Games Inbox: When was the last time you bought a physical video game?

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Writing on the wall
The last GAME store I went into a few months back had the same size display for Peppa Pig toys as it did for Switch games. And the games were majority second-hand, which won’t be there anymore soon.

Over the last few years for physical games, supermarkets have stopped selling them. GAME took over the smaller chain shops but have now seemingly focused elsewhere.

I think the only nationwide bricks and mortar stores left are Currys for new games (and have pretty good pre-order deals) or CeX for second-hand.

It is sad times if you like to peruse the shelves.
Si

TOY
So there are rumours that GAME are going to stop selling physical games in their stores. You’ll still be able to get physical games and hardware delivered to the store to pick up, but at that point why wouldn’t you just order it online (from GAME or another retailer)?

I was in a store recently and noticed they’re having a massive sale to get rid of their pre-owned stock, since they’re no longer taking trade-ins, with 50% off any pre-owned games marked price. I got Lego Star Wars for £4, which is fantastic for a two-year-old game. Given their stores are now mostly corners of Sport Direct and physical games have become something only hardcore gamers buy it seems like they’re trying to save space for… toys. And if the store finds success as a toy seller more power to them.

I’d say this is the end of an era but every time something about GAME comes up most people I hear admit they haven’t been to a store in a while and many are surprised by how toy focused it is now, even though it’s been like that since before the start of the decade. Either way I’ll miss GAME, even if I’ll miss what it was in my youth rather than what it’s become.
Sunny

Triple figures
Not surprised to see the moaning about Elden Ring DLC being too hard. I started it on Saturday and died like three times to a basic enemy, then several more time to a minor boss.

Is this a backlash at everyone moaning Elden Ring was too easy? Are FromSoftware teaching us a lesson?

I’m not giving up. I will finish it. Sometime in the next 100 hours or so.
Bobwallett

GC: You died three times? You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers.

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Quick victory
I read with interest your review of Dicefolk and after playing hundreds of hours of Slay The Spire, and finally defeating the Corrupt Heart with all of the characters, I was curious how difficult you found Dicefolk in comparison?

Would you expect it to take far less time to get to grasp the systems in Dicefolk in order to ‘beat’ the game, i.e. defeating the final boss? I know it’s a bit of a loaded question as some folk are absolutely amazing at exploiting combinations and systems in order to make it easier, but with the luck element it does seem like progressing through unlocking content will make it slightly easier.

I just don’t want to commit to another game of this ilk and get sucked into playing nothing else until I’ve at least bested it once.
Paul Conry

GC: Beating it once takes around five hours, depending on your luck. 100%ing it we wouldn’t like to say… HowLongToBeat suggests 41 hours.

Pleasing the Emperor
So far this year, I finally completed Baldur’s Gate 3 – which was sublime. I am now playing through the equally superb Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree and looking forward to Space Marine 2 in September.

So ‘only’ 4 games all year with XDefiant in the mix a little too, but all of these games are a lot of fun and showing what is possible when developers are allowed to make the games they and fans want, and have the time to do it.

Who else is looking forward to Space Marine 2 though? Everything about it so far looks amazing!
Tom

Ready to rock
The launch of Rocksmith+ on PlayStation 4 a couple of weeks ago piqued my interest and I’ve been wondering whether any Inboxers are playing it on PlayStation 5 and would recommend it?

I’m normally open to trying new games out but, despite alleging to be free, it is a subscription service with a high price of entry, needing the £25 Real Tone Cable to connect your guitar to the PlayStation 5 and then a monthly cost of £17 or a yearly cost of £120.

I missed the boat on Rocksmith 2014, which has, along with all its DLC, now been delisted from digital stores. I’ve been weighing up getting a Real Tone Cable and Rocksmith 2014 second0hand to give it a try, but I’d be limited to the base game songs only (about 65 songs).

A more important question, if the game has been delisted, would a physical copy still work? I assume any updates and patches would download but I haven’t attempted to play a delisted game before so I’m not sure what to expect.

Any thoughts from any rockers in the Inbox?
Hubert

GC: It’ll definitely work off the disc. We’re only slightly less sure the downloads will be okay.

Tipping point
Considering just how expensive games now cost to make and purchase, surely the obvious solution would be to delay the next generation of consoles until we see a noticeable difference in graphics and production values?

Wasn’t that how it always was, until quite recently?
Francis

GC: Not really, no. Publishers aren’t waiting for new technology, they’re waiting for hardware sales to slow for the current generation, indicating the next is necessary. We’ve now reached that point with all three current consoles.

Arcade collection
Sadly, the reader who was hankering for a new Marvel Vs. Capcom game will probably have to wait until 2035 at the earliest if it’s to feature X-Men characters.

The Insomniac data breach revealed Sony signed a deal for exclusives rights to release games with X-Men characters until then. There were some caveats including Marvel keeping the rights to certain 90s games, hence the release of the Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classics.

My personal dream arcade collection though would be a Sega Arcade Racer collection. I have the Sega Ages OutRun and Virtua Racing on Switch and the delisted PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Daytona USA on Xbox Series X. I’ll pick up Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name in the sales as I’m not interested in the game but the arcade section has Daytona USA 2 in it. The first time that game has ever been available on console.

But a proper collection with those and Sega Rally, Scud Race, and OutRun 2 and it’s variants would be amazing. You can stick on the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 delisted After Burner Climax and Crazy Taxi with the original music too.

Now that’s a collection I would pay £70 for.
Simundo

GC: You have our axe.

Inbox also-rans
I still don’t understand why Rockstar couldn’t have made DLC for both GTA Online and GTA 5. It’s not like they’re not rich or that GTA Online had tons of really complex scripts that would’ve tied up the narrative team. Seem a real missed opportunity.
Danse

So I guess we’re not getting a new Pokémon game this year? That must be the first time in a long time. Maybe Game Freak are serious about improving the quality on the next one and not just knocking them out as quickly as they can.
Hurts

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