Finally, a Line of Physical PS5 Games Where the Packaging Is Beautiful and the Full Experience Is Actually on the Disc

@get2sammyb Exactly this.

If I buy a game, I tend to buy its physical deluxe edition and not the standard one because it contains enough stuff to justify the price for me: the game, a steelbook and an artbook all tucked in a nice presentable packaging.

Collector's editions are too expensive and I don't have anywhere to put them since they occupy too much space where deluxe versions are the book equivalent of games regarding space allocation and bookshelf presentation.

Nope. It's not that hard. A steel book case and a hard cover art book like the old days (3 years ago). Art cards, poster, sticker? It's embarrassing. Suspect they are making 1,000 copies too many of these titles.

However......I shouldn't pick on Lost in Cult as I am looking forward to their Ultros and Animal Well books so I wish them luck with this. It was more a comment on standard, special. limited, collector editions.

Main thing, Sammy, is that physical games are often cheaper than the digital releases which should not be the case. Leave a game alone for a month or two, and the disc with packaging, distribution, manufacturing costs are often £10 less than the Store price.
Other plus for physical is that some de-listed games (e.g. Driveclub) are still live on the server for all the patches, etc. so while from a digital point of view, the game doesn't exist, a physical disc unlocks the games and any patches or previously bought DLC.

I think physical games need to change how they are delivered, I don't think they should be day one now, I think the physical game should be the last thing to come out once the game has had all the updates and DLC. That way the physical game could always be a bundle so the user gets a disc of the final version and all the DLC to boot.

This would stop what we are getting now which is little more than a download key on a disc for some games which is a waste of space.

I do love these but i’m priced out. Also don’t like that they have already got a split collection between Switch and PS with different games. But that is a me thing.

@Czar_Khastik Hate the way the in-between has disappeared. Digital extras or a statue.

@Fallingshadow That sounds like a terrible idea really and just further pushing towards that digital only future.

@K1LLEGAL same - was all over the switch ones until i saw the prices; especially the "EDITION"... um... editions. I generally go by if it rates 75 out of 100 or higher I'll consider physical, 80 or higher it's a guaranteed purchase... but at (I checked last night, so like a song says; I could be wrong, i could be right) £180, it's too much to justify for me personally.

More power to people who have more disposable income, or can afford that though.

PC has been doing digital for years idk why it so hard for console players.

Pleased to see Push Square feature these, and although I am not a fan of those outer boxes - they don't look like games - I could potentially see myself buying one of these if it's a game I really like.

I like point and click adventure games but I don't own a Switch. I think it's an Adventure Game Studio made game so only one publisher seems to know ir want to port to PS5 and Xbox and they don't seem interested in doing that anymore due to localisation costs with the amount of dialogue involved and the sales of that genre doesn't perform well enough.

@Fallingshadow Maybe a day one edition and later down the line what you described, otherwise we will find ourselves with even fewer physical releases.

What really pisses me off nowadays is that even if a game is released in a Steelbook edition, it seems like most of the time, it's an empty Steelbook without the game on a physical disc.

You literally just get a digital code to download the game, while having an empty Steelbook (which is kind of pointless).

The two Steel books I really want are Snake Eater Delta and Silent Hill f, hopefully they both have the actual game on the disc too...

@Oram77 https://amzn.eu/d/bVhciGt

And you still have to Download and install to your Internal Storage so it doesn't matter if 100% is on disc or on a server, you still have to Download and install to play. The software on disc is then 'obsolete' as you are playing the software downloaded on your SSD, the only reason you need to keep the Physical media is to prove you still own a licence to access the software installed on your SSD.

The ONLY benefits of having the content delivered on Disc is that you can sell the disc on and/or if you have a metered or limited internet access, it maybe a better delivery method. It won't necessarilyy be 'preserved' any better than Digital

I bless their effort and hope to be their customer in descent future.

@djlard

hope to be their customer in descent future.

Are you going to live underground?

@Slayer25c yea it’s pretty weird. but at the same time , the physical only crowd is just a REALLY LOUD and REALLY TINY minority

I remember the games for the commodore amiga , boxes as big as a small child, filled with a manual the size of a novel,stickers, posters, and sometimes even a tshirt , that was just standard , no overpriced collectors edition slapped on it,good times 😁

God, is there anything cheaper or less effort than ‘art cards’. We were giving them away on games mags in the ‘90s. Pennies to make.

This approach has been successful for Criterion and Arrow with films, so I’m hopeful it will work with games. I love that they include an essay, but I do wish they could add interviews or additional features on the disc. Even still, it’s nice to see so much thought and care go into these releases, and I hope it catches on.

It's good to see effort being put into physical boxes. It's common sense that people are going to be less interested in physical games if the bare minimum is put into them.

@ChrisDeku No, I'm just not native english speaker so sometimes some words just swap (descent/decent). 😀

Just put ps5 games in retro ps1 cases and take my money please.

I was going to purchase the Thank goodness you're here, but at £65 (with delivery) and the game being 2hrs long it's very steep. Hoping for a Nine Souls or something similar to be made by them

@Czar_Khastik 0/10 for your comment. Didn't contain enough sarcasm for my liking 😂.

I missed the Sega Genesis-PS3 era where the standard physical edition has cool art cover and thick manual booklet with colorful pages too. I remembered the cool MGS 2 manual booklet with some cool like comic page that explained basic control with a story.

Now, i don't think any of my PS4/5 physical games has manual booklet anymore. Although some games came with artbook or maps like MGS 5, RDR 2, and 13th Sentinel.

It's sad where right now we got more expensive games at $70-80 but many publisher doesn't bother to put a disc inside CE or at least include nice manual booklet :/
Then we got the shenanigans from MS where the disc only contains 85 MB file 🤦‍♂️

@Kidfunkadelic83 😂😂 I save the sarcastic ones for Randy Pitchford articles but I missed the one yesterday stating that proper fans should pay for the games no matter the cost. The quote itself was so funny, I couldn't even bother to comment.

@PuppetMaster I feel you because I usually get laughed at when I say that I miss those manuals and nice front/back cover arts on games since I always browse through the manual when starting a playthrough of some of my older titles. For me it's a part of the experience, just like putting the disc in the console and letting it spin.

Regarding the PS4/5 games with manuals: they actually do exist but are quite rare. Limited Run Games tend to have manuals in their numbered releases (Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for PS4 had it). But from my normal retail games, the only one I remember having a manual was Shovel Knight for PS4 but I guess it's because it was a retro style title.

These look nice but are waaaay too expensive for the games that are on the disc.

Very nice - I was holding out for a potential physical release of Thank Goodness You're Here - although I think sixty notes is a little rich for my palette, but I'll certain keep an eye out to see what other releases they bring.

I fully embraced a digital library many years ago but I do miss the joy of opening a new physical release. Pre-order editions used to be packed with goodies. I have the Skyrim canvas map lovingly framed on my office wall. Looks exquisite.
But, just last week I ordered the physical edition of Miasma Chronicles (PS5) for £12.99 new. It was still £30 on PSN. I was pleasantly surprised to find a little concept art book and a (still valid) cosmetic dlc code, inside the case. I even got a 'thank you for purchasing the physical edition' message, when starting the game.
Something I'd forgotten I missed.

@Czar_Khastik Yeah the manual book, putting the disc in, and even opening the plastic wrap and smell that brand new aroma are an experience that can never be replicate by digital games.

I never own any games from LRG though. They either quickly sold out or too expensives for my wallet.

@PuppetMaster My wife always makes fun of me if I smell a brand new game, so I feel you there haha

@GeeForce Both are bad practice

@Czar_Khastik Your wife doesn't understand that unique experience lol. I also did the same every time i bought a brand new comic book / manga. Opening the plastic wrap and smelling that brand new paper is just...therapeutic lol.

Is that immortality as in 2 years ago?
I guess if doesn't matter how long it took to come out if you can live forever. For the rest of us... maybe have these fancy physical releases actually at launch.

@Czar_Khastik (#2) Damn, you're a connoisseur of physical games AND dropped a comment out of character! I have to admit: I am a fan of yours ♥️

@Slayer25c (#10) scummy preservation efforts tbh

@Czar_Khastik my man! 😂
The issue with LRG is artificial scarcity, plus shipping to Europe is a real pain in the Arsenal.

@PerpetualBoredom Thanks mate, it's always nice to see people appreciating the physical media 😎 And I also see that we share the same pain of importing American titles to Europe 😂

I buy some of the LRG titles but the shipping and import costs alone set me back for a price of one more retail game. The FOMO is real with that company and I must say that although it is nice to own some retro titles on a blue ray disc, they could really invest more in the quality of their products (they are good but not premium considering the prices).