Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by WestMan

For now, yes. I don't think that will happen in the future.

I prefer to have one box (besides the subwoofer) for my entertainment system. So everything has to fit into that one box. Right now that is the XBOX One. I can watch An UHD, Blu ray, DVD, Vudu, Netflix, Sling TV, and play games on it. The day in which I can't put a disc into the next gaming console is the day my discs will probably become a thing of the past.

Which is why I am slowly building up my UV account with movies I already own on disc.

Yeah, that's how I started, then I caught the fever.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by WestMan

The day in which I can't put a disc into the next gaming console is the day my discs will probably become a thing of the past.

That day is a very long way off. While game publishers make a lot of money off of downloadable content the vast majority of full game sales are still discs.

[WestMan]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

That day is a very long way off. While game publishers make a lot of money off of downloadable content the vast majority of full game sales are still discs.

I don't think it is as far off as you think. People are used to electronics without discs. Smart Phones and tablets never had them. More and more laptops don't have a disc drive. The home entertainment area is the last to go.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by WestMan

I don't think it is as far off as you think. People are used to electronics without discs. Smart Phones and tablets never had them. More and more laptops don't have a disc drive. The home entertainment area is the last to go.

Millions are still on low speed broadband. They simply won't tolerate 30-60 gig downloads plus constant updates of 1-3 gig. The next generation of consoles will have a disc drive.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by WestMan

For now, yes. I don't think that will happen in the future.

I prefer to have one box (besides the subwoofer) for my entertainment system. So everything has to fit into that one box. Right now that is the XBOX One. I can watch An UHD, Blu ray, DVD, Vudu, Netflix, Sling TV, and play games on it. The day in which I can't put a disc into the next gaming console is the day my discs will probably become a thing of the past.

Which is why I am slowly building up my UV account with movies I already own on disc.

So your enjoyment of discs depends on consoles? Why not just buy a Oppo? It will last years and is built like a tank in terms of quality.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

So your enjoyment of discs depends on consoles? Why not just buy a Oppo? It will last years and is built like a tank in terms of quality.

Oppo can play console games now?

I mean I don't mind having multiple devices to do various jobs but he clearly said he wants one device that can do everything including video games.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by veritas

Oppo can play console games now?

I mean I don't mind having multiple devices to do various jobs but he clearly said he wants one device that can do everything including video games.

Yes, I know that but the guy is saying he will pack discs in if he can't use his console. What difference does it make having two machines? (a console and a disc player) I don't get it. You either care about disc and build a collection or you don't.

[WestMan]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Yes, I know that but the guy is saying he will pack discs in if he can't use his console. What difference does it make having two machines? (a console and a disc player) I don't get it. You either care about disc and build a collection or you don't.

I just like having one box for everything. There are others out there like me who just want the one box. For each person, that might be something different.

It is much more simple to stay in one echo system then have to switch between devices on my smart remote.

My prediction is that the next gen consoles will have two versions. One for discs and one without. They will use it as a way to gauge the market for the future. It will also be a way to phase out the discs with less uproar.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by WestMan

I don't think it is as far off as you think. People are used to electronics without discs. Smart Phones and tablets never had them. More and more laptops don't have a disc drive. The home entertainment area is the last to go.

Most people are fine with spending $5-$10 on digital games, but a very small percentage of buyers are willing to spend $40-$60.

Both the gaming and movie industries have devalued digital purchases by pushing subscription services. When someone can get access to hundreds or thousands of digital titles for $10 per month a single digital purchase at $20-$60 becomes a very hard sell.

But physical games and movies have value other than usability. They are both collectable and sellable. Digital items can never match that.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Yes, I know that but the guy is saying he will pack discs in if he can't use his console. What difference does it make having two machines? (a console and a disc player) I don't get it. You either care about disc and build a collection or you don't.

Originally Posted by WestMan

I just like having one box for everything. There are others out there like me who just want the one box. For each person, that might be something different.

It is much more simple to stay in one echo system then have to switch between devices on my smart remote.

My prediction is that the next gen consoles will have two versions. One for discs and one without. They will use it as a way to gauge the market for the future. It will also be a way to phase out the discs with less uproar.

I get it, I know what you mean. I Stream and watch Discs with one Panasonic Blu-ray Player. Then I have my HD Cable Box to watch my TV Channels. So I just have HDMI 1&2 for my Inputs. Makes it real simple to watch Movies or TV Programming. I don't do any Gaming, but you guys were talking about NVIDIA Shield which might be the way to go for other Streaming options.

[Texan26]

Gamestop is closing about 150 stores. A lot of people are going digital with their games.

"The physical video game market was hit hard as a whole. GameStop's competitor Best Buy BBY also noted in its latest earnings report that video game sales were down. The decline in sales is most likely the result of consumers' shift to buying games digitally."

"Piper Jaffray PJC analyst Michael Olson told TheStreet, "We're seeing more games being sold digitally, as 25% of the games are sold as full-game downloaded." He expects video game purchasing eventually will be "100% download and streaming," with the increase of Internet speed and greater storage capacity on gaming consoles."

GameStop (GME) Closes 150 Stores As Videogame Industry Turns Digital

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Texan26

Gamestop is closing about 150 stores. A lot of people are going digital with their games.

"The physical video game market was hit hard as a whole. GameStop's competitor Best Buy BBY also noted in its latest earnings report that video game sales were down. The decline in sales is most likely the result of consumers' shift to buying games digitally."

"Piper Jaffray PJC analyst Michael Olson told TheStreet, "We're seeing more games being sold digitally, as 25% of the games are sold as full-game downloaded." He expects video game purchasing eventually will be "100% download and streaming," with the increase of Internet speed and greater storage capacity on gaming consoles."

GameStop (GME) Closes 150 Stores As Videogame Industry Turns Digital

It's a sensationalist article IMO. Let's not forget, millions just buy from Amazon now. I know I do. It will be a long time before it's 100%.
Also, movies are diffferent to games. with games, , you get the same product digitally as you do with disc (just more expensive) but with movies you get inferior version via digital.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Texan26

Gamestop is closing about 150 stores. A lot of people are going digital with their games.

"The physical video game market was hit hard as a whole. GameStop's competitor Best Buy BBY also noted in its latest earnings report that video game sales were down. The decline in sales is most likely the result of consumers' shift to buying games digitally."

"Piper Jaffray PJC analyst Michael Olson told TheStreet, "We're seeing more games being sold digitally, as 25% of the games are sold as full-game downloaded." He expects video game purchasing eventually will be "100% download and streaming," with the increase of Internet speed and greater storage capacity on gaming consoles."

GameStop (GME) Closes 150 Stores As Videogame Industry Turns Digital

So 75% of full game sales are physical.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

So 75% of full game sales are physical.

It reminds me of the CD versus ITunes Downloads articles from ten years ago lol.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Consoles will become all digital...It may happen sooner than people like to think. Maybe they'll do similar to PC and still sell a disc for major games, but I'm the end that disc means Zippo and your game is tied to an account. With the boatloads Valve makes off Steam you have to believe Sony and Microsoft want to get closer to that future. Being able to cut out stores cuts down on overhead allowing crazy sales like Steam and other places have had. People can argue it all they want, but consoles will be digital only....It's coming. Console gaming is getting more and more like PC gaming as the years pass.


I thought this was pretty interesting.

The total PC gaming market was at $34 billion, including both premium and free-to-play gaming.*Overwatch*generated $586 million in sales,*Counter-Strike: Global Offensive*was at 257.2 million, and*Guild Wars 2*came in third at $91 million. Microsoft's*Minecraft*was also a successful title at $89 million. In terms of free-to-play games,*League of Legends*generated a massive $1.7 billion in revenues, followed by*Dungeon Fighter Challenge*at $1.1 billion and*Crossfire*also at $1.1 billion.

Console game revenues were strong at $6.6 billion for 2016, up from $5.7 billion in 2015.*Call of Duty: Black Ops III*was in first place with $592 million in sales,*FIFA 16*in second at $387 million, and*Grand Theft Auto V*came in third with $379 million.

So Overwatch on PC which was 100% even if you bought a case in store made only $6 million less than the best selling console game. And that wasn't even the most profitable PC game....Just the best match since it's a similar game that was out on console too. If people are so willing to go digital only on PC there is no reason to think it won't happen on console. Hell it's incredible how much more PC makes than consoles do in the first place.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.digit...pc-gaming/amp/


Hell if you want to worry about anything making your games digital look at that growing mobile market. It grows year after year after year. Crazy that its the most profitable part of gaming right now.

[BlakkMajik3000]

Originally Posted by ArmyOfDarknessAW

Consoles will become all digital...It may happen sooner than people like to think. Maybe they'll do similar to PC and still sell a disc for major games, but I'm the end that disc means Zippo and your game is tied to an account. With the boatloads Valve makes off Steam you have to believe Sony and Microsoft want to get closer to that future. Being able to cut out stores cuts down on overhead allowing crazy sales like Steam and other places have had. People can argue it all they want, but consoles will be digital only....It's coming. Console gaming is getting more and more like PC gaming as the years pass.

Console gaming has a ways to go before it catches up to PC.

I still buy disc for most games, when available. Yes, I have the speed to download games, but it takes FOREVER for a game to download. I like buying a game, popping it in, and playing (shakes fist at Activision for making Modern Warfare 1 a download). I'm aware some systems allow you to "pre-load" games, but I still very much like to walk in the store, buy my game, and go home and play. I don't keep up with game release dates very much, unless it's Rockstar, so I usually don't find out about them until they release.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

Console gaming has a ways to go before it catches up to PC.

I still buy disc for most games, when available. Yes, I have the speed to download games, but it takes FOREVER for a game to download. I like buying a game, popping it in, and playing (shakes fist at Activision for making Modern Warfare 1 a download). I'm aware some systems allow you to "pre-load" games, but I still very much like to walk in the store, buy my game, and go home and play. I don't keep up with game release dates very much, unless it's Rockstar, so I usually don't find out about them until they release.

By catches up to PC what do you mean? Sales or turning into digital only? Consoles are becoming more and more PC as they go. Hell this whole Scorpio idea of an upgrade In power to the current system and the past games still work is even more PC like. People are probably underestimating things on that front. I remember back in 2009 or so when most games were still able to be purchased in a store that people clung to the "I'm never going digital" argument and here we are in 2017 where you can't buy a PC game without it being digital. Even the ones you buy in store are either a case with a code or the disc for a faster install, but still a code for an account to activate it on Steam. It'll come faster than people expect with consoles.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by ArmyOfDarknessAW

Consoles will become all digital...It may happen sooner than people like to think. Maybe they'll do similar to PC and still sell a disc for major games, but I'm the end that disc means Zippo and your game is tied to an account. With the boatloads Valve makes off Steam you have to believe Sony and Microsoft want to get closer to that future. Being able to cut out stores cuts down on overhead allowing crazy sales like Steam and other places have had. People can argue it all they want, but consoles will be digital only....It's coming. Console gaming is getting more and more like PC gaming as the years pass.

I have no doubt that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would prefer to go digital-only or have all games tied to an account. But Microsoft already tried that with their initial Xbox One reveal; the reception was abysmal so they switched back to the traditional physical model. None of the big companies are going to try the same thing anytime soon.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

I have no doubt that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would prefer to go digital-only or have all games tied to an account. But Microsoft already tried that with their initial Xbox One reveal; the reception was abysmal so they switched back to the traditional physical model. None of the big companies are going to try the same thing anytime soon.

One of them will get to the point that they're going to stick to a future plan. All it took on PC was for Steam to come along and basically changed the entire landscape of gaming on PC. One of the three will make the move at some point (not all that far off in perspective) and change the landscape of console gaming. Microsofts plan sounded great imo and had they not caved it could've been interesting. I'm not even sure what console generations are these days with these incremental upgrades so I'm not going to guess what generation they make the change. I just personally think it'll be within the next 10 years one of the three will be completely digital. I could be wrong, but we'll see. The PC landscape changed damn fast so it could happen.

[PenguinMaster]

If any of the console developers switch to digital only they'd lose the main draw that makes people buy console games instead of PC games. If Sony switches to digital only then what reason would people have to buy the Playstation version over the PC version?

If I was fine with digital then 99% of my purchases would be on PC. Why would Sony or Microsoft want to encourage that?