Retro Megabit

The Death of Physical Video Games

Posted by Sega Dude on July 7, 2026

Posted in: Article, Community, Games. Leave a comment

Like many of you I was very surprised to hear Sony’s announcement that starting Jan 2028 Sony will no longer be producing new games on Disc.

It’s strange how I was surprised despite the fact that I think we all knew this day was coming.

For me personally, I’m very surprised it’s happening during the current generation (PS5) and not for the launch of the PlayStation 6.

As some have speculated it could be because of Rockstar’s announcement that GTA 6 will not have a physical edition that lead Sony to pounce on an all digital future.

What to do?…

As it so happened, I had already started my exit plan even before this announcement.

Yes, I have some digital games on my PS5 (from the PS4 and PS5 era), but I still have a lot more Physical than Digital.
However, I was OK with a mixed physical and digital world …until now.

Slowly I’ve been returning to PC gaming.

This is where I started back in the 80’s with my Texas Instruments IT 99/4a and in the 90’s more seriously with my first 386 and later a 486 PC. Yes, I had and loved my Sega Master System, Genesis and SNES during this time too. But with games like Doom, Quake, Command and Conquer (and so many more) those years surrounding the 2000’s felt like they belonged to PC gaming. It wasn’t until the Xbox 360 (which I got well after launch) when I really moved to gaming in the living room.

The console offered convenience and a truly good multiplayer experience.

Very recently I returned to Steam, for a short time, and then I pivoted to Good Old Games (gog.com). I do love Steam and all the work Valve has put into the Steam Deck and Steam Machine and Proton. Thank you Valve, there is a tremendous amount of good will built on all this great work.

But with GOG.com my games are DRM (digital right management) free and I can download my installers. No corporation will be taking my games from me.

Here’s a screen shot of my growing game library on GOG:

What’s the downside? Well, Good Old Games does not have every game I might want. In these instances I will go to Steam or do without.
OR, (are you listening Sony?) anyplace where I can get a complete and whole physical copy of the game to own.

Here is my pledge. For as long I can, I will stop buying digital games from Sony. This includes games on disc that can’t really be played without an update. This, of course, means that I plan to Not buy the PS6 and continue to watch my PS5 take backstage to all my other gaming options.

This also means that the last digital PlayStation game I bought was the arcade style off-road racing game called Gravel. Which brings up another point. The direction that modern AAA video games have gone has left my entirely uninterested.

I love multiplayer arcade racing with my friends.

We have played the heck out of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered (which we bought very late for about $5 CAD on PSN). *What an amazing arcade racing game. 10/10.

Then the well dried up. AAA racing games like The Crew 2 (and many others) spend so much time not racing that I got fed up and walked away. Gravel is not a AAA release and lacks some very noticeable polish …but, you pick an event, pick a car and start racing. Thank God. I’ll take it.

It really bothers me that Sony probably doesn’t need my generation or the one after to pull off a full digital gaming future. It’s the very young generations that will make this happen (or not.. is there hope?).

But I will still do my part and not participate for as long as I can. Which I hope is forever.

Ready to go on a tangent? April 10th 2026, I left Microsoft Windows; which I had been using since my 386 days. My very old (but good PC) cannot run Windows 11. Microsoft was allowing my Windows 10 to limp along with some security updates, but the end was nigh!

It took a long time before it dawned on me to just leave Windows. But when the idea hit, I watched some videos on Linux and did lots of reading and now my PC is running Linux; Zorin OS. And it’s amazing. I am not going back.

With the onslaught of AI, hardware shortages, subscriptions for everything, monetisation of everything, a lack of ownership and the consumer becoming the product it’s impossible to ignore the fact that we have to start fighting back in a significant way.

I have been working hard to claw back my privacy, reclaim my hardware and truly own the things I think I should have ownership of. These are not good times we live in, but I feel very good about the steps I have been taking.

On a brighter note and very strongly grounded in the physical gaming world, I recently pulled the ‘trigger’ on a very well known grail. More detail in my next post.

I’m sure you’ve already read it, but just in case…
Sony’s Announcement:

“In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.

Sid Shuman (he/him)Senior Director, Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications

As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.

This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.

We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store. We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support.

For important updates on PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita announced today, please click here.“

Source:
https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/

The Next Generation of Retro Gamers are Here!

Posted by Sega Dude on February 24, 2026

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: 240p, genesis, Next Generation, Retro Gamers, sonic. 3 Comments

And they are going Super:

Have you ever wondered if it’s just those of us who grew up in the Golden Age of Video Games* who would be the only ones to play and enjoy this era of gaming?

Because Mom and Dad (our close friends) aren’t ready to allow this next generation of retro gamers on the world wide web, we’re going to call these champions ‘Sonic’ and ‘Knuckles’.
Although they are both worthy of the title Super Sonic.

Some time ago ‘Knuckles’ asked for a NES mini and received one from Mom and Dad. ‘Knuckles‘ played it, and played it some more… and more still! ‘Knuckles’ dominated that little machine and was hungry for… more.

Seeing this interest I gave ‘Knuckles’ a spare Genesis and a bunch of loose carts. Both ‘Knuckles’ and ‘Sonic’ dove in. Imagine two kids researching Herzog Zwei on the Internet, learning, playing and winning. Incredible!

Some other favorites they told me about include Sonic (of course), Golden Axe and Forgotten Worlds.

They’re even enjoying Pat Riley Basketball for those Super High Def Graphics! 😎

‘Knuckles’ had visited my game room before and knew what to expect but ‘Sonic’ (a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan) had not and when the day came we had a lot of fun.

Of course we played many retro video games but ‘Sonic’ also got a chance to see many of the first original Sonic games in all their cartridge glory. Most of these games ‘Sonic’ was aware of but some were new experiences.

‘Sonic’ has beaten many Sonic the Hedgehog games. And if I remember right, that includes Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Sonic CD. But before our day in the Sega Dude’s game room ‘Sonic’ played mostly via Emulation.

I got a real kick out of ‘Sonic’s’ comment that ‘playing on original hardware was a much better experience’. That was validating and gratifying. 😎

Recently ‘Sonic’ has scored an original Genesis for home. And ‘Sonic’ is now learning about the challenges of connecting an old 240p console to a modern TV. But I will help out here. The Sega Dude knows exactly what is needed.

‘Thank you!’ to these two very cool Retro friends for a great day of playing old video games!

*I’m calling the ‘golden age’ the era from 8bit through to Xbox 360/PS3 era. For me personally it’s the 8bit and 16bit consoles from the 80’s and 90’s.
I probably should include Atari, ColecoVision, Intellivision and the other pre-8bit era but they did crash the gaming market.

…kinda like what Microsoft is trying to do right now.

Captain Lang for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive

Posted by Sega Dude on October 25, 2024

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: captain-lang, cartridge, high-seas-havoc, japan, physical, retro video games, Sega Genesis, sega-mega-drive. 2 Comments

I was visiting my local retro video game shop, www.retrogamebros.ca, with a buddy and I asked to see their Japanese Mega Drive games, which were not upfront. It’s like ordering off the menu, you have to know what to ask for.

My intention was to see if there were any games of interest for my friend EvilKalman. He is as fond of the Mega Drive as I am.

I wasn’t expecting to see a game I didn’t already have. That’s when I noticed Captain Lang. That’s also when I realized Captain Lang is an expensive game with a price tag of $500 CAD (~$360 USD).

I wasn’t going to spend that much cash on it despite the Bros offering a true ‘bro deal’ of $300 CAD (~$215 USD). It was a great offer.

But I still found a way to bring it home:

Instead, I ran home and pulled out a pile of PlayStation 4 games that had climbed a lot of value and some that I wasn’t into anymore.

My pile of PS4 games had a total value of about $800 CAD (~$575 USD) from pricecharting.com. I felt that should be enough in trade for the $500 Captain Lang. I wouldn’t have to spend cash, and the Retro Game Bros will have the potential to make some money once the PS4 games sell.

And that is exactly the deal we settled on. Below are the PS4 games I traded for my Captain Lang:

I was trying to remember which of these PS4 games I purchased new and which I got used. I think the majority were new. A common retail price tag for these games is $35 USD plus shipping landing at about $43 USD per game. Which means I may have spent as much as $717 CAD (~$516 USD) over the years buying these games. It really adds-up and this realization triggered something in my brain. I’m going to greatly reduce (or stop) my purchases of games that are anything less than stellar must have games.

Some examples of retro games I kept that I really want to keep in physical on a modern platform for my PS4 are Doom the Classics Collection and the more recent Tomb Raider I-III Remastered.

Cool, neat and novel games that may legitimately be fun for a while aren’t worth it to me anymore. Especially when that money can score a rare retro game instead.

How is Captain Lang? It’s pretty good. It has a real Sonic feel but falls short of Sonic’s caliber. Only one button needed to jump, double jump and tumble. Landing on enemies (Mario style) or hitting them with your double jump is how you dispatch them. The game has very nice graphics that will surprise you from time to time and the music is also notably good. Worth playing if you enjoy a classic style platformer.
Does anyone know what this games character (called Havoc) is supposed to be?

GO SEGA 60th Anniversary and the Sega Dude

Posted by Sega Dude on November 25, 2020

Posted in: Collection New Additions, Community, SEGA. Tagged: 60th Anniversary, Chalk Bag, Engraved Chalk Bag, GO SEGA, sega. 2 Comments

I don’t recall how I found out but I stumbled upon an invitation from SEGA to write a message from me to SEGA commemorating SEGA’s 60th anniversary.

The invitation went something like this:

“Please submit a message in commemoration of SEGA’s 60th anniversary!
The message you send will be displayed on this site.
You can also send a picture together with the message.” – SEGA

https://60th.sega.com/en/message/send/

It felt like something fun to do. And who doesn’t love celebrating SEGA?!

Below you can see me the ‘Sega Dude’ in all my glory and my somewhat uninspired yet sincere message to SEGA.

https://60th.sega.com/message/81/

According to Google Translate さん means Mr.

I am being too hopeful that SEGA has officially coined me Mr. SEGA Dude?

https://60th.sega.com/en/message/send/

When I wrote my message I didn’t know what to expect from the gift which was described as “chalk bag engraved with SEGA’s 60th anniversary key message, “GO SEGA”&”SONIC”‘.

To me a chalk bag is something that holds powered chalk used to coat your hands for weight lifting or rock climbing.

Turns out the chalk bag is a purse for a few small essentials. I tried cramming some Mega Drive carts into the pouch but it is not ideal.

What I also didn’t realize is that there would be only 60 of these hand made Chalk Bag given away to fans.

Here are the Marketing photos:

With my chalk bag SEGA also included the following letter.

What stood out as interesting to me is SEGA is asking that I never sell or trade this gift.

So I managed to stumbled into a very unique Sega Collectible.

Thank you SEGA! Here’s hoping for another amazing 60 Years!

Pick-Ups – CIB NES, Kirby’s Adventure and More…

Posted by Sega Dude on September 13, 2020

Posted in: Games, NES, Nintendo. Tagged: Dobule Dragon, Final Fantasy, Gauntlet, Kirby's Adventure, NES, nintendo. 3 Comments

I made some recent sales on my local classified as I downsize my loose cart collection of Nintendo NES and SNES games. I then took that money straight to Retro Game Bros. in the hopes of finding some nice complete Super Nintendo or NES games.

I’ve decided that I want to chase complete games rather than loose cartridges and because that means spending more money I’ve decided that I’m OK having less games in the collection.

Of course I would love all my complete games to be like new and in super mint condition but I know that’s not realistic. Complete and mint games are hard to find and will be very expensive. And with the somewhat recent trend of ‘Graded’ games prices seem to have no upper limit.

So I’m truly content with having games that show some ~~wear~~ love.

But this does not mean I’m left scraping the bottom of the barrel. Below is my new Complete in Box (CIB) Kirby’s Adventure. Right away you’ll be able to see where it’s aged but all in this is a very good copy of the game.

Thanks to the Video Game documentary series called High Score I’ve learned that our beloved Bald and Pink Kriby was named and imaged (in a fashion) after the attorney John Kirby who successfully saved Nintendo from Universal Studios in a dispute over Donkey Kong and his similarity to King Kong. Thank you John!

In order to help judge retro video game value I’ve been using two web site: www.pricecharting.com and gamevaluenow.com.

I’ve started to notice a trend where these two site don’t always show a similar value for some games and most times when this happens GameValueNow will show a higher value. Sometimes the spread between the two values can be significant. So I’ll often take an average between the two to give myself something to work with.

In the case of Kirby’s Adventure there is a small different of $10 CAD between the two sites; giving the game an average CIB value of $75 CAD (~$57 USD). RetroGameBros. asking price was $80 CAD. But that is not what I paid. Without even asking they were slashing prices left right and centre for me. They’re good like that 🙂

Their sticker price for the four games I purchased were as follows:

Kiryb’s Adventure $80 CAD (~$60 USD)
Final Fantasy $80 CAD (~$60 USD)
Double Dragon II $50 (~$38 USD)
Gauntlet $25 (~$19 USD)

For a total of $235 CAD (~$178 US) and I paid $200 CAD (~$152 USD).

Also consider that Final Fantasy’s averaged online value is about $130 CAD (~$99 USD). With Double Dragon II at about $68 CAD (~$52 USD) and Gauntlet at $33 CAD (~$25 USD).

Next up is the first ever Final Fantasy. A game that the developers Square thought would be their last before going bankrupt. But instead it sold extremely well and we’re still getting Final Fantasy games 20 years later.

Thanks to the box cover I can see that I am missing the Game World and Dungeon map as well as the Monster Chart. I’ll have to keep an eye out for those.

Should I have gone for a near mint graded Final Fantasy for a cool $1,500 CAD (~$1,140 USD)? Hells no!

I wasn’t intending on adding Double Dragon to the collection but after seeing the price and how nice the condition is I decided to go for it.

I guess this means I’ll be hunting for Double Dragon 1 and 3 as well.

Gauntlet is another iconic video game and also not a game I was planning on buying for that price it was hard to say no.

The outer box shows the most wear of all four of these games but it’s nice to see that inner sleeve looking so new. This is very different from the standard dust cover sleeves that most NES games came with making Tengen’s Gauntlet a bit unique.

Speaking of cartridge dust covers. The three I received with these games look like aftermarket non-Nintendo sleeves. But it won’t be long before I can swap them out. My buddy Nintendo Joe has a pile of authentic Nintendo dust covers that he’ll be giving to me.

Nintendo Joe is getting very close to having a complete NES game library. Check him out on Instagram.

Pick-Ups – Dune Battle for Arrakis and No Escape

Posted by Sega Dude on August 26, 2020

Posted in: Games, Genesis (North America), SEGA. Tagged: Battle for Arrakis, Dune, genesis, No Escape, sega. 4 Comments

Over the years I’ve occasionally seen Dune: Battle for Arrakis being sold for about $50 CAD (~$38 USD). I had always passed it up because the condition of the ones I’ve encountered didn’t live up to the asking price.

More recently I’ve noticed that Dune has been creeping up in price. GameValueNow lists a complete copy averages for about $118 CAD (~$90 USD) while Dune on PriceCharting comes in slightly less at $110 CAD (~$84 USD).

So when I saw Dune: Battle for Arrakis on my local classified for $75 CAD (~$57 USD) I felt it was time. Or risk this game climbing out of reach.

My new Dune for the Sega Genesis is complete and in excellent condition. Maybe there is some very mild sun-fade on the cover? It’s hard to be sure. I’ve looked online and every photo I see of the physical case also look a bit subdued and they do not have a deep red on the Genesis banner. Does anyone out there have a copy with a cover as vibrant as the game manual?

I use to play Dune on the PC a lot back in the day and it’s a really great Real Time Strategy (RTS) game. Very similar to Command & Conquer. Yes, the game is a little bit awkward using the Sega Genesis gamepad vs. a mouse and keyboard but I was surprised at how well it does work. The game is a real treat and very addictive!

Next up is No Escape for the Sega Genesis. Whatever money I may have saved on Dune I certainly lost on No Escape.

I don’t know what happened but for some reason I just forgot to look up what No Escape typically sells for. The average between Pricecharting and GameValueNow put No Escape at $36 CAD (~$27 USD) and I paid $80 CAD (~$60 USD).

I think I managed to distract myself because No Escape is a game I didn’t know existed. I’d never seen or heard of it before. So I was bit over excited to check out something new. It would have helped a lot if the game was any good. It is not. The controls are slow, clunky and cumbersome. No Escape offers no help on how to do the things you need to do. The manual does go into a lot of detail but it doesn’t make up for poor design. No Escape will likely just sit on the shelf for a very long time.

If you ever see a complete No Escape for $20 CAD go for it if you like to collect. Otherwise I feel it’s not worth the money or the effort.

OK, some good and some bad and the Genesis Collection grows a little bit.