Yeah, the fact that everyone’s fighting for physical media instead of DRM-free makes me skeptical that the argument is anything more than muh pretty box
Couldn’t find a good primary source to dig into it. But from Ipsos:
“I believe the preference for physical discs amongst next gen gamers reflects the potential value they derive from the pre-owned market,” commented Ipsos director Ian Bramley to MCV, “which is holding up the preference for physical - this is unlike the music and film markets.”
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/64-percent-prefer-physical-media-to-digital-distribution
I’m sure there’s a lot of generational and market segment differences. I never really understood “collecting” games. But I guess people do that in digital too with their huge steam sale backlogs!