Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 have finally opened, and reactions to the news have been somewhat mixed. Of course, people were excited to finally be able to confirm their purchase of the game they'd been waiting over a decade for. However, the mood was dampened considerably when it was revealed that several in-game cosmetic stores were locked behind the game's Ultimate Edition, as there were no discs inside the game's physical box.
In case you missed it, the retail version of GTA 6 does not include a standard disc, but instead only includes a code for a digital download. It had physical games that required downloading and Nintendo's full game key card system, but at least it had a physical disc inside. GTA 6 doesn't even pretend that the physical product you purchased is the real thing.
GTA 6 stock is being rejected by retailers.
Rockstar wants to have their cake and eat it through retailers without the manufacturing costs of physical discs, so you're basically buying a plastic box. Naturally, this is making a lot of people angry, many of whom now don't care about the game at all, and even some video game retailers are telling Rockstar not to send them copies.
One of these retailers, VGP, claims to be North America's leading independent video game retailer and distributor and has been in operation for nearly 40 years. It was announced via the company's Twitter account that it will not be stocking copies of GTA 6 until Rockstar decides to release a physical version with physical discs.
For nearly 40 years, VGP has been dedicated to supporting physical media and preserving the value of physical game ownership. As part of that commitment, our company policy is not to carry physical products for video game consoles that only contain digital download codes,” the tweet reads. Based on currently available information, the physical release of Grand Theft Auto VI for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series“
It's a very bold move, and has garnered praise from both those who were unhappy with the code in the box and those who were worried about the preservation aspect of Rockstar's decision. No single video game retailer can play a big role, but it's good to see that there are some out there willing to sell actual physical games to customers rather than plastic boxes.
