Nintendo: Physical media is here to stay

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 18 February, 2011

It's what consumers want.

Despite our increasingly online-enabled world and the rise of digitally distributed games, Nintendo has insisted physical media is here to stay.

"We have been very clearly communicating for a long time that the packaged software or retail market is the one that's going to drive the mass market," Nintendo of Europe's MD of marketing and PR, Laurent Fischer told Edge.

"We have never seen any link between growth in the mobile gaming market and decrease in the normal software market. It's two different markets, two different topics. We couldn't find any evidence of those two markets being linked."

Fischer's comments echo those from Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai, who in August last year insisted that a digital future is over 10 years away.

"We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn't as robust as one would hope," Hirai said.

"There's always going to be requirement for a business of our size and scope to have a physical medium.

"To think everything will be downloaded in two years, three years or even 10 years from now is taking it a little bit to the extreme."

Last July saw a watershed moment in the rise of digitally distributed games, when NPD revealed that US PC game digital downloads were reaching parity with in-store.

And in October Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick predicted that in three years' time 40 per cent of the Grand Theft Auto company's sales will be digitally distributed titles.

For Nintendo's Fischer, though, it's all about the high street.

"People who talk about the end of physical media don't share the same daily reality as most consumers," he said.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SeesThroughAll #1 1 year ago

    What consumers want, and have always wanted, is choice.

    I'm fine with both physical media and downloadable games. What is important to me, is that I can choose which games I may own in either format.

  • Anciegher #2 1 year ago

    Offer the same game in digital form day and date as their phyiscal siblings and with a lower price (since you don't have to have packaing a store clerk etc) and see which one people will choose...

  • ricpamiwor #3 1 year ago

    Physical media will and should die. It's one of the sure fire ways that these companies will get over their "pre-owned games blues" but also giving gamers the latest and greatest games without having to wait for the postie to arrive!

  • bf #4 1 year ago

    As long as you can't enjoy the same freedom with digital as physical (sell trade gift) then yes.

  • MojoDex #5 1 year ago

    consumers want half pric games. can we have that as well?

  • chaywa #6 1 year ago

    Most consumers are idiots though, particularly with Nintendo based software. Sure Nintendo will be successful but mass market ignorance of direct download models will only lead to greater fragmentation between the Nintendo and other console games market further.

    Nintendo could make a killing off a Steam esque business model alongside the boxed game market.

  • cheekyjay #7 1 year ago

    What consumers want is an endlessly looping pixel animation of the 8-bit Mario sprite collecting coins and ocassionally jumping, along with blissfully incessant chirps and beeps (in case anyone thought silence was overrated). If that's the future, I'll stick to physical media for now thanks!

    Edit - fixed typo
    Edited by cheekyjay at 18/02/11 @ 13:30

  • uknortherner2000 #8 1 year ago

    "Physical media will and should die. It's one of the sure fire ways that these companies will get over their "pre-owned games blues" but also giving companies the ability to price fix their latest rehashed and recycled games and screwing over the consumer at no extra cost!"

    Fixed it for you.
    Edited by uknortherner2000 at 18/02/11 @ 13:32

  • Horse #9 1 year ago

    ... not this consumer.

  • arcam #10 1 year ago

    This story is run what seems like once a week, and we all have the same debate in the comments. The stupid thing is basically everybody agrees - physical media is not going to go away anytime soon, but the trend is in that direction and to say physical games will be around forever is obviously wrong.

    Once the comments start to go into "smell-of-a-new-game" territory I know it's time for me to back away...

  • LazyDan #11 1 year ago

    Sounds right. The future of retail gaming relies on physical media completely, and corporations are extremely reticent to buy into the culture of $1 apps, games and music tracks that Apple has single handedly created.

    What they have to fix though is the reliance on carrying all of your physical media with you, and having to swap it in and out whenever you want to change games. It's 2011, the iPod's come and fixed that for music, streaming services are fixing it for films, and if no one steps up - piracy will continue to fill that gap on handhelds/home consoles as it has until now.

  • TruSmiles #12 1 year ago

    Surely the future is in digital downloads, partly because it saves on cost and also reduces waste, which is beneficial for all. If digital downloads were always cheaper than their physical counterpart, which they should be, then its popularity would rise.

    Things like Steam are excellent for gamers as I can download and play my games whenever I want, despite changing computers all the time. Plus, I have less clutter taken up by game boxes I never look at once a game is installed.

  • M_of_the_sys #13 1 year ago

    I love the smell-of-a-new-game in the morning.

    Ahem.

  • ZizouFC #14 1 year ago

    I love the taste.

  • DAN.E.B #15 1 year ago

    NINTENDO

    Telling people what they want since 1985

  • drhickman1983 #16 1 year ago

    "Offer the same game in digital form day and date as their phyiscal siblings and with a lower price (since you don't have to have packaing a store clerk etc) and see which one people will choose... "

    If it's a good game I've been anticipating I'd go for the physical copy anyday. Same way I tend to buy CDs if it's something I'm looking forward too.

    I'm just old fashioned I Guess.

    Choice is good, I've no problem with an online service offering digital downloads for those who want it. But I like having boxes and stuff.

  • HL706 #17 1 year ago

    The first console to get Steam-esque support gets my money unconditionally. I can't imaging buying another boxed PC game tbqh.

  • Katanax #18 1 year ago

    It's two different markets now due to:

    a) Mobile devices only just becoming powerful enough to render substantial game content.
    b) Pricing models on digital content being astronomical relative to their physical counterparts.

    As time goes on and these re-align themselves, of course there will be a convergence, overlap and likely a significant paradigm shift.

    This is Nintendo with their publisher hat on again.

  • darc #19 1 year ago

    10 years is a long time. I think this guy is just trying to stave off hysteria in the retail sector. The reality is that none of the impediments to digital distribution are likely to be relevant in 10 years time - at least not for consumers who are priviledged enough to be playing video games.

  • Stardusted #20 1 year ago

    Another old fashioned guy over here. Nothing compares to unwrapping a new purchase, and that applies to games as well. When I had an old playstation 1, I only ever bought 6 games, Tekken 3, Porsche Challenge, ISS Pro, Castlevania SOTN, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Gran Turismo 2.

    Up to this day these games are under my tv, in a special case I made for them. I love seeing them there, 6 games that defined a whole generation for me. Manuals covers boxes, whole products. Digital downloads may offer advantages, but they also take away from the whole experience.

    For someone who may want to buy everything and finish it and go to the next and finish it and go to the next, digital downloads are a good thing.

    But for me it's not a running event, it is a walk.

  • ulikmegee #21 1 year ago

    Physical media will and should die. It's one of the sure fire ways that these companies will get over their "pre-owned games blues" but also giving gamers the latest and greatest games without having to wait for the postie to arrive!

    Booooooooooooooooo
    It's you Bobby Kotick. Go and do one.

  • hulahoops #22 1 year ago

    Physical media sales are sinking like a stone and digital sales are rising sharply.

    There'll probably be physical games media around for a while to come but it's likely to be in the form of Solitaire compendiums on twirly racks in supermarkets.

    I like physical media but the sales are sliding fast and I really can't see the trend reversing. It's more likely to only gain momentum as more people trust and grow up with digital media. :(
    Edited by hulahoops at 18/02/11 @ 14:33

  • arcam #23 1 year ago

    @stardusted

    Sounds a bit like my parents' vinyl collection - it looks awesome and is often a talking point when people come round. But the sleeves might as well be empty - the turntable hasn't worked for 10+ years.

    Nostalgia and a collector's instinct aren't enough to continue on with a impractical format and environmentally-unfriendly product.

    It's easy to see why storing digital data in plastic and cardboard and shipping it across the world is mostly unnecessary today, and actually irresponsible in future when we everyone has a fast and reliable internet connection. That's what the internet is for - sending data across the world quickly, easy and cheaply.

  • DrStrangelove #24 1 year ago

    I agree with his skepticism, but I also hope they won't repeat the N64 mistake and stick to a dying format when it's time to adapt.

  • Vin #25 1 year ago

    Ah, the ever conservative Nintendo. NEVER CHANGE.

  • Zomoniac #26 1 year ago

    If it's a good game I've been anticipating I'd go for the physical copy anyday. Same way I tend to buy CDs if it's something I'm looking forward too.

    I also buy my music on CD, but that's for two reasons; a) the quality is better unless downloaded in a format that takes up an obscene amount of HDD space if you have a large collection, and b) it's easier to listen to in the car than having to put it on a device, sort out aux cables and the like.

    Aside from possible concerns about HDD space being taken up, neither of these are a factor with downloadable games. The quality of the end product is identical. The only downside I can see is not being able to take it to a friend's house.

  • TonyHarrison #27 1 year ago

    I disagree, that's why I went and bought Mass Effect 2 on PSN for £48. It's bargains like those that make downloadable games the future!

  • HermitArcader #28 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • arcam #29 1 year ago

    The only downside I can see is not being able to take it to a friend's house.

    This is an issue with providers, rather than downloadable games themselves.

    With Steam, I can go to a friend's house and if I sign in to my account all my games are available (although they would need downloading or I'd have to bring the game round on a USB stick).

  • TheEarlOfZinger #30 1 year ago

    "Up to this day these games are under my tv, in a special case I made for them"

    lol, that sounds shit and a bit weird tbh.

  • Lexmeister #31 1 year ago

    What's Fischer on about!

    I've been downloading my Wii and DS games for ages!

    >whoops

  • 32768Colours #32 1 year ago

    I wouldn't mind downloads replacing physical media if the price difference was significant enough, but when I picked Siren Blood Curse for £12 on disc but it's £19.99 to download, there's little incentive there to choose the download option.

    On the other hand, where there is no disc version, I do like the fact that the downloadable era has reinvigorated the budget game market. Ever since moving from the ZX Spectrum to the Master System, it's something I've thought was missing from the console market and XBLA and PSN have offered up some amazing games that would've otherwise not seen the light of day.

    There's a lot of rubbish in both the physical and download markets, but I definitely think its the budget download games that win out in terms of creativity and risk-taking, whilst its still nice to enjoy the spectacle and complexity of the big budget disc-based games. So yeah, they can definitely coexist in my opinion :)

  • TheEarlOfZinger #33 1 year ago

    @arcam

    While you raise some great points, I cannot trade in a download to buy another download when I get bored of said download.

    Neither can I rent the download to see if want to make the purchase, nor swap/lend the download with a friend for a different download.

    Until they get this sorted, I'm sticking to physical for the big releases. I buy and play psn games but a lot of them just sit on my hard drive now - if they were physical objects I could have traded them in for cash/other games by now.

  • arcam #34 1 year ago

    @TheEarlofZinger

    You're right, and as a PC Gamer I've just got used to those kind of restrictions as you couldn't do those things with boxed games either (not legally, anyway).

    Demos and free weekends go some way to solving the try-before-you-buy problem, but I think the days of being able to swap and lend games to your friends are very nearly over, whatever platform you game on.

  • Darth_Flibble #35 1 year ago

    @arcam

    companies don't often put demos out now. Really wanted to try MvSC3 but no demo, with TDU2, with it being disc based, I could sell it as hated the steering (again no demo on consoles).

  • evnewell #36 1 year ago

    "We do business in parts of the world where network infrastructure isn't as robust as one would hope," Hirai said.

    He only means the primitive parts of the world: UK, US, and Canada.

  • Mono_X #37 1 year ago

    Digital distribution might lower costs.
    But ultimately will cost the consumer (ie US) more in the long term.

  • Soton4084 #38 1 year ago

    I'm glad to see someone is talking sense! I will always choose physical media over digital downloads (save for the odd DLC pack, such as BFBC: 2 Vietnam), as digital download only would be bad for consumers. A prime example of this is the price of PSPGO games compared to their UMD counterparts.

    Physical media will never die in my opinion. Those who are pushing for the idea of digital download only have their own agendas and wish to increase their profit margins at our expense. Digital download has many disadvantages:

    1) Prices will not drop if we go digital download only and if they do, it will not be by much. This can be demonstrated by the absurd pricing on the PSP PSN store. Furthermore, I doubt digital download would ever be able to compete with preowned in terms of price.

    2) I know I'm not alone in saying that I dislike the idea of all my music/films/games being on a hard drive. What happens if the drive breaks (not uncommon) or is stolen and you have not backed up recently? For this reason I still buy CD's/DVD's and BD's.

    3) Downloadable media has zero resale value. This will kill off the preowned market and lead to many individuals being priced out of the video games market. Games on the iPhone/Ipod touch are so popular because most of them are no more than £4 and most do not consider this to be a lot of money. As a result, there is no great loss if the game turns out to be rubbish. This is the same case with music. Whilst I download singles because they are so cheap, I still buy CD albums.

    4) Video games retailers on the high street will die out. Now I know that Game in particular is far from perfect and perhaps doesn't deserve much sympathy, but spare a thought for all their employees who would be without a job. The high street is already under attack from online retailers and I don't want to live in a world where our high streets are dead.

    5) A lot of people prefer having a physical item. It might seem like a silly thing to some people, but the boxart and general presentation all add to the value of the product.

    6) It wouldn't be possible for people to take a game round a mate's house anymore. A serious disadvantage in my opinion.

    7) Broadband in the UK just isn't upto scratch at the moment and arguably won't be for the next decade or two.

  • kirankara #39 1 year ago

    Anyone else feel like they've stepped into a parrallel universe? Nintendo talking about giving consumers what they want and talking as a voice of reason, it's just not right lol

  • electrolite #40 1 year ago

    Do the posters on here backing the end of physical media really believe a download-only future on consoles will mean prices going down, rather than up? That swapping a situation with competition for a monopoly will mean prices going down, rather than up? Really?! Are you sadists, and/or do you still believe in Father Christmas by any chance?

  • SpaceMonkey77 #41 1 year ago

    DLC only future is a myth, like us all living in a utopia where public transport rules and owning car is alien.

    I've always been in the mindset, that co-existence is the only way forward, to keep all parties happy, and options open from creators to consumers. It works for tv, films with DLC, streaming and dvds, and music with digital, streaming and cds, so games will be no different. No doubt Nintrendo love this fact, and are playing it up, so they can sting devs/pubs with their terrible media licensing fees, that made them so rich. Lol, they'll think very differently, when they realise that 3rd parties aren't largely going to flock to their slaughter house anymore.

    Good luck duck hunting, Nintendo, you draconian, backward beggars.

  • gingerlink #42 1 year ago

    @Anciegher

    I would've bought starcraft II digitally if it had been cheaper than in the store...

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdf5n-zI14
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdf5n-zI14
    [/link]

    Physical seems to end up being cheaper because stores undercut each other.

  • WJF #43 1 year ago

    Physical media in a stationary device - Good

    Physical media in a portable device - Not Good

    Physical media won't (and really shouldn't) die, but there is a reason for the growth of mobile gaming, and it's not just because of the price difference.

  • Genji #44 1 year ago

    It's what Japanese consumers want, more like.

    But it's what I want too. I like having a physical copy of something.

  • Sevens #45 1 year ago

    Bravo, Nintendo.

  • superbeast2010 #46 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 10:57:39 01-02-2012

  • Acrid #47 1 year ago

    Nintendo is right, I would never buy a digital copy of a game that I can buy a physical copy of, the only games I've bought on PSN/WiiWare are one's I'll never be able to pick-up in-store.

  • Mister-Wario #48 1 year ago

    I'm of two minds about this. On one hand, yeah: it's pretty clear that digital distribution is the next logical step eventually. But it's like any new technology: the old one hangs around for a while as we get accustomed to it.

    I like physical media. I like going into a shop and browsing, and having a hard copy for the foreseeable future. At the same time, I like going onto PSN or Wii Shop Channel and quickly(ish) downloading a new game. Strictly speaking the latter is better: it's more convenient and environmentally friendlier, as well as less clutter-inducing.

    Unfortunately, the main reason I can't fully endorse an all-digital world is cost. I fear that if everything is digital, then the prices can be whatever the company wants them to be because there's little competition. Steam, for instance, offers L4D, TF2, etc. Who else does? Moreover, there's no real reason for the cost to deteriorate since all the extra costs you might have to pay for (shop assistant wages, etc) have been eliminated.

    Of course, there are sales quite regularly: Steam, Xbox Live and PSN do pretty good deals. At the same time, full physical games available on XBox Live or PSN are often very expensive: About 30 pounds or so despite being far, far cheaper in physical media form, even brand new.

    So, I suppose what I'm saying is there's a serious trust issue involved with a digital gaming world. A business exists to make a profit, nothing more. Some businesses have shown they price fairly, but will this always be the case? Nintendo's big releases hardly ever go down in price. Despite being out for years at a time. If they move to a purely digital space, far-off as that is, how will prices be affected?

  • jthorne19 #49 1 year ago

    Sees through all is absolutely right. People want a choice. I add that they deserve a choice. Why won't developers release both electronic and physical media on the same day for all titles and then, truly, we will see what sells more.

  • SG #50 1 year ago

    To those saying that it's environmentally unfriendly, it's only unfriendly if the media is binned. The argument for media existing is so that it can be passed on (transferable value) or kept and admired.

    There is the case of the cellophane wrapper but it pales in comparison to a week's shopping and the amount of stuff that goes into a bin, and the warning leaflets that a lot of people may throw out can be recycled.

    Most importantly of all, digital downloads take away the healthy competition that benefits us consumers (even though digital downloads take the shop out of the equation so we should be getting them at the price that the shop get physical media from publishers, plus tax).

  • Ryze #51 1 year ago

    ...says the company with no online strategy.

  • zedzee #52 1 year ago

    "Kaz Hirai, in August last year insisted that a digital future is over 10 years away. "

    So why on earth would you want to release the PSPgo?

  • Nollog #53 1 year ago

    Why do people down-vote comments for having perfectly valid opinions?
    Edited by Nollog at 21/02/11 @ 07:38