Gamers increasingly prefer digital to physical format.
According to a statistic conducted by Ars Technica on American soil, the sale of video games in physical copy he is not alone decreased in recent years, but it is decreasing more and more, year after year. Although only the results relating to the United States are taken into consideration, it is still a fairly extensive statistical sample and probably applicable to the rest of the world as well.
The number of new and recently released physical copy games has dropped by 30% from 2018 to 2021and if already at the beginning of the period considered the gap with the number of digital copies was considerable (the ratio is about 1: 4), in the last year it has increased enormously (approximately 1: 8).
The decline occurred in a higher percentage on Playstation, which saw a 38% decrease in physical copies sold. The number is slightly less for consoles Xbox31%, while the smallest figure ever and reserved for Switchwith only 7% fewer physical copies than digital ones.
If the difference is seen more by looking specifically at the data relating to minor publications, for example indies that only come out digitally, it is also true that as regards releases of greater thickness, the trend remains vaguely consistent, demonstrating that even the large publishers may have more interest in releasing digital copies than physical ones, or at least in promoting the sale of the digital format more than the physical one.
The sample will be smaller, but we can do it anyway: are you buying more in digital or physical format? Which one do you prefer and on what occasion would you be willing to choose the format you don’t prefer?
Source: Ars Technica
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