Why Are We Losing Our Physical Media?
How can we prevent ourselves from slowly losing our physical media? Yeah, we still have them but just for now are we just going to accept it or are we going to do something about it? It has gotten so bad that at Target some sections in the video game aisle are empty or close to being empty. Well does it mean that they are, not quite physical game sales only make up for 10.5% of game sales as of 2022. It has even affected a local game store that I used to live by and used to sell video games to now selling trading card games. What are local gaming shops going to do in the future once all of the consoles go completely digital are they all going away or are they going to change all of their business models to at least survive the current changes that are currently happening in this moment? But what about DVD sales well they are going down year by year. To the point that even Best Buy stopped selling DVDs when the new year began. Yes, we can order them online but some people want to go to a retail store and buy the DVDs, CDs, or video games. There was a local video game store that from selling games to selling DnD board games, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and to my surprise, they were doing much better than ever before. But how did we get to this point that is causing companies to nearly or, if not completely, ditch physical media?
Online Shopping And Streaming
Ever since online shopping became more prevalent, fewer people are willing to go out to buy groceries, clothes, home essentials, and many other items. I see this happening at the home decor store where I work; there are online orders that customers pick up or curbside pickup options. It does save hassle, but sometimes it makes me think the store looks a bit empty because of it. The same can be said about streaming. We have so many movies and shows coming out that Blu-rays and DVDs have taken a backseat. Are we just going to rely on Amazon, eBay, or other online stores to buy DVDs? That’s fine, but some movies increase in price just by name, and these online retailers can inflate prices.
An example is the online PSN store, where Sony faced a lawsuit for inflating game prices. Initially, it was cheaper to buy games online, but depending on the game and franchise, it can be cheaper to buy physical copies. Another point is that when you buy a digital copy, you don’t truly own it; it’s more like a rental. If agreements aren’t renewed by a certain date, the content can be delisted and become inaccessible unless you find it on a piracy site.
Digital copies have their benefits, such as not taking up physical space and being available in the system or application you use. Still, companies can abuse their power regarding streaming services and digital copies.
Delisting
Whenever a partnership agreement is about to expire the companies will usually will try to extend or renew the term. There are cases where that doesn’t happen a recent example of this is Spec Ops The Line where it got delisted from the Steam online store. It makes it harder for people to get the game. You can get the game physically, but depending on what condition you want, you can get it new or preowned and because it got delisted, it can go up in price. More games have been getting delisted from online stores, and the worst-case scenario is that these games end up becoming lost; they won’t be lost forever because we have emulators. Regarding streaming services, they are the same story but also different. When a show is getting taken off a streaming service, it is because they are trying to save money or the partnership agreement is going to expire. But when it comes to original shows they never have a physical release so if by any chance they are removed, they will never be seen in that streaming service. So people will have to sail the seas to see the shows that they want to see. Another reason why people would pirate is that these streaming services’ prices are too high it honestly feels like a second-gen cable plus all the price increases have forced people to go that route. However, it is not doom and gloom because there are people preserving media, and that media is music.
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Vinyl And CDs
There was a time when vinyl and CDs were the dominant form factor for many years to come. That was the case until people were illegally downloading music it did hurt the music industry by a good margin. What was the music industry’s response to it? Music streaming services have helped the industry come back to how it was before. It took a while but it got there. Music streaming services have their benefits such as music at your fingertips, discovering new artists daily, not taking up any space, and many more. As for the downsides, not all of the music will be available or it can be taken down by the label an example of this is the metal band Assück. When I wanted to listen to their debut album on Spotify it wasn’t there it was on Apple Music. So you have to go to other platforms such as YouTube Music or SoundCloud. There are some benefits to digital distribution but the cons outweigh the pros.
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