Sony is moving away from physical discs, will soon only release PlayStation games digitally

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Sony made a shocking announcement today, revealing that the company plans to move away from physical game releases in the future. Citing claims of how the industry is moving away from physical copies and disc-based games, and prefers digital media, PlayStation will follow suit, and will only release PlayStation games digitally. Starting January 2028, physical disc production will end, and you'll only be able to purchase video games through a digital format, either from retailers or PlayStation themselves.

According to the most recent financial report from Sony, only 3% of PlayStation's annual sales came from physical software releases, with projections for that already low number set to fall even further through the end of the PlayStation 5's lifecycle.

As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.

This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.

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I remember way before I tried a streaming service and it worked, but I only had a trial.

That was... OnLive.

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I was surprised a very out of date PC was running DiRT which was a new game at the time.

They really want people to get used to streaming games and eventually many will.

I also used Onlive when they let you play the game for 30min (i think it was 30min). Was a cute way to test games without buying them.
The response time on racing games was almost as "good" as today.
 
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3% of sales but 90% of the internet is complaining
And never ever has a big company lied about numbers ;)

Nah all in all this was going to happen sooner or later. But it really sucks.

Collecting games has always been a passion of a so many of us through different classes, different consoles. different interests etc. And now we all have the 'privilige' of saying let's own something digital which in the long run will not work anymore as storefronts vanish, are repurposed or outright purged of content you paid for (see the other recent Sony debacle).

Let me drag movies into here; I still can get blurays or dvds if I really really want something to own. So movies are winning here.
This upcoming SONY gaming situation leaves us with ... nothing.

[INSERT THE YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND BE HAPPY ABOUT GIF HERE]

I hate that concept to my core, but in the landscape of ever evolving game sizes, offering all games physical is becoming less and less possible as not every vendor/studio will opt for that route. And I totally totally get that... as a small dev cant always say well yeah I will sell 500K of this so im sure it will offset. But the big boys should be proud to offer a physical game, it's still advertisement for their game in the long run.(in stores, seeing a game at friends in their collection, being able to take a game somewhere etc)

But note that not the game studios are saying physical is dead here, one of top the 3 hardware parties is saying; We have decided to say f physical games all together. We can discuss the pro's an cons of physical games as long as you want but, read it again; a top 3 hardware vendor (SONY) is saying f physical. That part to me is insane.

That means the device will not even have a physical format, thus parties who try and provide physical games like LRG, SRG, PixnLove, etc.etc. can shove it too. But not only them. game studios can shove it, no more advertisment for your game in brick n mortar stores. (ok sure banners go download here, and kinds of crap) The only storefront for all your games is t f-in Sony Storefront. Way to kill competition, those stores, and a lot of gaming hype.

Sony with this has shown it is not for the games at all.
Sony is for Sony, Sony is for $$$$ony,

If I had my way I would love to have physical games of every 'major' game I buy. I would pay more for the privilige. I would import if possible. I would wait if needed. But outright saying f physical as Sony ... no good word can come from me for that.
 
tbh....

this makes keycards sound reasonable.

and i (along with many others) hate those things
I don't see how holding a little piece of empty plastic is more reasonable and reassuring than a standard digital download when we talk about personal property...
 
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I don't see how holding a little piece of empty plastic is more reasonable and reassuring than an standard digital download when we talk about personal property...
That's why I don't bother buying Key Cards or Codes in a Box. Fake physical.
 
Honestly after seeing the responses the past few days This will prob be another case of
Loud and vocal minority will complain the most about this while the vast majority of consumers will not care about this and keep buying as usual.


Every youtuber and social media influencer is shaming and mocking sony. But really its because its easy views and likes. Negativity and going along with the train breeds profit in this scenario. But they will be the first people buying the ps6 or still taking review copies.

You got the people who havent paid for anything from Sony for the last 10 years complaining. But they had no intention to spend money regardless. So its not like they mattered in the grand scheme.

Other companies will ride the hate train to score internet points. But reminder companies are not your friends and won't wait to screw you over in the future.

Meanwhile I go asks the casual consumers ya know the people who buy CoD Fifa and madden every year and their like "Eh whatever"

I give it 2-3 weeks time and things go back to normal and people will forget until its 2028 and this comes into effect.
 
Ha.

Others to follow suit.

Remember when you used to buy a physical copy of your game and they would include a bonus game or content with a code?

And there was always an expiration date.

How about now, will $ony sell you a $99 PS# game and put an expiration date on cashing it in?

I bet yes.
 
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So pay $100 to borrow stuff?
Most games nowadays need updates, DLCs, subscriptions, 1st day updates, etc anyways. The amount of games where you get the whole thing in your disc/cartridge is less and less every day.

The only real advantage to physical nowadays is just the ability to trade/share/sell. And they're coming up with ways around that already (see game key cards from Nintendo).

So yes, $100 to borrow is the future, whether you like it or not, and chances of you stopping that future is nil.
 
Most games nowadays need updates, DLCs, subscriptions, 1st day updates, etc anyways. The amount of games where you get the whole thing in your disc/cartridge is less and less every day.

The only real advantage to physical nowadays is just the ability to trade/share/sell. And they're coming up with ways around that already (see game key cards from Nintendo).

So yes, $100 to borrow is the future, whether you like it or not, and chances of you stopping that future is nil.
thats why i keep checking a few years later and buy the whole shebbang much cheaper
 
Guys it's over, the more you cling to the past the more you're gonna suffer.
Let go of physical media already, this was going to happen sooner or later.
I'm fine with letting go of physical media, but that also means letting go of the last advantage consoles had over PC. Steam absolutely demolishes the paid subscription offerings of PSN, XBL, and NSO, and it does so for free. Valve couldn't have paid for better advertisement, and Sony couldn't have possibly done more to set up the PS6 for failure.
 

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