If you’re a fan of physical games media — actual discs and cartridges that can be placed into a console or PC, or displayed on a shelf — then the state of the industry may be disappointing. Sony recently revealed that it plans to transition PlayStation away from physical media entirely by 2028, and it’s certainly not alone in this desire to shift to digital-only.
Physical media has been slowly moving — if not being pushed — to the periphery of the industry. So what does one do if one prefers the physical, for aesthetic or other reasons? I decided to ask a company whose whole raison d’être is physical media: Limited Run Games.
Limited Run’s motto is “Forever Physical,” and it describes itself thus: “At Limited Run Games, we think your game library should be on a shelf, not just a page in a digital account. Our games are made for the people who love them by people who care deeply about the history of gaming.” This puts them in an interesting position compared with other companies, such as Sony.
Brendan Madigan, Limited Run’s CFO, told GamesBeat, “Limited Run exists because we wanted to put out product to fans that bigger publishers weren’t willing to take a financial risk on… The old model involved taking something to retail and hoping it sells; and if it doesn’t, you back it all out. In our model, we manufacture what we sell, so there’s no financial risk.”
Nic Ashford, Limited Run’s COO, added, “A piece of paper with a code on it in a box on a shelf — not the most exciting thing.
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