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The answer is that you cant.
Its the latest in the sad decline of physical games.
The trend indicates that physical games have an even bleaker future ahead.
The last retailers standing
For game store owners, the change already happened.
Its a losing battle when even the CEO of UK retailer Gamedefiantly claims theyll be the last man standing.
Thomas Sansone has runVideo Game Traderin Burford, Georgia since 1999.
Low margins barely justify the effort: a $60 release costs him $49-$54 wholesale.
Having adapted once, Sansone worries the jump to digital games poses a longer-term threat to the retro scene.
The next generation, including Sansones own kids, prefer digital.
For Fairhurst, physical games have a clear future, just sold and packaged in a new way.
Chris Thompson is the founder ofGameroom, a Nebraskan games chain operating since 2007.
Even in 2011, Thompson predicted new and preowned games were running out of time.
Overall sales are down but the smaller market has reduced competition.
Hes turned to software development and plans to release a B2B product helping stores with inventory and logistics challenges.
Thompson sees his stores going the way of vinyl records and becoming a consistent novelty shop.
Hes concerned the drive to digital gaming forgets the fact that even America doesnt have 100% internet coverage.
I still remember the first PlayStation 4 that I sold.
Forever physical
Not all physical game retailers have seen sales drop.
The company made its intentions clear with the slogan forever physical.
He told TRG that sales have increased every year since they got into business eight years ago.
For him, physical games have a clear future, just sold and packaged in a new way.
It’s no surprise that Fairhurst is an obsessive collector himself.
The game was no longer available outside mobile.
How can players pull up the game on PlayStation 4 and Switch now?
By purchasing the Limited Run Games release.
Like Thompson, Fairhurst believes physical game releases are destined to join vinyl as a specialty item.
I think the memory of games often stays alive because physical copies exist and change hands.
With so many digital releases coming out each day - who will remember most of them in 20 years?
Physical discs and cartridges serve as tangible reminders of these games' existence.
As long as they remain in circulation, the memory of those games will live on.
They’re going to support physical media until the day they die.
What happens to Netflix shows and films if they ceased operations?
Games arent alone on the path to digitalization.
Wroot highlighted how the decline of Blu-Ray and DVD sales has slowed.
SeeingDisney remove 30 original shows from streamingfor a $1.5 billion tax write-off, andWarner Bros.
The appeal of the format is beginning to show, explains Wroot.
especially as profits by streaming companies seem to be decreasing.
A symptom of this is how streaming platforms are removing content to save costs.
New ways to preserve the past
Gamings physical history has also led toa widely reported preservation crisis.
Digital games are easier to view, collect, and store in comparison to physical gaming consoles or discs.
And its a statement everyone we interviewed agreed on.
The future is digital, but nobody doubts that the trustworthy, tangible physical game still has its place.
And remember theBlack Friday video game dealsare coming soon which will give you a great chance to save money.
