Sony: Nearly 63% of "full game" sales for the 2020 calendar year came via digital downloads rather than discs sales

[Alucardx23]

"Sony also revealed that nearly 63 percent of its "full game" sales for the 2020 calendar year came via digital downloads rather than games sold on discs at retail. That's a significant increase from digital sales' 43 percent share in Sony's 2018 fiscal year (ending March 2019) and the 55 percent share in fiscal year 2019 (ending March 2020). The increase mirrors a longstanding trend away from disc-based games around the industry, and it's a trend that may only accelerate now that roughly one-quarter of all PS5 systems don't even have a disc drive, based on early hardware allocations."

Sony says semiconductor shortage makes increased PS5 production difficult

Record-pace gaming profits face drag from loss-leading PS5's "strategic price points."

arstechnica.com

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Tragic, but also not hugely surprising considering retail was kind of not a huge factor in a year where none of us could actually go to the damn store.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

Well yeah, fewer people are going out to the store to buy physical stuff. Not to mention discs nowadays are glorified activation keys.

 

[Wallace Wells]

Understandable since shops were closed the majority of the year and it was easier to just download games

 

[RockmanBN]

Surprised it ain't higher considering the pandemic

 

[Skulldead]

The day it's going to be 100% digital i'll buy A LOT less game, pretty sure this is going to be the case for a lot of poeple too.

 

[Maple]

Surprised it ain't higher considering the pandemic

Click to shrink...

Same.

 

[Faiyaz]

Pandemic, so I'm not worried (I don't want physical to ever go away).

 

[J75]

Kinda depressing.
I know because of the pandemic and everything, but if all this did was accelerate the move to a digital only industry, what a damn shame.

 

[T0kenAussie]

How long till that's 80%? You have to imagine not long but with retail opening more at the end of the year and fingers crossed the world vaccinates themselves properly maybe it can become 70/30 for a long while

It'll be a shame to see all physical release become the new records industry

 

[Alucardx23]

The day it's going to be 100% digital i'll buy A LOT less game, pretty sure this is going to be the case for a lot of poeple too.

Click to shrink...

You need to consider how the videogames market is growing, along side how digital game sales are also increasing.

 

[elenarie]

I imagine as things return a bit to normal later in this year, growth rate will slightly diminish, but this trend will continue going up. As % goes higher, there will be less and less incentive to print discs, thus availability of games will become more scarce, thus the % will go up... you get the point. :)

It will be interesting to see if whatever comes next even has a disc drive built-in anymore. With there being two digital consoles on the market already, I have a hard time seeing that.

 

[ghostcrew]

The day it's going to be 100% digital i'll buy A LOT less game, pretty sure this is going to be the case for a lot of poeple too.

Click to shrink...

Hey, some people still buy music on CDs, games won't go 100% digital. There's always going to be someone who wants a CD/game on disc/movie on DVD.

The music industry is incredibly digital/streaming heavy in 2021 but most releases are still pressed to plastic for those people that still want physical media.

 

[Alucardx23]

How long till that's 80%? You have to imagine not long but with retail opening more at the end of the year and fingers crossed the world vaccinates themselves properly maybe it can become 70/30 for a long while

It'll be a shame to see all physical release become the new records industry

Click to shrink...

I wonder if by the end of this generation it reaches 90%+ digital. At that point I wonder if they will release a new console with a disc reader.

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

I'm very interested to see if the first full non-pandemic year pushes back slightly against this.

 

[mnk]

Tragic, but also not hugely surprising considering retail was kind of not a huge factor in a year where none of us could actually go to the damn store.

Click to shrink...

That wouldn't stop many people from just ordering a physical game online. That it was 43% in 2018, 55% in 2019, and 63% in 2020 makes me think covid didn't necessarily make much of a difference. It was trending up anyway, and 2020 was even a smaller yearly increase than 2019 was.

 

[T0kenAussie]

I wonder if by the end of this generation it reaches 90%+ digital. At that point I wonder if they will release a new console with a disc reader.

Click to shrink...

Could we see a return of the external disc drive? That would be wild

 

[darkside]

I'm surprised its not higher given the fact most retail wasn't even open at all for a decent chunk of the year.

 

[Alucardx23]

Hey, some people still buy music on CDs, games won't go 100% digital. There's always be someone who wants a CD/game on disc/movie on DVD.

The music industry is incredibly digital/streaming heavy in 2021 but most releases are still pressed to plastic for those people that still want physical media.

Click to shrink...

Other consoles might release with a disc reader, but if Sony and Microsoft decide to launch their next gen consoles without a disc reader, there are no options available.

 

[The Lord of Cereal]

I'd say that ever since consoles began to no longer actually run games off the disks during the PS4/Xbox One generation, we were always headed towards an all digital console future like that of PC gaming. The Covid-19 related lockdowns almost certainly have accelerated said process though, and with the two cheapest consoles being all digital and Game Pass growing like crazy, I imagine that the death of physical will happen with the next console generation.

Sucks too, because buying used copies of games is exclusively the way I choose to play games from creators I wish to not support.

 

[King_Moc]

Hey, some people still buy music on CDs, games won't go 100% digital. There's always going to be someone who wants a CD/game on disc/movie on DVD.

The music industry is incredibly digital/streaming heavy in 2021 but most releases are still pressed to plastic for those people that still want physical media.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but the means to actually play those records exist in a separate eco-system. If digital games go over 90%, Sony etc might very well only release an all digital console.

 

[Sheng Long]

Tragic, but also not hugely surprising considering retail was kind of not a huge factor in a year where none of us could actually go to the damn store.

Click to shrink...

This. So many people stuck at home.

 

[Alucardx23]

Could we see a return of the external disc drive? That would be wild

Click to shrink...

It depends on how large is the percentage of physical game sales by the time the next gen consoles release. I can imagine the new consoles without any disc reader as part of the design, but with the option for people to buy an external disc reader for backwards compatibility.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

I was one of the people carrying the physical game flag around on every battlefield i could bring it to, but 2020 broke me.

Amazon: "Hello, Final Fantasy VII Remake will arrive between release day, and like 3 months after release day, :Emojishrug".

Best Buy: "Hey, i know its TLOU2's release day and we promised you it would be at your house by now, but actually it will show up sometime in the next week or 3, IDK, have a good day!"

Never again.

 

[poklane]

The day it's going to be 100% digital i'll buy A LOT less game, pretty sure this is going to be the case for a lot of poeple too.

Click to shrink...

Same, simply because of pricing. Physical is simply a lot cheaper.

 

[Curler]

I'm very interested to see if the first full non-pandemic year pushes back slightly against this.

Click to shrink...

I'm curious too. This period has been an outlier on many things, so when things get back to an actual normal, where will the numbers be? I remember there was also a few months where some games were getting a small print and not even shipping out on time either, so there was a bit of time where even physical games were stalled to get out, as well.

Honestly, I can see the number go down a little bit, since it'll be easier/safe to get to stores once vaccines have all been distributed.

 

[sedael]

It would be a gigantic shock to me if this were not the final generation where any of the consoles had disk drives.

 

[ghostcrew]

Other consoles might release with a disc reader, but if Sony and Microsoft decide to launch their next gen consoles without a disc reader, there are no options available.

Click to shrink...

True, true. That might be all it takes.

It didn't take much for PC gaming to go (essentially) digital only. Just needed a good storefront/library. When I truly got deep into buying on Steam around 2010/2011 was when I really moved past needing to buy my console games on disc. I just realised that I liked my digital collection on my Steam account just as much as all the damn plastic console game cases that I had to lug around every time I moved. Went fully digital from PS4 and Xbox One onwards and never looked back.

 

[turbobrick]

Understandable since shops were closed the majority of the year and it was easier to just download games

Click to shrink...

True, but you don't need to go to a store to buy a physical game. I buy all mine on Amazon, which even does release day delivery for some games. I haven't actually gone in a store to buy a game in several years.

Hey, some people still buy music on CDs, games won't go 100% digital. There's always going to be someone who wants a CD/game on disc/movie on DVD.

The music industry is incredibly digital/streaming heavy in 2021 but most releases are still pressed to plastic for those people that still want physical media.

Click to shrink...

This is me. I still buy CD's for a lot of my music purchases.

The only time I buy digital games is on PC, and apart from Doom 1 and 2 on the Switch, I haven't bought a digital console game in about 6 years.

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

I'm curious too. This period has been an outlier on many things, so when things get back to an actual normal, where will the numbers be? I remember there was also a few months where some games were getting a small print and not even shipping out on time either, so there was a bit of time where even physical games were stalled to get out, as well.

Honestly, I can see the number go down a little bit, since it'll be easier/safe to get to stores once vaccines have all been distributed.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I think it'll slip back a bit too, but not by much.

 

[GamerJM]

Yeah, but the means to actually play those records exist in a separate eco-system. If digital games go over 90%, Sony etc might very well only release an all digital console.

Click to shrink...

This is where the concern comes from. It's really valid seeing as how on PC physical games have already stopped really existing. There would have to be an entirely separate, extremely niche ecosystem for digital games if they ever get over 90-95%, which console manufacturers probably wouldn't want to fuck with.

 

[Twister]

If the next consoles are digital only, I'm out of their ecosystem and going PC only. The only real advantage of consoles for me is the ability to buy physical disks so once that's gone I'll just be Nintendo + PC forever. So if Sony and Microsoft want to save me a lot of money they can go right ahead

 

[edo_kid]

The day it's going to be 100% digital i'll buy A LOT less game, pretty sure this is going to be the case for a lot of poeple too.

Click to shrink...

At what I assume would be 90 to 100€ by that point too... so yeah same here.

 

[Curler]

If the next consoles are digital only, I'm out of their ecosystem and going PC only. The only real advantage of consoles for me is the ability to buy physical disks so once that's gone I'll just be Nintendo + PC forever. So if Sony and Microsoft want to save me a lot of money they can go right ahead

Click to shrink...

Reminds me, has MS/Sony announced the sales numbers between their disc/disc-less consoles?

 

[aceldama]

I bought 6 full games in the PSN sale for £15 the other day. % of games sold isn't the same as % revenue generated.

Tough, I'm sure the publishers will be well aware of that and studying the figures for their future plans. Disk drives will be an option as long as it's profitable.

 

[Twister]

Reminds me, has MS/Sony announced the sales numbers between their disc/disc-less consoles?

Click to shrink...

I don't think so although for now from what I've heard the Digital PS5 is essentially non-existent

 

[Uzupedro]

Haven't bought a physical game since 2018(God of War), I am still up to buy if it is in a very good sale and the price disparity between the digital version is big but otherwise really don't care that much.
I understand those who do the opposite though.

 

[PlatypusDude]

Not shocked, with a couple of exceptions for around the PS5 launch I've been buying Digital as a precaution on console (also switched to primarily PC which is basically all digital) while I used to be almost all physical for games released in retail.

 

[Tobor]

Will games still be available on physical media In the future?

Will PlayStation or Xbox games still be available on physical media In the future?

 

[Crossing Eden]

I haven't bought the disc for a game AC: Origins I think. 😅

 

[rokkerkory]

Hope they make more DEs when supplies pick back up🤗

 

[BPHusker]

I was one of the people carrying the physical game flag around on every battlefield i could bring it to, but 2020 broke me.

Amazon: "Hello, Final Fantasy VII Remake will arrive between release day, and like 3 months after release day, :Emojishrug".

Best Buy: "Hey, i know its TLOU2's release day and we promised you it would be at your house by now, but actually it will show up sometime in the next week or 3, IDK, have a good day!"

Never again.

Click to shrink...

Man you must have been really unlucky. I had no problems getting the games from Best Buy on release day.

 

[Curler]

Man you must have been really unlucky. I had no problems getting the games from Best Buy on release day.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I found that Best Buy was always on time last year, with some more niche titles being delayed a day or 2, but Amazon was on another level of delay :x From 1 week to 1 month delays...

 

[The Argus]

Understandable since shops were closed the majority of the year and it was easier to just download games

Click to shrink...

I'm sure the pandemic "helped" this #, but it's not like Amazon and all the other .com retailers shut down. I purchased several physical games last year online, just because they were cheaper than digital.

 

[ThisIsBlitz21]

For better or for worse, physical is dying off.

I'd give it maybe until 2025 until it's gone for good, and also think the next revisions for both of these consoles will have no disk drive at all.

 

[TheGhost]

Actual physical games only for big blockbusters. Everything else going digital it feels like and I'm ok with that.

 

[Deleted member 49438]

I'm curious as the Indie scene grows more what percentage of games release digitally but not physically. I know a bunch of Indies only get a physical release via stuff like Limited Run Games, if at all. I recognize that other market trends are what is driving the 63% digital, but I am curious how much this would be factor.

 

[Tohsaka]

All my PS5 games are digital except for the few I bought the physical PS4 version of for cheaper to get the free PS5 upgrade. I used to be a big physical-only person unless it was a digital-only game, but I kind of realized it was a waste of physical room space since I never sell my games and rarely replay them.

 

[Kill3r7]

I don't see MS being bold enough to launch the next Xbox without a disc drive. They are an easy target for negative PR. Sony can do whatever they want. Especially if their internal data is telling them to make the disc drive optional.

 

[TSM]

That's a lot of landfill no longer being produced. Hopefully we reach 100% and can cut it down to just electronics and accessories which could hopefully be recycled.