Highlights
- Best Buy may stop selling all physical media, including Blu-rays and DVDs, as early as Q1 2024, joining other retailers that have made similar moves due to the rise of digital sales.
- If true, this decision leaves Walmart, Target, and Amazon as the main retailers for physical media, raising concerns about the availability and preservation of classic and current-gen games.
- While digital games offer convenience and space-saving benefits, critics argue that the shift to digital-only gaming poses challenges for game preservation and the availability of older titles.
Unfortunately for fans of discs and video game box art, a new report claims that Best Buy will stop selling all physical media as soon as early next year. This comes after another report made headlines earlier this year claiming that physical game sales are down considerably.
If true, Best Buy wouldn't be the first store to make this sort of move. A major UK retailer announced it will stop selling physical games in stores earlier this year. With the rise of digital sales, the retailer is claiming physical games are no longer profitable for them. If recent reports are true, it seems as though Best Buy could be taking things a step further.
Online publisher The Digital Bits is claiming to have heard from multiple sources that Best Buy is planning to stop selling all physical media as soon as Q1 2024. According to the report, not only will Best Buy stop selling physical media in-store, but they will also be ceasing sales of such products online. This also applies to Blu-rays, DVDs, 4K Ultra HD discs, and collectible steelbooks. It should be noted, however, that the retailer has still yet to confirm or deny the story.
If factual, it would leave Walmart, Target, and Amazon as the biggest retailers to carry physical media. Best Buy potentially pulling out of the fight is surprising, however, since they're the only electronic-dedicated retailer out of the bunch. Obviously, this is concerning for fans of physical media, but digital media stores have closed, as well. Nintendo made headlines earlier this year as it shut down their 3DS and Wii U eShops. This means the only way to obtain 3DS and Wii U titles is by purchasing physical copies, but now, fewer stores are actually carrying them.
As critics of digital-only gaming say, it's just as much a preservation problem as anything else. A recent study shows that a very low percentage of classic games are commercially available. Obviously, this is a larger issue for retro titles, but current-gen games are only current for a relatively short period of time.
Again, the report should be taken with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made, but it certainly aligns with recent trends. Especially in the past few years, digital games have simply become more convenient. Sure, it might require the purchase of an external hard drive to fit a substantial gaming library, but is also a considerable space-saver.
Source: The Digital Bits