Summary
- Physical games are becoming scarce due to high prices and digital trends.
- Limited physical editions are not a guarantee for digital-only games.
- Collectors face high prices for older games due to rarity and seller tactics.
I always buy physical games over digital versions unless I have no other choice. I love having a physical game collection and displaying them alongside my figures and other nerdy merchandise. Sadly, it’s becoming more and more difficult to keep up a physical collection nowadays, whether it’s because of outrageous second-hand prices or new titles not receiving a physical launch at all.
Even when it’s announced that digital-only games are getting physical editions, it’s not guaranteed they will actually become a reality. I’m still waiting on that Hi-Fi Rush physical edition from Limited Run Games.
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Fewer and fewer people are buying physical games, too. No one wants to wait for a physical copy to arrive – they want to play games digitally the second they’re available. I can’t blame them either, as I’ve experienced numerous delays waiting for a physical copy of a new game to be delivered. The pain of waiting an extra entire week for my copy of Resident Evil 4 Remake to arrive because of stock issues is not something I’d wish on anyone. So why not go digital? It’s quicker, more convenient, and in the modern landscape, sometimes cheaper.
Good Physical Copies Are Becoming A Lost Art
Besides displaying them, there are also fewer reasons to buy physical games. Very, very few have anything other than a disc or game card inside the case now. I was pleasantly surprised by Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition having actual paper inside the case, but this is very much the exception. Lots of my physical Nintendo Switch titles don’t even have artwork on the inside. Some don’t even have a simple reverse of the front cover image – the inside is just white.
A lot of manuals are now either available in the games themselves or can be accessed online via a URL or QR code instead of being printed and included in the game case.
Companies clearly aren’t giving away anything for free these days. Want a physical map of the game? Gameplay tips? That’ll be £200 for a collector’s edition, please. Plus an extra £50 for the strategy guide. We used to get these things bundled in for nothing! Now, it’s just a piece of plastic to keep the game in. At least the artwork on the outside usually looks nice.
But new copies are nowhere near the biggest problem collectors face today.
Why Are We Paying More Than £60 For Nintendo DS Games?
It was recently my partner and I’s fifth anniversary, and she’d been wanting a physical copy of Dragon Quest 4 on Nintendo DS for a while, so I bought it for her. So, tell me why the cheapest option available was around £60, with plenty of listings going above £100? Dragon Quest 4 isn’t even one of the rarest DS games.
Any DS game worth buying is pretty much the same story. I’ve basically resigned myself to never owning a physical copy of my favourite Pokemon game, SoulSilver, because I’m not paying more than £100.
How did we get to this point? I remember paying £5 for a second-hand copy of Pokemon Emerald at GameStation as a child. For a legitimate copy of that game now (as you also have to wade through the thousands of fake copies), you’re looking at between £130-£200.
Sellers are preying on people’s nostalgia and desperation, with there being no other option for collectors to buy physical copies of older games.
It’s Only Going To Get Worse
As the years pass, we’ve seen each new generation of games go up higher and higher in second-hand value. 3DS games will be next on the chopping block, with some titles and systems already asking for obnoxious prices to own them at all.
As more and more people choose to buy digital, fewer physical copies will be in circulation. Those who do have physical copies to sell will, of course, bump up the price because it’s a rare find. That’s not even mentioning the games that get a limited physical run, which will naturally be even more rare and valuable in the eyes of sellers. We’re stuck in a cycle and there doesn’t seem to be a way out.
As a physical game collector, all I can do is continue to buy my games physically when they come out, and look out for good second-hand deals, rather than giving in to the price-gouging sellers. I hope you’ll do the same.
Next
Even On Their Way Out, Physical Games Still Hit Different
I miss the ritual of opening cases, reading manuals, and connecting with people.
