A storm is approaching in the video game industry, and it seems that there will be no shortage of lightning and thunder. After revolutionizing the market with Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft seems to be about to give way to another moment in its history with a decision that will leave controversy everywhere. What if Xbox stopped having physical games and went completely digital?
Collectors cry
The physical format is currently a romantic format that has very little practicality. The only salvageable (and weighty) reasoning is that of the concept of property, since All you have to do is have the game disc to be able to play whenever and wherever you want.. What would happen if the servers that store the digital versions disappeared? That is the fear of many users, and the reason why they do not accept the volatile format.
But at Microsoft they seem quite determined to do it. That is at least what a major leaker like Jez Corden claims, who claims to have received details that the company has plans to close certain physical game distribution departments.
Microsoft has also shut down departments dedicated to bringing Xbox games to physical retail… which if you've seen the digital-only Xbox console leaks… well, you can get an idea of where Microsoft is going here.
- Jez (@JezCorden) January 25, 2024
This could be an indication of the loss of interest in this format, even more so when the latest major leaks from Microsoft showed a fully digital Series without disc reader. It would not indicate that the action is going to be carried out as such, but it leaves many clues to think about it.
Does the market want physical games?
If there is something that Microsoft has done well and that has received enormous favorable reviews, it is Xbox Game Pass. Distributors may not have liked it one bit, but users are delighted to be able to receive games on day 1 of release and access an endless library of titles.
For this reason, it is easy to think that the trend is for the physical format to disappear, since services like Xbox Game Pass more than cover the needs of users, to the point of not caring about the physical format.
Note: reducing retail teams doesn't confirm Microsoft is quitting physical retail for Xbox games yet, they can outsource, and might be consolidating here. So, don't run with "Xbox is quitting physical" based on this.
But, it does seem to be the industry trajectory. Writing is on…
- Jez (@JezCorden) January 25, 2024
The problem is in the maintenance of these digital libraries, and that is that sooner or later, the games are recycled, and they hardly last forever. What if in a few years you want to play that adventure that you loved again? You will probably no longer be able to play it on the service, and the question will remain whether it will be available in digital format or not.
The PC already knows what this is about
If there is a market that knows history well, it is none other than the PC. PC games have practically lost the physical format completely, there are only some games that release the physical format with special editions. Stores like Steam They are a clear example that the digital format can work perfectly, and it is not something that PC users have notably denounced. On the contrary, many argue that the digital format has allowed them to get games at ridiculous prices, and they have an endless library that provides them with hours and hours of fun.
Will Microsoft make a mistake with this move if it does?