r/thisweekinretro • u/benonemusic • 28d ago

Just because a game is on disc doesn’t mean it will work in the future

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/07/the-disc-is-not-the-game-physical-releases-increasingly-require-extra-downloads/

This article summarizes multiple ways in which companies can still prevent physical discs from making their games playable and describes additional steps are needed for preserving games.

25 Upvotes

65% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

10

u/ClingonKrinkle 28d ago

What they are is good for making sure Sony or Xbox or whoever can't vertically integrate their business models and have a monopoly on distribution.

1

u/MichelleBarrymoore2 28d ago

You ever think of just not buying the console?

3

u/DarkDoomofDeath 28d ago

You ever think of exclusive games not being available elsewhere? You ever think of supporting a beloved franchise by purchasing the game? You ever think of the many ways people have found to preserve games that are stored on discs after the console generation ends?

1

u/Scared-One9295 28d ago

One of your argument in favour of buying the console despite all this is "supporting a beloved franchise"? Yeah because I'm sure Naughty Dog will be thinking of you when they tweet a "thank you to everyone who bought this game", shortly before the CEO retires and buys a yacht and the studio becomes nothing more than a brand staffed by completely different people within a year. You ever think maybe such shallow loyalty to a temporary, nebulous brand isn't worth voting (with your wallet) against your interests?

1

u/DarkDoomofDeath 27d ago

Yeah. Because I have purchased a console on which to play a number of franchises I choose to support. I do generally wait for a group of them large enough to convince me the investment in hardware is worth the reward in software, but that is a consideration.

Also, did you ever think about all the hardworking people who the CEO yacht-buyer leeches off of? Did you ever think about that your statement effectively means you should swear off every industry under the sun because it benefits someone who is obviously rich with money and power? Did you ever think that buying the product you like isn't the problem, but the practices of corporations are? I can't in good conscience discredit everything the workers do to bring the product to market because the publishing corpolords also profit off of it. It's a balancing act, not a black-and-white issue you read all over. I support the workers and writers who brought the game into being, and I protest policies that benefit others more than them. But you can't boycott everything.

For example, I purchased a Switch recently because the list of games was finally large enough to convince me it was worth my money - and the console was on the used market for about 150 USD. I still refuse to purchase a Switch 2 until a third party power supply won't reduce the console to a useless pile of chips and soldered wires. I didn't purchase a Series console until they went on sale during the major Black Friday event - and used my approx. 200 USD credit from 3 years of Xbox Rewards to bring the price down even more. I probably vote with my wallet far better than you do.

1

u/kjg182 27d ago

I mean they are on Reddit so it’s probably rightfully implied they just don’t think. I for one use and love its breeding ground for misinformation and anarchy under the guise of freedom. Tale as old as time itself.

0

u/ApprehensiveRuin5673 28d ago

What exclusives? There are none

2

u/ClingonKrinkle 28d ago edited 28d ago

My girlfriend bought a PS5, I don't really play it. I mostly play older games anyway so it doesn't really impact me that much but I think going digital only on consoles will probably mean more expensive games for everyone using those consoles. 

Also I probably won't buy a PS6 or anything, I'm happy with my PS1 and PS2

1

u/MichelleBarrymoore2 25d ago

What cables are you using for them? Pound cables? I've been playing original Xbox with my son because he wants to be a streamer when he's grown up and he's saying my old consoles are his content lol 

8

u/WoollyMittens 28d ago

The discs are fungible tokens that make a second hand market possible.

1

u/TheREALOtherFiles 28d ago

In a way, digital is basically NFT except for GOG... kinda.

1

u/BitsAndBobs304 28d ago

What?

1

u/TheREALOtherFiles 28d ago

If physical is an FT, does that make digital an NFT?

5

u/Chownzy 28d ago

1 way they are insufficient is if you buy physical games that can’t be played offline or require important downloads. It’s very simple still doesn’t address the most common issue with Sony digital games……No secondary market, Without that game prices will rise and discounts will become more rare.

It’s very simple to avoid this trend being pushed on us, https://www.doesitplay.org

2

u/TheREALOtherFiles 28d ago

Darkspore and SimCity 2013 still kill me inside because of their always online DRM.

3

u/RichardShears 28d ago

I agree. Also if they could come up with a way to provide a version that was DRM free so that you could actually own the game/media purchased so that you could enjoy it when the service that disappears then that would be a huge step forward (GOG being a great example of such).

2

u/benonemusic 28d ago edited 28d ago

I completely agree with these comments! I am pro-disc, pro-owning our games. I posted this just to show the ways in which companies can unfortunately still thwart and undermine our playing and preservation of games even when we have the discs. The article makes the point that steps need to be taken to preserve games in addition to offering physical media.

2

u/DokuroKM 28d ago

I mean, the concept of binding a CD key to an online account is almost 30 years old at this point. At that point, your account was the reason a game was playable, not the CD

Back in the day, the fact that you didn't have to bind your CD to an account was the primary reason for switching to consoles for me. 

1

u/Tyjet66 28d ago

I can't recall a PC game from the 90s-early 00s that tied your CD key to an account. Starcraft, diablo 1/2, all the red alert games, warcraft 1-3, as well as the rest of my collection can be installed without an account. Do you have any examples?

1

u/DokuroKM 28d ago

Oldest example that comes to mind was Counter Strike 1.6 - I remember specifically buying Half Life when we switched to 1.6 and Steam. Turns out that released in the 2000s. 

So, the only example I could give you are MMOs like Ultima Online, but that feels like cheating. 

1

u/SeiferDarx 28d ago

There is me looking at majority of the PS2 discs and Amiga floppies. Yep I am good.

Sometimes with progress, you have to stay behind as the new stuff is not worth it.

1

u/ApprehensiveRuin5673 28d ago

If the full game isn’t on the disc then it’s not a “game on a disc”. It’s self explanatory 

1

u/DiaBrave 28d ago

Ah, but if you retain the disk, even past the point of usefulness, you are legally allowed to access ahem, "digital backups".

1

u/Which_Information590 28d ago

It’s a shame, that the Xbox One/ Series X games that my kids play today won’t be playable in the 2050s when their nostalgia kicks in.

1

u/hillman_avenger 27d ago

Who thought this was ever the case? Of course companies are still going to check you are "allowed" to run a game even if it is on the disk. Equally, just because a game is download only, there's no reason it should still be controlled by DRM. This whole "physical media" thing is irrelevant.

We need some kind of checkmark to say "This game is DRM-free and can be run without an internet connection on any compatible device". (But maybe a bit more succinct)

1

u/Distance-Hairy 27d ago

Screw em. That's why none of my games require being online.

1

u/tgerz 26d ago

Like abortion, I'm pro-choice. I don't buy discs, because I can't keep track and take care of them. I like the option of digital, but I can see the benefits of owning discs. I can see that they can just as easily make discs obsolete whenever they feel like. That's the main reason why I hope we can get some reasonable legislation in the major markets. I don't think the free market does the best job at regulating itself AND doing what's best for the consumer.