I know this is a retro forum, so this might sound a daft question, but on their main computers does anyone here still use blank CDs, DVDs and even BD-Rs? Or even install anything using physical media? Do you even still have any physical drives?

I'm guessing maybe Steve does.

I was sorting through and clearing out a load of stuff and came across some spindles of blank CDs and DVDs. This got me considering when the last time was I burnt a disc. Or even installed a game from disc.

The ERA claim 89.5% of all video game sales are now digital downloads.

I've not bought or installed a game from physical media in many years. Last physical game I bought were the start of the PS4 era. And other then buying newer Star Wars films on BD I've not bought a film on disc in a very long time. Same with CDs. Listening almost exclusively via Spotify for a long time.

Laptops got rid of physical drives a while ago. Both our current laptops have no drives at all. So just USB or wifi to install anything from. And games consoles are heading that way. Both the Xbox S and cheaper PS5 have no drives. The games industry likes that as it stops the secondhand game market so they now get money for all sales. But that in turn could be bad for games collectors moving forward. And really bad for retro gaming in the future.

My main PC has no physics drives. But my second PC which was my old main PC does. That has a BD writer and even a floppy disk drive. And they are exclusely for retro use to burn games for older consoles or create or read floppy disks for older systems. There might come a point soon though where no current hardware supports installing such devices. And then support for them in software will disappear.

I don't even have any DVD/BD players in my house any more, unless you include my PS5. For which I've never actually used the drive. Just bought that version in case I might ever need to.
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