to-play online. 2. An increasing amount of video game spend is now free to play. Fortnite is free to play. Call of Duty Warzone is free to play. Apex Legends is free to play. Valorant is free to play. 3. An increasing amount of video game spend is on subscription plans, obviating the need to buy software. Microsoft has re-aligned their entire company around Xbox Game Pass. EA has EA Play. Ubisoft has their equivalent. So even if 50% of nominal unit sales for digital + physical software remain physical, that's now far less than 50% of dollar spend. Every console is hooked up online, and with the new generation some models don't even have disc drives. GS can probably retool itself to do a better job of competing with Amazon and eBay -- and they should! -- but it can't do a better job of competing with all of the secular pressures killing games retail.