What we really think about Physical vs Digital Games.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

It was a thrill and an honor to get Mark from Classic Game Room to finally appear on my KZbin channel. For many of us old school retro gamers, his channel was the biggest review channel on KZbin. I was so bummed when he walked away cuz the dude is just so funny and knowledgeable. Getting him to be a part of this was awesome, as were all the other creators. Make sure and check out their channels! Lazy Game Reviews: www.youtube.com/@LGR Classic Game Room: www.youtube.com/@classicgameroom Happy Console Gamer: www.youtube.com/@HappyConsoleGamer Radical Reggie: www.youtube.com/@The_RadicalOne Ircha Gaming: www.youtube.com/@ircha TheGebs24: www.youtube.com/@TheGebs24 Macho Nacho Productions: www.youtube.com/@MachoNachoProductions Gaming off the Grid: www.youtube.com/@GamingOffTheGrid

[@leonbarry5403]

Can you legally emulate a game if you only have a digital copy? Another win for physical.

[@Alexis40ar]

I love seeing Mark from Classic Game Room being part of the community again, Thanks for inviting him, he needs a push to keep his great channel rolling again.

[@RubMySweatyThighs]

Ehhh when you read up on the dude it was weird

[@VogtTD]

His great channel? His channel crashed and burned hard. His content sucked. You're not going to wave a magic wand and make his content what it used to be. Either he was burned out or didn't have a passion for it anymore. Based on what I saw, it was that his passion was gone and he wanted to work on his crappy comic books instead. The only path forward for CGR I can imagine is that Mark takes a back seat brings back the old crew to revive CGR Undertow.

[@christopherbenjamin7820]

How do you know his channel needs a bush??? Explain please

[@jugghead82]

Classic Game Room is an will always be an AMAZING Channel ❤

[@derjahgalgion]

@@VogtTDwho tf are you to say his comic is crappy? insulting a belobed member of the community when you re just a lame ass lazy fuck hahaha Mark is exploring music, comics, etc he is not chained to videogames anymore so go suck my gamer dick

[@ryanburnside38]

I've got enough of a physical backlog to last me a lifetime.

[@JimBob-vg2og]

True that, until they stop working

[@iwatchyoutube1346]

Amen brother

[@Frank-x1g]

Same here. 64 not yet retired and I have about 400 games with maybe 2/3 not yet played. Movies are the same. Have about 100 which are the ones I watch multiple times.

[@rossrobertson674]

So do I but I keep replayin all the shit I like 😂

[@Frank-x1g]

@@rossrobertson674 So do I which keeps me back logged. LOL. Been getting a bit better at it recently.

[@kurtistharp2031]

One uncomfortable part of this discussion that hasn't been mentioned and nobody seems to want to address this particular elephant is that these companies are actively discouraging ownership. This goes beyond video Games; car dealerships are quick to lease a vehicle without any discussion of buying the vehicle. Companies that will buy your home with no questions asked will take homes off the market so that there's none for the average person to purchase it is the systematic active discouragement of ownership of any kind and it should be resisted to The Bitter End. And if you think it doesn't affect you, it does

[@GYTCommnts]

Amen!

[@VogtTD]

Pretty much. Corporations would be happy for a return to medieval fiefdoms, and that's exactly where this country is headed.

[@kurtistharp2031]

Kind of saw this coming when former Wall Street washouts start speculating unless you all don't remember the grading scandals but they would also open up pop-up shops at neighborhood stores and the like, buy sell trade with the emphasis on buy and they bail, never to return or set up on fleabay for what used to be Craigslist before the Facebook Reckoning

[@kurtistharp2031]

And as much as I love the content, it's hard to avoid the fact that Nostalgia channels like this feed that machine what's some degree of accidental and intentional

[@domranbernum]

Don't worry, physical ownership will exist forever. Only, it's Bill Gates that will have all of it.

[@PlayStationAddict]

I saw a comment today that said "I just purchased Rise Of Ronin digitally and I dont like it. I wish I would have bought it physically so I could sell it to you." This was a conversation between two people that really shows why physical is so important. Without ownership we have no control.

[@Vimm57]

Nobody here has pointed this out. While I prefer physical games to exist, the problem with digital games isn't necessarily because they are "digital'", the problem is the DRM and the proprietary platforms that give control to corporations, potentially resulting in your games ceasing to exist if they go out of business or refuse to honor your purchases for any reason.

[@johnlawful2272]

Dude with red lights pointed that out

[@Vimm57]

@@johnlawful2272 nah not exactly the same. cgr didn't distinguish and mention non drm digital games.

[@real13D]

Lol some games like chinese genshin shit (or destiny 2) rips away tons of story content with passing time - it is their model of business. But via american laws we will get our free Freelancer game, etc., right?

[@cameronleehorace]

Physical will still have the same issue and has done in the past for old PC games. Just because it is physical does not mean you actually own the game. Most physical games connect to a server of some kind to grant you permission to play the game as a DRM access. The disc is merely a conduit for the server to know you own the 'key' to play that game. It merely downloads the same game you have digital from the store. True physical games have not been the same since early physical copies of games.

[@dapperfan44]

​​@@cameronleehorace This is not true. If it does not say "internet required," then this simply isn't true. The only games that do this are games like Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty, and now newer Ubisoft games. I was able to play Astro Bot and Stellar Blade this year without ever connecting online.

[@TheGebs24]

Thank you SO much for having me! Great question from Ian and Ramon. Well done guys. Great episode

[@MetalJesusRocks]

You rock! Thanks so much for being a part of it.

[@aspookyspookynight]

​@MetalJesusRocks nice to see you include women of all ages too :) thank you...

[@pdraggy]

I'm so glad the Metal Jesus crew is reaching out (I feel that the two girls here are EU?? so like WAAAAY OUT)

[@ezzwhitezombie666]

@@pdraggythe second one is British, so, not EU but Europe.

[@pdraggy]

@@ezzwhitezombie666 lol sorry for that hahah!

[@harryskippedlegday9300]

I keep hearing this narrative that physical games are no longer physical and require a download however 90 percent of my ps5 collection play without an Internet connection and while the day 1 patch usually improves the performance and graphical features it is optional for the most part with the game still being fully playable off the ps5 disc without an active connection. I think people just see the automatic update and think it is required, but have never actually disconnected the console from the Internet and tried their discs.

[@johnpenguinthe3rd13]

I currently own 104 PHYSICAL Playstation 5 games. Almost ALL of them contain the full game on the disc and are fully playable. The only exceptions to this are Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War (there is almost nothing on that disc, just two "multiplayer" levels, a Russia city block level and a desert level, but it's really single player with bot opponents. The single player story campaign has to be downloaded) and one other game. But 102 of my PS5 games actually have the game on the disc and they are fully playable without patches (the only two that really need the patches are Sack Boy and one other game since they have a glitch in them where their save files can become corrupted if something specific is done in the game). And that's it, everything else is fully playable and are on the discs. For some reason, there is this weird belief among a lot of people that nothing is on the discs, which is NOT true at all. My guess is that this probably comes from people who play the Call of Duty games (the most recent games have nothing on their discs) and since that's the # 1 selling franchise every year that news spreads to others and they think it's ALL games (when in reality the vast majority of physical games have the full game on the actual disc and are fully playable even without patches).

[@Mogura87]

To add to this, there's also the argument about game licenses tied to discs that are independent of any particular account. You will have access to the exact same patches with the disc copy and thus have better local control over your base game, even with the required install, server check and and updates. Nobody mentioned this in the video. "The full game isn't on the disc anyway" is a ridiculously narrow perspective. It's very possible to have your account hacked or banned for whatever reason, and then you just lose access to all your digital licenses. This would suck for all your DLC, save files, trophies etc. anyway, of course, but at least you keep the most valuable part with physical games.

[@JammyGuns]

The 'SomeOrdinaryGamers' dude has tried to address this point several times but despite having a massive channel people keep regurgitating it over and over e.g "Discs today are little more than a key... etc etc" - it simply isn't true in most cases. It's definitely going that way unfortunately but for now, 8th gen and even PS5 games mostly contain a fully playable version that works offline with no further download required. It may not be the best way to play them but you can at least play all the way through. If you have the disc then you have a degree of control and actual ownership.

[@JohnJohnic00]

That second guy just made stuff up. Funny how he singled out the PS5 which has no such iaaues, but completely ignores xbox that has them.

[@dapperfan44]

​@AaaaaaAaaaaa-j7e that's the whole thing. This is mostly an Xbox problem, not a PS5 problem. With that said, I don't own many physical Xbox games, but I'm pretty sure the ones I do own can be played from the disc.

[@JimboJammy]

My one big concern is there becomes no competition. At the moment I can shop around for a copy of a game and get the best price. If it's only on a single digital store, you'll end up playing 60 - 70 for every game regardless of its age, other than the odd sale. It's already like that.

[@ericorenato88]

This discussion is in the movie community too. I was buying just digital games and movies and when I moved from Germany to Portugal I lost 60% of my catalogue because they were digital. Stopped buying digital media

[@Dr.Huzeyfe]

Why couldnt you use it in Portugal?

[@ericorenato88]

@@Dr.Huzeyfe my account is tied to the german account... IP has to be in germany. VPN is not a fix. i tried it.

[@fargoretro]

I like Classic Game Room. Time to watch more Classic Game Room.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

THIS 👆

[@dschult3]

EDF! EDF!

[@ihsan_lol]

I'd rather watch CGR Undertow :D

[@Ziggy7800Pro]

Yes please watch more CGR!! Also Jam out to Omega Ronin too.

[@AlexGamer67]

Make sure you are very well connected with Truxton and Cosmic Carnage, everyone.

[@RhodesToPopCulture]

Digital is fine when its on sale like the usual 75% off we see often. No way in hell am I paying £60+ for a digital file. At least with the physical I can lend it to a friend or trade it in later. Digital games should be loads cheaper than they are.

[@lemming9984]

Yep. I just bought Persona 5 Royal - brand new sealed on eBay for £24 including P&P. Sony Store still have it for £50.

[@futureskeletons66669]

The only games that hold their value in a trade are Switch carts.

[@grahamkelly8662]

You know it brother. Sony are bugging if they think we gonna pay £60-70 digital and sometimes up to £90 plus for certain edition. Last time I checked, a brand new game in ps store , will cost you £10 more then the physical version and this is just ludicrous. Some bought gt 7 in ps store for £70 and if they didn’t like it, they are stuck with it. They can’t give away or sell. Me however, I bought gt7 for £50 physical and I absolutely hate it, even in vr. So at least I can claim back a good chunk, if I sell it. Deep sale is where it’s at in ps store. Games like evil within, far cry 4/5, metal gear solid 5 etc are like £3.99-5.99 and those type of digital , is a bargin and worth while. Especially, as you don’t have to get up to swap disc, which can be a pain if you have big collection . I have bought the odd £20 digital game but never usually over £15. Although, I’m more then happy buying my psvr2 games, digital. Taking the headset off, to change games is just a no for me and vr games are much cheaper. Usually like £15-£35 so not too bad . I paid £32 for switchback vr and while it wasn’t the best ever. It was great fun and I’m more then happy to have paid full price, because it was a great experience. I’m too scared to do rollercoaster in real life so it was cool and the shooting wasn’t bad. Madison vr is out next week and I can’t wait.

[@grahamkelly8662]

@@futureskeletons66669 not true. I bought gt 7 March 2023 for £50 and it still sells for around that price on Amazon. I can easily sell it for £40 1 year after purchase. But in general, you’re correct.

[@RhodesToPopCulture]

@@futureskeletons66669 its still some money back though, no matter how small or something to trade against something else.

[@jeremyzeeky3024]

Outside of the medium of games, Funimation shut down and refused to honor digital purchases at all. So your digital libraries with these companies can always go away for any reason, at any time.

[@WhoisTheOtherVindAzz]

Exactly, THIS should be what is discussed. Not "physical vs digital", but "renting masked as ownership VS actual ownership".

[@kloss213]

All the games I purchased as downloads all the extras. All are gone now I cant access any of it. I still have much of the PS 1 games I bought all work. Thinking the future for gaming will be subscription services like it is for music.

[@garygordon9243]

Better consumer protection laws are the solution, not making more physical media. If that happens, there’s literally no reason to go physical outside of novelty.

[@danbooke2001]

​@@garygordon9243THIS. I normally don't want government involved in my games, but this really is the only way our digital libraries will remain safe. We need legislation that protects consumers and not the company's profits.

[@mattpace1026]

The fact that you seem to think physical is just always going to remain in perfect condition and be lost as well tells me everything I need to know about your comment. Edit: Forget to point out that downloads don't work the way you're telling people they do.

[@drumcrazyozzy7410]

It's all about control... keep the physical alive... convenience is an illusion....

[@itsmatt517]

Yep, it's not very convenient if a game you had previously paid for disappears from 'your' digital library

[@strangersgt5632]

Lazy people use the excuse that its more "convenient". To me its way more fun going to a store and picking out a game on the shelf.

[@Bootlickersticker]

@@itsmatt517It’s also not convenient to have a game that can only work on one console lol a digital games that can be modded and pirated will walkways be way better than a physical paper weight

[@elone3997]

Yup, convenience generally means giving up control which unfortunately doesn't ring any alarm bells for a lot of people..

[@Bootlickersticker]

@@elone3997 physical games that are proprietary to a console is giving up control physical games are not real ownership digital games are

[@jamyskis]

My answers to the two questions: 1. I've already stopped buying new games that don't get a physical release. We're at that point already, and I don't feel any discomfort or anything with it. Alan Wake 2, for example, just fell off my radar entirely when it went digital-only, and I'm pretty sure there are dozens of games that were never on my radar to begin with due to their never appearing in brick-and-mortar retail or other online physical media stores. I had a dabbling with digital distribution in the past decade, but I don't buy ANYTHING digitally anymore. I used to like to support indie devs who couldn't afford a physical release back in the day, but nowadays there are more than enough publishers and distributors willing to handle the physical release of small indie games. 2. I don't know. But I know that I have been transitioning to other hobbies over the past couple of years in the expectation that it might happen. Not because gamers 'want' this but because the gaming industry is just forcing this on us. If it happens, I have a physical backlog that will last me until the day I die, and I honestly don't have the same adversity towards software piracy that I did 15 years ago. Like most people, 40-year-old me has a much more evolved sense of right and wrong than 25-year-old me that bought into all the bullshit about "supporting developers". But honestly, I don't think my interest will be sustained long enough for me to stay with modern gaming anyway. My spending has been dropping off drastically due to the digital chokehold. As a footnote, my kids have already been learning the hard way about the pitfalls of the so-called "digital future" with series and films they love being pulled off Netflix and Disney+. Many of the films they've loved I've ended up buying physically, and streaming channels are seeing less and less use in our house - we'll be cancelling Disney+ when Shogun is finished and Netflix probably soon after that.

[@PaidProgramming-th6tp]

Cool to see Classic Game Room Mark on the Metal Jesus show. I think he is right and it is a shame because old physical media had both artistic appeal as well as the reliability of knowing you actually owned and could play those physical games without needing permissions from anybody.

[@DD93AFC]

I discussed this a little bit yesterday with somebody tbh, literally the exact same thing Classic Game Room Mark said. I was a little bit abrupt with what I was saying, because I've lost alot of love for gaming in general over the past few years. I pretty much just said I thought games were "shit" now, and one of the things I mentioned was how I don't think games are even on these discs anymore. There is probably some kind of amount of data on them, with some of the game files, but ultimately the system has to verify it has a disc inside, what game it is etc, then "copy" it onto the system storage. What I also said aswell, which probably will forever confirm in my mind that discs don't really have the game on them, is why can't we just stick the disc in and just let the system install the update to the hard drive? That's all it needs to update surely? Why the need for it to be copied to system storage if it's already stored on the disc? Makes no sense. I'll forever say though, the PS3 and Xbox 360, along with the PS2, Gamecube, Dreamcast and PS1 eras, will always be GOATed to me. Unfortunately I never got to really experience anything older than those ones, but gaming just ultimately was so much better. Put the disc in, or cartridge, you're ready to play, saves located on the memory card too, enjoy. Now it's like a 25 minute wait, maybe even longer to get the game started, then the storage runs out, you have to constantly plan what you wanna keep on the system to play next, so if you're swapping around what you're playing alot, you're genna have a lot of trouble. I just hate the way games have become to extent.

[@lpbbinc]

@@DD93AFC modern discs have files that are compressed (like a zip file) and when you install them on the console they are "unzipped.". That's why we can't just stick the disc in and play. blu-rays only hold so much data and most games are well above that amount

[@DD93AFC]

@@lpbbinc I suppose that makes sense. It's a shame really, I've loved games all my life and I don't really get any enjoyment out of it, literally no enjoyment out of anything anymore. Won't really go into details why, this isn't the video for it. I kind of agree with all points people make about digital and physical, I guess I just miss the convenience the PS2 era had. It was actually more convenient than digital is now, pop the disc in and you're good to go. Shame it probably won't always be that way, but I won't be sticking around for an all digital future anyways, my backlog of physical is enough for plenty of years of entertainment anyways. That is if I actually bother playing games anymore.

[@TQT1995]

@@DD93AFC I rather have it install into the system then constantly reading the data from the disc. The disc drive will wear out much more sooner if it keeps reading from the disc while playing the game which was a big problem in the PS2/Xbox era. Storage is getting cheaper and you still have the game on disc so you don't have to worry about losing the game unless you're really not careful on how you handle your discs. Also if you want to dump your PS4/PS5 games you can get a JB console and dump then into a hard drive while having the disc as a back up.

[@LoliconSamalik]

It mostly comes down to the usual bad actors like EA/UbiSoft/Activision/etc that create the illusion of what physical media is suppose to do. If you look towards AA or even indies, you'll usually get a full game on the disc/card, minor bug fixes aside. Hell, most Nintendo games ship with the full data on the card. And the ones that don't get reprinted so they do.

[@chrisbayer7294]

what a guest lineup 😊!!!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I know right? I'm honored they all agreed as I am a big fan of all their KZbin channels.

[@nemayasleads]

When I saw Tito I knew I needed to stay. What a lineup

[@GreenLeefMusic]

Clint (LGR) was the perfect way to start. One of my fav channels right there.

[@JasonCrosen]

Limited run/edition of console releases won’t mean squat if the console doesn’t have a way to read the physical print. We gotta keep buying and using physical media to be able to keep it around.

[@ACBehning]

"you'll own nothing and be happy" ~ Ida Auken - 2016 WEF

[@ShiningCrimzon]

Really sad how companies found out they can just tap into consumers' laziness and they'll gleefully give up their ownership rights

[@1centimetre]

Nothing good ever comes out of Switzerland

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

Classic Game Room makes the real point: The question is not physical versus digital. The question is: Can the game and system function fully and entirely without contacting the Internet to access an external server? If the answer is no, then the physical game can still be taken away from you at any moment after purchase.

[@heavensea141]

Online games who require online connection just to play

[@neilarcher2551]

Technically but of course people have found ways around such protections before.

[@NostraSamus]

Switch and Base PS5 (not slim) can go its entire lifetime without ever connecting to the internet. So physical is great for those systems. For any other current console, it’s pointless.

[@brandonsteele2826]

​@@NostraSamusI recently bought the Metal Gear solid collection for the switch. Not ONE SINGLE metal gear solid game was on the physical cartridge. They all had to be downloaded!

[@NostraSamus]

@@brandonsteele2826 Yeah, I’d be careful with collections of games, especially from Konami. I got lucky that FF 1-6 all came on the cart in that collection. What I said is true about 95% of the switch library. I’d research before buying any physical game.

[@brennangamsby6203]

A collab like this feels something of an "all-stars", this video was a treat! Please keep these coming! Also Gen 6 rocks

[@xboxmods]

If other digital platforms operated like GOG I would be fine with all digital and not cluttering up my apartment. But if I don’t get to truly own them, then I will stick with physical while possible.

[@tomgreen2737]

I have more physical games then I have hours left on Earth.

[@bjornironsides6474]

It's really not fair. lol Not enough time in the day or on the planet.

[@teenermeener971]

Keep it going

[@ScottPiwinski]

Me too lol

[@opizzaa8285]

Seeing Classic Game Room again for the first time in YEARS made me damn-near emotional. It makes me really happy to see him again and still active in the community. I'm so glad that Metal Jesus was able to have Mark on the show for a segment. This means the world to me.

[@shaggysweetness]

As some publishers have said lately (Ubisoft for one) "We have to get them used to not owning their purchases.", meaning they want full digital for that reason. Do not buy digital, push for and buy physical only. Customers only lose in the end when they allow the industry to go full digital (and eventually full cloud only). Another example is the recent Stellar Blade demo that released too early, Sony locked the ability to play it even though it was completely downloaded digitally and on your system and previously playable. They have full control over your products in every way when it's only digital. I do appreciate this video though, it shows me several people I watch and look to for game content actually know very little about how things actually currently work. A few know what's up though, glad to have them!

[@thetrophysystem3697]

If it went ALL digital id just started completing my retro libraries

[@Sondi]

"finally a reason"

[@espressomatic]

It's been all digital for over 5 years already. Your physical media is nothing more than a licensing key, like a code in a manual of old.

[@QueenViolet8]

If you have the cash sure go for it 👍 some games are crazy expensive!

[@Indremafan]

@@espressomaticbeyond untrue, it guarantees ownership and will always be worth something/appreciate. Your rentals are worthless and can be legally revoked at anytime.

[@AbsoluteSkycaptain]

​@Indremafan Depends on the game. I've been burned a few times buying games physically that then require most of the game to be downloaded from a server, the disc is effectively worthless. Obviously that doesn't apply to pre-ps4 titles and most physical indie releases, but it's something you have to be very careful about if you're planning to buy any big budget games physically expecting to actually own them.

[@mikem3431]

Classic game room!! Mark! It brings me back.

[@digsmcfury]

It’s simply not true that all physical games are just a key to activate a server in order to play your games. Take your PS5 offline and you will still be able to play almost every physical game all the way through. Most updates don’t even matter and do not improve the game that much.

[@chasejackson7248]

Patches most times hurt more then help.

[@haym2245]

The main problem is our government hasn’t kept up with technology. There aren’t any laws protecting the consumer on on-line purchases. If there were a law requiring the seller to always provide a way to our purchase then I would be way more comfortable with on line purchases. We also need a way to sell our games to someone else if we want to.

[@cool3865]

there are laws on it, just if you read the fine print and no one does, you will see that they can shut down the service at anytime or remove the games at anytime. you are renting it basically, so buy the game, if it goes away there are other options to get the game

[@DammitJeff]

Love this :') So cool seeing the whole community on this! My personal take is not only do I hold a very heavy physical collection, it's really important to me to, as the physical owner of my games, to be able to play them for years to come. Whether that means dumping them, emulating them, or trading them with my friends. I fear physical is going away in the near future and that really bothers me honestly. I'm trying to hold on for as long as possible. Sidenote, if you ever want another long-haired dude to show up in a video, hit me up :') Would love to participate in one of these community videos.

[@borrellipatrick]

Saw Clint in the thumbnail, had to click 👀 I would only go in on full digital if i can have the same level of freedom with physical copies to buy, trade and sell

[@Azuris190]

Thats why i mostly buy on Gog, as i don't have to fear that i get disowned.

[@JPbruv]

Mark at the end made this video gold😂

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I know, right?! He cracked me up. 😂

[@AgentXRifle]

I am with him, make the sequal console and give it half-life 3 as an exclusive time limited digital download 🤣

[@jmatt781]

That was great!

[@jurviz]

Coming soon: Vectrex Series X, cloud based subscription service!

[@jmatt781]

Mark won't be happy until somebody releases a woodgrain housed vectrex.

[@ircha]

Thanks for having me 🤩❤ and I just thought of something else to add: If we come to a point where there will mostly be digital games in the future, then I really do hope they'll never stop printing those physical eshop/Playstation credits cards, so that when it comes to giving an actual WRAPPED GIFT to a kid for their birthday or for christmas, that's still a "thing" 😊 the magic of opening a wrapped gift and it's a game!

[@johngibson821]

So true never thought of that

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I really appreciated your honest opinion here. The point of the video was to capture a bunch of different viewpoints and start the conversation with the community. 👍

[@loganfamils4401]

I have the same opinion 👍

[@cheekyphuzz_thegod8558]

I agree with your opinion in this video. Digital games are way cheaper and I prefer to not leave the couch when changing games. Cheers

[@Jack-nj9pi]

I was soooooo happy they brought you in as you pretty much nailed my same view on it

[@Stefan_Payne]

you're talking about that and just the other day, on the Brazilian Playstation Blog, SONY just announced to have build a Physical Media Facility in Brazil, making games there. ANd if you look at the Financial Statement from Playstation, you see one thing: Physical Media stayed constant. It didn't move for the last couple of years, the amount of Physical -> Digital stayed the same. It went even a bit in the physical direction. In other words: Digital has plateau'd and people still want physical!! Its on us to advocate for Physical media, for collecting discs.

[@ShiroiKatanaGames]

No physical, no buy. The market will only go digital-only if you let it.

[@quaide78]

I wish this were true. But most computers are built without disk drives and the next generation of game consoles will most likely not have them either. It's a sad future we will all be living in. Now when will Nintendo dump physical? I dunno. But they still haven't quite figured out how to do online gaming so it may be longer than Sony and MS.

[@Scorpio--]

It already happened on PC buddy. It's only a matter of time till it happens on consoles.

[@kingpolt98]

We need to stick to that! I'm sure they will make it hard to resist. Hold fast!

[@thaneros]

Its all digital now. They just making you people think you have something on the disc.

[@NintenPizza]

The writing is on the Wall. I'm not waiting 7 months for something like the Castlevania Dominus Collection to ship physically from LRG, when it has already been available 7 months prior digitally. If they can't release a game physically day one along side the digital release, or maybe 1-2 weeks afterwards than I'm out. Digital all the way. Not interesting in double dipping either, or buying unofficial copies through LRG. The entire LRG(etc) unofficial Physical-thing is just stressful and an absolute mess. I don't have the patience for that anymore. The only thing i truly miss about physical is the resale value. Besides, most modern physical games look and feel like throwaways. Physical gaming media was way better in the 80's & 90's.

[@gligarguy4010]

Physical until the day I die

[@richarde2001]

110% agree...

[@nevermindgaming6848]

You need to get out of the old school mindset it's not the 90s anymore digital is better hands down don't have to leave the house don't have to worry about getting screwed over by online shoppers time to move on

[@jasontodd1896]

@@nevermindgaming6848shut up 🤡🖕🏿

[@TromaDogg]

​@@nevermindgaming6848Kind of sad to see people saying 'don't have to leave the house' as a positive, same as when I hear people like Ircha in this video saying 'don't have to bother changing what game is in the console'...so it just boils down to laziness then. People are quite happy to sign away all their rights as a customer to a soulless corporation because they're too damn lazy to get up and interact with the real world.

[@MrPotteeMouf]

Relax

[@kcadventures1454]

The idea that all current physical games are worthless without a "permission" is simply wrong. I subscribe to a channel now that tests physical PS5 games on an unregistered PS5 to see if it plays fine and you would be surprised at how many do.

[@Aki_Lesbrinco]

Right. I've done the test myself, installing a game from the disk on to an offline console and running it.

[@Lariv_]

What channel is that? Also, there is a great website "doesitplay" that gives information if specific game is playable offline

[@alejandromoran4590]

name of the channel?

[@BlackKirby-zi3qj]

The website "doesitplay" does this very thing for all modern consoles

[@ORLY911]

True. Though the main issue imo is a lot of games design is built around connecting to the internet, without it, the game is basically worthless even if you can boot it technically. Like all the live service games who are tailored to push microtransactions and online seasonal content. Look at The Crew, that game is going to be gone forever with no way to ever experience it as intended, thanks to its online built design.

[@lpbbinc]

LGR has the most soothing voice on youtube

[@NickEnchev]

Yea well why don't you marry him?

[@vincerussosux]

​@@NickEnchevgo be a prick somewhere else :)

[@lpbbinc]

@@NickEnchev idk is he single? Lol

[@NickEnchev]

@@lpbbincJust tell him you work at Goodwill, it won't matter.

[@drhoffman5069]

And Ircha the most annoying

[@marciopinho6100]

I've got goosebumps just by seeing the thumbnail. Watching all those legendary youtubers together. Hell yeah \m/

[@NoctLightCloud]

you're *vastly* overestimating people's internet connection speed. Here in Austria (and Germany), many people still can't even properly work from home due to bad wifi😂

[@chasejackson7248]

That's the worse part, my internet takes around 2 days to download a 70gb game and then I'd be with slow internet for a month with data caps.

[@GMoney_1973]

Great panel and topic. Thank you MJR for video!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tonymcnamee2741]

Oh, and I will not pay full price for a digital game.

[@cloudboysmusic5223]

I mean Physical games have been shit for a while now too. Only a box with a disk. Death of Manuals killed physicals for me

[@ahmedp8009]

THIS! Why are they still priced the same? even after moving up to $70! Server costs is an over used excuse that customers may find difficulty to wrap their heads around therefore accept it...at least make them cheaper to motivate more people to switch.

[@ItsASuckyName]

@ahmedp8009 it's insane to see games in digital stores costing over 50 euro, while when I go to a physical store I can get them for 10...

[@jesseM138]

Agreed. I'm willing to compromise with an all digital industry if they stop charging 60-70 bucks for a glorified rental and instead, charge us maybe 40-50 and be upfront about the fact we're only buying a license to play it.

[@tonymcnamee2741]

Exactly! No case? No disc? No instruction booklet? So should cost less.

[@OrangeLightning]

Fully agree with Reggie, I'm going to PC if companies drop physical media. At that point the console manufacturers have too much control over the ownership or your games, and something like losing your account and thus your entire library is far too big of a financial risk.

[@Stefan_Payne]

companies want to do that, but its not going anywhere. Take a look at Playstation's Financial reports. You see that the amount of Physical Media is the same for the last couple of years and only went down due to people not being able to leave the house... So its now on us to convince people to buy physical and make the detractors of physical media, that claim that its pointless, that there is nothing on the disc, shut up and get the truth out (only in rare cases there is nothing on the Disc or you need a big download. Most of the time, the whole Game is on the disc, sadly the DLC is not).

[@bioboost12]

​@@YoureUsingWordsIncorrectlyConsoles have usually been less powerful than their pc counterpart...since forever. I'm ok with that. It's not always about power.

[@dapperfan44]

​@@YoureUsingWordsIncorrectlyNo one cares except graphics snobs. Most people just want to buy box, put box in tv, put game in box.

[@Stefan_Payne]

@@YoureUsingWordsIncorrectly why are you misrepresenting things? Especially not talking about the price. PS5 is 500. What is the PC you're talking about? 1500? 2000? 2500? Well, yeah, should be better. However: You have no ownership on PC; all storefronts are digital only, no physical media here. "PC Accepts all Controllers" yeah, that's kinda the Problem, isn't it? Because the devs can't know what you use, you can't innovate...

[@yu-gi-nintendo2660]

​@@Stefan_Payneexactly. I just bought my PS5 for $350. I doubt I'm gonna get as good of an experience on pc with $350.

[@BadBrad119]

It's crazy how some people think cash is free, even though something physical is leaving their hands, and they also don't need something physical in return

[@SuperKhalid95]

Someone on X posted this and it could be true:- Reality, even if you buy physical media, you often do not own your games, because: - The box only has a digital code to download the game. - There's a disc, but it only has a few files, the actual game must be downloaded and the disc is only a key. - Sometimes, only parts of the game are available on disc, you can play without internet, but not the full game. - You can play the game without internet with just a disc, but not the good version of the game, because at launch, the game is full of problems and you need to download a patch later or there's a patch since day 1. - Sometimes, the patch is so big that you are almost downloading the whole game. - You still need to connect to the internet to buy and download DLC. - To play online, you need to download the most recent version. - Many games are online-only, require a constant connection to the internet, even on single-player, and to make things worse, the servers often close, making your physical copy a paperweight.

[@The_RadicalOne]

Wow, I didn’t realize I was so passionate about this topic. 😅

[@TheOldskoolVideoGamer]

Reggie mateeeee! did you know that in the UK you are know as 'Reg the Leg!(end)' ....Okay that's a lie, but it should be true. PS You and my misses both have Steam Bot Chronicles as one of your all time fav games which is Ace!

[@MurrayNJ08]

Yeah but physical today still has the same problems as digital. See my physical copy of Battleborn to name just one of many examples.. it’s not the physical of the heyday we remember.. day one patches, internet connections, server dependencies, and so on.. not to mention some games don’t even have the media but a downloadable code, or a physical copy that has 2mb of data to get you to start downloading off a server..

[@Swisshost]

Good point why PC win, it has a open system. So you don't lose games.

[@animeheavenx2362]

Also another point , people forget is physical games go on sale sometimes alot quicker and digital games are only on sale at certain times.

[@MythicSuns]

14:47 Dude, what's that game?! It looks awesome! 😮

[@michaelreitz7946]

100% agree with the guy at 3:10, internet is what made the difference. If you buy a physical game and still need to connect to the internet to download a patch or whatever than do you really own it?

[@stephenburt7635]

I still prefer to buy physical for some games so that I can share the game with my son once I am finished with it, and he does the same.

[@dschult3]

Heeeeey! I haven't seen a mash up video in a while! I'd love to see more of these. I love seeing KZbinrs I know, and I also love being introduced to others with similar interests.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

More to come!

[@Bludgeoned2DEATH2]

So happy to see Johnny from HappyConsoleGamer here ❤️

[@joeynolan304]

Metal Jesus you put it so perfectly! I was thinking the same point with physical music coming back. And I TOTALLY agree that these games are works of art. YOU ROCK!!!

[@chalk-one]

There's an online database called Does It Play. They test physical games on xbox, playstation, and nintendo consoles to determine if the disc/cartridge contains a fully playable v1.00, whether it requires a download to play, and whether it requires a patch to play bug free and what bugs you might encounter should you stick to the vanilla code. They mostly shatter the myth that all games need the internet to play from start to finish, or that discs are just licenses needed to download the full game. The folk in this video should know better.

[@Supernerdyhuman]

What an awesome video! Thank you for putting this together! I like having physical of game I really really love but don't mind digital for most games. I often will buy physical and then one digital copy later of the same game when it's really cheap, for convenience. I just hope that we get some protections / laws for the digital games we buy so we can truly "own" them.

[@skeletonrider6683]

I was so hoping Mark would be here and there he is. Thank you so much! Love classic game room and so happy it's back

[@MetalJesusRocks]

You bet!

[@adrianwilliams6577]

Unfortunately one day Gabriel Newell will no longer be with us, when Gabriel is gone the difficulties involved with accessing our digital content on Steam will be revealed...it's not a question of 'if' but 'when'.

[@personavisceration371]

We're better with both. On a different tangent, why don't folks bring up the hidden cost of digital: hard drive space. When you bought a physical piece of software (until about 5-10 years ago), you also bought the storage medium. Now, you're purchasing the storage medium separately. It may not be a huge cost for older ROMs with smaller file sizes, but current titles are only getting larger and thus that cost is still high. I wish more folks brought that up.

[@TechDeals]

Vinyl records and physical games aren't the same thing. Games need 457 patches across their lifetimes. The day one patch issue means that while you can buy a physical copy, you won't be able to play it without an account and server.

[@YonkersYank]

i would never own digital system, i dont even own digital games i refuse to participate in that.

[@cristobalc5425]

Great collab vid! I buy both & feel that both need to keep existing together.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I totally agree!

[@RetroGamingNook]

You are all so powerful on KZbin you should all sing an awareness song about saving Physical Gaming... For a change, I would actually embrace autotune, but just on solos. Cheers!

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Do our version of We Are the World? 😂

[@RetroGamingNook]

@@MetalJesusRocks That's the idea...🤔or more like "Sending Our Love Down the Well"

[@Cl04d]

Amazing show, as usual. I want this video physical please. :-)

[@PikaLink91]

8:20 That's the game I gifted her back when she went on record saying she would never get to own the first Harvest Moon. I could only afford to give her the cartridge though, the complete box was too expensive.

[@branscombe_]

physical records physical films physical games

[@acheronparthenopaeus3346]

What pisses me off is that the industry claims that physical games cost more, but they sell digital at the same price.

[@sirwalterii_2nd]

I have to disagree with the notion that most all physical games require a download to play them. I have no wifi internet. Most games I have purchased (on PS) don't require a download to play. Some games needed a patch to fix bugs but the game was still playable. I have a few physical Xbox games where a download was required. If that happens and if the install size If larger than my mobile Hotspot data I'll use a family members internet to download my stuff. For me Playstation 4/5 has been more user friendly when it comes to this topic.

[@joeg4707]

Great panel, MJR! There has been a resurgence in vinyl and even CDs. Those were supposed to have been eradicated by now. I think it's underestimated how much the marketplace wants the option to purchase physical entertainment. I'm hoping there remains a mix of physical and digital!. Ironically, during this push toward all-digital delivery of games, there's a simultaneous threat to curtail emulation (looking at you Nintendo). Preservation ultimately will be through emulation.

[@Sabagastache]

Physical versus digital isn't quite the right question to ask as much as whether or not a game is DRM free and allows digital backups. GOG is usual my go to in addition to my physical collection.

[@jonnyOysters]

It's also why I support cracking games. Not necessarily piracy. But since we can't own the games cracking games helps the preservation of them.

[@billywest1307]

Having a physical collection myself, i play digital games with my kids as well so i get it. My biggest issue is live service/online only games. As MJR mentioned, many corporate companies only care about the bottom dollar. When that old online game becomes unprofitable, you can bet on them pulling the plug. So i will tend to steer from them because i like to have the knowledge i can safely invest myself on a game and play it 5, 10, 20 years from now.

[@DeathMetalThrasher]

Great video. I'm curious what you all think about emulation. What do see happening in the future?

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I love emulation as it helps preserve the hardware side of the conversation! You need both to actually play those games, right?

[@DeathMetalThrasher]

​@MetalJesusRocks Yes & no. It depends if you care about playing backups legally or not. I know for an emulator like pcsx2 for example you can play your physical copies through that emulator. As long as you have a disc drive in your PC or laptop that can read them. You can also find and download roms and image files online of almost any game ever released. There's a lot of pirating going on there, but there's people who may own the games physically, but don't know how or don't want to make the effort of backing up their own physical copies of their games.

[@darrensoldan5972]

I first noticed it when they started releasing games with barely a game manual anymore it's more pages in different languages than an actual game manual sad

[@TheAlmostOtaku]

so for anyone not part of the anime community which there might be a few of you here recently a bigger company was sold off, they had a buy from our store and watch your anime on your store well after it was bought out that disappeared. If stuff like that happens or keeps happening then it will force consumers to go back to physical media.

[@datamouth]

omg Classic Game Room!!!

[@priorwitness]

of course Mark would ask that question at 15:57 🤣🤣😂😂

[@MetalJesusRocks]

This made me so happy. 😀

[@jbronxmick21]

This was a great video man

[@IMDLEGEND]

Indeed it was jbronxmick21!

[@jamesherman3750]

Happy Console Gamer is such an underrated gem

[@thebartertownconglomerate]

I would imagine there would be a market for after market repos of digital games to be created if everything turns digital 100%

[@robertbell1804]

There's no chance in hell I'm gonna waste my money on a all digital PlayStation.Nope not gonna happen.I'll just play the disc games I got now

[@snizzol]

Physical for life !

[@Bilal0830]

There is a whole community who make a living due to reselling games. Also not everyone can afford to buy all games, but we can always share easily with physical media.

[@Lunkjohnson]

It's kind of non-sense that they still charge you full price for a digital copy. I mean give us a discount like 10% then I'd go all digital for sure.

[@ericveilleux8539]

For me, I always see digital as tryout play, if you like it, you buy it physical. The big problem with that is the DLC epidemic were game developers release unfinished games just to beat the hype or to avoid releasing a sequel that they don't have enough confidence in.

[@JamesWilliams-fj8vf]

KEEP IT FAIR KEEP IT 50% PHYSICAL AND 50% NOTHING ELSE.

[@stuartcollins7616]

One thing none of you pointed out is that buying DRM free digital copies such as on GOG is actually more true ownership than physical, especially for many newer titles. You ever hear the phrase you can't have your cake and eat it too? Well with a DRM free digital copy, you are allowed to give a digital copy to your friend to play and you can still play your own copy too. Try doing that with an N64 cartridge! And even if they de-list the game from online storefronts, no one can delete the files and the exe from your local computer.

[@Lariv_]

Yeah, if we are going full digital then GOG policy would be the perfect way to do it.

[@BrandonTheAnimeGuy]

True and not true. I have a friend that had a WWE game on his PC. One day he went to play it and it was inactive and not allowed to play. Why? Because 2k, with their TOS scanned his system and found a program for editing that they do not like and banned him from playing their game. Be careful what you wish for.

[@Cylons83]

GOG has offline installers so that scenario wouldn’t apply here.

[@jonnyOysters]

@@BrandonTheAnimeGuy That's for a cracked game. You wouldn't have that with GOG DRM free games.

[@jamesp5780]

MJR, nice to see Robert and Wes, GotG is an awesome channel. Good insight from all your guests. And appreciated your vinyl love as always.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Rock on!

[@OnlyOneKich]

I’m okay with digital as long as it’s fair like physical. Here’s what I think. 1. Consumers should be able to refund or trial digital content before purchasing. (Purpose of digital, right) 2. Prices will be much higher with no alternative marketplaces on consoles. 3. The inability to resell digital games like physical ones prevents saving money on future purchases. 4. Limited edition games lack value in the digital world since they’re not packaged differently nor “limited” additional digital content does not cut it. 5. There’s no guarantee digital games will be available in the decades to come re download. 6. What happens if the company goes into liquidation that holds your digital games? Been physical since 1992 Enjoy the workout.

[@wtipton]

If you physically own the game, you also own the digital content provided you back it up. The big thing is that physical copies are no longer all the content. They're more like download codes. We'll be digital only in the next generation of consoles.

[@mistersurrealist]

Absolutely, it's inevitable. I'm at a point in my life that I cannot tolerate clutter anymore and I will support any store that sells DRM-free digital content. It's digital, but it's MINE.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

Physical media releases all day every day for me, physical media gives you options like multiple installs and option to trade or sell in future, ive bought digital if it's the solitary option and even then its usually done with some apprehension and regret. But each to their own i guess. Long live videogames regardless! 😎✌️

[@nonyabiz9340]

MJR is the dr dre of the gaming community, man has an eye for talent.

[@FXUnitYuki_WorstSwitchGame]

Those are his just buddies who are overrated ASF.

[@PikaLink91]

8:37 Ircha confimed to be an "older person" xD

[@chasesmay7237]

As time moves forward, the sheer number of games available has become insane. There are thousands and thousands of physical games now. If they ever stop making physical games, maybe I can get through some of my backlog lol

[@bladeofmird]

Wow seeing Mark again after all these years really brought back memories! Hope he's doing fine! Personally in an all-digital future and since i'm not interested in subscription services either i'll only buy 10% of the amount of games i buy now in each generation maybe even less and ONLY when their prices drop significantly. So basically i'll only buy the games i really know i will like from developers and studios that i trust. But having to wait for digital sales of new titles it will take a while so that means it will also take me longer to buy the new consoles. Thankfully i have a huge backlog of older games and i have no problem to play older titles. So i'm set.

[@MakoyUnggoy]

Mark and Classic Game Room, that was enough to make my day, cheers mate!

[@dtcharo]

I'm happy to see Mark doing video game content again even if a lot of it is just consolidating older videos into omnibus content. Also, I agree with Reggie that people need to sit down and explain the cost/benefit analysis when purchasing physical media to younger people. MJR gathered a nice collection of people to discuss the topic. I was really happy to see Tito show up as I've recently come across his channel and really enjoy his content. Thanks MJR for mentioning preservation as well. I'm glad that Kelsey is working hard to keep video game preservation alive.

[@Jalex0021]

Yep, GOG and similar sites would be our only hope at that point!

[@NekoShogun]

I personally had a doubling back between physical and digital. Around the Vita I decided to go primarily digital and after the 'store closure scare' I went real hard back into physical collecting. Honestly I don't think it had much of an impact on my buying habits for console, just handheld.

[@SadVIad]

Classic Game Room said it best. Buying modern games physically now still doesn't mean you own it because devs can still take the license away at anytime. The physical disk just acts like a key.

[@dopeCG909]

Call me old school, physical all day

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

If it goes all digital, I go all retro.

[@ItsASuckyName]

I only buy digital if it's very cheap and I don't care much about the game, if everything becomes digital I think my gaming hobby will slowly die. I have never had a disc fail on me...but I did have problems with accounts which caused me to lose games and saves. Physical is the way for me, it's nice to be able to buy and sell second hand and not be dependent on something or running the risk that someone hacks an account. Somehow having digital games is just less fun for me, it feels like I'm missing something.