Game news “We support physical support” After the wave of worrying rumors, Xbox is still trying to reassure players
Rumors about the end of physical support are increasingly worrying players. Xbox has spoken out and is trying to reassure them.
Will we soon see the end of physical media? This is what is increasingly worrying gamers, particularly from Microsoft. In fact, the company is betting a lot on its Gamepass which is a service allowing access to a catalog of games from different publishers via a monthly subscription. In addition, as with Sony, the American firm has two different versions for its next gen console. The Xbox Series To finish, several Xbox exclusives will be released exclusively in digital format. As a glaring example, there is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II scheduled for May 21, 2024.
Will Xbox continue to support physical media?
Some people then wonder if the manufacturer will continue to create machines that support the physical format. Especially in September the company had unintentionally unveiled a new all-digital version of the Xbox Series. Phil Spencer, current director of Xbox Game Studios, therefore wanted to clarify things. “ We support physical media, but we do not need to promote it disproportionately to customer demand » he nuanced in the columns of Game File. “ We deliver games physically and digitally. We just follow what the customers are doing and I think our role in running Xbox is to meet expectations. Currently, the majority of our customers purchase games digitally » explains the manager.
See Xbox Series X on Amazon
Sales of game boxes falling
If we refer to the data of GamesIndustry.biz, boxed game purchases will only represent 5% of the video game market in 2023. These sales brought in $9.5 billion worldwide at the end of November 2023, down -3.8% year-on-year. A statistic which falls to 1% on PC. Even if digital progress is slow with an increase of 0.8% between 2023 and 2022, this still represents $174.5 billion..
“Getting rid of physical media is not strategic for us”
Phil Spencer then concedes that the cost of disc players has a real impact since this interests fewer and fewer players even if consoles remain the last consumer devices equipped with a player. “ However, our strategy is not based on going completely digital. Getting rid of physical media is not strategic for us »However, reassured the manager of Xbox Game Studios.
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