Do you think physical PC games stored on disc and memory cards ever be more popular?

[froggyboy604]

I feel if a there are a lot of people who prefer physical games, and there are affordable memory cards and disc for storing PC games, selling physical PC games maybe popular again.

There is always a chance that some countries blocks Online PC game download stores like Steam, and GOG, so gamers who want to buy the game would need to buy a physical copy of the game because the government blocked game buying websites. The government in some countries can shutdown the outside internet, so physical games maybe the only way to play games which you have not downloaded before the internet shutdown in a country.

More PC games like Fortnite and League of Legends are now free to play, so I feel these companies may someday make physical copies of the games to give away at a public place like college or by mailing the games to people's homes, so more people can play the game, and hopefully, spend money on DLC, game mods, paid characters, and in-game money.

There are probably some PC Gamers who may buy a Physical PC Game to also collect the PC game boxes, manuals, artwork, and toys which come with the game.

 

[Kita]

The optic drives aren't popular as much as before. And generally, PC gamers prefer to download their games rather having a physical copy. It's cheaper to buy online and in the countries where piracy is legal some people take advantage of the digital download.

 

[froggyboy604]

I think one of the reason optical disc like Blu-ray are unpopular on PC is because of the licensing fees which cost $9.50 for a Blu-ray drive license, and $0.11 licensing fee for the disc. Blu-ray drives and disc are also kind of expensive.

People also used to make extra copy of PC game discs, and used fake PC game keys/serial number to play pirated versions of games, so I think some PC game makers rather sell their games on Steam than selling them on disc. Digital downloads also prevent people from re-selling used PC game disc like used console games.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Not sure about the SD cards, but they did use to sell cds, but not anymore. Plus a lot of pcs are shipped without disc readers anymore.

 

[froggyboy604]

Not sure about the SD cards, but they did use to sell cds, but not anymore. Plus a lot of pcs are shipped without disc readers anymore.

I feel full-size desktop tower PCs with disc drives still have many users. People with slow internet service or don't like video streaming services like Netflix may more likely rent, borrow, and own DVD/Blu-Ray movies, music CDs, and eBooks which are stored on CDs.

But, disc drives are usually not found on cheap mini and more basic desktop PCs, thin laptops, and cheap laptops where there is no space on the case to add a disc drives, and installing a DVD disc drive will make the computer cost more than $100 which may cause fewer people to buy the cheap computer.

Mini computers, thin laptops, and cheap laptops are sometimes less durable, so people replace them after a few years of use than a desktop tower PC which sometimes last over 5 years without hardware problems.