Over the past few years, sales of physical games on consoles have continued to decline while sales of digital games continue to rise. However, despite this trend, physical sales of console games still account for a significant proportion of sales.
In 2017, digital downloads for console games were estimated to have accounted for 30 to 45 percent of sales in the UK, with some estimating that by 2021, digital copies could account for 60-70 percent of the console games market.
In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Super Rare Games “head of doing stuff” George Perkin shared his thoughts on the current trend. The company, which focuses on publishing physical editions of the very best indie games on the Nintendo Switch, believes that 90% of console game sales will be digital within the next decade.
When asked if he thought physical-based gaming was on its way out compared to digital gaming, Perkins stated, “The reality of the situation is that it is on its way out. Give it 10 years and I reckon that 90% of console gaming will be digital. It’s a sad but unfortunate truth.”
One reason for the decline in physical-based gaming is just how easy and quick it is to purchase games digitally and to download them.
“The convenience of digital media is unrivalled and it will eventually become the only way of playing games – it won’t be long till consoles don’t even support physical releases,” Perkins added.
As a publisher focusing on releasing physical copies of games, they’re finding themselves very much swimming against the current. While the outlook doesn’t look good for a physical-gaming based publisher, Super Rare Games are optimistic that there will still be a market for what they’re doing, especially if Nintendo remain supportive.
“Its fairly bleak for us collectors out there but I hope that Nintendo keep doing what they are doing as I think they are the one company who will still offer the same level of physical releases which we have grown to love.”
Super Rare Games have been busy publishing Human: Fall Flat and The Flame in the Flood on Nintendo Switch. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is also set to release shortly.
As for what’s next for the publisher, they’ve got plans to release plenty of games over the next few months and years, including Mutant Mudds Collection, Worms: W.M.D., Steredenn: Binary Stars and Knights of Pen & Paper, to name a few.