Another attraction for publishers was (historically) a much lower adoption of piracy.

Part of the sales pitch is you need more than just a torrent client to pirate.

Now in the world of AI I think this moat is evaporating. Hypervisor exploits are dropping like rain and determined individuals can vibe code a reasonably performant emulator in a couple of weeks.

In that world the only reasonable edge you have left is high prestige exclusives and merchandising/physical sales.

Nintendo has this cornered, one of the few companies who can pull off a rabid fan base buying a console they already own because this time there’s a triforce on it.

Meanwhile Sony and Microsoft are diluting their own IP and going full digital. Writing is on the wall if you ask me.