Game Downloads Surpass Discs for First Time - Blu-ray Forum

HDTV1080P · 08-12-2019, 05:05 PM

I know more people are getting 1Gbps and 10Gbps Internet download services, however the hard drive on the XBOX and Playstation is only so big. If a programmer wants to create a super large game that use a 100GB Blu-ray disc on the X-BOX One and a 50GB Blu-ray disc on the Playstation 4, then after a while there is only so much space on the hard drive.

The last I read is that all physical Playstation 2, 3, and 4 games are on BD-ROM discs including the latest XBOX One games. Yes one can make a download version of any game but the hard drives can only hold so much space unless people start making Playstation and XBOX 20TB and larger external hard drive servers.

quote

"In its recent earnings report, Sony reported that for the first time digital downloads of games surpassed sales of physical discs. At the same time, the company reported brisk sales of the PS4, the latest version of the PlayStation console it introduced almost 25 years ago."

Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/conte...tZgpXAJerx6.99

dyne · 08-12-2019, 05:09 PM

Percentages are great and all but what I want to know is what were the actual sales numbers this gen compared to last gen for physical. You know this will be fodder for physical is dying articles. Gaming sales are getting bigger all the time so percentage doesn't really tell an accurate story whether or not physical truly is on it's way out.

i.e. last gen you had 100 million install base with (arbitrary numbers) a 70/30 split, physical leading amounting to 500 million physical games sold. As opposed to a 100 million install base this gen with the split the other way but you still have 500 million physical games sold and a ton more digital. Physical didn't fall off a cliff, the overall percentage is just lower. The industry sales grow year over year. Percentage is only part of the story.

JEDGAR1000 · 08-12-2019, 10:03 PM

Makes me sad

PenguinInfinity · 08-12-2019, 10:55 PM

It doesn't matter whether physical or digital is more popular. As long as discs remain profitable consoles will continue to support discs and publishers will continue to make discs. I'm not worried.

NARMAK · 08-13-2019, 12:16 AM

I think the article could potentially be misleading because there's a lot of cheap digital only titles people can buy these days and that's why i'd love to know the split of which digital titles outsold physical. For instance, are the top AAA titles selling more digitally or on physical.

Right now that article title makes it seem like digital is overall better than physical even for AAA

partridge · 08-13-2019, 06:50 AM

On the whole, I've moved to digital. I didn't think I would, but I don't buy many games per year and so I rarely trade anything in, like I once used to. I also wait for sales or offers. I just bought Shadow of the Tomb Raider, deluxe edition for under 20.00 thanks to a 25% discount code Sony sent me, on top of the game already being on sale. VR games tend to be digital only too, so there's that as well.

It's just convenient being able to move between games. Only games though, I've no interest in digital film downloads.

Derb · 08-13-2019, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

I know more people are getting 1Gbps and 10Gbps Internet download services, however the hard drive on the XBOX and Playstation is only so big. If a programmer wants to create a super large game that use a 100GB Blu-ray disc on the X-BOX One and a 50GB Blu-ray disc on the Playstation 4, then after a while there is only so much space on the hard drive.

The last I read is that all physical Playstation 2, 3, and 4 games are on BD-ROM discs including the latest XBOX One games. Yes one can make a download version of any game but the hard drives can only hold so much space unless people start making Playstation and XBOX 20TB and larger external hard drive servers.

Busy, I’ll have to clarify some of this. lol

PS3, PS4 & Xbox One use Blu-ray.
Games with good optimization next gen could only require 80GB
Sure we’ll get 5TB’s of space in future but no need for Servers.

Regarding physical, digital gaming has already taken over if you exclude specific platforms.

The Apocalypse · 08-13-2019, 01:20 PM

I will stick with physical copies for as long as possible, it just doesn't do it for me to go digital.

08-12-2019, 05:05 PM	#1
HDTV1080P Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Jan 2007 Blu-ray reviews: 205	Game Downloads Surpass Discs for First Time I know more people are getting 1Gbps and 10Gbps Internet download services, however the hard drive on the XBOX and Playstation is only so big. If a programmer wants to create a super large game that use a 100GB Blu-ray disc on the X-BOX One and a 50GB Blu-ray disc on the Playstation 4, then after a while there is only so much space on the hard drive. The last I read is that all physical Playstation 2, 3, and 4 games are on BD-ROM discs including the latest XBOX One games. Yes one can make a download version of any game but the hard drives can only hold so much space unless people start making Playstation and XBOX 20TB and larger external hard drive servers. quote "In its recent earnings report, Sony reported that for the first time digital downloads of games surpassed sales of physical discs. At the same time, the company reported brisk sales of the PS4, the latest version of the PlayStation console it introduced almost 25 years ago." Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/conte...tZgpXAJerx6.99

08-12-2019, 05:09 PM	#2
dyne Blu-ray Baron Member since:Feb 2011 4K collection:77 Blu-ray collection:508 Trading Score:7	Percentages are great and all but what I want to know is what were the actual sales numbers this gen compared to last gen for physical. You know this will be fodder for physical is dying articles. Gaming sales are getting bigger all the time so percentage doesn't really tell an accurate story whether or not physical truly is on it's way out. i.e. last gen you had 100 million install base with (arbitrary numbers) a 70/30 split, physical leading amounting to 500 million physical games sold. As opposed to a 100 million install base this gen with the split the other way but you still have 500 million physical games sold and a ton more digital. Physical didn't fall off a cliff, the overall percentage is just lower. The industry sales grow year over year. Percentage is only part of the story. Last edited by dyne; 08-12-2019 at 05:16 PM.

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08-12-2019, 10:03 PM	#3
JEDGAR1000 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Aug 2017 Location:California 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:-	Makes me sad

08-12-2019, 10:55 PM	#4
PenguinInfinity Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Apr 2017	It doesn't matter whether physical or digital is more popular. As long as discs remain profitable consoles will continue to support discs and publishers will continue to make discs. I'm not worried.

08-13-2019, 12:16 AM	#5
NARMAK Blu-ray Prince Member since:Feb 2007 Location:United Kingdom Blu-ray collection:141 Trading Score:18	I think the article could potentially be misleading because there's a lot of cheap digital only titles people can buy these days and that's why i'd love to know the split of which digital titles outsold physical. For instance, are the top AAA titles selling more digitally or on physical. Right now that article title makes it seem like digital is overall better than physical even for AAA

08-13-2019, 06:50 AM	#6
partridge Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Oct 2005 Location:England	On the whole, I've moved to digital. I didn't think I would, but I don't buy many games per year and so I rarely trade anything in, like I once used to. I also wait for sales or offers. I just bought Shadow of the Tomb Raider, deluxe edition for under 20.00 thanks to a 25% discount code Sony sent me, on top of the game already being on sale. VR games tend to be digital only too, so there's that as well. It's just convenient being able to move between games. Only games though, I've no interest in digital film downloads.

08-13-2019, 01:20 PM	#8
The Apocalypse Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Sep 2010 4K collection:9 Blu-ray collection:238 DVD collection:9 Blu-ray reviews: 33	I will stick with physical copies for as long as possible, it just doesn't do it for me to go digital.

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