The video game industry has been gradually embracing digital releases of games more and more over the years, which has only complicated things for fans that still prefer buying video games physically. This trend hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down or reversing, but there is a small glimmer of hope for those who hope that physical releases continue.
According to European physical sales data that The Games Business has discussed, it seems that physical games are still popular there. Although physical sales declined year-on-year in 2024 on all platforms, including Nintendo‘s Switch console, The Games Business says that the Switch “has been the dominant player at physical retail. Sales of new Switch games are still around 80% physical in Europe. That means if Nintendo has a quiet year, which it did in 2024, then that will have a direct impact on the boxed game sector overall. There may have been fewer Switch games sold, but the platform remains as physical as it’s ever been. There wasn’t a huge shift in consumers moving away from physical toward digital in 2024 on Nintendo”.
