Digital gaming, while moving towards a solely digital format, remains problematic for consumers due to its unfriendly nature.
In the ever-evolving world of gaming, digital sales on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 have been on a steady rise, accounting for 76% of Sony's sales on the latest consoles. However, this shift towards digital games has sparked concerns among consumers regarding consumer rights and the limitations that come with purchasing digital games.
The author expresses dismay at the current state of digital games, labelling it as "anti-consumer." One of the primary issues lies in the lack of ownership and preservation risks associated with digital games. Unlike physical copies, digital purchases are typically licenses rather than owned copies. This means that when support for older hardware or storefronts ends, consumers lose access to digital titles permanently, with no guaranteed means to transfer or preserve purchased content.
Another concern is the inability to resell or transfer digital games, which limits consumer rights and flexibility compared to traditional retail games. The author questions why this is the case, suggesting that the difficulty in handling digital games may be deliberately withheld to maintain control.
In addition, there are controversies surrounding addiction and microtransactions, particularly on Xbox, where lawsuits in 2025 allege that game makers intentionally designed addictive features without sufficient warnings, raising consumer protection issues related to marketing practices and informed consent.
Store restrictions and regional payment issues also pose challenges for consumers. For instance, PlayStation has limited digital purchase options to its own store, restricting consumer choice, while payment processors have limited transactions on platforms like Steam due to content policies, indicating potential consumer difficulties in purchasing certain games because of financial institutions' decisions linked to content scrutiny.
Moreover, the loss of purchased content is a significant concern. For example, when games like Genshin Impact end support for older platforms, purchased in-game items become inaccessible unless players upgrade hardware or platforms, restricting consumers from fully utilizing their purchases over time.
The author also criticizes the lack of options for gifting and trading digital games, questioning why these features are difficult to implement. On the other hand, the author believes that Nintendo's Virtual Game Cards are a step towards reaching parity between digital and physical games.
Interestingly, physical games are starting to appear on shelves as boxes with download codes instead of discs. The author suggests that this trend, coupled with the expected phasing out of disc drives by default in the PS6 and next Xbox, signals the all-digital future that has already arrived in the gaming industry.
Despite these concerns, companies have maintained standard pricing for new digital games, despite not requiring printing and shipping physical goods. The author suggests that this could be deliberate, with the difficulty in handling digital games being withheld to maintain control.
In conclusion, consumers face limitations such as non-ownership, risk of content disappearing due to platform decisions, restricted resale rights, potential exploitation through addictive game mechanics, and payment/transaction complications affecting digital game purchases on PlayStation and Xbox platforms. The author calls for a full revamp in how digital games are handled, including refunds, selling, trading, and gifting, to ensure parity between digital and physical games and to protect consumer rights.
The author proposes that digital games may be intentionally designed to be difficult to handle in order to maintain control and exploit the consumer, considering the standard pricing remains unchanged despite reduced costs associated with digital-only sales. Additionally, the author suggests that the transition towards all-digital gaming may lead to increased consumer challenges, particularly in the areas of ownership, content preservation, and resale rights.
