No physical discs for Playstation games (1st & 3rd party) from 2028 onward

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fezzik
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I have to say, I can see the folks point why this is bad, collectors pov, I have all the gt discs in boxes, I also have gt sport and gt7 digital so I don’t leave a disc inside all the time, this is just packaging shrinking, there will be be less waste eventually so it is just needed I’d say
 
I wonder if the Stop Killing Games movement will pick up more support after this news. Their initial goal is to make developers enact updates so games that "require a constant internet connection" just to play single player can remain playable despite their online services being shut down. This is right in the same vein.
 
It honestly sounds pretty bleak to me, especially now that I'm hearing the next gen Xbox will be digital only too. Mainly because with discs no longer being a thing, Sony basically can have full price control. It's possible that the sales I've seen for digital games won't be a thing anymore.

On another note, I'm not seeing much of an incentive to get a console over a PC anymore for me if they're just gonna be digital. If that's the case, I could just stick to my gaming PC and upgrade it instead.
 
Honestly, from what I've seen, this news has been overwhelmingly negative. It seems that with the exemption of GTA 6, not many actually want this.

I think also that the PS6 won't have that much interest at first, at least for me, the PS5 still has plenty of life still in it because not much has really taken advantage of it.
 
FT-1
As someone who hasn't bought a physical game this decade, I didn't think it would matter much until I realised the knock-on effects it would have. The biggest is the second-hand market, where publishers and platform holders now have complete control over the value of games and when, or even if, they go on sale.

Like @MagpieRacer said, the appeal of physical games faded once you started getting far fewer extras in the box. Some games came with unique artwork and posters, long before premium editions were commonplace. Once they stopped including the basics like manuals, I knew it was time to make the switch.

Even so, this news is still devastating. I'm hoping the backlash is enough to make them change course.
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To be honest, I just buy my games new or simply wait for a reduction. Every so often, there's a sale online so the whole new and used aspect effectively becomes redundant in a way.
Sure, the publishers have control over how much reduction to give but I've seen popular games having as much as 70% off so usually, it's just about being patient.

I can see how going discless would be disappointing for collectors who want a Deluxe Edition complete with manual, postcards, photos, guides, maps etc but I'm a huge minimalist so it really doesn't bother me. Saving on physical space is a top priority.
 
CitroenCX
2028 will be the end of the line of GT and PlayStation for me.
After that I'll go all in on Vinyl and physical home media hobbies.
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Same for me. I was already thinking this generation of gaming might be the last for me, just with how expensive consoles are becoming. And this announcement has reinforced it.

Planning on focusing more on retro gaming and CD collecting.
 
RobertHammer
Well we have to thank Take-Two Interactive and GTA 6 that it torpedoed this move , btw GTA 6 already earned 1 bilion $ just from preorders in just one hour...
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I don't think GTA 6 was the deciding factor, I think Sony had already considered going down this road given the PS5 Pro has no disc drive, which was seen as an attempt to get you to spend extra money.
The decision not to bundle a disc drive with the Pro is about "giving players choices," as senior principal product manager Toshi Aoki tells IGN. "With the PS5 Pro, we are offering all these new tech innovations, and we added the two terabyte SSD, as well as the Wi-Fi 7," Aoki says. He adds, "For the disc drive, it is an option for players. Not all players have discs, even though most players may...but we have the option for being able to add that for those players. So I think it's more of the balance of the value proposition that we're giving."
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Spacegoat
Same for me. I was already thinking this generation of gaming might be the last for me, just with how expensive consoles are becoming. And this announcement has reinforced it.

Planning on focusing more on retro gaming and CD collecting.
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Yeah, those markets will probably have a boost in the next years.
 
Fezzik
Same here. I'm 80-90% digital simply for the convenience, but that's because I always had the option. There are some games I just wouldn't have bought if they were only digital because I wanted the option of selling them if I didn't like them (hello PMR).

PC gaming works as all digital because there is competition with all the storefronts. I doubt very much Sony is going to open up Playstation to other storefronts (unless the EU makes them), or let publishers sell PS digital game codes on other sites.
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As a Frenchman, the European Union is capable of anything and often of the worst.

I would say that this institution can largely "punish" consumers with aberrant regulations.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that effective lobbying at least protects property rights.

 
I’m afraid there isn’t much more to be gleaned from this news.
For one thing, the PS6 definitely won’t be released until 2028, and it won’t have a disc drive.

That really hits me hard, of course, since I’m more of a 4K Blu-ray fan and can’t stand that compressed, pseudo-4K rubbish from Disney, Prime, Netflix, and whatever else they’re called.
 
Downhill Dino
Xbox could do the funniest thing.
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McLaren
I wonder if the Stop Killing Games movement will pick up more support after this news. Their initial goal is to make developers enact updates so games that "require a constant internet connection" just to play single player can remain playable despite their online services being shut down. This is right in the same vein.
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This already failed in EU (at least in its initial form - the proponents are pushing to integrate it into Digital Fairness Act) and California (which had exemptions for F2P and subscription titles).
 
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I'm sure a decent number of physical media collectors (DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD) started by using their consoles (PS5/Xbox One S/Series X for 4K's) as playback devices. Next-gen consoles ditching the disc drive will further raise that barrier of entry, which is bad news for a hobby already moving towards hardcore collectors (exorbitantly priced steelbook-only releases, needing to rely on imports and specialist stores, etc.).
 
It's especially scary for those of us who like racing games. Because those are the licences that expire most often - as manufacturers and music licences are lost, the games disappear.

We're in for a lot of lost media in the future as they will simply cease to exist.

Outrun Online Arcade all over again :nervous:
 
anthonyfa18
I’d like to take a moment to share my thoughts.


I was a little boy with a December 23 birthday when I got my very first PlayStation and my very first game: Gran Turismo. From that day on, I’ve been part of this community and have played every Gran Turismo ever released.


Two years ago, I had the incredible opportunity to meet Kaz at the Montreal GT World Tour, and he even signed my original copy of Gran Turismo. As someone who has been collecting video games since I was a kid and loves owning physical copies, today’s news has left me completely devastated.


I own every physical copy of Gran Turismo ever released, and seeing the industry move away from physical media really hurts. In my opinion, this is nothing more than corporate greed from Sony.


If Gran Turismo 7 ends up being the last physical release in the series, then it will also be the last game I buy—and the last gaming console I ever purchase.


It’s a sad ending to a story that has been part of my life since childhood.

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I feel your pain. I'm a CD/LP music collector and a buy films on DVD from charity shops frequently. Owning physical media is part of the joy for me. Sad times for gaming.
 
VXR
Online store sales are often cheaper than physical sales ever will be. Discs are license keys on modern consoles. All the poo emoji in the world won't alter that.
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Online sales are cheaper compared to new phyiscal sales.

The whole used-game market is killed. Lots of people can't or don't want to afford to buy only full release prices. As long as there is no digitial second hand market, you exclude a lot of people from owning and playing games.

And thats just one argument, your argument is very short sighted and kind of ignorant because you ignore the broader picture.
 
Here are my thoughts..

This 80:20 rule, ok, I get it, but.. why stop doing both? They would still earn, just.. less. This is greedy.

Regarding the fact that the optical discs cannot fit the whole content.. fine, split in two discs (as last of us had done), or keep one disc with as much as it can fit and download the rest. Nvidia has been showcasing neural compression techniques that might make this work. I guess devs aren't really interested in optimizing size unless they really have to.

Personally, I usually buy physical for many reasons - you can find it cheaper than it's digital counterpart, you can lend it, you can re-sell it and.. it's yours.

Lately I've been worrying about digital ownership a lot - Steam (which I know for sure) doesn't allow you to pass on your games to your kin after you die. Someone might thing, yeah, ok, share your credentials with your kid. Sure, but our kids have their own lives to live - have their own accounts, likely have built their own libraries by then. It's not really convenient to use multiple accounts.

I assume we are the first generation to worry and have to deal with such issues. It wouldn't be a surprise if someone in these digital marketplaces came up with an idea to start requesting every now and then proof of your existence to otherwise terminate your account.

So, on one hand, you have the convenience of the digital, but I prefer physical means. And then there's the PC.. where only digital is available. I appreciate what GOG is doing, pay it, get it store it yourself, it's yours forever.
 
Joey D
If buying isn't owning, then pirating isn't stealing.
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I hate pirating, and I definitely hate when they’re effectively pirating me. Because that’s exactly what these companies are trying to do by changing the game into “own nothing”.

We gave them enough money for them to be where they are today, and piracy is at an all-time low at the moment. Let’s see how that will change when we collectively decide enough is enough.
 
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It's equally a shame Sony are shutting down the PS3 digital store over the next few months, apparently re-downloading what you purchased as well as game updates will continue to be hosted, but for how long? Imagine if all those 2000+ PS3 games didn't have a physical release, that is the future we are going to face one day.

I'm very much for physical, and a dinosaur it seems. Probably won't ever revisit owning a console if it's digital only. It was kind of the only thing left that set it apart from PC gaming, even the hardware is x86 now. Then there's the whole used game side to it. Games are so expensive now the used market is often the only choice for some people, probably why piracy is back with a vengeance.

Will be interesting to see what Nintendo do, they didn't seem bothered about the furore over Switch game keys and this news will just further embolden them. Also Rockstar can be partly thanked for further driving all this.
 
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I used to have a lot of physical discs but since PC got digital only (thanks Gaben) i dont mind digital only BUT digital licences should get better especially with law makers basically making it like physical copy licence because nowdays digital licence is just a glorified rent
 
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Just a reminder that Sony also stopped manufacturing of recordable Blu-ray discs (it is important to note that other companies are still producing them as well as doing commercial pressings of Blu-rays) in 2024.
Nexus
I'm sure a decent number of physical media collectors (DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD) started by using their consoles (PS5/Xbox One S/Series X for 4K's) as playback devices. Next-gen consoles ditching the disc drive will further raise that barrier of entry, which is bad news for a hobby already moving towards hardcore collectors (exorbitantly priced steelbook-only releases, needing to rely on imports and specialist stores, etc.).
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Specialist manufacturers/distributors, even, assuming Arrow Video/Criterion types are what you had in mind with the "hardcore collectors" thing (for legacy re-releases). Though I am convinced new physical movie/TV releases also are falling into collector-first trap. (And that was even more of a larger problem for "limited physical" companies in gaming such as Limited Run Games, whose schtick is upfront that.)

The only form of physical media that seems on the rise is vinyl audio with sales growing "nearly 10% in 2025 to reach $1 billion", but even with decline of audio CDs as mass-market music medium, I am convinced vinyl is still even more of "for collectors" thing.
 

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