The Increasing Exploitation of Physical Games (Opinion)

Even in the past, we’ve seen companies exploit customers through physical media. Disney for example, artificially created scarcity for their home video releases by giving limited time to purchase films before they went back into the so-called “vault”. One can argue that gaming has even surpassed Disney’s methods.

Physical distribution of games used to be the norm, with retailers having plenty of copies filling the shelves. Now due to the Internet-driven age, the game department of stores seem to be shrinking, leaving those of us who prefer physical ownership with limited options. In this piece, I wanted to vent a long-held frustration on how exploitable physical collecting has become, both by corporations and third-party merchants.

Late To The Game

While nearly all digital and hard copies of AAA games still launch in unison, the same can’t be said for niche titles. With the landscape shifting more towards online shopping, a lot of companies are delaying the physical release of select software. Examples of this are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge and The Berserkers collection. Missing out on a single-player campaign at launch is minuscule, however, both of these games aggressively advertised online multiplayer, and my main concern was that the community would die out before I received my copy, making it difficult to find matches.

Unnecessary Obstacles

Originally, I had no problems with the secondhand market in regards to video games. Reselling has always been a thing, but these days it’s gotten completely out of control. While certain games fetched a high price when I was a kid, they at least had a healthy shelf-life, with ample time for consumers to purchase them before they became collector’s items.

Now due to loopholes in the process of Online shopping, an alarming amount of physical releases don’t even have a shelf-life. Using automated bots, scalpers can buy up whole stocks in an attempt to funnel buyers to online marketplaces and force them to buy at a premium. Reselling for a little profit is one thing, pinning down and disrupting the market is another, and while I’m all for freedom, the lack of limits on scalping makes the practice a hustle that I’ll never support.

Encouraging double dipping?

At first, I naively told myself that this wasn’t intentional. However, this has happened on numerous occasions and can’t be considered a coincidence. More and more, companies are announcing and even shadow-dropping hard copies long after digital releases, without even so much as hinting that a physical alternative was in the works.

Steel Assault, The Legend of Tainding, Cursed Golf, and the Castlevania Advanced Collection are all examples of this, with Castlevania in particular having the longest time in between releases. The game went on sale digitally on September 23, 2021, only for Limited Run to begin pre-orders for a physical edition on July 28, 2023, exactly 673 days later. I’m not sure how much profit developers see from Limited Run sales, but I’m fairly certain that these collaborations are discussed early on.

It isn’t a stretch to say that some developers are purposefully withholding information regarding these ventures. Not implying a physical release, entices consumers to go digital under the pretense that it’s the only option. The tactic potentially leads consumers who prefer physical ownership to double dip, since product delistings and closures of online services can make digital purchases instantly unavailable.

Adapting To A Digital Age

Despite my criticisms, it’s fair to acknowledge developers who look out for their customers. Though it’s rare these days, some go the extra mile, like 13AM Games. When the developer teamed up with Limited Run to produce copies of Dawn of the Monsters, they included a bonus download code for those who pre-ordered the collector’s edition.

I don’t think physical video games will disappear entirely, but I do recognize the fact that they’re steadily becoming a luxury. This will inevitably attract the gazes of those looking to exploit anything in order to make a quick profit, but all I can do is monitor my spending by waiting patiently for physical editions to be announced and paying no mind to scalpers. The days of walking into retail and simply picking up the game you were anticipating is slowly coming to an end, and while this age of digital distribution has its frustrations, we can only try and adapt to the ever changing times.