Summary
- Target has seemingly started to downsize its physical gaming Xbox section, reflecting the trend of retailers adapting their distribution strategies for gaming due to a downtrend in physical game sales.
- The photo posted on Reddit shows Target adopting a display more suited for a digital-only future, with mostly digital redemption code cards and downsized space for boxed physical Xbox games.
- The Xbox consumer base is leaning towards digital gaming, supported by Xbox Game Pass and strong sales of the digital-exclusive Xbox Series S, leading analysts to predict that Xbox could be the first to go all-digital in the near future.
A photo taken of a local Target shows how the shopping chain has down-sized its physical gaming Xbox section, following recent reports of how Xbox has been pursuing a digital-only future. Throughout October, there have been reports of how retailers have been seeing a downtrend in profits, claiming 2023 physical game sales are down compared to 2022. This has seen various retailers and publishers changing their distribution strategies for gaming, with the most noticeable being Xbox.
Some of these retailers include Best Buy and Walmart, as both companies have a pretty extensive electronics section, especially for gaming. However, there have been claims that Walmart could stop selling physical Xbox games come 2024, with this report following Best Buy's own possible plans of stopping the sale of physical media, due to digital game sales overtaking them. Another major American retailer, Target, appears to be following this trend as well, reflected with a photo of one user's local store.
The photo was posted by Buckeye2443 on the r/XboxSeriesX subreddit, which showed one Target store's Xbox gaming section cut in half. The post's title notes it is now adopting a display that is more suited for a digital-only future, which they believe is approaching rapidly. The photo mostly shows only digital redemption code cards of various Xbox games, which include Gotham Knights, Halo Infinite, and more. The display has a section underneath the cards that shows where boxed physical Xbox games would normally be, though it has been down-sized by only providing pictures of the box art in a clear plastic retailer case.
Users of the subreddit commented on how clean the Xbox gaming section looked, where it was extremely uniform in comparison to their stores. Some also noted that their local Target stores had seen their section having empty spots instead of where the games should be, and if there was any game it'd usually be something popular.
Some users theorized that the Xbox consumer base is more digital-centric, likely due to the Xbox Game Pass being a big incentive to continue building a digital library. This seems to be supported by rumors of Microsoft considering a Digital-only model of the Xbox Series X console and sales of the digital-exclusive Xbox Series S being particularly strong. That said, there is still a desire for physical media, as seen with Nintendo still selling boxed games. Many analysts have stated they expect the physical format to continue being sold for a good while, with Xbox likely being the first to go all-digital, and it seems like it might be coming sooner rather than later.
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- Microsoft
- Operating System
- Proprietary (Windows-based)
- Storage
- 512 GB
- VR Support
- No
- Resolution
- 720p - 4K UHD
- App Store
- Microsoft Store
Released alongside the Xbox Series X, the Xbox Series S is Microsoft's budget option for the ninth console generation. Designed exclusively for digital gaming, the Series S can run the same games as the Series X, albeit at a potentially lower resolution and frame rate.
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Image
Display card main info widgetDisplay card main info widget end- Brand
- Microsoft
- Original Release Date
- November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $499
- Operating System
- Proprietary (Windows-based)
- Storage
- 1TB WD SN530 NVMe SSD
- VR Support
- No
Microsoft's ninth-generation console, the Xbox Series X is a powerful machine that can support 4K resolution and 60 fps, depending on the game. Released alongside the Xbox Series S, the Series X has a Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU, a Custom RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM.
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