GTA VI is a worrying sign for the future of physical games
GTA VI is a worrying sign for the future of physical games
《GTA VI》的实体版策略为游戏行业的未来敲响了警钟
Physical versions of GTA VI will just include a code in a box, which sets a bad precedent for the rest of the industry. 《GTA VI》的实体版包装盒内将仅包含一个下载码，这为整个行业开创了一个糟糕的先例。
Rockstar Games has finally given Grand Theft Auto VI a price ahead of the game’s November 19th launch. But while announcing that the game would cost $79.99, Rockstar also confirmed that the physical versions of GTA VI won’t include a disc, and instead will only contain a download code inside the box. Not only is that a disappointing decision for people who like to own physical games, but given the scale of the next GTA, it also sets a bad precedent for the rest of the industry. 在《侠盗猎车手 VI》（GTA VI）于 11 月 19 日正式发售前，Rockstar Games 终于公布了其售价。在宣布游戏定价为 79.99 美元的同时，Rockstar 也确认《GTA VI》的实体版将不再包含光盘，盒内仅提供一个下载码。对于那些热衷于收藏实体游戏的玩家来说，这无疑是一个令人失望的决定；考虑到下一部《GTA》的体量，此举也为整个行业树立了一个糟糕的先例。
It’s no secret that digital games have overtaken physical ones. The sales data proves it: Capcom, for example, recently announced that 93 percent of its games were sold digitally in its last fiscal year, and it expects that number to go up next fiscal year. Devices like the PlayStation Pro, Xbox Series S, and Steam Machine don’t have an included disc drive, further exacerbating the issue. 数字版游戏已经超越实体版早已不是什么秘密。销售数据证明了这一点：例如，卡普空（Capcom）最近宣布，在上一个财年中，其 93% 的游戏是通过数字渠道售出的，并预计这一比例在下一财年还会继续上升。PlayStation Pro、Xbox Series S 和 Steam Machine 等设备不再配备光驱，进一步加剧了这一趋势。
There are a lot of advantages to buying digital. You can start a download from your couch. You can store multiple games on one hard drive so you don’t have to get up to play something else. Storefronts like Steam or the PlayStation Store don’t run out of inventory of the newest game you’re interested in, and you can often get games at a cheaper price thanks to frequent sales. 购买数字版游戏确实有很多优势。你可以坐在沙发上就开始下载；你可以将多款游戏存储在同一个硬盘中，无需起身更换光盘；Steam 或 PlayStation Store 等数字商店永远不会出现热门新游缺货的情况，而且得益于频繁的促销活动，你往往能以更低的价格买到游戏。
But it’s becoming increasingly clear that digital ownership has significant disadvantages, too. If a game you don’t own digitally is removed from a storefront, whether that’s for things like licensing, artificially limited availability, or even the store eventually closing down, your only option is to hope you can find a physical version. If your account on a platform is banned, even if that ban isn’t warranted, you might be locked out of your digital library with no way to play those games unless you buy them again or hope your account gets restored. You can’t sell or trade digital games you’ve purchased, and while there are ways to share digital games, they require some work and are usually intended just for families. 但显而易见的是，数字所有权也存在重大缺陷。如果一款你未购买数字版的游戏从商店下架（无论是出于授权问题、人为限制供应，还是商店最终关闭），你唯一的选择就是寄希望于能找到实体版。如果你的平台账号被封禁，即便封禁是不合理的，你也可能被拒之于数字库之外，除非重新购买或账号解封，否则无法游玩这些游戏。此外，你无法转卖或交易已购买的数字游戏；虽然存在一些分享数字游戏的方法，但操作繁琐，且通常仅限于家庭成员使用。
It’s also much harder to preserve digital games because they only “exist” on the hard drive of a console, PC, or device they were downloaded to. This is an issue across many industries, not just console games; there are multiple examples of things like mobile games and streaming shows becoming lost for good when they don’t have a physical version. Without physical versions, you also can’t find a used version of a game at a garage sale or a local game shop. 保存数字游戏也困难得多，因为它们仅“存在”于下载它们的控制台、PC 或设备的硬盘中。这不仅是主机游戏的问题，而是跨行业的普遍现象；有许多案例表明，当移动游戏或流媒体节目没有实体版本时，它们最终会彻底消失。没有实体版，你也就无法在车库甩卖或当地游戏店淘到二手游戏。
Yes, digital games can be much more convenient. But what you gain in convenience, you lose in permanence. And in many ways, digital games just aren’t as easy as handing a disc to a friend. 诚然，数字游戏确实更加便捷。但你在获得便利的同时，也失去了永久性。在许多方面，数字游戏远不如直接把光盘递给朋友那样简单直接。
Rockstar didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment about why it’s going digital-only for GTA VI and if it ever plans to launch a physical version. We can speculate some reasons why, though. I’d suspect the decision was made in part to prevent leaks; by only being available digitally, Rockstar can ensure that GTA VI unlocks at the same exact time for everyone. (The game has already had significant issues with leaks.) The digital-only choice might also indicate that the game has a massive file size that’s too big for PlayStation and Xbox game discs. 对于为何《GTA VI》仅提供数字版以及未来是否有计划推出实体版，Rockstar 并未立即回应置评请求。不过，我们可以推测其中一些原因。我怀疑这一决定部分是为了防止泄露；通过仅提供数字版，Rockstar 可以确保《GTA VI》在同一时间对所有人解锁。（该游戏此前已出现过严重的泄露问题。）仅限数字版的选择也可能意味着游戏文件体积巨大，超出了 PlayStation 和 Xbox 游戏光盘的容量限制。
Going digital-only isn’t an entirely new concept. Other publishers have taken the code-in-a-box approach in the past, like Bethesda did for Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition and Skyrim Anniversary on the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo also gives publishers the option to offer game-key cards for the Switch 2, which are another way to sell a box at a store that contains a license for a game that you have to download from the internet to play. But game-key cards aren’t locked to a Nintendo account, meaning you can share a game with a friend even though they’ll have to download it themselves. “仅限数字版”并非全新的概念。其他发行商过去也曾采用过“盒内附码”的方式，例如 Bethesda 在 Nintendo Switch 2 上推出的《辐射 4 周年纪念版》和《天际周年纪念版》。任天堂也为 Switch 2 的发行商提供了游戏激活卡选项，这同样是在商店销售包装盒的一种方式，盒内包含游戏授权，玩家仍需从互联网下载才能游玩。但游戏激活卡并不绑定任天堂账号，这意味着你可以与朋友分享游戏，尽管他们仍需自行下载。
In the case of GTA VI, everyone will have to buy their own copy of the game, whether that’s from a digital storefront or at a physical store to get a one-time download code in a box. (Though at least one retailer isn’t stocking the game.) And the entire industry will be watching how GTA VI does — it’s a game so big it’s altering the entire 2026 release calendar — so Rockstar’s code-in-a-box decision could mark a turning point that might embolden even more publishers to do the same. If more games follow suit, it would make a medium that’s already hard enough to share and preserve even more brittle than before. 在《GTA VI》的案例中，每个人都必须购买属于自己的游戏副本，无论是通过数字商店还是在实体店购买盒装的一次性下载码。（尽管至少有一家零售商拒绝上架该游戏。）整个行业都在关注《GTA VI》的表现——这款游戏体量巨大，甚至改变了整个 2026 年的发布日程——因此，Rockstar 的“盒内附码”决定可能成为一个转折点，促使更多发行商效仿。如果更多游戏跟进，那么这个本就难以分享和保存的媒介将变得更加脆弱。