It looks like digital games are now an indelible part of the gaming landscape- they continue to comprise an increasingly large portion of game sales, and represent a 74% share of the overall pie, according to a report released by the Entertainment Software Association (via Games Industry).
This, of course, explains why dedicated US game retailers like GameStop are struggling- more and more people are used to getting their games digitally, as digital game purchases and downloads become increasingly normalized. However, this is important- that 74% figure includes full game digital downloads, subscriptions, DLC, social, and mobile- with the latter only being available digitally, and representing a massive part of the market, the 74% figure makes more sense.
Given the push towards digital by Xbox, PlayStation, and even Nintendo going forward, as well as the continued growth of mobile, VR, and PC gaming, it will be interesting to see just how much that figure rises in the coming months and years.
