The Future of Gaming Looks Convenient... and Terrible

So PlayStation announced they are going to stop making physical discs for their games in 2028 and it has created an internet debate. Going forward you can only download digital copies. How the fuck is this decision even debatable? It's a terrible decision every way you look at it. 

I'm not anti-digital. Before someone starts typing that I'm living in the past, let me save you the effort. I buy some digital games. I like convenience. The problem isn't digital games.

The problem is when digital becomes your only choice.

Those are two completely different conversations, but people keep acting like they're the same thing. Because despite what the marketing departments would love for you to believe, owning a physical copy and buying a digital license are not the same thing. Not legally. Not practically. Not even a tiny bit.

You Don't Own Digital Games. You Own a License.

One of the most irritating parts of this entire conversation is how many people genuinely think buying a digital game is the same shit as buying a physical one. 

When you buy a physical game, you own that copy. You can lend it to your brother, sell it on Facebook, throw it in a fire, piss on it, put it on a shelf, or leave it in a box for twenty years. Nobody has to approve what you do with it because that shit is MF yours.

Digital purchases don't work that way.

When you click "Buy," you're buying a license governed by a lengthy bullshit agreement that nobody reads. That license gives you access to the game under very specific conditions. Those conditions can change. Services can shut down. Accounts can be suspended. Licenses can expire. The game in your digital library isn't permanent, it's yours as long as they let you have it.

People love responding with, "Well, they never have removed one from my digital library." I've never been attacked by a shark, but I tend to listen to shark sighting warnings posted at the beach.

The point isn't that every digital game is going to vanish tomorrow. The point is that it fucking can. 

Games Are Already Disappearing Forever

We've already seen games be deleted from digital storefronts because licensing agreements expired, publishers shut down, or companies decided they no longer wanted to support them.

That's what makes physical media so important. It isn't just about convenience. It's about preservation. Video games are part of our culture. They tell stories. They represent entire generations of kids just having fun. God, I can totally see my nongamer readers rolling their eyes.

Less Competition Means Higher Prices

Right now, if I want to buy a new PlayStation game, I have options. Maybe Amazon has it on sale. Sometimes Best Buy throws in a gift card. Costco randomly undercuts everyone, and a month later someone sells their copy on Facebook because they already finished it. 

Now imagine physical games disappear. Where exactly are you shopping? If every purchase has to go through Sony's digital storefront, there isn't much of a marketplace. Sony decides the price. Sony decides when games go on sale. Sony decides how much of a discount you're getting and how long that discount lasts. Like wtf, why are people okay with this.

People always respond by saying digital games go on sale all the time. The difference is those sales happen because Sony decides they should happen and because they are competing with the physical discs. Competition gives consumers leverage. A single storefront gives the company leverage. Why give them even more?

Why Are So Many Gamers Defending This?

People are seriously defending this shit. Sony announces something that actually gives us fewer options. Someone points it out, and then the comments fill with people acting like you've personally insulted their family. Wtf. 

You can totally love PlayStation and still call out their bullshit. I love Nintendo, but they make some dumbass choices. Microsoft has made a shitload of them over the years. Steam isn't perfect either, so sit down and chill computer gamers. Being a fan shouldn't mean pretending every decision is perfect.

Convenience Is Great Until It's Your Only Option

A big misunderstanding in this conversation is that people think anyone criticizing Sony's decision wants digital games to stop. That's not the argument at all. I like digital games. The convenience is cool, sometimes I want to play a game and I buy it and download it within minutes.

The problem is when convenience becomes the only option. If you want to download every game you buy, cool shit. Keep doing it. If you want to build a collection, shop for used copies, or know you'll still be able to play that game twenty years from now, you should be able to do that too.

Maybe I'm completely wrong about all of this. Probably not. I am never wrong. Maybe twenty years from now every single digital game I've ever purchased will still be sitting safely in my library. Maybe every publisher will honor every license forever, every digital storefront will remain online forever, and nobody will ever lose access to something they paid for forever. I bet literally 100% of you read that and already know that shit aint gonna happen.

Thanks Everyone Except PlayStation 

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Thanks again for being here.

Also, I want to point out I know I am being super dramatic and felt the top image matched my level and that is rare.