GTA has become the perfect symbol of a conflict. ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ will arrive on November 19 and some players will be able to purchase it physical arrangement…let’s just call it curious. We’ll have a box, a cardboard and a code printed to download the game, but we can forget about finding the traditional disc. The object retains the appearance of a physical copy on the shelves, although its functionality has disappeared.
The conflict is even greater because Rockstar Games has not left aside the physical format, quite the opposite: it will release its music on CD and two vinyl versions with the original soundtrack, as well as a collector’s box with GTA related products for 400 euros, yes, in the absence of video games.
In the long years that have led us to the premiere of ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’, there has been much talk in the industry about how Rockstar’s next open world holy grail will be; Layoffs, shutdowns and declining console sales await an antidote in the form of GTA. It was expected to be before and after the medium, and in the absence of evaluating its impact after it hit the market, it is clear that we are ahead of its time; At least as far as the business model is concerned.
As such the game will only reach the consumer Digital LicenseVery much with the changes the video game industry is experiencing. Sony announced this summer that, starting in January 2028, it will no longer make physical discs for the PS5. This is especially relevant because not only games made by PlayStation Studios are left without physical support; No developer can offer discs of their games.
It’s one thing that Ubisoft’s next ‘Assassin’s Creed’ or Electronic Arts’ ‘EA Sports FC’ becomes a digital-only license, but it’s also that publishers like Homelands Meridim or Selecta Play, who initially built a business based on making physical versions of digital games, now see how their business leg evaporates in a year.
Video games, which for decades were something we could do keepSelling, lending or collecting, thus moving to a model where all we buy is an access license. So why are they willing to create and distribute a physical object with a video game, but not contain the video game?
What is interesting is that this industry prioritizes selling codes on cardboard to access a work, other entertainment sectors do the exact opposite: they take care of physical objects, pamper, create and make them more expensive. Limited edition vinyl with signature scents, collector’s dreams and books with painted edges overlay (color illustrations of the scenes placed in the book so that the images and parts of the text can be seen at the same time) or the movie in a beautifully designed version that includes not only one disc, but also exclusive bonus scenes that complete the experience.
Unlike the physical, video game sector, It doesn’t disappear; It is changing categories and achieving a new standard. It has gone from being an essential tool to being able to consume a work in our home to a symbol of status, belonging or showing that we are a fan of something.
Thanks to the aesthetics and connection to a format “from the past”.
Perhaps the best example of this transformation is in music. Vinyl has shown over the years that a format can survive right when it’s no longer needed. The trend is clear: in the first half of 2026, vinyl sales in Spain increased by a further 27.7%, representing 73% of the actual market.
In the age of streaming you don’t need vinyl to listen to music, you buy it because you want that music on a physical medium. Therefore, there is no such competition with digital platforms like Spotify or Amazon Music. the object you want, PackagingVinyl itself or even that version with glitter to do more the aesthetic All these coexist in perfect harmony with you in your room Playlist Digital for training. Although music consumption has been digitized with streaming accounting for around 88% of total sales in Spain, physical arrangement The one that grows the most is the one we need the least to listen to.
Vinyl has made its special comeback from the dead not because of its utility or practicality, but because it offers something streaming can’t: an object to store, display and establish a connection with the artist. The physical format is no longer aimed at the average consumer, but at the devotee who wants a more intense (and more expensive) relationship with the work.
With reading we are faced with a similar panorama. We have ebooks to be able to keep a library at any time in digital format with options such as audiobooks or subscriptions, but their existence does not overshadow the actual book market. The phenomenon of certain literary genres has increased demand and accompanying sales tactics that make these books objects of reader desire: illustrated songs, new reissues with other characters’ perspectives, alternate covers, exclusive illustrations or copies signed by the author.
Furthermore, it is a market that In continuous coordination including audiovisual. Numerous adaptations of best-selling novels and classics allow new versions to be launched with the faces of the heroes, as is happening now, for example, ‘East of Eden’ or ‘Sense and Sensibility’; Or add materials associated with the adaptation, such as a foreword written by ‘The Love Hypothesis’ actress Lili Reinhart. In this way the book ceases to be merely a support for a story and becomes an object that connects different ways of using it.
The ‘Heated Rivalry’ phenomenon takes this argument even further, given that television adaptations have not only spawned new versions of original book stories, but also products that precisely exploit that physical format; Such as new editions with series scripts with notes from the director and privacy coordinator, cassettes with soundtracks or deluxe boxes with the complete litany. Merchandising. But always, at the center, we find the physical format of the book or series.
Thus we return to that idea of ​​the collected soul. In many cases, readers combine the use of Kindle Unlimited, eBooks and physical books without some formats to the exclusion of others. In fact, something common is discovering a digital book, falling in love with it, and then buying it in paper. Among the many options, there is every opportunity to choose the one that includes a bonus, a special cover or particularly careful aesthetics. The content is the same, it’s the experience of having it that changes.
Criterion, the object of desire of moviegoers
And of that collecting spirit, the perfect example is found in tools like yardsticks. The Criterion Collection is dedicated to releasing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in versions that offer the highest technical quality and original bonus material. Regardless of the medium, they present each film as its creator intended it to be seen through state-of-the-art restorations.
So a movie may be available to stream, but an actual version from the Criterion or Avalon store can still sell for significantly more money because what you’re buying is no longer just the movie. You buy its restoration, its additional materials, its context and, above all, the possibility of saving it.
Here we have another imperative: the content may be a click away on a platform, however, the physical version turns that same content into an object that we can put on a shelf and return to whenever we want. Added to this is the most relevant thing, it provides us with a way to save a task.
If we just surrender to digital, no matter how many advantages it offers us, there will always be the possibility that an element Invisible from a platform And no longer available and even conditioned on a specific account. This can happen with a game, a movie, a book or a record. A physical copy does not guarantee preservation until the end of time, although it does give us some control.
When we buy a physical version we are not only buying the content, increasingly we are acquiring a luxury or something special that borders on privilege. We also buy the possibility of keeping it, coming back to it and feeling that it really belongs to us. This is how that sense of belonging resurfaces: being part of a community of fans, having an object that demonstrates our connection to that work. Before we pay for the work and put a big sum for a special edition. Now the special edition lets us have something we can really keep.
What’s interesting is how video games are boycotting this type of consumer rather than joining the wave and going against the current. The colored liquid inside the vinyl holds the music, a deluxe format still has the book and a standard edition, the movie. On the other hand, in video games, we can buy a collector’s edition without the game, turning it into a souvenir or a specimen of our relationship with the work, but without the preservation factor that the disc implies.
It is clear that the digital medium is much more profitable for the industry and comfortable for the players. We have instant delivery, cost savings and a download to play within minutes. Given this, the physical layout is definitely at a disadvantage. If the purpose is simply to play, digital is easier and faster to combine and physical needs to find another reason for existence as has already happened in other industries.
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