In the last six months I have seen newer game releases, that are considered triple A tiles, release in digital format only. I’m not sure the thought process behind these decisions but I’m sure it has to do with trends on past sales of games, which boils down to profit. Profit speaks for itself, and decisions must be made, but can this outlook on having one format also hinder a games outreach and success or in the end will the company still make money?

What had prompted my thoughts on this topic was back in December I was given the opportunity to receive a free game of my choice. I had been eyeing up Alan Wake II for awhile and wanted to get the physical copy. I requested it and when they came back and told me that they could not find a physical version of the game, I went on a hunt for a version of it. Not realizing it did not exist. 

Once I found it was digital only, my next question was when will they release a physical copy? I could not find any information on it. I prefer physical, but I am not tied to it, I own more digital games then physical, but I always prefer something tangible. I don’t feel like I should pay full price when it comes to owning a digital copy because I usually see them drop in price quickly. Because of this I tend to wait until the price goes down significantly. This could be three months out or 3 years when I may decide to purchase it. This must affect the significance of sold copies and money made when the company is looking to make more in the series. Companies must know that they are limiting sales when only having the one format.

I want to note that during the time of writing this Alan Wake II had a physical release announcement. Though it is receiving a copy it will not be coming out until about a year after the digital version was released. I’m not sure how this will affect peoples purchasing of the game, but this will make me wait for its arrival.

So recently another game has taken the same path. Hellblade II also decided to go digital only, yet another game I am excited to play, but have decided to wait on. I’m sure sales will still be great, but again the company is losing money in physical a format. Though I have plenty of backlog to play, my fear is that more expensive triple A games will follow this format and I will have less of my favorite franchises available to collect physically and to enjoy day 1 versus day 1000.

Yes, this is a preference and yes, I know I can play other games to fill my time, but when you want to have something to showcase or collect, it will become more and more difficult to do so. What is your take on this? Do you want the option for both digital and physical or does it not affect you? What if they only offered physical versus digital, would you be disappointed? Let us know your thoughts on the matter.

Image Source: GameRant.com

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