Unlike PlayStation, Nintendo's Physical Copies Are Selling Well
Don't Expect Nintendo To Drop Physical Games, If Sales Figures Are Anything To Go By
PlayStation was the first of the big three to announce that it will be scrapping physical games altogether, but we all know it won’t be the last. Gamers wait anxiously to see when Xbox will announce a similar move, or if we’ll get at least one more generation before it joins Sony.
However, Nintendo probably won’t be in such a rush to go all-in on the digital-only future. That is, at least, judging from its latest financial report, in which it reveals that 38.5 percent of its latest game sales were physical copies - much better than what we’ve heard elsewhere.
Almost 40 Percent Of Nintendo’s Recent Game Sales Were Physical, But There Is A Bit Of A Catch
This was noted by GamesRadar+, who spotted this note in Nintendo’s latest financial report. Here, Nintendo reveals that 61.5 percent of its latest game sales were digital, made through the eShop.
For comparison, it was recently reported that only seven games sold more than 100,000 physical copies on PlayStation 5. Figures like that likely influenced PlayStation’s decision-making, leading the company to believe now is the time to rip the plaster off.
Now, as GamesRadar+ notes, the figures for Nintendo are slightly skewed because this includes DLC purchases (boosting the digital figures) and games being bundled with the console (boosting physical figures). However, it does give us a rough idea of how physical games are faring on Nintendo platforms, and it’s much more positive than we’re seeing elsewhere. While digital is still outperforming physical, it’s large enough that getting rid of physical altogether would be risky; you can’t guarantee that everyone in that 38.5 percent would make the leap over to using the eShop.
With that said, I wouldn’t give Nintendo too much praise. The Switch 2 era saw the introduction of game key cards - “physical” copies that are actually just a code in a box. That negates the whole idea of physical games aiding game preservation, so they might as well not exist. But then again, even saying that feels like just giving up and accepting the all-digital future. It’s a tricky one.
So far, efforts to make PlayStation reverse its decision to get rid of physical copies have been successful, and it is largely assumed that it will go through with this despite public sentiment. We’ll have to wait and see if the upcoming blackout has any effect on this.