Black Myth: Wukong's Physical Editions Won't Have Actual Discs at Launch, Just Digital Codes

Code in a box? Pass. Will wait for sale on digital copy.

Ridiculous situation. Hopefully gets resolved sooner rather than later.

I'm not sure what the incentive would be other than altruism and good press, but couldn't Sony step in and help them out? It's clear the studio wants a real physical release, they're just short on resources.

I buy physical whenever possible but I'm not one of those that gains satisfaction from simply having a box on the shelf. If I don't get any more benefits than just the box without a fully functioning game on disc, I may as well just buy it digitally.

I get that they sell Switch boxes without cartridges due to high manufacturing costs and small capacities.

But PS5 boxes without comparably dirt cheap discs?

Why make the box then? I don't understand it's such a waste of plastic.

And then complain when the ''physical'' version doesn't sell well. The game does look interesting, but for practices like this it's an instant skip for me, no matter what

@Max_the_German this is to kill the second hand market. You'll find that a lot of the loudest complainers about digital are not actually the "collectors" but the Cexists. Buying second hand then trading in will net the publisher exactly zero money, they're just profiting Cex etc.

Nope wont buy it then.

Who’d they think they are… Sony? 😉

I can't find any retailers yet to order the physical edition...only the digital preorder on ps store 🤔

Here we go again, the gaming industry moving forward in ways we don’t want it to.

Anyone think we weren’t the customer.
Just do as you’re told gamers, who do you think you are, peasants.

LMFAO! The audacity!

This kinda sh*t makes me not want to buy this game at all. Ever. Next!

There have been way better games I have passed on for not having physical editions. Who tf do they think they are lol

There should legitimately be a ban on this practice, it's an absolute joke.

If the game plays with the level of graphics wise as the trailer im in disc or no disc.

But I am at heart a collector but unfortunately I'm old and have kids and ive found my disc collection is becoming very damaged and have had to resort to buying all digital so the kids don't have to touch any discs.

Its a shame but thats the way of the world.

Edit; just reading comments you all need to get over yourselves, no money because of this?

Jesus this isn't the first time this has happened.

God Of War im pretty sure did the same.

Didn't call of duty?

Hasn't many out the disc in just for it to unlock a download.

If the game is good, the game will sell

At least they have come out and said they are having a problem and its their first console release.

Alan Wake 2 didn't even bother with a disc version until now.

Surely producing and transporting empty boxes around doesn't cost much (any?) more than transporting a box with a disc in it?
But I'm no economist I guess.

Just delay the release of the physical editions until they can get discs surely makes the most sense right?

Slightly tone-deaf and pointless to release a physical version that's not a physical version. Total waste of plastic.
Physical copy lovers won't buy it with no disc.
Digital copy lovers will wait for a sale.
Similar to Alan Wake 2, I'll wait (assuming it's good).

Not going to buy this then.

At this point us gaming enthusiasts are getting conditioned to eventually think that a disc version is a collectors edition and that the releases are limited.

I can imagine developers/publishers will start doing this more often in the long run that will lead us all slowly into a subscription/digital/cloud only gaming future.

With the state of the industry today I appreciate all of my classic/retro games from years ago today more then ever, I play them and get more fun & entertainment out of them then I do with games that get released today 🙃, that's how bad the industry is at the moment in my eyes.

Well this is a bummer especially when they have a game that looks amazing.

@ChrisDeku tf is "cexist?"

FFS, why even release a physical copy then? Just wait until you can ship it with a disc, I swear these companies are completely clueless.

I guess I’m definitely waiting for reviews, and most likely a sale now.

I do not like that digital is a higher price.

I will not be getting it then.

Bummer. Cds are not that expensive. Guess im skipping it till theres a disc then

That seals the deal on me not buying it.

I won't buy it like that. Will wait until its reduced on playstation store. I cannot see a point in selling a box with a code in. You might as well do what remedy did and make it digital release only.

Tbh im okay with digital. But what is the point of physical release if they do not provide a disc inside the box lol 😂 kinda nonsense to me

And with that they just lost my purchase. I'll get a free copy when I can.

What do they think this is, the Switch?

No discs??
Then I will wait until the digital version drops down to $14.99

Thank goodness for my backlog so no rush to buy anything these developers are poorly trying.

Well that sucks.

Good lord this isn't a new thing by any stretch. Most games are just codes on a disc now but I still buy physical editions because I want the box art and I can get them a lot,lot cheaper if I buy them online. I'll never buy a day one release of the psn store for £70+... I put off buying EA sports wrc because of the asking price but I snagged it in the sale for less than £20.

@LikelySatan CEX is the scummy trade-in shop in the UK, don’t know the American equivalent

No Black Myth Wukong for me, then. F this s if it stays like that.

@Specky I second that statement.

@Bez87 How does a physical collection get "damaged"?! Honest question.

@EYEBALL I'm 36 and have lifetime of games in my physical collection. If that's the case from PS6 onwards I'll take my hat and play the backlog.

Just like alan wake 2 is getting a physical version.black myth wukong is getting one also.word up son

What the actual F.

So you have the resources to ship/export the boxes for the discs but not the disc's themselves?

Yah I'm nOt buying that explanation whatsoever.

You will own nothing and you will be happy!

@ChrisDeku gotcha. Thanks.

@PerpetualBoredom fire, flood, being tarnished by too many Sonic games...

@UltimateOtaku91 that's a really interesting reply, lol. I get what you mean in that a lot of AAA publishers pull that on Switch (usually ones I don't care about), but having to install PS5 games means I don't buy a lot of big games and barely have anything physical for the PS5. It's practically the same thing.

A lot of bad information gets repeated in cases like this. Search for doesitplay dot org. It’s a website that shows, for physical games, whether a patch is required to play the game and if an online connection is required to play the game.

I view the code in a box thing as anti-consumer and won’t touch those games.

@LikelySatan My condolences D;

@clicky this.

Indeed this is pointless. If they plan to make discs when they can ship them, just delay the physical edition.

This is no edition. It's just a goodie box

Game looks crap anyway, no doubt demon souls in a different skin. Definitely not interested now.

-1 sale here then.

They need better publishers, you know the type that actually publish.

Making plastic products just to put a piece of paper inside is really dumb.

Welp. This game is now dead to me until it has a disc. Baldurs Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and now this. I can wait!

We have the resources to get Sony to put a code in a box for us but we don’t have the resources to get Sony to put a disc or two in a box for us…this game is going to be a unplayable mess at launch isn’t it.

At first I thought this was only for the special editions, but dang, standard Jewel Case with a code?
At least the special edition still has some resell value, even if the code is used.
At the same time, there's so much stuff released in August, I can wait.

Only Switch games do that. Will there be a switch version?

Bull*hit excuse.

@PerpetualBoredom By kids? Easily. Taking games from the shelf, shoving them into the console, throwing the box down, getting bored, get another game, throw game on side, repeat.

I've had a good few kids and what I've learnt over the years is, it doesn't matter what or how you teach them, some children will obey and understand and some kids will say yes but ain't listening one little bit.

So I've had a few game boxes broke and a few discs scratched and I got fed up. So my last full collection of games was the ps4 and ps5 is basically all digital, it's hard to let go but means my kids can switch on their ps5 and just play.

Plus I can just control what games they have and don't have and when they are ready I can just unlock another game for them.

They aren't being naughty by damaging the games they are just being kids in a generation where everything is just instant and growing up in a world where music and films are now just online, so they never really understood taking care of physical games.

God only knows how much I tried.

I guess I will wait for the disc version then..

I get that they can face difficulties in distribution. Then just tell players there's no physical version at the moment.

Why lie or mislead your players?

@PerpetualBoredom Why the hell not man.

Pretty big bummer here. I pretty much only buy physical games unless it’s either digital only indie titles that I want to support or the discount digitally is too good to pass up. I’m not opposed to digital games, but it’s really misleading buying a game expecting a disc only to get a download code. Not everyone who will preorder will see this so some will be disappointed

I mean, that's literally not what "physical release" means.

These guys 😑 my extendable staff only has so much reach

@OldGamer999 "In ways we don't want it to." Not true - you speak for a minority.

I personally want to reduce our global reliance on plastic. So I say kill physical.

Per Pushsquare, 4% of sales are physical. So your "we" is more like a rounding error than a minority.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/11/physical-games-represented-just-4percent-of-sales-for-playstation-last-quarter

No point to release physical if you're doing digital code in the box.

@Secryt
I don’t always believe the analysis the casual gamers I know and young gamers all go physical so I’m a bit unsure about this data.

So you know I’m all digital with movies, music and video games. I don’t have a single bit of physical media.
And yes I agree about using less plastics etc.

But I still feel that the gaming companies are taking the piss out of us, especially the prices they charge for digital games on their sites.

A day one release digital £70.
Day one physical if you look for a bargain can be £60.

So how do they justify that paying more for less with no physical media costs. They don’t care about the environment else the digital media would cost less and encourage more to buy digital, they are just greedy and don’t care about the environment really.

@Secryt These kinds of articles are always bogus because they include DLC, Digital only indie games and sales of 99p shovelware. Of course with all that included, Physical is going to look like a very small fraction.

I'm not sure what the sales data is for just including games that actually release with both physical and digital but it's never mentioned for clickbait reasons so people can get into heated physical vs digital wars.

@Secryt Physical release is very important because it also used for preservations. There's plenty of games who doesn't have physical release and they are completely gone when the publisher took it down from the digital store or consumer download list just because the license is expired and they don't want to pay it anymore.

Example like Chaos Ring 1, a great RPG developed by Media Vision and published by SE. I bought it years ago on Vita store for $10. But a couple of years later, SE suddenly removed it from Vita store and download list before i had the chance to redownload it to my memory stick. Now i can't replay it anymore because it's gone and it doesn't have a physical release. I also heard the same happened for Chaos Rings 2 and 3.

Or P.T. You can't redownload this cool tech demo of Silent Hills anymore because Konami took it down from PSN.

Even for movies, legendary director like Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan keeps asking for physical release on Bluray and DVD because they want to preserve their movies.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Film-Preservation-A-Dire-Need-2119175

It's the same happened with many movies or tv series on digital streaming service like Netflix, Disney+, etc etc who completely gone and can't be rewatch anymore because they don't have a physical release.

@PuppetMaster it’s completely the prerogative of the publisher to determine a product’s availability status. They make it and decided on its longevity. You have no right to say that your desire to “preserve” it supersedes the actual owners wishes and licensing decisions. Just because something is physical doesn’t mean that the licensing terms are any different. You are confusing owning physical media with ownership of the content.

Cards on the table - the preservation that most people talk about has to do with distributing ROMs online illegally and not giving royalties to the proper owner.

Now all that being said. If you like collecting plastic that’s your prerogative and Godspeed with giving Limited Run your money. You’re just in the very, very small minority of gamers.

@Cloud39472 honestly it doesn’t matter what source of sales are. If 96% of the sales is in digital that means what it means. Publishers can avoid the cost of production and distribution of content that makes up 4% of sales and reduces profitability. Like it or not - the death of physical media production has helped increase margins on game production helping keep costs down. Adjusting for inflation game prices have actually decreased by about 25% since the 80s. Game prices need to be bolstered by bolstered by “shovelware” as you call it to keep base game costs down. But regardless of what it is, the industry will follow the money bc it is, at the end of the day, a business that people rely on making money so they can get paid.

"...resources required for the import, export, transportation, distribution, and sales of physical discs"

Yet they can manage resources required for the import, export, transportation, distribution, and sales of physical disc cases containing a card with a unique serial number.

@Secryt It does matter for context. For games that actually release physically (which is 99% of games that aren't indie) the percentage is a lot higher and shows that when it's available, it is still profitable.

If physical is dead then why do indie developers try to release physical copies of their games? Hollow Knight, Hades, Blasphemous, Dead Cells etc. Why bother if there's no profit in it?

Even further, Alan Wake 2 has decided to release physical after not making enough money digitally or Baldurs Gate 3 which made heaps of money already so didn't even need to release physical if they didn't want to. Why is that? If not for more profit?

@Secryt "You have no right to say that your desire to “preserve” it supersedes the actual owners wishes and licensing decisions."

So in other words you're okay when you spent $60-70 bucks for a digital game and suddenly the publisher removed it from every digital store including your download list that makes you unable to play that game anymore? Wow.

Greedy ass publishers definitely love consumers like you who let them fully control you and even defense their shady decisions. They can milked you over and over and you only say "This is okay" while smiling.

"You are confusing owning physical media with ownership of the content."

No i'm not confused about that but you clearly don't understand consumers right.

"Cards on the table - the preservation that most people talk about has to do with distributing ROMs online illegally and not giving royalties to the proper owner."

Cards on the table:
1) You think you can stop people using plastic and make this world have less plastic by doing digital only release and kill physical media? Lol please, don't be a silly goose like those anti-meat and anti-oil/gas group.

2) I'm talking about legal preservations here like buying physical copies and archieved it in the national library or museum. But you want to know why people distributed ROM illegally? Because the copyright law by ESA doesn't even allow people to pay a license to rip out ROM from cartridge or CD's for preservations and academic research. I myself don't like piracy but it looks like emulator is a good idea for preservations until ESA and game companies changed their mind.

Go read this article if you want to know how ESA gatekeeping with video games preservations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/01/12/video-game-preservation-emulation/

"If you like collecting plastic that’s your prerogative and Godspeed with giving Limited Run your money. You’re just in the very, very small minority of gamers."

Plastic can be recycle but digital games without physical release can't be recycle like plastic and will be lost forever once they got removed from digital store. As a gamer, i don't want a good chunk of gaming history lost without any trace, especially for games who made a lot of historical impacts not just for gaming but for all medium like arts, music, literature, etc.

And no, i'm not in the "very very small minority" of gamers, not when millions of gamers still spending a lot of money to buy physical copy. Last time i check, physical market still contributed Billions of dollar /year. That's why LRG is still alive.

Disappointing news indeed. I will not purchase until a complete version is available on disc. I will wait and if remaias digital only then I will just not play or pay. I my opinion there is growing number of gamers who are willing to pay for games as long as we get to actually own the games we purchase.

@playstation1995
Alan Wake 2 has a disc, Black Myth doesn’t to start with

Gonna wait till there’s a physical disc version I guess probably shouldn’t be too long after release