Back in October, it was confirmed that Best Buy will no longer support physical media of any kind in 2024 and onwards. This includes physical copies for medium like movies, tv shows, video games, music, etc.. There will be no more DVDs, Blu-Rays, 4Ks, Gaming Discs, or CDS (which they already stop selling in 2018) to come from Best Buy! If Best Buy was your only store to get physical copies of the latest big blockbuster or popular soundtrack with no Walmart or Target near by, then it’s digital media or bust for you. That seems to be the way now for Best Buy and it might likely be that way for the majority of stores for the near future!
First and foremost, I have ALWAYS been a supporter of physical media and ALWAYS will. It always feels like a privilege to be able to gain your own personal copy of something have it really be yours. You don’t have to worry about losing it due to services no longer supporting it or wondering if you will have the internet to watch or listen to something of your choice. When you have your own personal copy of something, it means it is yours FOREVER! Unfortunately, as we move forwards towards the future with digital media being more prominent now than ever before, we might just lose that privilege. And that is a very, VERY scary thought!
There have been a few times in recent memory where there has been strong support for physical media. The most recent example is with Oppenheimer, the highly acclaimed film from Christopher Nolan that sold out 4K and Blu-Ray copies during the holiday season. Heck, it took me at least two weeks before I was able to pick up my own copy of it because it was being sold out everywhere. As a matter of fact, my 4K copy I brought was literally the last 4K copy they had available that day. Considering Nolan is someone that has voiced his strong support over physical media, I’m sure he’s very proud of this. However, just like with only a handful of feature films that came out this year that showed courage of the theater going experience such as Barbie, Oppenheimer, and The Super Mario Bros Movie, this is only an exception to the fact that folks don’t care about physical media as much as they used to. Because of that, Best Buy is cutting all support of physical media and there’s a good chance that other main companies such as Walmart, Target, Gamestop, and Barnes & Nobles will follow suit sooner or later.
I can’t begin to tell you how much that scares me. Digital and physical media should always be options that co-exist together, not taking away from each other forever. With the lack of physical media, that lets companies have more control over their consumers products than ever before. Just recently, Ubisoft Exec stated that gamers need to start feeling comfortable of “not owning their games”. If that’s not a sign for things to come, then I don’t know what is.
What happens when the unthinkable happens and you no longer have access to digital media or the piece of content you own doesn’t work. What happens when you no longer have access to the internet? What happens when your movie, game or music doesn’t work because reasons? Most importantly, what happens when the company decides to no longer support their content that requires live services and it’s basically gone forever? They basically just stole your money over content you bought that you no longer have any control over. That just sounds scary.
Companies are becoming greedier than ever and with the confirmation that Best Buy no longer selling physical media, I would expect them to become even greedier now that the first domino of physical media has fell with plenty of more yet to fall. This is a dark and disturbing time and it’s a time that I don’t want to live in.
I will always value and support physical media as long as I live. The physical copies of the games, movies, television shows, and music that I own will always be mine to keep. Even if or when the inevitable happens, the ones I have will always be there, no matter what anyone says. I do not look forward to the day when that is no longer the case and everything becomes digital. It’s only then will people realize the power of something simple as owning their own copy of Avengers: Endgame or The Legend of Zelda: Tear of the Kingdom or the newest hit album from Taylor Swift.
Adam's Blog 