Economics of Physical Games
It's the end of the road, and an era
PlayStation has announced the end of physical game production for their platform. Without discs being produced the options for gamers and physical movie viewers are shrinking even further. The all digital future seems to be closer than ever.
Ownership and Control
When spending your money online, you will often see the term "Buy" or "Purchase", however this does not mean you are buying the item itself, but instead a temporary license to use the software at the sellers wishes.
You may not own the software itself, however you do own the physical plastic and layers that make up your physical disc where the software is stored on. That is your property that cannot be taken away from you.
Market Competition
“The great danger to the consumer is the monopoly— whether private or governmental. His most effective protection is free competition at home and free trade throughout the world. The consumer is protected from being exploited by one seller by the existence of another seller from whom he can buy and who is eager to sell to him.” – Milton Friedman
If you'd like to purchase content for your system, you can either go to the PlayStation store online or your local retailer to obtain software physically. Starting in January 2028 the former option will be removed.
Legacy of Games and Censorship
Did you play GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas back in the day? You probably spent plenty of time listening to the in-game radio. Now hop into a car in the "Definitive Edition" of the games, you'll notice that 25 songs have been removed across the games. If you still have those original copies, you can still experience the game how it was officially intended.
Games with content you can't experience anymore
- Grand Theft Auto Online
- Fortnite (Licensed Content)
- Destiny 1 & 2
- World of Warcraft (expansion dependent)
- Apex Legends (Retired maps)
- Club Penguin & Club Penguin Island(Entire games)
Digital games you can't buy anymore
- Overwatch 1
- Super Mario 3D All Stars
- Forza Horizon 4
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (original OST)
- GTA 3, Vice CIty, San Andreas (Original Releases)
- Pokemon releases before Let's Go PIkachu and Eevee (few exceptions)
Many modern digital games and live service titles are constantly being updated and changed, to the point in some cases where you can't play the original release experience anymore. We've seen this many times in the industry in games like Fortnite, Destiny, Overwatch, and Grand Theft Auto.
When Digital Goods Die
On the same day as the announcement of physical game production coming to an end. PlayStation also announced the shutdown and closure of digital storefronts for the Playstation 3 and Vita systems. Proving that digital goods will not remain available forever, meaning future generations will be unable to purchase many titles available today. The PlayStation store launched in 2006 shortly after the PS3, meaning we can expect the digital storefront for the PS4 to shut down sometime around 2032, less than 6 years from the time of this writing.
Some games affected when the PS3 storefront shuts down
- The House of the Dead 4 (Digital only title)
- Tokyo Jungle
- Puppeteer
- 3D Dot Game Heroes
- God of War: Ascension
- The Sly Cooper Collection
- Ratchet and Clank Collection
- Infamous Collection