For the first time in the gaming industry, digital game sales outnumber physical sales overall, according to figures from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Signs of this eventuality have been manifesting for years, particularly during the current console generation, including when digital games led a massive 2020 sales increase on PS4. It isn’t just console manufacturers that have noticed a shift towards digital when it comes to consumer preferences, either.
As of July 2019, Mass Effect and Need for Speed publisher EA noticed that almost half of its sales were now digital. One of EA’s primary competitors, Call of Duty publisher Activision, also saw the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 provide the company’s biggest digital launch ever in 2018. Such shifts in industry trends led console manufacturers, game developers, and publishers to offer more deals and discounts, which improved digital games' position in the market due to convenience and accessibility.
According to Polygon, the growing trend of digital game sales has outnumbered physical sales for the first time with the help of the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication’s numbers were provided by senior analyst for the Niko Partners research firm Daniel Ahmad, who told Polygon the growing trend in digital sales, even before COVID-19, was the reason why Microsoft “has had the confidence to launch a digital version of its Xbox One S console (in 2018) and why Sony will have a digital-only version of its PlayStation 5 console at launch.” Over 50 percent of sales are now digital, with EA, Take-Two, and Sony all reporting more than half of their sales were digital in 2020, according to Ahmad. The implication is that the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will mark the first console generation where digital game sales are the standard, not the supplement.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many gamers - including traditionalists who prefer physical copies - to shift to purchasing products digitally, the trend towards digital game sales was growing at a consistent rate every year. It’s difficult to find reasons to go to a physical video game retailer outside of purchasing a new console or accessory without having to wait for it to be delivered. The convenience digital sales offer is one of the primary reasons consumers choose them over physical copies.
However, this convenience factor is also a double-edged sword, as the temptation to splurge on more content is much stronger without the inconvenience of having to go to a physical store. Many parents can lament the ease with which their kids can buy games online, having had a hole burned in their pocket with excessive digital purchases if they don’t activate the security features available to them to prevent such virtual shopping sprees. However, despite these drawbacks, digital game sales continue growing in popularity as the PS5 and Xbox Series X approach, and it won’t be too surprising if there eventually comes a time when physical copies are a rarity.
Source: Polygon, Daniel Ahmad/Twitter