Ubisoft hopes players forget physical format and accept they don't own their games

The digital era has caught up with us, and in various sectors, it is the most consumed format. A clear example of this is what happened with music and movies, minimizing the production, distribution, and sale of CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. Gaming is heading in the same direction, but there are millions of players who still prefer the physical format, although some companies would rather it be otherwise, such as Ubisoft.

Ubisoft wants digital format to be massive in gaming

During an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Philippe Tremblay, Ubisoft's Director of Subscriptions, talked about the success of the Ubisoft+ service and the company's expectations regarding the ways players consume their video games. Initially, the executive celebrated that 10% of the service subscribers had never tried a Ubisoft game before, being attracted by its catalog and price.

While Ubisoft would prefer the transition to digital to be faster in gaming, the company respects the fact that there are still players attached to the physical format: "It's not about forcing users down one path or another. We offer purchasing, we offer subscription, and it's the player's preference that is important here. We see some people who buy choosing to subscribe now, but everything works."

For Ubisoft, it's important that you realize you don't own your games and adopt digital

However, Philippe Tremblay believes that the massive adoption of the physical format will be inevitable, although he recognizes the peculiarities of gaming, as the transition is not as rapid as it was in music and movies: "I don't have a crystal ball, but when you look at the different subscription services that exist, we've had rapid expansion in the last 2 years, but it's still relatively small compared to other models. One of the things we've seen is that players are used to having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. Getting comfortable not owning your CD or DVD collection. That's a transformation that has been a bit slower to happen in games. You don't lose your progress. If you resume the game at another time, the progress file will still be there. That hasn't been eliminated. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your commitment to the game. So it's about getting comfortable with not owning your game."

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