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Why are we afraid of digital consoles? - Walla! The gaming channel

2021-11-08T15:01:25.561Z


The entry of consoles without CD drives into the market changes the image and consumption habits of the players


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Why are we afraid of digital consoles?

The entry of consoles without CD drives into the market changes the image and consumption habits of the players

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  • Gaming

  • Game consoles

  • XBox

  • PlayStation

David Ben-Nun

Monday, 08 November 2021, 16:52 Updated: 16:55

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(Photo: Official Website, Microsoft)

The last few years have caused many changes in the gaming world.

People today are exposed to much more information and games, and consume significantly more content than ever before.

In the new generation of consoles, both Microsoft and Sony - have released digital editions, ie consoles that receive only digital content, and do not include a CD drive alongside consoles with a Blu-ray drive as was also common in the previous generation.

Just for comparison we will note that on the fringes of the previous generation, Microsoft released a limited amount of digital console.



The two companies, both the American and the Japanese competitor - each took a different approach to the same console.

While the latter (Sony) opted for the same version of the PS5 in terms of hardware for the more expensive version with the drive, Microsoft decided to remove more elements from the XBOX SERIES X version and therefore got a slightly hardware-enhanced version: the XBOX SERIES S console is small, light and mostly significantly cheaper From her, who is also able to run all the games of her older and more prestigious sister.

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The Xbox Series S (left) is considered a digital console and is relatively low compared to its big sister - the Series X (right)

(Photo: Official Website, Microsoft)

It is still evident that there is a certain apprehension in some of the market, both the consumers, and no less the stores (and especially the small ones among them) to purchase a digital version. It is necessary to understand the reasons for this: for consumers, it is usually a habit to purchase the games in physical copies (or as we say - "discs"), while comparing prices between the various stores. Clearly, purchasing a physical product gives a sense of added value to a product that also comes in a fancy package, and sometimes to our sense it is worth more than a product that will be streamed to us through some digital store.



When we purchase a product in the store, if the packaging is slightly damaged, we will not touch it (unless accompanied by a "special" discount from the store owners), but the exact same product ordered from one Chinese site or another may reach us in a brown carton (or even a bag) - We will be happy to accept it as long as it is complete and looks normal.



Another reason could be the possibility to switch between the different games, whether between friends, or in stores that have a kind of game libraries for a certain fee, which is lower than purchasing a new game.



The store owners who for years have been accustomed to selling a large number of games from all platforms, are not happy to accept the drives without the drives into their laps.

This is understandable as it is sometimes an injury to the core of their business that has yielded them handsome profits over the years.

At Sony, the situation is different: both the model with a physical CD drive and the "digital" model have the same hardware

(Photo: Screenshot, Sony)

In the face of all these claims there are facts and trends to which both end consumers and store owners are exposed.

The digital stores of all manufacturers, and this includes the 2 in question and even Nintendo, are accumulating most of the sales volume of digital content today

. It is estimated in the market that at least 80% of the content purchased for consoles is made directly in front of those stores, and not through the physical stores in malls or neighborhoods. That is, if we purchased five games a year for a particular console, a purchase that at most only one game was purchased at a physical store.



Monthly Paid Games Service

- Currently only Microsoft has a monthly paid service in Israel - XBOX GAME PASS - which offers hundreds of games available without limitation. Although Sony offers services like the PS PLUS where it provides free games every month, it is not similar to GAME PASS.



It is very likely that other console manufacturers will connect to this idea in the future and offer their own service. And so we will enter a competition similar to what is happening in the TV market - between Netflix and Amazon, Disney +, Apple and the like, where what determines who is chosen will depend on the amount of investment in the quality of the various games offered in each service. At the end of the day Sony has already stated that it is preparing its answer to GAME PASS, so all that is left is to wait.



Keep in mind that digital media requires a CD drive, which not only makes the console more expensive, but also causes accelerated wear of the device, and especially of the game itself, which is prone to scratches and breaks over time. Purchasing a game digitally is stored with the user forever, and can be transferred from a console of the same company between generations and years, as long as the platform and generational changes allow for the existing version - as in today's situation where both Sony and Microsoft release updates for intergenerational games.



It should be noted that the prices of the various games, although it is clear that in the disc version can be found at lower prices than the digital test tubes - especially during the launch period - over time, and especially during periods of different aggressive sales, the same games can be found at a cheaper price. Ultimate of the requested game).

All we have to do is be a little patient and wait for the same opportunities, which will come and come.

Services like Game Pass may change manufacturers' perceptions in the not-too-distant future (Photo: Official Website, Microsoft)

Therefore we see that with all the desire to show off a new game and its fancy packaging, there are many more significant benefits to purchasing through the digital store, or even refraining from purchasing and joining a games subscription for a low monthly fee. It turns out that those who subscribe to these services have a pattern similar to those of Netflix-type subscribers - we would see a greater consumption of different content, and in fact a greater familiarity with what the gaming world knows how to offer.



If in the past after buying a console we played three or four major games every year, today we can learn about a new game every day we want, thus also being exposed to new communities and different industries that we would not be sure to put our full money on.



Hence also the chance of the stores to produce a new revenue mechanism.

The game shelves can be replaced with those that offer accessories from all worlds.

If all we knew to play so far was the annual and beloved FIFA game, maybe suddenly exposed to a flight simulator, as part of the subscription we pay for every month, and if we want to further upgrade the experience, we will look for the right flight joystick for it.



The same goes for car racing, which causes an increase in the amount of rudders and various race fees available in the market.

And if we wanted and saw a war game, and we would like to upgrade and reduce our reaction speed in front of our competitors - we will know how to find among the various elite controllers in the stores.



So is the future digital?

It seems that this is where we are making huge strides, and it turns out that there is nothing wrong with that.



The author is the XBOX director at Banda Magnetic, the official importer and distributor in Israel.

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Source: walla

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