Death of Physical Games Will Not Have a 'Significant Impact' On Sales, Resident Evil Publisher Capcom Says
Resident Evil and Monster Hunter maker Capcom has said it won't see much of an impact from the death of physical game sales, as the vast majority of its titles are already sold digitally.
Capcom, the developer behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, has expressed confidence that the diminishing trend of physical game sales will not significantly affect their sales. This is because a large majority of their games are already being sold digitally. When asked about an impact from the shrinking physical game market during their recent investor Q&A, Capcom responded that they anticipate minimal disruption.
This is due to Sony's announcement that they will phase out game discs altogether for new PS5 games starting January 2028, and rumors that the upcoming PS6 will follow suit. Xbox is reportedly developing a system to transfer game licenses from physical discs to digital ownership. Nintendo, meanwhile, operates on a hybrid model with physical games featuring a combination of cartridges, Game-Key Cards, and digital codes.
However, Nintendo has recently incentivized digital purchases by making them around $10 cheaper than their boxed counterparts. Despite this, Capcom maintains that approximately 90% of their unit sales are digital. They do not foresee a significant impact from this transition. Notably, Nintendo reported that their digital sales to physical sales ratio slightly increased to 61.5%, although this is still lower than other publishers.
Fans of Nintendo consoles seem to particularly enjoy physical game ownership due to its ease of use for sharing games and the option to trade games among family members and friends. Capcom is having a successful year, with over 2 million sales for their new Franchises Pragmata and 8 million sales for Resident Evil Requiem. Upcoming releases from the publisher include Onimusha: Way of the Sword on September 4, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen for Switch 2 on October 9 and Resident Evil Veronica next year. Capcom also has major expansions planned for Resident Evil Requiem and Monster Hunter Wilds.
Written by urgent.news from IGN's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
