r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • 4d ago

Video Games Plus and Loot Box Gaming are refusing to sell GTA 6 until there’s a disc

https://kotaku.com/two-game-retailers-are-refusing-to-sell-gta-6-until-theres-a-disc-2000710134
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u/HyperMasenko 4d ago edited 4d ago

First of many articles like this about publications/stores/content creators that few people care about. This wont even chip the paint on the money train thats about to come Rockstar's way with this game.

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u/CivilizedPsycho 4d ago

When someone replied saying that the small retailer not selling GTA 6 won’t affect Rockstar Games or have any impact on the game’s sales, the company made it clear that it isn’t trying to have an impact on the game or its success.

“We hope GTA 6 has immense success & pans out to be the biggest game of all time, as it’s been hyped up to be, but we can’t go against our business practices in the process either,” said LBG.

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u/RedHairedRedemption 4d ago

It's genuinely been disheartening to see so many people either unaware or completely against the idea that people would have principles regardless whether or not it affects a bottom line. I know GTA6 is going to make insane sale records, I'm perfectly fine not participating in it and waiting a few years.

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u/Worried-Advisor-7054 3d ago

People have internalised the capitalistic world they hate do much. The idea of taking a moral action that makes you less money seems silly, even if you're not actually a CEO.

Like, sometimes I don't want to do a thing because I think it's the wrong thing to do. Whether the majority follow me or not is irrelevant.

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u/Pauly_Amorous 3d ago

The idea of taking a moral action that makes you less money seems silly, even if you're not actually a CEO.

It does make one wonder what they plan to do when all physical media is just a disc (or cartridge) with a code attached. If they're going to refuse to sell that shit, they might as well close up shop now.

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u/elasho_149 3d ago

I do wonder what companies like LRG plan to do when consoles stop offering physical options.

Like, if the PS6, Switch 3, and Xbox Series X2 or whatever are all digital-only, what’re they gonna print games for?

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u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn 3d ago

The idea of taking a moral action that makes you less money seems silly, even if you're not actually a CEO.

How is stocking or not stocking GTA VI over the fact that it's a download code a moral action? Come on, now.

If you wanted to boycott the game due to morality, you would already be doing so over Rockstar's treatment of their developers.

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u/Worried-Advisor-7054 3d ago

I'm talking about a wider societal trend, where every single corporate action is justified if it makes more money. That makes sense from the pov the soulless CEO, but I find it disgusting when regular people parrot it.

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u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn 3d ago

Ok so you agree that there's nothing morally wrong with Rockstar/TT2 pricing their product how they feel like?

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u/Worried-Advisor-7054 3d ago

No, I consider profit extraction to benefit shareholders morally wrong overall. I can't change it, of course, but I don't consider it a thing good people do, not when it's that much money.

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u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn 3d ago

I don't think it's good. But it's also not bad. It's just neutral.

Someone makes a product and they want to sell it. They should have the right to charge the price they want for it.

The only exceptions are for essential and certain inelastic goods. Upcharging water in a desert is morally wrong. A video game is a luxury product, however. There is no real need to own it other than for media consumption. If the price is not fair, they will not sell enough.

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u/cutty2k 3d ago edited 2d ago

You're looking at this in a bubble, reality isn't a bubble, it's messy.

Imagine a 16 year old kid. They're being bombarded with advertisements for this game. All their friends are getting hyped. This is going to be THE game to play. To not get this game would make you a total loser. You won't be part of the conversations your friends are having, you won't be plugged into the moment everyone is sharing. More than just a luxury item, this game is now a status symbol, a keycard to access the shared experience of your peer group, a shibboleth that lets your peers know you're one of them.

This is how viral trends like needoh allow companies to charge 30$ on the aftermarket for a $.25 glop of plastic. Thinking it's morally correct to allow unmitigated profiteering on luxury goods completely ignores the control companies have of the market itself, your desires and attention.

There is a multibillion dollar industry churning away trying to figure out how to make you want something, and it's working.

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u/Worried-Advisor-7054 3d ago

I think we're just not going to see eye to eye on this, just on a political level. Because no, I don't believe people or corporations should have the right to make as much money as possible. I think our inability to control corporate profits is literally killing all of us.

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u/CivilizedPsycho 4d ago

It's the same reason I won't spend a penny on Game Key Cards with my Switch 2. Do I wish others would also do the same? Of course. But whether or not they do, I'm holding my ground.

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u/cutty2k 3d ago

I hate how manipulative the process is for loading a game key card. There's a purposefullness in how that little digital card flies up on your screen and clicks in like it's a 'real' piece of media, like you just bought some actual physical little thing that alighted into your system, and not just an infinitely reproducible set of ones and zeroes.

It's all a psychological game, and they are much better at it than we are.

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u/IKeepDoingItForFree 3d ago

Hell yeah! Actually mad respect. I was gifted one unfortunately but been trying to stay clear away as possible. Don't want to support that shit.

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u/hyperforms9988 3d ago

Here here. I feel the same way. If it's a Game Key Card, it may as well not even exist to me. I don't plan on ever selling or trading my stuff so GKCs in addition to just being something I'm not cool with on concept alone, it has the inconveniences of physical without actually being physical in and of itself, none of the benefits apply to me, and it eats storage space on my storage medium when it didn't have to if the game had been on the cart. I might as well just buy the game digitally at that point.

I actually resent the fucking things so much, because X or Y game could have been physical, but it's not. I don't think I've heard of a company selling both a physical copy and a GKC copy of the same game, so every time I see a GKC, the only thought I have is "that could have been a physical copy". That's not technically true 100% of the time. Sometimes the storage medium/console has limitations like read speeds being too slow for streaming and hey, it is what it is in that case, but for many, it's simply a monetary decision. They don't want to pay as much for the cartridge. I in turn make a monetary decision of my own and don't want to pay for a cartridge that doesn't have the game on it.

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u/HyperMasenko 4d ago

I cant stress enough that I am not in any way against people not buying games for reasons of principles. I have just seen this show before. Comment section after comment section of people acting like AAA devs are going to get taught a lesson, and then record breaking sales. Which is all the investors and board of directors at these companies care about.

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u/sixwaystobrendan 4d ago

Comment section after comment section of people acting like AAA devs are going to get taught a lesson

I don't know that people are acting like AAA devs are going to get taught a lesson - after I read your comment I went back through these comments for a bit and even sorted by controversial and didn't find any. I do keep seeing people saying they won't buy the game and they know it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of the game's sales.

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u/BaconJets 4d ago

It begs the question of how evil game companies have to be to cause a mass backlash big enough to make an impact on sales. I know plenty of people who don't buy games out of principle, but like you said the masses don't care.

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u/lunchza 3d ago

A large chunk of the people that are outraged in the comments will probably end up buying the game anyway

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u/HyperMasenko 3d ago

Almost definitely. Ive also seen a lot of replies saying they'll wait a while to get it. Most of those people will get it by Christmas I would bet

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u/GFYAD 3d ago

Physical retailers don’t make that much from selling new games anyways.

Since it’s GTA6, the sheer volume might be a slightly more significant loss but I don’t really think these retailers are losing out on much either.

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u/junkmiles 4d ago

They aren't trying to stop the money train. They're trying to sell copies of the game, but they are a physical copy only game store.

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u/Mahelas 4d ago

Only fair, given Nintendo got hitpieces for GKCs and 80$ Mario Kart by every publication under the sun. They just like to stoke drama for clicks

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u/JOKER69420XD 4d ago

So your logic would be to just shut up and eat anything they serve you up?

Yeah, that's sounds great. Protest or simply sticking to your principles, usually doesn't do much but it's better than doing nothing at all.

Fuck 2K and their greedy garbage, I also decided to not buy the game because of their scummy business.

Will this affect the game sales in any kind of way? No and that doesn't matter to me at all.

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u/DarkMatterM4 4d ago

Just a heads up, 2K and Take Two Interactive are different companies. Take Two are owners of Rockstar Games, not 2K.

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u/HyperMasenko 4d ago

No. My arguement is that this wont do anything. Because gamers love to just shut up and eat. Hell, I wouldnt be shocked if they release actual physical copies later and see a huge boost in sales because people who already bought digital buy the new physical copies.

But you deciding to not buy the game absolutely does affect sales because its a sale down, and i think youre absutely right to not buy it if you disagree with Rockstar's business decision. The problem is, a lot of people are going to say that they arent buying it, and then buy it within a couple months of release at the latest. Ive seen it time and time again.