It's like this every time a new GTA comes out.

I was going to buy it in ~5 years on PC for the single player campaign...

But if they're describing it as a "single player experience" it's going to be a shitty offshoot of multiplayer instead of a ring campaign that has a multiplayer slapped on.

It sounds like a minor difference, but it means the entire "experience" is just reskinned multiplayer and will push people there so they spend money.

This one will likely be bad

Hahaha

I get it, but…it’s gonna be a banger. Rockstar may be a terrible place to work, but they make good games. GTAV and RDR2 are among my favorite game experiences.

I just wish it were releasing for PC at the same time.

I don't remember the last time I paid more than $15-20. I have too much a backlog and too many more important things to spend money on than an inflated day-one AAA. Even GTA6 is a maybe for me, and that's a solid-looking addition to a series I've been playing for almost 30 years.

Two of my favorite games of all time got remakes and are frequently on sale on Steam. MGS3 and FFTactics. Even on sale neither one is justifiable at $50 and $35. Death Stranding 2 at $70. Nahh. Pragmata at $60. Nope. Hell even Tempest Rising at $35 is too much for me right now. This hobby has been pushed to the extreme margins. There's a large center girth of games I'd love to play but calling it justifiable is hard for anything over $20 right now.

30+ = trash

60% off or more and the game still costs $30 = trash

Electronic Arts. ... Activision Blizzard. ... Rockstar Games. ... Epic Games. ...

all trash companies that make stores with game mechanics..

Some people like to still have the box for collection purposes. Personally, I agree. I think the only physical option at this point should be something like a collectible steelbook if all they're going to have is a redemption code.

I'm not entirely sure, but the game disc can still be sold. Isn't it? If it is just a code you enter and then don't need the disc anymore, then you cannot sell it. Its basically a digital code only, like on Steam / PC. But if the game disc acts as a license, then it will download the rest of the game and you still need the disc to play. In that case you can sell the disc and no longer play the game. Similar to how game key cards work on Switch 2.

Another reason why big publishers want to have a physical release is, that they have a presence everywhere where "normal" games are also sold. Maybe your mom buys it for you, or a friend gives a gift.

That's way, the people with slow Internet will have a nice box to look at while their download fail.

To sell in physical stores so parents and other people can buy them as gifts.

Many retail games still allow you to have the full game without any service account or internet connection.

Some stores have said that they won’t sell the physical copy of GTA 6, due to it being just a code.

There are some rumors going around that a physical disc copy of the game comes out in December, so I guess it’s better than nothing, but still sucks.

Same question:

Why are funko pops?

Same answer.

So people can give it as a physical gift. That's really it.

To play devil’s advocate: physical disc releases are a security nightmare.

Pirate groups pay big money to get access to disc images before release so they can have a crack ready on day 1, and leakers would love to get early access so they can drip feed information for social media cred. The bounty for an early iso of GTA VI would be astronomical.

I do however agree that releasing a ‘physical edition’ that’s just a code in a box is a waste of everyone’s time and money, not to mention materials destined for landfill.

I will wait to know if it's Linux compatible before I buy

Bro, you're already paying for 2 games buying it at 100 dollars.

Same, and all I really give a shit about anyway is the single player, so this is perfect

A fool and his money are quick to part ways.

... I'm still adhering to 'Remember: No Preorders', from fucking 15 years ago now.

Everybody else just opts in to get financially hosed down and flatlined like random innocent Russian civillians in an airport.

If game prices had adjusted for inflation, we'd be paying 250-300 for one now.

That doesn't mean it isn't just greed especially in this case (from what I heard some pretty basic features like car customization are locked behind the "ultimate edition"), but in general it's more of a miracle (and result of the massive market growth combined with no unit cost) that game prices have ignored inflation for this long.

Sadly, I predict a repeat of this classic:

Just like the switch 2 launch