Sony ending physical disc production in 2028, going digital only

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Worst thing to happen in video games since the Atari Crash, Sega 3rd party announcement, Will Wright stepping away from Video Games or Xbox One announcement
I'm more curious how far we can go till we hit the Earth's core

 

[Majora Fi]

 

[JellyjamLu]

I love physical but discs are super pointless now, it's not that much different in receiving a code inside the box to be honest. put the disc in, download everything to the hard drive anyway.
Additionally, having a box with a disc inside on your shelf also means very little, no substantial manuals, no extra little goodies either unless you fork out more and you already know the real truth about the discs function in modern gaming.
On that note, most collectors editions I have seen are mostly mostly heavy on digital content as well for items such as artbooks and OST's anyways, so really they don't hold that much market or collectors value either. (also high end centre peices like statues are either small, crap quality, or both lol)

 

[extermist]

Amazing, bravo sony, bravo microsoft and bravo nintendo.
I really can't wait to see the industry (modern and new games) crash and burn.
And I want to see the people who will blindly side with these companies so that I can distinguish mindless consumers from actual human beings.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

but you know what they should CUT DOWN THE PRICES since we no longer get physical copies or booklets or really anything real lol.
nintendo has some nerve with their empty "key cards" being 80$, god damn...

As one I read of a shitty meal: "You are paying for the brand, not the product".

Not that this is any new for Nintendo to do, it's just their boldest, most shameless yet.

 

[iamthemilkman]

I love physical but discs are super pointless now, it's not that much different in receiving a code inside the box to be honest. put the disc in, download everything to the hard drive anyway.
Additionally, having a box with a disc inside on your shelf also means very little, no substantial manuals, no extra little goodies either unless you fork out more and you already know the real truth about the discs function in modern gaming.
On that note, most collectors editions I have seen are mostly mostly heavy on digital content as well for items such as artbooks and OST's anyways, so really they don't hold that much market or collectors value either. (also high end centre peices like statues are either small, crap quality, or both lol)

Disagree with that. The majority of games still have playable builds on the disc. Do they have updates? Sure. But I'll take the best of both worlds, physical disc with a playable build + online updates, over entirely digital.

 

[Simon B.]

they programmed to kill the "Used VG Market"
it's not only Sony, it's the whole industry, the lobbies.

 

[Psychonara]

And to think everyone laughed at the Amico's "physical products."

 

[aquova]

I think this means that the PS6 will likely be out by that point, it will be digital-only, and they're just going to pull the plug and cut PS5 disc sales out at the same time.

It honestly really sucks. I can't say I'm surprised, I kinda saw this coming, but honestly the only reason I still have a PlayStation is for physical media. I'm maybe old fashioned in that way, but I like having a physical library and you can get some great used deals that way. Personally, this will certainly be the last PlayStation I own, I don't see any reason why to not just go PC-only. At least GoG won't take away digital purchases from my library without warning some day.

 

[silada]

There is an issue with digital store fronts, and this issue is preservation. The only reason we are able to preserve digital content nowadays is piracy, once you get a government willing to really crack down on it, in the way that the MCA would want, you could forget preservation entirely. Only real digital pirates in Russia, people who live like ghosts, would be willing to put up a fight since China is very draconian and takes a hard stance against any threat to their political goals, that would include business compliance.

I believe consumers are getting exactly what they have asked for. I have abandoned Sony ecosystem a long time ago, for this very same reason, digital store fronts and attacks at preservation.

Oh! But Steam does the same.

Yes, but PC is an open ecosystem, it is not a closed one like consoles.

• Hardware and Software "freedom" & customization
• Operation System "choice"
• User generated content
• Indie development
• Multiple marketplaces

When a closed system like a console abstains from preservation efforts, or abandons it altogether it becomes a threat to ownership itself. Isn't it insane? The people who actually own 400-500 games should be the ones worrying about it and they really could not care less, but could it be any different!? They are inserted into the ecosystem, they could not have a different opinion, they are the ones actively shaping it with their choices. These people are the ones who chose to remain loyal to an ecosystem which is consistently betraying their expectations regarding censorship and preservation itself. If they are not worried, why should I? I left a decade ago. The toll must be paid, guess it is about time.

Same goes for XBOX, you can see how the company is closing their studios one day or week after game launches, yet people keep giving Microslop their money so they can hire more Indians to ruin everything? You could figure this out if you were paying attention, their products have been decreasing in quality ever since, you could even use the word cheap to express a valid concern regarding their products, something still not plaguing Sony and Nintendo. No wait... can you really say that to yourself and believe it!?

Thank God for PC gamers and gamergate chuds who have have been fighting this trend in hand-to-hand combat and actually mitigating the complete and utter destruction of games in the same fashion and speed that the movie industry was obliterated. Not saying that we are winning, but at least we put up a fight.

 

[Dyne]

As long as there is a way to get the game files, emulation will ensure that preservation is happening.
Its too bad though. End of an era.

 

[aquova]

When a closed system like a console abstains from preservation efforts, or abandons it altogether it becomes a threat to ownership itself. Isn't it insane? The people who actually own 400-500 games should be the ones worrying about it and they really could not care less, but could it be any different!? They are inserted into the ecosystem, they could not have a different opinion, they are the ones actively shaping it with their choices. These people are the ones who chose to remain loyal to an ecosystem which is consistently betraying their expectations regarding censorship and preservation itself. If they are not worried, why should I? I left a decade ago. The toll must be paid, guess it is about time.

Steam has been a good shepherd thus far, but I do worry that someday their DRM storefront will come back to haunt all of us. If Steam ever shutters in some way, many of our purchases will be dead in the water. It's hard to imagine these days, but I try my best to support DRM-free efforts for this reason. Perhaps I'm just paranoid, but if every other video game platform is anything to go by, it could easily happen some day.

 

[seaglass]

I'm just surprised it's taken them this long to do this, digital-only consoles have clearly been the long-term goal for a while now. Even though I'm primarily a PC gamer I bought a base PS5 during the pandemic for the exclusives, and out of some kind of strange nostalgia as I've owned every Playstation console since the beginning. GTA VI will probably be my last PS game, I restrict my digital-only library to PC platforms. End of an era.

 

[G.L.a.D.O.S.]

As stated above by @Samantha, I do see the point. As business models go, most companies are moving into the all digital realm. It’s not some new thing. It’s been a slow transition. I kind of saw this coming when the PS5 had a digital-only version and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.

Again, from a pure business and money saving model, I understand it, and it’s actually reducing plastic waste and usage. But that’s the only upside. This is the model every console will go toward anyway.

Look at movie services as well. You don’t even have to buy physical tickets to see a movie on release day, just rent it online. Most new movies drop on streaming services the same day, and they make way more money doing so.

It’s a flawed model. I myself like owning games I enjoy and actually want. Sometimes, you get neat little items in the box. But I also don’t mind digital only, as @Nebulon_Galaxy pointed out, Steam is a thing, and unless something major happens, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

However, for home based consoles, it’s a greedy practice. Saving themselves money on games production while basically giving consumers the middle finger and telling them to sit on it and rotate. I have no love for Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. If they fail, though I doubt they will, but if they do because of this, so be it.

Nothing of any real value will be lost.

I am now and have always been loyal to my PC gaming, and I will remain so.

And to the Big Three in gaming, I say to you, as Faith No More's frontman Mike Patton used to say, "Eat a bag of dicks"

 

[PhaseJump]

And to think everyone laughed at the Amico's "physical products."

View attachment 204702

Rightfully laughed at them. It was paper with a dead link, no different than Nintendo's key card games, only the software never actually got hosted to a server.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

As stated above by @Samantha, I do see the point. As business models go, most companies are moving into the all digital realm. It’s not some new thing. It’s been a slow transition. I kind of saw this coming when the PS5 had a digital-only version and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.

Again, from a pure business and money saving model, I understand it, and it’s actually reducing plastic waste and usage. But that’s the only upside. This is the model every console will go toward anyway.

Look at movie services as well. You don’t even have to buy physical tickets to see a movie on release day, just rent it online. Most new movies drop on streaming services the same day, and they make way more money doing so.

It’s a flawed model. I myself like owning games I enjoy and actually want. Sometimes, you get neat little items in the box. But I also don’t mind digital only, as @Nebulon_Galaxy pointed out, Steam is a thing, and unless something major happens, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

However, for home based consoles, it’s a greedy practice. Saving themselves money on games production while basically giving consumers the middle finger and telling them to sit on it and rotate. I have no love for Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo. If they fail, though I doubt they will, but if they do because of this, so be it.

Nothing of any real value will be lost.

I am now and have always been loyal to my PC gaming, and I will remain so.

And to the Big Three in gaming, I say to you, as Faith No More's frontman Mike Patton used to say, "Eat a bag of dicks"

At this point Gladdy, what is the point of owning a Playstation? They can easily kill off any of there storefronts down the road and since its all digital then why even go with Sony or any console? This might mark the end of consoles as we know it.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

they programmed to kill the "Used VG Market"
it's not only Sony, it's the whole industry, the lobbies.

I'm confident a heavily disgruntled dev or a crazy passionate fan (or, more likely, group of fans) will crack the code or leak it, leading to home builds of anything we aren't allowed to own — BOTH HAVE HAPPENED BEFORE.

This is also why the success of the Stop Killing Games campaign is so important for us.

 

[Eduardo2010]

shit happens, i've never scratched a disc myself
i've purchased used games scratched to hell and it's just an annoyance to deal with, especially with CD game rentals. or borrowed from friends, or friends scratching MY discs (i never let people borrow my games after some... incidents back in dreamcast times)
it's a zero chance issue on digital copies is all i'm saying.

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:29 PM

isn't PC basically all digital by now? don't see how that changes things...

"Used games" won't exist on ps6

 

[G.L.a.D.O.S.]

At this point Gladdy, what is the point of owning a Playstation? They can easily kill off any of there storefronts down the road and since its all digital then why even go with Sony or any console? This might mark the end of consoles as we know it.

Well, jailbreaking it solely to give Sony nothing, and they will like it or lump it.

 

[PhaseJump]

They can easily distribute games on better physical media like encrypted flash drives to walk back the doomsday bullshit, but they probably won't.

The broader problem is that physical media isn't worth hoarding when it is impractical, obsolete, and the internet replaces everything anyway. Day one patches and easier online distribution helped kill physical PC games more than 20 years ago, and now the consoles are catching up.

Nobody actually cares enough about consumer rights or a strong public domain that limits the closed ecosystems, they just want convenience. The industry itself is bloated with unproductive leeches and bureaucracy. Consumers aren't buying their shitty games. Console makers increasingly can't justify the retail presence.

 

[Sanomoe]

At this point, I'll wait for the Repo OS/RepoStation

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Physical copies where like the only thing still going for consoles. There is now literally zero reason to choose them over PC.

 

[Jvsouza11]

Well, we are fucked, no more physical media after 2028.

 

[silada]

I'm confident a heavily disgruntled dev or a crazy passionate fan (or, more likely, group of fans) will crack the code or leak it, leading to home builds of anything we aren't allowed to own — BOTH HAVE HAPPENED BEFORE.

This is also why the success of the Stop Killing Games campaign is so important for us.

Omoe wa mou shindeiru for Stop Killing Games, EU already bended the knee to Ubisoft. You either are a millionaire lobbyist or you are nothing to the EU parliament. There is a good video about it on Youtube.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Physical copies where like the only thing still going for consoles. There is now literally zero reason to choose them over PC.

I know some people like to keep their gaming and work separated, but that's a steep price to pay for the privilege.