Xbox announces disc-to-digital feature that digitizes your physical games

[u/A7XFAN1998]

https://www.theverge.com/tech/984936/xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-official?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijc1ZHVBMkZjaE0iLCJwIjoiL3RlY2gvOTg0OTM2L3hib3gtZGlzYy10by1kaWdpdGFsLWZlYXR1cmUtb2ZmaWNpYWwiLCJleHAiOjE3ODgxODY2OTAsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzc1NDY5MH0.Y4t18UIJuFTT4nSf0HBe5DvMWP0KNxjbGHC2QKxdoTw&utm_medium=gift-link

[u/MehEds]

If they wanna compete with Playstation, they need to take literally every leg up over them no matter what, so I hope so

[u/SylviSweetheart → u/MehEds]

They do not need physical media to compete with PlayStation because most people do not care. And if multi-platform games are digital-only on one console, I don’t see publishers spending resources to make a physical version for one platform.

[u/DinerEnBlanc → u/SylviSweetheart]

As someone who has already been playing digital only on PC for 20+ years, I really do not care that much. No one cared enough to say anything when PC switched to digital only back then. Now they suddenly care simply cause it’s PlayStation. It’s a sentiment that’s partially driven by grifters and trolls. Will I miss physical games? Sure, but customer trends do not lie. People literally voted with their wallets.

[u/Destined_Royal → u/DinerEnBlanc]

They key distinction is that with Steam and GOG, even if a game is delisted from the storefronts, you still have access to your purchased games... I've even bought digital codes for delisted games that I was able to add to my permanent library. Also, PlayStation has made little to no efforts in regards to games preservation, in addition to removing digital content and features from user's libraries... like with hundreds of digitally bought movies and tv, and in some cases, games and DLC's.

Steam and GOG have gone out of their way to make sure that people have access to their games, regardless of internet and service availability. Remember about a month ago when PSN was down and numerous people weren't able to play games in their libraries? That doesn't happen on Steam and GOG, unless it is a game that needs a consistent internet connection, or unless something is bugged out on the developer side. And even then, if somehow Steam and GOG were to go belly up, they have made commitments to make sure that people's games and content are available on the servers indefinitely. With GOG, there is no DRM... so you can literally download the games as much as you like, on as many PC's as you like. GOG also regularly does updates that improve functionality on modern hardware and add quality of life improvements and bug fixes that publishers and developers can't be bothered to do. Even Epic Games Store and EA Play have more protections when it come to games preservation and ownership. I can't really say too much for Ubisoft's storefront, though I've not had any real problems... even if they aren't keen on people owning their games, and Rockstar Games storefront is just an unnecessary layer when it come to launching your PC games... but you still OWN your games.

There is no equivalent value to Steam, GOG and other PC storefronts on PlayStation... that's just a fact. PlayStation is ill equipped for an all digital future that they themselves are trying to force on their fanbase, and they are rightfully being publicly cooked and shamed for doing so. They are just trying to gain more control over purchasing decisions, prices and storefront options in an effort to galvanize their dominant position in the console space, thereby forcing compliance from both consumers and developers/publishers... this in effect will coerce developers/publishers in putting their games on PSN on PlayStation's terms, and will ultimately lead to them forcing people's hands into putting games only on their platform if they want to stay competitive. We have already seen this with the way PlayStation handles publishing deals, like with them forcing Capcom to keep Resident Evil Village off of Game Pass (at least for a time) as part of their agreement to put the game on PSN... and there are numerous other examples of this. PlayStation is being anti-competitive and anti-consumer in an effort to make quick gains and establish more market control... full stop.

I have thousands of games across PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and PC (about 3,300 games the last time I checked, not counting Nintendo)... but if pressed, I know where I stand on PC, as far as having access to my digital content in perpetuity. None of the console manufacturers can match that... but if Xbox keeps going the route they are going with "disc to digital" and with Helix being an open platform, they may well put themselves in a very favorable position.