GameShelfClub blog https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ Physical games, digital ownership and game prices. en-gb Twinkle Tale gets its first physical release outside Japan, on a Mega Drive cartridge https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/twinkle-tale-mega-drive-physical-edition/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/twinkle-tale-mega-drive-physical-edition/ Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A 1992 Japan-only Mega Drive game is coming to cartridge in March 2027 for about €52. What Mega Drive era games cost boxed today. GTA 6 price in the UK: the cheapest PS5 and Xbox copy a week before launch https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-price-uk-cheapest-copy-launch-week/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-price-uk-cheapest-copy-launch-week/ Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Grand Theft Auto VI launches on 19 November. The cheapest UK copy today is £63.85 at Hit, £6.14 under the PlayStation Store download. Two thirds of Ocarina of Time's Japan sales were cartridges, and the UK cartridge is £5 above the eShop https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ocarina-of-time-japan-physical-sales-share/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ocarina-of-time-japan-physical-sales-share/ Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Japan's physical chart counts 537,041 Switch 2 Ocarina of Time cartridges. Nintendo's total for Japan is 810,000. In the UK, GAME sells the cartridge at £54.99, the eShop at £49.99. Ocarina of Time sold 5.2 million in four days, and the cartridge costs £5 more than the eShop https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ocarina-of-time-switch-2-sales-cartridge-vs-eshop/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ocarina-of-time-switch-2-sales-cartridge-vs-eshop/ Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Nintendo says the Switch 2 Ocarina of Time sold over 5.2 million copies in four days. In the UK the cartridge is £54.99 at GAME, the eShop £49.99. GTA 6's physical edition has no disc, but the box is still cheaper than the download https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-physical-edition-code-in-box/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-physical-edition-code-in-box/ Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT First unboxings show a download code in GTA 6's boxed edition, not a disc. UK shops still sell it for up to £6.14 less than the PlayStation Store. Nintendo physical share fell from 75% to 45%, but Switch cartridges still beat the eShop https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/nintendo-switch-physical-share-vs-eshop-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/nintendo-switch-physical-share-vs-eshop-2026/ Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Physical copies dropped from 75.2% of Nintendo software sales in 2018/19 to 45.4% in 2025/26, yet across 501 Switch and Switch 2 games a new cartridge was cheaper than the eShop 56% of the time. Physical games share: PlayStation from 63% to 22%, Nintendo from 75% to 45% https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/physical-share-nintendo-era-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/physical-share-nintendo-era-2026/ Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Physical share of PlayStation game sales fell from 63% to 22% (Sony), Nintendo's from 75.2% to 45.4%. Boxed games: 5.9% of British games revenue in 2025 (ERA). PlayStation Store Black Friday 2026: is the sale price lower than the disc? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/playstation-store-black-friday-2026-sale-vs-disc/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/playstation-store-black-friday-2026-sale-vs-disc/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT PlayStation's sale runs to 30 November. Of 557 games, on sale the download was cheaper than a new disc for 87%; not on sale, the disc was cheaper for 83%. Switch 2 games: cartridge or eShop, which is cheaper? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/switch-2-cartridge-vs-eshop-price-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/switch-2-cartridge-vs-eshop-price-november-2026/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT New Switch 2 cartridges in stock at shops against the Nintendo eShop price: the cartridge was cheaper for 55% of 111 games, and the median gap was £2.00. Console store prices this week: 1,967 drops, nine in ten at half off or more https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-store-price-moves-week-to-7-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-store-price-moves-week-to-7-november-2026/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Each game's latest console store price against a week earlier: 21% of PlayStation Store games dropped, 10% on the Nintendo eShop and 9% on the Xbox Store. PlayStation Store, Xbox Store or Nintendo eShop: where is the same game cheapest? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-stores-same-game-cheapest-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-stores-same-game-cheapest-november-2026/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Of 2,180 games on all three console stores, the PlayStation Store was lowest on its own for 49%, the Nintendo eShop for 18% and the Xbox Store for 15%. Hit or The Game Collection: which shop sells new games cheaper? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/hit-vs-the-game-collection-price-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/hit-vs-the-game-collection-price-november-2026/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT We compared the same new game on the same console at Hit and The Game Collection. Hit cost less for 60% of 745 games, but the median gap was only £3.10. GAME or the console store: where is the same game cheaper? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/game-vs-console-store-price-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/game-vs-console-store-price-november-2026/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT New copies at GAME against the console stores: GAME was cheaper for 59% of PlayStation games, 58% of Xbox games and 51% of Switch games. How often do console store prices drop, and by how much? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-store-price-drops-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/console-store-price-drops-november-2026/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Our weekly checks: 21.5% of PlayStation games were on sale, 17.1% on the eShop and 10.2% on Xbox, and most sales were half off or more. Disc or download: which was cheaper in our price checks? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/disc-vs-download-price-november-2026/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/disc-vs-download-price-november-2026/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT New copies against the console store download for 1,008 games: the disc or cartridge cost less for 68% of PlayStation games, 75% of Xbox and 56% of Switch. A gamer's wife found a boxed Nintendo Famicom on the curb https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/curbside-boxed-famicom-treasure/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/curbside-boxed-famicom-treasure/ Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT A gamer's wife spotted what looked like trash on a curb at 8 AM. It was an original boxed Japanese Famicom and a haul of retro cartridges. EA's most downvoted Reddit comment: "a sense of pride and accomplishment" https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ea-most-downvoted-reddit-comment-pride-and-accomplishment/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ea-most-downvoted-reddit-comment-pride-and-accomplishment/ Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Reddit's most downvoted comment is EA's 2017 Star Wars Battlefront II reply about "a sense of pride and accomplishment", with over 667,000 downvotes. AnyPS5 hits 100% shader instruction coverage as PS5 preservation speeds up https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/anyps5-emulator-reaches-full-shader-coverage/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/anyps5-emulator-reaches-full-shader-coverage/ Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT The open-source AnyPS5 project reached 100% GPU shader instruction coverage, sparking a big PC gaming forum discussion on emulation and preservation. A GTA 6 fan spent $971 before the game is even out. Gamers are split https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-fan-spent-971-before-release/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/gta-6-fan-spent-971-before-release/ Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A viral post listed $971 of GTA 6 editions, vinyl, controllers and more, bought before launch. Here is what r/videogames made of it. Sony patents a PlayStation controller you could tap to pay with https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/sony-patent-controller-tap-to-pay/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/sony-patent-controller-tap-to-pay/ Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A Sony patent describes a controller that accepts tap-to-pay from phones and credit cards. PC gamers on Reddit imagined paying to respawn. An Amazon worker says the warehouse was told to destroy boxes of new game discs https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/amazon-warehouse-destroying-game-discs/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/amazon-warehouse-destroying-game-discs/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A warehouse worker shared a bin full of sealed PS5 and PS4 games headed for destruction. Here is what thousands of gamers said about it. Microsoft patents a system that pauses your game to show ads https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/microsoft-patent-freeze-games-show-ads/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/microsoft-patent-freeze-games-show-ads/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A Microsoft patent describes freezing games during downtime to show ads, with watched ads earning ad-free playtime. Gamers were not impressed. PlayStation Store players report different prices when logged in https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/playstation-store-different-prices-when-logged-in/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/playstation-store-different-prices-when-logged-in/ Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A PS5 owner found a game listed at $13 when logged out and $23 when logged in. The thread turned into a debate about dynamic pricing and digital only consoles. The Witcher 4 will have a physical edition, but that might not mean a disc https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/witcher-4-physical-edition-not-a-disc/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/witcher-4-physical-edition-not-a-disc/ Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT CD Projekt Red says The Witcher 4 will get a physical edition even if discs go away. Fans pointed out what that really means, and why DRM free matters more. Rumor: Sony may delay its digital only plans as Xbox talks up physical https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/rumor-sony-digital-only-delay-xbox-physical/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/rumor-sony-digital-only-delay-xbox-physical/ Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT An unverified Gamescom rumor says Sony is reconsidering its digital only timeline. Most PS5 players did not believe it. Here is why. Kingdom Hearts III digital vs disc: was the price really worse? https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/kingdom-hearts-3-digital-vs-disc-price/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/kingdom-hearts-3-digital-vs-disc-price/ Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Kotaku argued that buying Kingdom Hearts III digitally cost more than the whole series on disc. The r/PS5 thread was split. Here are both sides. A Chinese court rules that video game accounts can be inherited https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/china-court-video-game-accounts-can-be-inherited/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/china-court-video-game-accounts-can-be-inherited/ Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT A Beijing court let a mother inherit her late son's 87 gaming accounts. Gamers called it an example for the world and asked bigger questions about owning games. The 2006 PS3 played PS1 and PS2 discs, Blu-ray and more. Gamers remember what we lost https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ps3-2006-backward-compatibility-blu-ray/ https://gameshelfclub.com/blog/ps3-2006-backward-compatibility-blu-ray/ Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A post about the launch PS3's PS1 and PS2 compatibility, Blu-ray support and free online play hit 58,000 upvotes. Here is what gamers said about it.