The publisher THQ Nordic released a press release the other day
announcing that many of their future games will have a physical
release.*
You remember physical releases, right? You'd go to a store, pick out a
box with a game in it, take it to the register, hand over your cash,
and then lug your purchase back home where you'd stick the disk into
your computer to install the game. But there were some advantages;
you'd get a nice manual and the game - due to being delivered via disk
- was free from any DRM.
This isn't what THQ is offering. You're getting a box, sure, but it
likely will just include a pamphlet with a Steam key (it may or may
not have any media to install the game from, but given how few PCs
have optical drives I wouldn't bet on a DVD). You won't be able to buy
the things in your average game store, assuming any still exist in
your area (they'll only be available in THQ's own shop in Vienna, and
'selected retail partners'). And a manual? Well, maybe... but it's not guaranteed. These aren't typical 'physical releases' but special
collector items for people with more money than sense.
So the whole thing is a gimmick, designed to... well, not trick people
(since THQ is being forthright about the details), but to tap into the nostalgia of physical releases and desire for games unencumbered by a publisher's apron-strings controlling when and how you can play the
game.
But - the previous four paragraphs notwithstanding - it's not THQ's announcement I wished to discuss. Honestly, the only novel thing about
it is that they have planned physical releases for so many of their
games; other publishers have pulled similar stunts, but not for their
entire future catalog. And good on THQ Nordic; if that's something
they can get people to pay for, why shouldn't they make that an
option?
But it all does lead to the question: are physical releases really
something we want anymore?
I mean, let's assume we're in a world where not only PC games still
released on physical media, but that they weren't being sold at a
premium, and that there was a shop nearby were you could easily pick
the game up. Would you, today, go out and buy a game on physical
media? As much as I love the format, I can't say that I, myself,
would.
Of course, there are certain factors that might encourage me. A really
nice manual is... well, really nice. A lack of online DRM is similarly beneficial. But these features were increasingly rare even when PC
games were still being sold on DVDs; too often, all you got was a
pamphlet telling you how to install the game and the program still
demanded to phone home before you could play it. Meanwhile, the
physical release requires me to physically buy the game, use media to
actually install the disk, and then store that media somewhere safe.
Digital releases - for all their other disadvantages - are just easier
to install, store and play. It's to the point that I am repurchasing a
lot of games I already own on disk just so I don't have to worry about
pulling out a CD-ROM.
So, no, I can't see the appeal of physical media anymore. As much as I
love a nice box, it's just not worth the other disadvantages...
especially since that nice box is pretty much the ONLY thing the
physical release will have going for it. Hell, these days I'd rather
the manual be in PDF format too, so I can read it on my tablet.
Meanwhile, these new physical media games will still be DRM
encumbered, will cost more and will require more effort to acquire and
install.
No thanks.
So, how about you? How appealing is a physical release of a game to
you? Would you buy one? Would you pay extra for the option?
* Don't believe me? Read it here!
https://thqnordic.com/article/thq-nordics-boxed-pc-games-are-facing-strictly-limited-future
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