Why would you buy a limited physical release of a cheap to purchase digital game for any other reason than you expect it to be valuable? Coaster? Gotta feel it? Don’t trust the digital?! Companies are attempting to create a craze based on limits so you buy... the psychology assumes you want a valuable, limited and rare product. If you can get it for market (retail) second hand then the model is toast.
This bubble is bursting?
For me, I've never bought one of LRG titles for my own use, based on thinking the price was going to go up. I bought each and every title for "physical", and physical alone. I've seen the
bubble comments around here many times, as it's been used rather regularly to describe LRG situation from the start.
I don't know how the NS releases will go, as we don't know price or qty's, but as for Vita/PS4, there is no bubble to pop. To have a bubble, things need to keep increasing in cost, qty, or both. And at some point, it's more stuff being made than there's demand for. The early 80's crash is a text book example of that. Atari was making more games, than there where systems to support them, and mostly shit titles at that.
Now if LRG had been increasing prices, maybe there's a problem, but they didn't. If they would have started to make more qty's like so many wanted early on, it would have been an issue by now as well. A bubble can't burst, if it's not growing to capacity. So long as the PS4 user base continues to climb, and LRG keeps the same low qty's, it's impossible to have a bubble burst, as the user base is climbing but the game qty is not. So in the long run, games will only keep value and interest, because the market will have more bodies that want said games over time.
The Vita is ending, and LRG has had many releases now where PS4 has more qty, just due to the markets continued growth. Both still sell out in similar time frames, but this shows that proper adjustments are being made. As for the NS, I can't say what will happen there, but so long as qty's are kept in check, and as long as the user base continues moving up as it is now, I don't see an issue there either. The "N" fan base is rabid, so as long as not to many games aren't being made, and the price is competitive, it's all good.
I would pay for a physical release of a cheap digital game if I really liked it or it was a nice release (like PA stuff). Otherwise I'm good.
Over the years, I've paid double and even triple retail for some digital titles I was happy to have physical. If there's a game I don't want or like, which Gamestop is full of for cheap, I don't buy physical just to have.
)
