VideoGame_Discussion

This has been going on for a while. A ton of indie games that are worth $14.99 for Switch released in such a format for the holidays. I think at a certain price point it is unreasonable for them to make a cart with it due to the cart costing a bit.

I remember the Vita doing this with a handful of games (last US MLB release and Minecraft for example, but mostly some European releases), and as ued222 said, it's been going on for a while on Switch. 2K loves to do this on Switch, though boxed US covers have a large banner at the top of the cover art.

'Legend of Mana' is interesting, though, because there is a cart version. I have the Asian/English copy, and it's a cart. It looks like the PEGI (European) release is a code in the box.

There are a lot of these games on Switch where it's just a download code in the box. The most recent Just Dance also does it on the PlayStation and Xbox consoles too.

Sony did that with the US release of Patapon 2 on the PSP. Game case, manual, and voucher code, but no disc.

Alaisiagae wrote:

Sony doing this with the PSP is the earliest form of physical digital codes I've seen, discounting PC.

It makes sense to me. You see a game at a store and can buy it. Makes sense for the common consumer to have more exposure for a digital only game

I feel like it made more sense in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Digital marketplaces like the eShop, PSN, XBL were still in their infancy stages, and many still had their consoles disconnected from the Internet. Hell, the 360 didn't even originally launch with wi-fi capabilities. Having Physical Digital games in physical retail enviornments made sense, as it provided a way for customers to transition and gain exposure to digital games and digital storefronts.

Nowadays, almost everyone in the gaming space is fully aware of digital games and their marketplaces, with many of them even switching to full digital. I feel like the biggest draw of digital gaming is the instant access, which is lost when purchasing these Physical Digitals.

The one case I can see Physical Digital being useful in the 2020s is just the fact that it increases the availability of some lesser known titles. This does allow games, that were previously digital-only, access to a physical store SKU. The issue I see is that most of these Physical Digital games are shovelware. If quality digital-only games were being released this way, it would make more sense, given those games' best shot at physical is typically a limited print release.

Frank wrote:

Only other reason I can think of is for having something physical to wrap for gifting.

benstylus wrote:


That's true, although when I've bought digital codes as gifts for friends or family in the past, I tend to just write or print the code in a card, and proceed to customize it. Seems a bit more personal that way.

Although I feel most people would just rather buy it, wrap it, and call it a day.