Summary
Games preservation is a growing problem in the industry as it pushes further into subscription models and digital consoles in which ownership is fickle. Without physical copies, games exist solely on digital marketplacesthat will eventually shut down, building towards a future in which swaths of the medium’s history may be lost.
In some cases, physical media is now only available via limited editions. Widely released retro games are already sold at extortionate prices given their rarity, never mind physical releasesdesignedto be rare. Meanwhile, other publishers are dabbling inexclusively digital games like Hellblade 2.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, as publishers likeCapcomare thankfully sticking with physical even as many others in the industry toss it aside. “Given that a significant number of end users demand physical games we currently do not expect to eliminate physical products,” Capcom said inan official Q&Awhen asked about the decreasing number of players who buy physical copies.
Digital Has Bolstered Capcom’s Sales, However
Earlier in the Q&A, Capcom discussed how it used to approach selling video games in the past. New releases would hold shelf space in a physical store for around six months, but given that digital storefronts don’t need to rotate old games out to make way for the new, Capcom sees a steady stream of salesyearsafter a game’s release.
“Game makers have become able to sell games directly online, which allows us to carry out pricing strategies as well as discounts on past series titles in conjunction with the launch of a new release,” Capcom explained. “Thanks to this, unit sales continue to grow even today for titles such asResident Evil 7 Biohazard, which was released seven years ago, as well as forMonster Hunter: World, which was released six years ago.”
So, while an increasingly digital future does have huge risks for the preservation of the medium’s history, there are some upsides in how flexible these storefronts are. Just so long as physical media isn’t completely wiped out, digital can also keep older games in the zeitgeist.
