Video Games Industry Is Likely To Go the ‘Digital Route’ as Conversations and Concerns Around Preservation Continue

Editor's Note: IGN India spoke directly with Lakshya Digital founder Manvendra Shukul for this interview. This feature story is among a five-part interview series.

Video game preservation is a hot topic among enthusiasts who want to collect and maintain physical copies of games for offline access. Despite the multiple ways to access old content, video game history can vanish, especially with obscure, untranslated, or discontinued titles from defunct developers and publishers. The recent trend towards subscription services and the debate over game ownership has only added fuel to the fire regarding concerns about accessibility.

Core Ideas Behind the Push for Game Preservation

The preference for physical versions ensures that the games remain playable even if they are no longer available digitally, on sale, and/or officially supported. This can easily allow fans to revisit their favourite games years or decades after the game maker goes out of business.

Fans and supporters of the movement have also outlined their preference to have complete control over the ownership of their purchases, without the need to depend on digital platforms. Physical games that can be played without the internet can easily provide gamers with this control. This makes them immune to the control that game publishers have over digital services, including removing games at will.

Reality of the Games Industry

We spoke with Manvendra Shukul, founder of game support studio Lakshya Digital, as part of our larger conversation around game development. Shukul believes the industry is inevitably moving towards a fully digital future. “There is no point fighting it,” Shukul said. “[The industry] is going to go the digital route. It’s just a mindset that you don’t own digital games.”

Shukul highlighted the advantages of digital-only formats, such as easier data management and distribution. “Digital is the way Microsoft and others will go,” he explained. “It brings in more flexibility in managing data and distributing content. I don’t worry too much about data preservation.”

Regarding older titles that are no longer available for purchase, Shukul tells IGN India that the interest is more nostalgic than driven by actual market demand. “It’s mostly about nostalgic value than anything else,” he noted. Shukul added, “Businesses don’t run on nostalgia alone. At the end of it, it’s an industry, and you just have to sometimes let go and move on.”

In India, video games often see digital-only releases. This approach is cheaper and suits a market that prefers the convenience of downloading over buying physical copies. Indian games are typically indie titles with tight budgets, making physical editions less feasible.

While gaming is a luxurious hobby, losing access to games is not a situation consumers should or want to face. Especially in a market like India, where the high cost of video games is largely due to government-imposed taxes.

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Rayan Sayyed is a staff writer for IGN India with a primary focus on Asian entertainment spanning from anime, manga, games to films and dramas from the East. You can reach out to him at rayan_sayyed@ign.com, or find him on Twitter @rayanaver and Instagram @rayansayyed.