A few weeks back, we got a glimpse into the impending arrival of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is due to go on sale in the fall. If you’re not au fait with the gaming world, you should probably note that GTA VI is probably the most anticipated game in history. It has been years in the making, costing over one billion dollars – perhaps as much as two billion – and will sell tens of millions of units when it finally arrives.
However, one thing that will be missing from all those early sales is a disc. GTA VI will only be available to access via a download code. If you go into a store like GameStop, you’ll still be able to buy the game as a box, but there will be a code instead of a disc inside. Not long after the GTA VI announcement, Sony PlayStation also announced that it planned to phase out discs, with a target date of 2028 in mind.
The Gaming Experience Will Not Be Diminished
At first glance, it might not seem like a big deal. After all, the experience of the game is much the same whether you play via a download code of disc. Moreover, so much of entertainment, from music to television to online casino, is done ‘digitally’ these days without using physical media, so why lament the death of the disc? Isn’t it just progress?
However, many gamers are not happy with the situation. It’s not the experience of gaming, per se, it’s more a question of ownership. When you buy a physical game, there is little question that you own it. You can lend it to a friend if you like. And, for sure, there is a massive market in second-hand video games, so you can sell it on after you get bored of it.
With a downloadable code, it is designed to be single-use. You can’t lend it to a friend or sell the code if you no longer want to play it. In addition, there are questions about the power gaming companies have when a game is digital-only. They could, in theory, block players from accessing it, or they could, for all intents and purposes, stop support for a game, eventually rendering it unplayable.
A Risk of Losing Gaming History
That last part leads us into another part of the discussion – physical media’s role in preserving history. If games can be switched off digitally, then they may be lost forever. Collectors perform a role in that preservation by buying and keeping discs (cartridges before that). There are numerous websites devoted to keeping older, forgotten games alive, and while it is possible to preserve digital games, there needs to be a will to do it.
There could be other repercussions, too, not least the second-hand games market, impacting businesses that depend on the sale of those discs. Right now, many gamers believe it is a difficult moment for the industry, coming at a time when prices are already spiraling. It is always possible that Sony will change course, but the direction of travel seems to be only going one way.