Remember when XB1 was going to be digital-only and Sony roasted it so badly Microsoft had to walk it back?
Sad thing is, I always figured this was going to be inevitable. I just didn't think it would happen this soon.
Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles
Submitted 2 days ago by ampersandrew@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
missingno@fedia.io 2 days ago
slimerancher@lemmy.world 2 days ago
That is why you need a strong competition. Unfortunately Sony doesn’t have one, so they can do whatever they want.
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
I just didn’t think it would happen this soon.
I hate to be the one to tell you this but…
That was 13 years ago. That announcement is almost high school aged.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
And 13 years before that announcement was the start of the PS2 era.
BenReilly97@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Microsoft has the chance to do the funniest thing.
They won’t, of course. They’d rather shoot themselves in the foot than do something smart.
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The next Xbox is a PC, it’s already 99% digital only.
PlayStation players are already basically digital only, have been for years.
The people complaining are the vocal extreme minority.
shrodes@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Hilariously still up on their YT, and rightfully getting roasted in the comments
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Remember that while it was digital only, it had all the benefits of physical. It had digital re-selling and trading. It was groundbreaking and pro-consumer, yet luddites and Sony fanboys, along with the Sony favouring video game “journalists”, all piled on them because of stupidity and ignorance.
This is what they get. Enjoy it.
NekoKoneko@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Someone at Sony is feeling very smart and modern right now, totally unaware that PlayStation is now a dead brand walking.
They are a strong brand, but that’s not going to be enough to justify a definitely-$1k+ PS6 compared to increasing handheld and console-like gaming options that are not locked down ecosystems. Their exclusives likely can’t save them, they have been dying out already.
Physical media was one of the few remaining differentiators for hardcore collectors and loyalists. Even if I’m sure it’s a greatly diminished part of their bottom line, it’s a psychological anchor that justifies the existence of a console. Now their console will be just another extremely handicapped and uncompetitive digital box, even if (as recently reported) they copy the Switch dockable format.
samus12345@lemmy.world 2 days ago
For me, the locked ecosystem of consoles was justified by a lower price for the hardware and the option to sell or trade the software. Now that neither is going to be a thing any more, my 40+ years of console gaming will be ending after this gen. It’s gonna be dedicated PCs plugged into the TV from here on out.
Ashtear@piefed.social 2 days ago
I’ve always been a PC gamer, but for a long time there, consoles were affordable enough to put in for just a few exclusives. Then I gradually went from a couple consoles to one, and then I started skipping generations and now it’s at the point where my last participation in the console market was getting a used PS3 at the far end of its life and getting a Switch gifted to me a couple years ago. I was expecting to skip PS4 and get a PS5 after the price dropped, but yeahhhhh. I’m definitely still interested in exclusives (the Shadow of the Colossus remake, The Last Guardian, Bloodborne, and now Intergalactic), but at this point, there’s no viable scenario were I’m in the Sony ecosystem in the foreseeable future. Fumito Ueda’s next game being announced for PC was shocking to me.
Even if we’re talking marginal cost differential for used games, a lot of consumer psychology is just feeling like they are getting a good deal. PC gaming is on the rise–and I don’t mean that in a cute, Lemmy Linux gaming sort of way, it’s genuinely a market shift shown across multiple indicators–there’s growing hostility towards walled-garden ecosystems, and Nintendo’s still going strong. Sony needs some sort of carrot, sheesh. Woof.
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 2 days ago
that’s not going to be enough to justify a definitely-$1k+ PS6
I’m inclined to agree. They might be able to sweeten that with a one year PSN voucher or something. Otherwise, you’re just paying for access to exclusive content, access to PSN, and the ability to say “I have a Sony.”
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Imagine if you will, they released a new ps2 with ps1 backward compatibility and optional discs.
I’d pay $500 right now.
zaphod@sopuli.xyz 2 days ago
Just use an emulator, even PS3 emulation has gotten pretty good.
shweddy@lemmy.world 2 days ago
It just works on pc btw
TORFdot0@lemmy.world 2 days ago
You can buy a used PS2 right now that has that for way less? Even if you demand an hdmi mod, it’s way less than that
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I guarantee that you’re wrong. The PS6 will sell every unit they produce for years, even at the $1200+ it will be. Why? A few reasons:
- It’s PlayStation. PlayStation has a gigantic “Sony can do no wrong and we want all their competition to die, and we’ll buy whatever they release no matter how garbage it is” fan base in the tens of millions.
- there will be no alternative.
- 85%+ of all games sold on PlayStation currently are digital. This change affects a tiny fraction of the user base.
enkonju@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Consoles now cost nearly as much as a PCs, digital purchases are being revoked, and now discs are going away and you’re being locked into one storefront where Sony can charge whatever they want. I’ve enjoyed owning consoles for my entire life but they don’t make sense anymore. Somehow, Sony just made the the Steam Machine look like a smart purchase.
samus12345@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Maybe not the Steam Machine itself, but a dedicated PC plugged into the TV using SteamOS, certainly. That’s going to be my “console” going forward after this gen.
mrmaplebar@fedia.io 2 days ago
To be fair, i'd say the Steam Machine is relatively cost competitive with other PC pre-builds. DIY will save you money but you'll never end up with a system that's as small or quiet, and you have to really know what you're doing.
The Steam Machine is not such a bad deal really, aside from the fact that every PC is a bad deal in 2026.
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
That’s not going to be an option for most people on account of SteamOS not betting able to play all of the biggest, most popular games.
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
They’re not locking purchases to only the PS store. Retail can still sell codes in boxes, just no discs that don’t contain a playable game anyway like currently.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
…codes which can only be redeemed through the PS Store.
Suavevillain@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I get if they reduced disc output but fully ending is nasty work and stripping away consumer choice. There tons of factors of why people have been going digital lately and I still do a mix of both. I don’t trust the big 3 with a digital only landscape even Switch’s 2 gamekey cards still have issues. I guess the good times are slowly ending.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I would argue that DRM-free has always been what we really need rather than the physical media, particularly in the era of patching.
Suavevillain@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I’m with you on that which is why I love GOG’s efforts.
deliriousdreams@fedia.io 2 days ago
True. but also, some places that don't have reliable Internet access rely on physical media. They're cutting out part of the market entirely.
LemmyEntertainYou@piefed.social 2 days ago
This 100%. Discs are actually just ewaste these days but we absolutely need competing storefronts on consoles and a way of selling digital licences second hand.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
The issue, normies dont understand DRM free digital media. Once its digital its like its invisible. A disc or a tape, is so easy to understand, you just HAVE it and it works.
My tapes from the 80s/90s just work when I put them in. Does a disc game or digital game from even 2018 do that? Likely not.
Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
It’s going to make companies like Limited Run and Video Games Plus more important. You’ll end up waiting a LONG time for a physical release, though.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Since it’s guaranteed the next gen of consoles won’t have disc drives, they’re going to be gone as well.
godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Is there any reason not to be on PC? Larger libraries, open source, better graphics, larger communities, no extra sub on top of your internet to play with friends.
If we can’t have discs, in my opinion, why have consoles? If you want a console-like experience you can even use distros like SteamOS or Bazzite.
But absolutely fuck Sony and Rockstar and everyone trying to remove our physical media and games. If it weren’t against IP laws and such, I’d love to work for a physical production company who re-makes discs, cartridges, etc to preserve games. I know there are some who do limited runs for indie titles, giving them physical releases they otherwise wouldn’t have.
We need a more chill, less capitalist world.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Previously, the reason to not be on PC was a lower upfront cost, being able to sell and trade games, and not having to mess around to get games working. The first one still applies, but much less than in the past, and the second one is being killed outright. Consoles really don’t make much sense over PC any more. If price and not being tech-savvy are big enough issues, just game on a phone.
mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
There’s also a number of outlets reporting that the PlayStation 6 will likely be over $1000
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Considering the current price of the Pro and RAM and storage prices predicted to continue rising for years to come, that’s a given. Even $1000 is pretty optimistic.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 2 days ago
How much you bet that it will be some cloud computing genAI slop?
godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Guess it’ll make the steam machine pricing more attractive 🙃
Bytemeister@lemmy.world 1 day ago
PCs are (or at least, were) a bit more expensive, they seem more single player focused (in terms of local players) and, let’s face it, owning a gaming PC is a much bigger commitment of time and effort than a console.
Consoles really shined when you could go over to a friend’s house, plug in one box, a few controllers, and have a 4 person couch gaming experience going in less than 5 minutes.
godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Those were the days…
Now, multiple controllers can be recognized on pc, making local play rather easy.
Streaming options exist through Moonlight, etc, if you don’t want to move your PC to your TV (or fiber optic display cables for lengthy runs)
And with Steam Big Picture or now Bazzite and other distros, you can have a plug and play console-like experience. You can even set up emulators to play classic and arcade games that are no longer available or just aren’t released on console digital storefronts.
If you really get into it, you can even connect fight sticks, arcade controls, even light guns and instrument controllers (r/CloneHero has guides/suggestions) with some recent modern revisions.
Basically, while the closed source platforms kill off usability and titles, the open platform of PC is keeping things alive in some ways.
Runecrush376@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Also on pc we have DRM Free games on gog that include goodies like soundtracks, manuals , wallpapers and more. Gog is now my favorite store…
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Gog is great and all, but it has virtually zero recent major games.
godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
💯
TwinTitans@lemmy.world 2 days ago
This is my last console Gen, 30 years deep.
Owning a console means owning your game—being able to share it, save it, display it, sell it, and trade it.
It’s been an amazing, wild ride. But Sony, I’m out.
mursejoy@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
It really is an end of an era. I won’t buy an all digital console. I already have a PC for that and it plays everything better in 4k. Nintendo is truly the last console maker with great first party, physical media, and console gimmicks that interest me.
BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
Even then they’re putting access codes into boxes instead of physical media. They’ll pivot away from it as well. Because it’ll save money just not for the consumer.
SacredHeartAttack@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Guess I’ve purchased my last Sony Console
pHr34kY@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Shipping a rootkit on a music CD didn’t do it for you already? And the 50 things they did after that?
ViscloReader@lemmy.world 2 days ago
What? What the fuck? They are just going to let Nintendo be the last physical game producer? Physical copies are about to cost so much, fuck them!
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Nintendo: Game key cards don’t seem so bad now, huh??
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Microsoft: our Xbox one “physical as digital” plan doesn’t seem so bad now, huh?
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Microsoft still allow physical copies?
newthrowaway20@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Articles were going around yesterday talking about Microsoft’s next console being digital only.
ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Microsoft tried to make their consoles digital only years ago. They only added the disc drive back because Sony’s marketing of the PS4.
Now that Sony’s out, MS will gleefully follow
Canuck@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Due to licensing agreements expiring with publishers, 500 titles of your digital games will no longer be available. We are also shutting down our digital storefront for this generation’s console next year, after which you will no longer be able to download any other titles onto your puny price inflated ssd. Thank you for your business.
BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
To be truthful, when the game wasn’t fully on the disk or required day one patches is when I stopped taking consoles seriously. One of the benefits of console was a little loading and you’re good to go. That’s long gone now for even some indie games.
TheGreatRapsBeat@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Mind expanding on this a bit? A PS5 will load the largest of games with in a few seconds. Baldur’s Gate 3 for example, loads the entire game inside of 30 seconds.
Or am I way off what you are talking about?
Th4tGuyII@fedia.io 2 days ago
In the same week they're in the spotlight again for removing purchased content from people's libraries?
Born too late to explore the world, too early to explore space - but just in time to watch the rise and enshitification of the internet and gaming.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
I have a feeling humanity won’t last long enough to be exploring space, anyway.
echodot@feddit.uk 1 day ago
Well what’s the point then. Might as well go over to PC gaming the only real reason to stay with consoles was the physical disks.
Everything else about consoles is terrible compared to PC, no mods, limited games, limited sales, if any, (looking at you Nintendo), limited control scheme options, can only play games so device doesn’t have a lot of utility, you have to pay for internet access even though you already pay for internet access, no private servers, limited community tools.
The one thing you could say for consoles was that you owned the game. Now that’s gone.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
The other advantages were lower price for hardware and not requiring tinkering to get games to run properly. While the price is still lower, it’s a smaller gap than it used to be since everything is ass-expensive now, so less benefit there. The last advantage isn’t even remotely worth all the downsides at this point.
deliriousdreams@fedia.io 2 days ago
At a time when the cost of harddrive space is going up like everything else in computing, and their consoles for this generation still come with a disc drive variant, this is insane work. Especially when once again Sony is in the news for removing digital content people paid for and not offering refunds. Pity that the execs behind this decision feel no shame.
arcine@jlai.lu 2 days ago
Physical media is the entire point of a console !?
BorgDrone@feddit.nl 2 days ago
And here I was thinking the point was to play games. Silly me.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Physical media bad, drive obstructs airflow from ULTRAGAMING WATERCOOLER 42069 and you can’t overclock to gain 0.00001fps in CALL OF ARMY 853048646 - WAR IS PAIN, also drive would make laptop not ultrathin and elegant. /j just in case (I still have one in my desktop, and looking for one for my ThinkPad L440)
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
It was one of the only advantages left over PC, at least.
NONE_dc@lemmy.world 2 days ago
“Ps5 sales drop another 30%. Sony execs are flabbergasted”
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 2 days ago
I don’t think the sales are going to be that affected. Hell, most of the people complaining probably were never going to buy a new console at all.
Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
I’m more likely to bite the bullet on the cost of a Steam Machine than over a PS6.
Even without games on disc I use it for my movies on disc all the time. I will not be replacing my PS5 with something without a disc drive.
Whelks_chance@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Isn’t a PS5 more powerful than the steam machine?
Dremor@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Without physical disk I might as well get a Gabecube instead.
At least once the next Gabecube “2” comes out, the old one won’t become a paperweight and could become my parents next computer.darcmage@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Even as someone who’s only bought digital on PC/PS4/PS5, this is terrible for everyone in the gaming community from more than a game preservation perspective. This is Sony feeling like they have a locked in user base they can exploit with >$1000 console prices, >$100 game prices and no second hand market whatsoever. This move basically confirms console gaming is a luxury and not something for the masses.
On the PC side, we’re already seeing fewer historical lows in every sale and this move will place even more inflationary pressure on gaming prices as a whole.
LemmyEntertainYou@piefed.social 2 days ago
More evidence I did the right thing by completely avoiding Sony this generation.
hal_5700X@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
We finally made it here. They been making digital only consoles for years now.
Why get into consoles now? One of the best reasons to get a console is gone.
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 2 days ago
So their prices drop like Steam games too, right? Riiiight?
NOPper@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
I used to buy the games I knew I’d want to play forever on disc for my PS4. Then the disc drive died, and while looking into repairing it I discovered they lock the drive to the mainboard by serial number and only “authorized repair centers” can flash the proper keys.
That’s when I gave up completely on consoles, bought most of those games at heavy discount on Steam, and walked from anything Sony bothers to fart out into the market.
pHr34kY@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Considering that Sony are practically a monopoly in the disc market, this could be interpreted as exiting blu-ray across the market. If they’re not behind it, nobody is.
UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Guess who’s getting rid of movies you bought on Playstation?
atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to buy 4K Blu-rays then…
TwinTitans@lemmy.world 2 days ago
No more PlayStation for me then.
forkDestroyer@infosec.pub 2 days ago
If I’m downloading digital games I’m downloading them from indie studios onto my computer, and not through a console.
MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Oh no, I’ve just realised that this might mean the end of bluray too because most people use PlayStation’s for watching blu rays. I know I bought a PS5 earlier than I needed to specifically for 4k blurays
makeshift0546@lemmy.today 2 days ago
The last rain to own a console just died.
Fuck you Sony. Fuck valve too, completely destroyed ownership of games.
llii@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
I’m out. I would never buy a console without physical media.
CombatWombat@feddit.online 2 days ago
Realistically, with half-finished games on launch and mandatory day one patches, this won’t be a meaningful shift in how much you actually “own” your games, but dropping this 2 days after they deleted 550 movies that folks had bought and paid for and ostensibly “owned” from the ecosystem is a real bad look.
mrfriki@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The problem with discs vs. Never was how much of the game you own or the fact that you can play the same disc 20 years down the road. It boils down to the fact that you can no longer sell the game you own after finishing it.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
We used to finish games. No update bullshit. A game was done when it was done. Humans can do this shit. Capitalism erodes our skills and our brains.
Just look at crash on ps1. Amazing.
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
They’re dropping this news now so people forget about it in a few days when they all pick up their pitchforks and go after Microsoft for the upcoming layoffs.
The funny thing is the main people going after MS will be people that want Xbox to die anyway, leaving Sony free to do things like this.
OS2Warp@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
arstechnica.com/…/sony-erases-digital-content-fro…
popcar2@piefed.ca 2 days ago
I’m with you, this is an insanely ballsy move. One of the biggest pros of a console is that you could still buy physical games and trade it with friends or sell it used to someone else. If everything is going digital, what’s the point?
Here we even have a local chain that rents you physical games for a week at a time…
Katana314@lemmy.world 2 days ago
For me it’s called a library.
On a side note, while I very much understand people’s general hate of DRM, I am curious if there’d be interest in a digital library service that lets people borrow video games to download with lite-DRM systems attached (something small, to make certain people don’t borrow the whole catalog, and then crack them on the spot)
I’m sure it’s easy for people to come up with gripes about such a system, or any use of DRM, and would express their preference for physical, but: Physical games prioritize/benefit consoles over PCs, and prioritize AAA games for which the costs of large disc printing runs make more sense. You’re not likely to find many copies of Mina the Hollower at libraries.
GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 2 days ago
It’s not ballsy at all. They’ve basically got no competition in the high-end console space, and the overwhelming majority of console buyers only buy digital already.