All purpose Sales and Sales Rumours and Anecdotes [2021 Edition]

[see colon]

Same if someone was going to buy a used ps4 or xbox one . The S is $25 a month via all access. You'll spend $600 over the two years but of course you get game pass ultimate. The initial money you'd spend. Heck on gamestop it appears the PS4 slim black is $280 used ! Wow the xbox one phat is $240. Yea def I would say do all access on the s or x over any last gen console

Gamestop sells PS4 Pro and One X used for $390 also. If you are getting into gaming fresh, as in you don't have a console at all, the Series S is a deal at $300 when you compare it to last gen, but I would agree that a Series X or PS5 would probably be the better overall deal.

 

[goonergaz]

Have a look at the financial reports of large game publishers like EA and Activision and Ubisoft, they usually have statements around the increase of digital goods. There may be some caveats about it, but thats usually where industry analysts like ZHugeX make their statements about the digital proliferation.

1) I mean
https://screenrant.com/digital-game-sales-consoles-outnumber-physical-first-time/
As of july 30th Ea had 52% of its console games sold digital , Take 2 had 55% for FY 2020 , Sony had 51% of PS4 games in FY2020 as digital

And here when you look at PC and Console
https://www.statista.com/statistics/190225/digital-and-physical-game-sales-in-the-us-since-2009/#:~:text=Digital and physical game sales,U.S. 2009-2018, by format&text=In 2018, a record 83,were sold in physical form.
Physical sales in 2018 were only 17% of the market.

I was referring to the "lower income bracket" which I stupidly failed to bold! There's zero evidence that people who are price sensitive are buying more digital than physical given a straight choice.

2) No I don't have kids , I do have nieces and nephews and I am the Cool uncle some how. So I tend to be the one who sets up their quest or gets them the new console from work. Your right there are some games that aren't on game pass. That is correct no way around it. However in a given year there are plenty of games they want that are on game pass. So at the end of the day they would be buying either the non game pass games plus game pass games either new or used , or they would be buying game pass and then the games they want that aren't on game pass.

Both my older nephews (10-13) are into Apex and call of duty warzone which are both FTP and they both play a lot of halo and gears which are part of game pass. They also both stream a ton to their phones on xcloud. which is something they can't do with their physical copies.

I wasn't suggesting you weren't the cool uncle, just that you don't have to budget to your kids gaming habits. However you paint it, for GPU to be VFM there would have to be 2 AAA full price titles per year value. And with games leaving the service (which some may feel they have to buy) and games missing it's hard to know...and if you're breadline/on a tight budget the last thing you want is to have to shell out an additional £60 you didn't expect and with GPU you have nothing to show for your money.

There is also now the rumor that all EA games will be game pass day one.

Rumours are just that, I'd add also that they aren't even on EA play at the moment so...unlikely to be true...be great if it were tho!

3) You already have a monthly cost for Live or PSN + however. Adding ultimate over game pass is $5 a month. Also at the end of the day your still going to be shelling out a lot of money for physical games. A new game is $60-70 now and even buying used and selling back your going to be spending money. There is no clear scenario where one is better than the other. Its up to the individual to decided. But don't for get

You can 1) Buy physical either new or used and you can trade / sell when your done. Buy xbox live or psn to play those games online with friends or 2) Buy Game pass ultimate which has xbox live and allows you to play through the game pass catalog and gives you xcloud or 3) do all of it

I can buy a physical copy of a game for less than digital (that's one saving right off the bat), then I can sell it on to put towards my next purchase. Again, GPU is not a silver bullet and you have nothing at the end if you let your sub lapse...or let's say over 5 years spend £600 and have not one game you own.

4) How is sony making more of the digital system vs the physical ? Its the same system right ? But one has a $20-$30 disc drive in it and costs $100 more and the other one lacks said disc drive and costs $100 less. Seems like they would make more money off the physical edition still ? So they have more of an incentive of selling the console where they make the most or loose the least ?

Also from what I can see in the States both the x and ps5 sell for similar prices and both have trouble passing the $1k range as the upper limit.

They make more from the games and lack of being able to sell on digital copies - which means more digital sales and more profit.

It all depends. We both agree that in terms of last gen and the $300 price point the S is king. You say that the Ps5 DE is a better proposition for the extra money and I agree in some cases. But what if I was an xbox 360 owner and still have a bunch of the games , xbox one owner with a bunch of games ? Both ? The ps5 doesn't play any of those games while the series s will play any of the ones I have digital. If i was a large physical purchaser then the $200 for the series x would be the best purchase.

Then there is another scenario which is a person limited on space the ps5 is gigantic compared to the S. Right now for me that doesn't matter I have plenty of space. But I remember how big the dorms my friends had or some of our first apartments. I also know people who move from one place to another and would want a much smaller and lighter console View attachment 5499

Aside from that I would wager for people who have $400 or $500 to spend the xbox series x and ps5 in both formats are better purchases . The xbox series x gets you twice the storage capacity , the ultra hd bluray drive and a much more powerful and capable machine while still having access to all of microsofts services like game pass. The ps5 de would get you into the sony eco system . The disc drive one would allow you to access the ps4 library dirt cheap with used games.

I would actually tell a person who had $300 now to spend on a console to just do a series x all access. Its $35 a month and you get the x and game pass ultimate . Payments are 2 years so your paying $840. Of course its a lot more than a $300 system sure. But you get access to hundreds of games off the bat plus xbox live. That $300 you had saved will get you what 8 months of payments towards the system. So during that 8 months you can put more money on the side to continue payments or that $35 may be money you can easily put together each month.

Same if someone was going to buy a used ps4 or xbox one . The S is $25 a month via all access. You'll spend $600 over the two years but of course you get game pass ultimate. The initial money you'd spend. Heck on gamestop it appears the PS4 slim black is $280 used ! Wow the xbox one phat is $240. Yea def I would say do all access on the s or x over any last gen console

There are obviously variants within the purchase of a system, but you said if someone was new to gaming.

Gamestop sells PS4 Pro and One X used for $390 also. If you are getting into gaming fresh, as in you don't have a console at all, the Series S is a steal at $300 when you compare it to last gen, but I would agree that a Series X or PS5 would probably be the better overall deal.

Corrected.

 

[eastmen]

I was referring to the "lower income bracket" which I stupidly failed to bold! There's zero evidence that people who are price sensitive are buying more digital than physical given a straight choice.

and like i said even that segment has to be moving to digital because digital keeps growing.

Look at it this way , the new biggest game of the year comes out and everyone wants it right ? You can buy it for $60 new on a disc or $60 digital. That is how it works. Now some times you can wait and a retail copy might go on sale before a digital copy but that is happening less at least in the states because retail companies are ordering less units. Then you can buy a used copy , gamestop and amazon will have a used copy sometimes just $5 less than new. Your new copy you can trade in but you will get $30 or so for that copy esp as you hold it longer and longer . Sometimes a month or two after release gamestop and amazon offer less than $30 for a trade in. Even low income your constantly feeding more money into the machine to get the newest games. At some point physical will go bye bye.

I wasn't suggesting you weren't the cool uncle, just that you don't have to budget to your kids gaming habits. However you paint it, for GPU to be VFM there would have to be 2 AAA full price titles per year value. And with games leaving the service (which some may feel they have to buy) and games missing it's hard to know...and if you're breadline/on a tight budget the last thing you want is to have to shell out an additional £60 you didn't expect and with GPU you have nothing to show for your money.

But its $10 vs $15. If you buy an xbox and want to play cod and doom and halo they all require gold to play online. Same on playstation. So your really talking about $5 in added costs per month for gamepass. So your talking about the cost of 1 full title a year. Or in the case of Sony less than 1 full priced game a year

Rumours are just that, I'd add also that they aren't even on EA play at the moment so...unlikely to be true...be great if it were tho!

We will have to see , E3 is just around the corner !

I can buy a physical copy of a game for less than digital (that's one saving right off the bat), then I can sell it on to put towards my next purchase. Again, GPU is not a silver bullet and you have nothing at the end if you let your sub lapse...or let's say over 5 years spend £600 and have not one game you own.

I can buy a game digitally for less than a used copy sometimes and I don't have to worry about issues with the disc nor spend money to get it shipped to me or drive to a store to get it . I also have the added benefit of not having to worry about loosing a physical item and loosing access to my games.

I remember when I made my nephew and nieces switch over to digital. At first my siblings and wife's siblings thought I was nuts until the youngest one lost her switch when they went to Maine. My sister in law and brother in law were pissed that they had to spend another $300 on a switch but I said to them at least there was only that one physical game she lost with it , imagine if those 15 games on the system were all physical ?

They make more from the games and lack of being able to sell on digital copies - which means more digital sales and more profit.

Of course its great for companies making games. Its also great for the customer. I've been digital on pc only since steam hit.

There are obviously variants within the purchase of a system, but you said if someone was new to gaming.


Corrected.

Yes

 

[Deleted member 11852]

and like i said even that segment has to be moving to digital because digital keeps growing.

How are you determining that people more budget conscious are those using digital more? For the last year, any increase in digital can certainly be attributed to the pandemic.

If you want games cheap, digital is most definitely not the way to go. Digital is often more expensive than buying stuff cheap from retailers, or second hand from eBay or just swapping games with friends, colleagues and acquittances.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

By the beginning of next generation physical will be a thing of the past. Just like CDs for music. Probably sooner even.

XSS will come into its own when it is $200 with 3+ free months of GamePass and you can take it home and play the latest Halo, Gears, Forza, Forza H, Minecraft, Fable, Avowed, Starfield, Elder Scrolls VI, Perfect Dark, Everwild, Sea of Thieves, Hellblade 2, Doom, Wolfenstein etc... (35 dev teams blah blah blah ....) right when you get home. Sony can't hope to compete with that IMO. Most people just won't admit it to themselves yet. If they close the EA deal and Battlefield, Madden and other sports games are on it Day 1 you may as well write Sony's obituary. I realize we're potentially 5 years away from MS having all the pieces in place, but if I were Sony I would be panicking right now.

 

[goonergaz]

How are you determining that people more budget conscious are those using digital more? For the last year, any increase in digital can certainly be attributed to the pandemic.

If you want games cheap, digital is most definitely not the way to go. Digital is often more expensive than buying stuff cheap from retailers, or second hand from eBay or just swapping games with friends, colleagues and acquittances.

I know, it couldn't possibly be that people who are a bit more affluent are buying more digitally! Heck, I bought both the XSS and PS5 digital - clearly I'm not buying any physical games*

*actually I'm just swapping to disk as digital just too high to justify - £25 for Sackboy 2nd hand vs £52 in a digital sale!! Will be able to sell it on to help towards next game too.

 

[goonergaz]

I can buy a game digitally for less than a used copy sometimes and I don't have to worry about issues with the disc nor spend money to get it shipped to me or drive to a store to get it . I also have the added benefit of not having to worry about loosing a physical item and loosing access to my games.

I have never, ever had issues with physical. Yes you can EVENTUALLY, POSSIBLY get digital copies for less than physical. Sometimes. I've also never lost a disk lol
edit - on the access part, how does that work with no internet I wonder? Also, how about playing games that's aren't downloaded and you have to download 50GB?

I remember when I made my nephew and nieces switch over to digital. At first my siblings and wife's siblings thought I was nuts until the youngest one lost her switch when they went to Maine. My sister in law and brother in law were pissed that they had to spend another $300 on a switch but I said to them at least there was only that one physical game she lost with it , imagine if those 15 games on the system were all physical ?

We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel - extreme outliners to prove how great digital is!? Wow. Maybe these kids should take more care of the $300+ product they are carrying around?

 

[goonergaz]

Most people just won't admit it to themselves yet. If they close the EA deal and Battlefield, Madden and other sports games are on it Day 1 you may as well write Sony's obituary. I realize we're potentially 5 years away from MS having all the pieces in place, but if I were Sony I would be panicking right now.

It's almost as if only one aspect of an product matters, that's why we all drive the same types of vehicles, we all have the same types of fridges, and all watch the same TVs and all subscribe to the same services etc

Thank goodness for choice I say, and long may we have one.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

By the beginning of next generation physical will be a thing of the past. Just like CDs for music. Probably sooner even.

eastmen has been predicting this for over a decade. As long as physical games are selling in their millions, no manufacturer (or publisher) is going to abandon the physical format. Because without knowing why people are buying discs and, more importantly, knowing they definitely will switch to a digital alternative, you could be giving up unto 50% of your sales.

Offering both, ala PlayStation 5, seems the smart way forward. People who want a drive from games and/or movies can get a device with a drive, those who are bought into digital entirely can get a cheaper console. Everybody wins. Removing options for consumers rarely ends well.

 

[chris1515]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1397802297569157123

They want to sell in 50 millions PS5 in two years and a half impressive.

eastmen has been predicting this for over a decade. As long as physical games are selling in their millions, no manufacturer (or publisher) is going to abandon the physical format. Because without knowing why people are buying discs and, more importantly, knowing they definitely will switch to a digital alternative, you could be giving up unto 50% of your sales.

Offering both, ala PlayStation 5, seems the smart way forward. People who want a drive from games and/or movies can get a device with a drive, those who are bought into digital entirely can get a cheaper console. Everybody wins. Removing options for consumers rarely ends well.

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2021/GNS_E.pdf

Sony just said PS5 DE sales are a very low part of the PS5 hardware sales and it will not change for all generation.

"Right now the standard edition represents the very great majority of PS5 sales. We do not see that proportion changing greatly in FY21, but we anticipate as this time passes there will be some slight increase in the ratio in the digital edition, but not significant."

 

[BRiT]

Did they list general availability ratio of the PS5 DE edition versus normal edition?

 

[chris1515]

Did they list general availability ratio of the PS5 DE edition versus normal edition?

No they did not give any ratio.

 

[Shortbread]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1397802297569157123

they want to sell in 50 millions PS5 in two years and a half impressive.


https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2021/GNS_E.pdf

Sony just said PS5 DE sales are a very low part of the PS5 hardware sales and it will not change for all generation.

Someone has an ace up their sleeve.

 

[eastmen]

I have never, ever had issues with physical. Yes you can EVENTUALLY, POSSIBLY get digital copies for less than physical. Sometimes. I've also never lost a disk lol
edit - on the access part, how does that work with no internet I wonder? Also, how about playing games that's aren't downloaded and you have to download 50GB?

I"ve had issues with physical games esp used games. Its apparently a big enough deal that gamestop will sell you warranty on any new or old games you buy from them.

I dunno about not having internet. Its 2021 I haven't gone more than a day without internet since we first got cable internet in 2001 out side of major hurricanes that also took out my power so a console or pc would be useless anyway.

But i do know the majority of games have major day one patches anyway , some games don't even have all of the game on the disc

We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel - extreme outliners to prove how great digital is!? Wow. Maybe these kids should take more care of the $300+ product they are carrying around?

How old are you ? Have you never in your life lost something expensive ? Its a portable console. Not only that but the actual carts for it are tiny. I bet loosing games and portables happen more than you think.

 

[goonergaz]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1397802297569157123

They want to sell in 50 millions PS5 in two years and a half impressive.



https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/irday/pdf/2021/GNS_E.pdf

Sony just said PS5 DE sales are a very low part of the PS5 hardware sales and it will not change for all generation.

They are producing significantly less digital edition, so they are kind of dictating this...however the demand is still lower than the disk version so I agree. In my local Game I was the only one who pre-ordered the digital edition and I was also the first to pre-order

I"ve had issues with physical games esp used games. Its apparently a big enough deal that gamestop will sell you warranty on any new or old games you buy from them.

Nothing to do with making more money I guess? Mind you, I've largely gamed on the bluray format which was tougher...mind you, I also look after my kit and wouldn't buy a scratched disk.

I dunno about not having internet. Its 2021 I haven't gone more than a day without internet since we first got cable internet in 2001 out side of major hurricanes that also took out my power so a console or pc would be useless anyway.

Well that's great for you, and whilst I have not suffered much (a whole evening during the last 6 months when my kids drove me nuts) the vast majority of gamers don't have the speeds and reliability we have. But that doesn't help if you were to say, go on holiday and take the console with you where there's no reliable internet. I can take disks with me anywhere.

But i do know the majority of games have major day one patches anyway , some games don't even have all of the game on the disc

And? How many games are completely broken without the patch?- and if they are that's QA fault - I can stick a disk in a play within minutes from anywhere. I'm not even sure what your point is as disk version get patched...I'd rather have part of a game than nothing at all!?

How old are you ? Have you never in your life lost something expensive ? Its a portable console. Not only that but the actual carts for it are tiny. I bet loosing games and portables happen more than you think.

No, never...and I had many expensive items - taking the original Gameboy on holiday to Florida back in the day and never lost that. My daughter (and I have 4 kids who have all had expensive tech) lost her iPhone - or rather had it stolen from her at a theme park because she stupidly put it in the 'valuables' box...but that wasn't a $300 iPhone, not sure how a kid loses such an expensive item unless they have little idea of value.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree and move on...I'm more than open to the advantages of digital but you're totally blind to the reverse.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Did they list general availability ratio of the PS5 DE edition versus normal edition?

I would have liked to know this as well. I know more people with a PS5DE than a PS5 by choice.

 

[chris1515]

On era People working on videogames shop told around 10% PS5 DE at launch.

 

[BRiT]

I would have liked to know this as well. I know more people with a PS5DE than a PS5 by choice.

The $100 savings is nothing to scoff at.

To Sony's statement of PS5 DE being "low sales", it's impossible for it to be anything but if it's still restricted to under 15%. [* Number based on initial 10% statement and increased by 50%]

 

[goonergaz]

On era People working on videogames shop told around 10% PS5 DE at launch.

Yep, similar to what I heard at stores I spoke to in the UK

The $100 savings is nothing to scoff at.

Is it though? That's what I thought to begin with, then I spent a shedload on 2 games I can't get into...so I lost my saving. I now I'm going back to physical and already made a saving of at least £27 on my first purchase.

 

[BRiT]

Is it though? That's what I thought to begin with, then I spent a shedload on 2 games I can't get into...so I lost my saving. I now I'm going back to physical and already made a saving of at least £27 on my first purchase.

If I was in my old buying habits, nearly every day one purchases, then yeah, it's not even 2 video games. However, with a huge backlog of existing games, a service like Game-Pass, and not buying every game on day one, having that savings would have been nice. It would have paid for the new wireless headset.