Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Discs Not Dead? Survey Says Physical Media Still Rules
The Entertainment Merchants Association has published a report that says that physical discs or carts comprise 80 to 90 percent of game purchases, versus digital downloads.
"Digital distribution is clearly an important segment of the home entertainment market and will continue to grow in market share in the coming year," says Bo Andersen, president and CEO of EMA. "While it is tempting for industry outsiders to say, 'disc is dead,' as the saying goes, reports of its demise are grossly exaggerated." The EMA works with retail member companies and uses data from partners like The NPD Group.
While we don't doubt that consumers still like to buy physical media, the EMA's stated membership are retail stores, so it doesn't take a conspiracy theorist nutjob to wonder if these numbers favor the EMA's membership at all. Interestingly, not long ago, The NPD reported that a full half of PC sales (according to survey, not sales data) are digital, including popular digital distribution service Steam.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
