I think that big game publishers have found that there’s a real ceiling for what people are willing to pay for games, and direct digital sales are the only way they can drive up their share of that amount.

Game prices have not kept up with inflation over the past 30 years. If you cut the production costs and you cut out the reseller’s margin, that equals more revenue for first-party titles. And it further sweetens the pot for console companies because they can take a cut of third-party titles that go through their stores. (Third-party developers still save on physical production and distribution, so it’s a win for them, too.)

Not to mention the overall move toward software-as-a-service subscriptions across the board. If they can take your one-time $70 purchase and convert it into a monthly $5 subscription fee, now you’re paying $130 for the first year and $60 per year afterward for that game.

I have games from 25 years ago that I still play. I feel really sorry for young gamers because they probably won’t even have the option to revisit some of their old faves 25 years from now.

(I’m working my way through Castlevania: Circle of the Moon right now. It’s not the best entry in the series, but it has its charms.)