The Digital Revolution is Erasing Gaming History—Including Your Purchases

First, music disappeared from shelves. Then movies started following suit. 

Now, we’re letting video game publishers adopt the same digital-only mindset—and it’s already failing.

The most recent batch of headlines proves exactly why the current digital model is failing gamers.

SNK is in the spotlight for delisting multiple games from the Google Play Store. Meanwhile, over at Netflix, their big move into the gaming world is going spectacularly. They’re set to remove 20 games from their service, including Netflix-exclusive titles.

There’s debate about why SNK is delisting games. Some fans speculate about licensing renewals, while others discuss compatibility issues with newer devices. 

There is some validity to compatibility issues with older games. That’s not in question. The problem comes when people have paid money for these games. They will not be able to redownload the games from their account once they’re pulled from the digital storefront.

Restricting purchasing is one thing; taking away licenses is another. 

Netflix had the exclusive mobile port of Hades in their subscription service. Not only was it locked behind their paywall, it was only available to iOS users. Most of the 20 games will be leaving Netflix in mid-July. But Hades is already gone as of July 1.

While Hades is on other systems, Rainbow Six: SMOL is a Netflix-exclusive game, meaning it may very well disappear completely once it is removed. 

Nintendo’s Past

SNK and Netflix aren’t the first companies to pull games from sale, or even the largest culprits. Gamers have stood on the sidelines for years, watching their favorite games vanish for no good reason.

Nintendo is notorious for teasing backward compatibility and digital storefronts, only for them to restart every generation or two. The latest was the change from the Wii U Virtual Console to Switch Online. We’re already on the Switch 2, and Nintendo is likely planning how to remove compatibility in its next cycle.

When the Nintendo 3DS eShop closed in March 2023, an incredible amount of digital games went with it. Sure, the plus side is that if you panicked and loaded your digital wallet with money to go on a shopping spree, you can enjoy what you already own. But those games are forever locked into dead systems. The only way to find them on the Switch family of consoles is to be drip-fed Nintendo’s selections as a part of their online subscription service.

Just a few years ago, you could find games like Pokemon Red online, legally. Now? Nintendo hasn’t even given us a hint of a Pokemon Game Boy collection. Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver and Crystal were obtainable for $10 each on the 3DS eShop—physical copies used fetch well over $100 a cartridge. And good luck finding them with working save batteries.

Now, the only Pokemon available on Nintendo Online’s Game Boy section are the Trading Card Game and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team on the Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo is particularly greedy with its IP across the board. Super Mario 3D All-Stars being a limited-run physical release could almost have made sense, but not having the collection available on their digital shop after being pulled from physical shelves only worsens their reputation.

Nintendo fans were already willing to pay for Mario games twice. Now if they missed out, they can look forward to $120 price tags on used copies.

This forced scarcity is creating over-inflated prices for games on modern consoles, while also fueling online piracy for no reason other than their own greed.

Microsoft: Our Digital Savior

Where Nintendo falls short, Microsoft gets a lot of what gamers need right.

In their fourth generation of consoles, the Series X still has compatibility all the way back to the first generation of Xbox games. While it’s true that not all games are backward compatible, Microsoft has made regular updates over the years. They’ve steadily added more and more titles to the list of supported games. 

In 2024, the Xbox 360 storefront closed, similar to the way Nintendo shut down shops for the Wii U and 3DS. 

The difference? It just means you can’t buy Xbox 360 games on the 360 itself. It won’t hurt you if you have a newer console. The games that have been made backward compatible are still available to purchase through the current Microsoft Store. Xbox’s track record of putting gamers first really pays off. 

My own Xbox account goes back 17 years, and I can still access my digital Xbox 360 library on my Series X just as easily as when I first bought those games.

That’s not to say Microsoft is perfect. Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 are both noticeably absent from the backward compatibility list. At least Halo: The Master Chief Collection gives you the option between upgraded graphics and the original look, even if you do have to buy your games all over again.

Xbox’s commitment to preservation is incredible. If I wanted to throw in my Max Payne disc from my OG Xbox, my Series X would be able to read it and download a digital copy, using my physical disc as the license to play. From physical to digital, they are doing more right than wrong to keep gaming accessible to both long-time fans and newcomers looking to catch up on 

the greatest hits. 

PlayStation: Backwards, But Not Compatible

You may remember Sony saying the PlayStation 3 and Vita stores would be shut down in 2021. You may not realize that they are still up and running. Sony quickly backtracked after fan and media backlash to their announcement. 

You probably aren’t browsing for PS3 or Vita games because their ecosystems have absolutely no crossover with the current PlayStation store on your PS5. There’s no way to carry your purchases forward, and not even a listing showing their availability.

While the PS5 is mostly compatible with PS4 titles, anything prior to that just doesn’t exist.

I’ve had the same PlayStation account I created 20 years ago in high school so that I could play the PSP online. I’ve bought multiple digital games through my PS3 and my Vita. The first time I booted up my PS4, I looked for my digital copies of Resident Evil 1–6, only to be disappointed. 

PlayStation has a checkered past with backward compatibility. PS2 played PS1 games, but only the first model of the PS3 could play anything older. The PS4 threw the PlayStation 3 out the window as fast as it could. 

You can still load money into your PlayStation account and make purchases on your older consoles, but like Nintendo, those games are locked into dead consoles. 

Sony’s priorities are not for game preservation; they merely reacted to fans and wanted to avoid being painted in a negative light. PlayStation Vitas are more popular now than when they were first released; their capabilities are incredible. The Vita library is making its way to consoles through ports and remakes, but the original games are going to be lost to time on a system that has zero support and no new inventory. Modders and pirates do more for game preservation than Sony does, and they do it purposefully.

The Digital Future

Game preservation is at a crossroads. The fact that games can disappear from stores is more alarming than ever.

In happier times, GameStop and Game Crazy were havens for gamers. Used games and collectible consoles were overflowing shelves. Now, used games are just the games you don’t have installed, with no way to even pass them on to a friend’s account.

Companies would rather release the same game four times and charge you full price each time, just to tie it to a new console with the same account you’ve always had. 

I’m just as at fault as everyone else.

My Steam library has almost 300 digital games. I panic-bought Virtua Tennis 3 before it was delisted from Steam. I have a handful of Xbox and PlayStation games that I bought digitally on sale.

But I have hundreds of physical games as well, dating back to the NES. More often than not, I search out physical releases. I wish I could get a larger PC selection on disc, but they don’t exist. And neither does an internal disc drive on my desktop. My shelf still has copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops III next to Command & Conquer.

I’m a part of the digital age of gaming, and don’t like where it’s heading.

The idea that we are shifting towards a digital-only landscape is horrifying.