The Rise of Digital Gaming

The concept of digital gaming is nothing new if you think about it. We have been downloading digital copies of games to our smartphones for years, and now the technology has moved onto our consoles and handheld devices.

Whether you play online jackpot slots or Call of Duty, there are many reasons why digital gaming is quickly becoming the norm.

Price

One of the most significant differences between physical and digital gaming, and a big reason why games have gone in this direction, is the price. Games, especially AAA titles, have become more expensive than ever before.

You could easily spend close to $100 to buy a physical copy of a brand new game; this isn’t the case with digital games. Not only are digital games cheaper, but consumers will also then be more likely to buy them.

Cost for Developers

Speaking of the price, the cost to developers has been a huge driving force behind digital games becoming more popular than physical. While developing and building a game can be costly anyway, saving money on creating physical copies is huge.

This aspect is vital for indie and smaller developers, too, as they don’t have to spend the money on creating physical copies and can instead spend it on marketing or whatever else they need.

Convenience

It would be a huge mistake to underestimate just how important convenience is in this discussion. With hundreds of gaming titles being released almost every week, being able to get your hands on the game you want can sometimes be a struggle.

Indie and foreign titles won’t be found in every store, and therefore just trying to find a copy is a massive battle. However, digital versions can be found in a matter of seconds if they have been uploaded to Steam, the Playstation Store, or the Nintendo store, for example.

Game-Sharing

Community and friends have been tied to gaming since it began. Pong was a game that you could play against the computer or a friend if you had a second joystick. This game-sharing aspect was then upgraded, and you could just hand a friend a copy of the game you had that they wanted to play.

While this is obviously still possible and still something people do all the time, it has become much easier thanks to digital titles. Instead of having to meet with and give a friend a copy of the game, you can simply share it online.

Variety

Variety is tied into the convenience of online games, with services such as Steam and the Playstation Store proving that there is far, far more variety in the world of digital games. As mentioned, with physical copies, you need to find a copy in-store somewhere to play it, unlike digital copies.

Steam is the perfect example of a game library that is packed with everything from brand new AAA titles to small, unknown Indie games. This is also one of the best ways for developers of smaller games to get their titles out there.

These online stores also have amazing sales throughout the year, something you don’t find in brick-and-mortar game stores.

Future of Gaming

Digital gaming is quickly taking over the space and will definitely be the norm in the next few years if it isn’t already the norm. As mentioned, online game stores and libraries have already paved the way, and now it is up to console developers to decide if they want to follow or not.

Concepts like Cloud gaming have also exploded and are almost completely built on the idea of digital games and being able to buy and play games anywhere. Playstation has already taken steps towards the digital future with their digital-only Playstation 5 model.

While PS5s are tough to find at the moment, what has stayed consistent is the price of the digital model. Scarcity played a role, but consumers realized they could get the same specs and performance of the disc-drive version but at a lower price.

There is a good chance that digital-only consoles and handheld devices will not only become more common but become the standard. The Steam Deck is already leading the way for handheld devices, with Playstation doing the same for consoles.