The future of physical games is not looking great
The future of physical games is not looking great
实体游戏的未来前景堪忧
Players and game preservationists might need to prepare for a world without discs. 玩家和游戏保护主义者或许需要为迎接一个没有光盘的世界做好准备。
How it started
往昔岁月
As a kid, I relished trips to Best Buy, GameStop, and the nearby mall so that I could browse video games. I loved sifting through games and chatting with my friends at the store about upcoming releases. On the lucky days I actually got a new game from the store, I treasured reading through every page of the manual on the drive home. Over the years, I built up a collection of games that I was proud of. 小时候，我非常喜欢去百思买（Best Buy）、GameStop 和附近的商场逛游戏。我热爱在货架间搜寻游戏，并与店里的朋友讨论即将发布的新作。每当幸运地买到新游戏，我都会在回家的路上如获至宝般阅读说明书的每一页。多年来，我建立了一个令我引以为傲的游戏收藏库。
That was a long time ago. Shortly after college, I sold my collection of older games and hardware because I wasn’t using them and wanted the money for other things. (Probably weekends out.) Starting with the Nintendo Switch in 2017, I started buying games digitally because it was easier to just download stuff, and I wouldn’t have to accumulate physical game cases. Now, I don’t own any physical games: My Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam libraries are all digital. 那已经是很久以前的事了。大学毕业后不久，我卖掉了收藏的旧游戏和硬件，因为我不再使用它们，而且想把钱花在别的地方（大概是周末出去玩吧）。从 2017 年入手任天堂 Switch 开始，我转向了数字版游戏，因为直接下载更方便，也不必堆积成堆的实体游戏盒。现在，我没有任何实体游戏了：我的 Switch、PlayStation、Xbox 和 Steam 游戏库全都是数字版的。
I’m not the only player who has moved to mostly digital games. Digital libraries are increasingly convenient, especially as console makers have made efforts to keep backwards compatibility across generations. Some players can’t play physical games at all, as PlayStation and Xbox launched the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles with all-digital console options that were cheaper than the versions with disc drives. On PC, digital libraries through platforms like Steam have been the reality for quite some time. Capcom, one of the biggest publishers around, reported that an astounding 93 percent of its game sales were for digital copies in its last fiscal year — a figure that it expects will rise to 95.4 percent over the fiscal year. Many of the most popular games are only available digitally, like Roblox and Fortnite. 我并不是唯一一个转向数字版游戏的玩家。数字游戏库正变得越来越方便，尤其是主机厂商都在努力保持跨世代的向下兼容性。有些玩家甚至根本无法游玩实体游戏，因为 PlayStation 和 Xbox 推出的 PS5 和 Xbox Series 主机都提供了比光驱版更便宜的全数字版选项。在 PC 端，通过 Steam 等平台获取数字游戏早已是常态。全球最大的游戏发行商之一卡普空（Capcom）报告称，在上一个财年中，其数字版游戏销量占比高达惊人的 93%，并预计这一数字在本财年将升至 95.4%。许多最热门的游戏（如《Roblox》和《堡垒之夜》）甚至只提供数字版。
For better or worse, video game players overwhelmingly buy and play digital games. But in the span of a week, two industry giants put nails in the coffin of physical games — or perhaps even poured concrete into the grave. 无论好坏，绝大多数玩家都在购买和游玩数字游戏。但在短短一周内，两家行业巨头为实体游戏钉上了棺材板——甚至可能是在坟墓上浇筑了水泥。
How it’s going
现状如何
On June 24th, Rockstar Games finally put a price tag on Grand Theft Auto VI ahead of its scheduled November 19th release on PS5 and Xbox Series X / S: $79.99 for the base edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition. The prices themselves weren’t too unexpected, as even Nintendo has dabbled with $79.99 games for its biggest titles. But what was more shocking was something buried in Rockstar’s post: The physical version of the game won’t have a disc, instead containing a download code in the box. 6 月 24 日，Rockstar Games 在《侠盗猎车手 VI》（GTA VI）定于 11 月 19 日登陆 PS5 和 Xbox Series X/S 之前，终于公布了其售价：基础版 79.99 美元，终极版 99.99 美元。这个价格本身并不令人意外，毕竟连任天堂也曾尝试过将大作定价为 79.99 美元。但更令人震惊的是 Rockstar 公告中隐藏的一条信息：该游戏的实体版将不再包含光盘，盒子里装的只是一个下载码。
The announcement was a worrying sign for physical games. Selling games as codes in a box isn’t a new concept, but GTA VI will be the biggest game to do it so far. Rockstar’s choice could push more publishers to do the same for their future titles. By making the game only available on digital storefronts, players can’t easily share it with a friend or sell the game when they’re done with it. 这一公告对实体游戏来说是一个令人担忧的信号。以盒装下载码的形式销售游戏并非新概念，但《GTA VI》将是迄今为止采取此举的最大规模游戏。Rockstar 的选择可能会推动更多发行商在未来的作品中效仿。由于游戏只能通过数字商店获取，玩家无法再像以前那样轻松地与朋友分享，或在通关后转卖游戏。
It’s also becoming increasingly clear you can’t rely on digital storefronts. Titles can get pulled for things like licensing or the store closing down. This may not be a problem for GTA VI, as Rockstar will almost certainly make sure the game is easily available on many digital platforms for the foreseeable future, especially if it wants to give the game the same kind of legs as the 13-year-old GTA V. But with digital storefronts, you also have to hope that you aren’t locked out of your account, even by mistake, and lose access to your games. (In 2023, some PlayStation users were unexpectedly banned through no fault of their own, though Sony eventually restored access to their accounts.) 越来越明显的是，你无法完全依赖数字商店。游戏可能会因为授权到期或商店关闭等原因被下架。这对《GTA VI》来说可能不是问题，因为 Rockstar 几乎肯定会确保该游戏在可预见的未来能轻松在多个数字平台上获取，尤其是如果他们想让这款游戏像 13 年前的《GTA V》那样长盛不衰的话。但使用数字商店，你还必须祈祷自己不会因为意外而被锁定账号，从而失去对游戏的访问权限。（2023 年，一些 PlayStation 用户曾因非自身过错被意外封号，尽管索尼最终恢复了他们的账号访问权限。）
Speaking of PlayStation, just days after Rockstar’s news, Sony dropped an even bigger bomb: It announced that, starting January 2028, it would not make physical discs for any new PlayStation games. 说到 PlayStation，在 Rockstar 发布消息几天后，索尼投下了一枚更大的炸弹：宣布从 2028 年 1 月起，将不再为任何新的 PlayStation 游戏制作实体光盘。
The decision led to widespread criticism online. Sony and PlayStation got yelled at everywhere online, as Kotaku reported, and the PlayStation account didn’t make a new tweet until six days after its announcement about dropping discs. The comments section of Sony’s famous 2013 PS4 game sharing ad where one person just hands a disc to another — an ad made after Xbox announced restrictive DRM plans for the Xbox One — is filled with new comments taking jabs at Sony. Heck, Sony itself showed why killing discs is a terrible idea by, on the same day as the disc news, saying that it would be closing the digital stores for the PS3 and the PS Vita. 这一决定在网上引发了广泛批评。据 Kotaku 报道，索尼和 PlayStation 在网上遭到各方指责，而 PlayStation 官方账号在发布停产光盘的公告后，整整六天没有发布任何新推文。索尼 2013 年那则著名的 PS4 游戏分享广告（广告中一人将光盘递给另一人，该广告是在 Xbox 宣布 Xbox One 限制性 DRM 计划后制作的）的评论区，现在充斥着嘲讽索尼的新评论。甚至，索尼自己在宣布光盘消息的同一天，又宣布将关闭 PS3 和 PS Vita 的数字商店，这恰恰证明了取消光盘是一个多么糟糕的主意。
Sony’s announcement also drew criticism from retailers and games preservationists. “This is unfortunate news for those who still prefer buying games on physical media, and is certainly a significant hit to consumer rights, the resale market, and game creators whose businesses rely on the physical market,” said Frank Cifaldi, executive director of the Video Game History Foundation. 索尼的公告也招致了零售商和游戏保护主义者的批评。电子游戏历史基金会（Video Game History Foundation）执行董事 Frank Cifaldi 表示：“对于那些仍然倾向于购买实体版游戏的玩家来说，这是一个不幸的消息。这无疑是对消费者权利、二手转售市场以及依赖实体市场的游戏创作者的重大打击。”
Sony’s own statement was clear as to why it’s making the change. “This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” Sony said in its announcement. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.” The company’s numbers prove it, too: In the fourth quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, Sony reported that the… 索尼在声明中明确了做出这一改变的原因。索尼在公告中表示：“这是索尼互动娱乐适应消费趋势的自然方向，因为大众对数字媒体的偏好已显著超过了实体光盘。这一转变将使我们能够更紧密地契合当今大多数社区成员获取和游玩游戏的方式。”该公司的财务数据也证明了这一点：在 2025 财年第四季度，索尼报告称……