With the seemingly constant stream of showcases, game announcements and gameplay trailers it can be difficult to keep up with every little bit of news in the gaming world at the minute. In a surprising move, both Remedy Games and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have announced that their upcoming AAA games will be digital only releases, annoying and angering some fans, and disappointing others.
Digital Only Releases – Good for the Environment, Poor for the Shelf
Now digital only releases are nothing new, especially in the indie scene, with many indie games never see a physical boxed release. However, it is seemingly now becoming a trend in the AAA market, with two big games in a matter of days announcing they’ll both be digital only in Alan Wake II and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.
Alan Wake II’s developers Remedy Games announced the move last week, stating the reason to be the shifting culture of digital only gamers, as well as to ensure the game’s price stays cheaper than it would if it also had a physical release. No official announcement regarding the same decision has been made by Ryu Ga Gotoku, but it has been uncovered that there won’t be a physical release of the latest Yakuza game in America, but Japan will be getting one. No news about Europe and other territories yet, but it would stand to reason it’d follow America in that regard.
Remedy Games are right, there has been a recent shift in gaming culture towards the digital only releases, with consoles themselves coming cheaper if you opt for the no disc drive options. It can’t be argued against the convenience of a digital download, compared to the ‘effort’ needed to order and wait for a physical release. The cost for developers if also lower, without the worry of manufacturing and distributing the physical copies, more money and time can be spent on the development of the game – it will be argued this wouldn’t happen and they’d just pocket the savings, but lets be optimistic – and the benefit to the environment is obvious.
All that said though, many gamers, including us here, enjoy the odd physical release. Having a game sat on the shelf, a collector’s edition with some nice memorabilia or an easy way to play a game after borrowing it from a friend, there’s always got to be room for physical releases. A digital only market would undoubtedly hurt not only us, the fans, but retailers, with many high street stores already shutting for lack of sales due to the prevalence of the online market.
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Whether digital only releases become the new normal for AAA games is yet to be seen, and it is hard to imagine games like God of War: Ragnarok or the latest Call of Duty following the same path, but in this age of every game requiring an online connection to play, it certainly isn’t outside the realms of possibility.
Will you be picking up the digital releases of Alan Wake II and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name? And what AAA game do you think adopts this tactic next? Let us know in the comments.
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