Game news “The future is no longer physical” Ubisoft wants you to ditch your video game boxes for good!
Bad news for physical defenders. Ubisoft wants you to ditch your video game boxes for good.
The end of physical to the detriment of digital? In any case, that’s what Philippe Tremblay-Gauthier, director of subscriptions at Ubisoft, thinks. In an interview given to GamesIndustryhe returned to the evolution of video games which tends more and more towards digital. For him, it is clear that physical games have a good chance of no longer existing in the future.
“ One of the things we’ve found is that gamers are accustomed, much like DVDs, to having and owning their games. A change in consumption must occur » declares Philippe Tremblay-Gauthier. “ People have become accustomed to not owning their CD or DVD collection. It’s a transformation that’s been a little slower to happen in games. Players are feeling more and more comfortable in this area. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. It has not been deleted. So it’s about getting comfortable with not owning your game » explains the subscription director.
Consoles are still resisting the invader that is digital
This change in video game consumption has been drastic on PC, which now only offers digital versions of games, disc players having gradually disappeared from the towers. However, consoles are still resisting this market transformation by continuing to have titles in physical versions. One of the main anti-digital arguments is that, unless the game is DRM (digital rights management) free, you don’t actually own a title. In reality, you are just renting it from the distributor you buy it from who can decide to remove it from your library at any time.
A sword of Damocles over digital libraries?
For example, Sony has recently been under intense controversy. Playstation said it was going to remove 1,300 Discovery Channel shows whether you bought them or not in December 2023. Fortunately for users, the Japanese firm managed to renew its agreement with Warner Bros, owner of Discovery, to continue to distribute the shows on its platform. Should we see this kind of announcement as a reminder that a sword of Damocles hangs over exclusively digital libraries?
Philippe Tremblay-Gauthier is also aware of this debate around games in digital format. It is for this reason that the company continues to offer to buy their games, but also to “rent” them with the Ubisoft+ service (subscription allowing access to the studio’s title even on the day of their release depending on the formula chosen as is the case with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown). “ The goal is not to force users to follow one path or another. We offer purchase, subscription, and it’s the player’s preference that is important here. We are seeing that some people who purchase are now choosing to subscribe, but everything works » he says.