5 Reasons Why a Digital-Only Future Would Be Awesome

A Cheaper Way to Play

Games are an expensive hobby. There’s no denying that. Once you’ve taken into account the cost of purchasing the hardware, any additional accessories, the games themselves, and any subscriptions, you’re looking way above the initial price tag of the system itself. While some players have enough disposable income to get absolutely every new release that they want, not all of us are quite so lucky. Even so, doesn’t everyone want to save themselves a few extra bucks whenever they can?

A digital-only future has its own fair share of niggling issues that need to be resolved. Namely, the fact that fast internet speeds just aren’t available for everybody right now to facilitate it. Not without pissing off a lot of people, anyway. But it could have its fair share of perks, namely in passing some of the savings publishers make onto consumers by reducing the cost of games. We’ve already seen instances of digital games being priced lower than their physical counterparts, but by cutting out the middle-man retailers, costs can be cut. Whether this would actually happen is down to the discretion of the publishers, but just look at PC gaming, where titles tend to be significantly cheaper on the platform than their PS4 and Xbox One counterparts (other factors do play a part here, though).

Even so, there are still other ways the digital-only future can make gaming more affordable. We frequently see digital store sales slashing the prices of games, and if more money is being spent on these platforms, chances are we’d see these kinds of sales more often. Or… there’s always that subscription-based model that Xbox Game Pass is a prime example of, too.

A Massive, Subscription-Based Library

Xbox Game Pass is a pretty genius idea. Essentially the Netflix of video games on the Xbox One, players can jump in, check out over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, download whatever they want to play to their system, and keep it for as long as their subscription is running. At $9.99 a month, you’re actually only looking at the cost of two AAA releases for an entire year’s subscription. And now, considering we know Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and all first-party exclusives other will be coming to Game Pass on day one, there’s money to be saved this year alone.

Xbox Game Pass’ library is fairly heavy on old 360 games right now, but this is a promising sign moving forward that we could get an all-encompassing subscription service at some time in the future. Sure, having physical copies of games allows for trade-ins, but $120 a year for an ever-growing library looks incredibly good value for money compared to $60 per new, AAA release.

No Disc Changing… or Clutter

Don’t act like you’ve not sighed heavily at the thought of getting out of your comfy chair because you’ve got to switch your Call of Duty disc for Madden. Having to change discs during a marathon session with your friends is one of those small inconveniences we’d just be better off without. And we can be without it.

Those who have already wholeheartedly embraced the digital-only future will tell you with a smug look on their face about the convenience of quickly switching games on the fly from the comfort of the aforementioned seat. It sounds dumb. It kinda is dumb, but when it comes to changing that disc again, we all know you’ll sigh again.

Aside from helping us to avoid exercise at all costs, the digital future also has the whole ‘no clutter’ thing going for it. While some out there love to have massive physical libraries to gawk at from time to time, having tons of vivid green or blue boxes can cause a bit of unnecessary clutter, not to mention the fact that all that plastic isn’t great for the environment (or our dwindling oil resources). Is it going to change the world on its own? Probably not, but it’s a step in the right direction all the same.

Out of Stock Becomes a Thing of the Past

You’ll rarely walk into your local GameStop, or head over to Amazon and find that the latest Madden, Call of Duty, or FIFA game is out of stock. But when it comes to the smaller, more niche titles, physical copies can become a little more difficult to find. Whether they’re just straight up out of stock at your preferred retailer, or you’re having to scour the likes of eBay or Amazon’s other listed sellers with hiked up prices, it just doesn’t seem right that you’re missing out or having to pay more.

That’s the beauty of digital. There is no ‘stock’ per sé unless you wanna talk license keys, but even then, these don’t have the same logistical problems as shipping out another 100,000 discs all around the world. Though buying digitally is, of course, an option players have right now, the current internet infrastructure just isn’t there for people not to be waiting days at a time for a download to be complete. Hopefully, when it’s time to embrace the digital-only future, this will no longer be a concern.

Instantaneously Getting Games

We’re a fairly impatient bunch, us gamers. We don’t want to wait until 9 AM to go and pick up the new release from the store. We want it the second it’s officially the release date, and so midnight releases became a thing at the likes of GameStop. But, when it’s cold, pouring down with rain, and dark, you don’t really want to go outside in the first place, let alone stand around in it for a couple hours. Once again, going digital provides a far more attractive alternative.

Already on the Xbox and PlayStation Stores, players can pre-order the biggest titles of the year, and have their systems automatically download them a few days prior to release. It’s perfect. You can literally play the game from the second it becomes available, complete with updates, from the second it goes live without having to set foot outdoors. It’s more time-efficient and more instantaneous than the old midnight launches, and though it might be sad to bid them farewell, it’s generally better for players, too.