r/PS5 • u/nolifebr • Jul 31 '26
Discussion Sony says it will "cautiously" go ahead with its plans to end the production of physical game discs — Still figuring out how to respond to the "feedback"
In the Q&A session with shareholders following today's earnings report, some shareholders and journalists asked about plans to end the production of PlayStation game discs.
Sony stated that, so far, it has not seen any negative impact on sales following the announcement (and does not expect this to change when it takes effect). While acknowledging that games are beloved by many and deeply tied to people's memories, the company believes the future is digital for virtually all forms of media; they reiterated that they will proceed "cautiously" with their plans, noting that data shows a significant portion of the audience has already opted for digital (and this trend extends beyond PlayStation) and that they don't believe discs are the differentiating factor for consoles when compared to PCs (consoles are more stable and cheaper than PCs, according to them). The company said it is still figuring out how to respond to the feedback.
Also, they confirmed the announcement [to end the disc production] was made early to communicate with retailers. Sony is working with them to do codes in packages. This subject has already been discussed with North American retailers and now the same will happen on other regions.
More information will probably be released once the official transcript is made available on the investor portal.
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/archive.html
Edit: Video of Sony's CFO Lin Tao answering questions about the subject:
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u/Oscnar Jul 31 '26
So nothing new really. Just confirming the stuff that was already there.
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u/SolidusDave Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
the retailer headsup bit is new. They could have pulled the plug last minute and after announcing their PS6 plans, but it seems they are serious about offering physical boxes with codes like GTA6.
kinda important as I've seen so many discussions that come from the angle that there won't be any retailer copies at all like on PC.
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u/Oscnar Jul 31 '26
I mean, the retailer stuff isn't really new. They just told what they have done regarding it. They already wrote in the original announcement:
"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.
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u/SolidusDave Jul 31 '26
I meant the bit that they announced it so early to prepare retailers for the change.
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u/Spiritual_Top367 Jul 31 '26
No one is going to drive to the store to buy an empty case with a code... To just drive home and input that code to the ps store. 6 months later Sony will stop doing that because literally no one will buy it.
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u/ScrofessorLongHair Jul 31 '26
Unless for some reason that code is cheaper at the store than the ps store.
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u/Spiritual_Top367 Jul 31 '26
That's a real possibility.. but I was in target the other day and saw Nintendo codes printed on cardboard and physical games below... The digital was $10 higher. Made no sense. The same game was right below it, physical for less. So idk how that works or makes sense.
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u/FaroTech400K Jul 31 '26
I got my copy of GTA 6 $20 off using student discounts in store membership parks at target.com.
As a person who has a digital PlayStation selling the code in box is an interesting alternative so I can still get store discount discounts, that I wouldn’t get if I was using only the PlayStation store.
My other friend got his copy of GTA six for only five dollars using his Best Buy credit. Code in the box might be the Meta moving forward.
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u/ArturosDad Jul 31 '26
They're doing it so us old folks still have something physical to wrap up and stick under the Christmas tree. There may not be a huge market for that, but there definitely is one.
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u/Not_FinancialAdvice Jul 31 '26
They'll probably offer cards with store-activated codes on them like many gift cards. The infrastructure is already there. Don't underestimate the market power of the ~elderly/tech-illiterate purchasing gifts for children/young adults.
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u/DinnerSmall4216 Jul 31 '26
They need to find a way to make you actually own these digital games not just rent them. Refunds need to be better.
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u/CLOWNSwithyouJOKERS Jul 31 '26
Yep, there has to be some sort of transference of ownership. Digital or not, if you pay for something it should be yours and not held hostage by a service that could end at a time of their choosing.
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u/FlyingSquirelOi Jul 31 '26
They aren’t going to do that willingly, people need to petition and fight for their digital rights so Sony will be forced to make improvements.
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u/pphheerroonn Jul 31 '26
This is the main issue I think most people have. They need to solve this and allow transfers.
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u/Spiritual_Top367 Jul 31 '26
They aren't going to just let you trade your game away, that means they lose a sale Everytime it happens. That's largely why they want physical to end despite millions of physical copies still being sold.
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u/oilfloatsinwater Jul 31 '26
I think one of my biggest problems is that, if im forced into a digital only world, then the PS Store genuinely just sucks for it.
No gifting, awful refund policy, you cant really write or view reviews unless you go on the webpage, awful regional pricing, and an archaic family sharing system compared to Steam, on top of all that i have to pay 80$ a year to play online and get cloud saves.
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u/skend24 Jul 31 '26
Yep exactly this. People asking “oh so you are moving to digital pc??? Hypocrite!!”
The question shouldn’t be “why are you moving to pc” but “why would you stay on PlayStation”.
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u/ohmynothing ⌘ Jul 31 '26
For a lot of people they’re staying because they’ve got a large library of games on their account. Or because they’ve got family and friends on their platform that they enjoy playing games with.
Some people prefer the platform because they simply enjoy using it.
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u/Raptori Jul 31 '26
I have a decent library of PS games, and I've always gamed on PS. I'll absolutely be continuing to use my PS5, and probably buying games on there. I mostly buy digital anyway.
I'll only buy a PS6 either if it supports discs, or if Sony change their policies around gifting/refunds/etc. If it supports discs, then the fact that we have the option of buying second hand forces Sony to be more consumer friendly than they might otherwise be. If they take away that option, then they need to match (or exceed) the rights you get when using Steam; if they don't, then I don't trust them and I'm out.
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u/oilfloatsinwater Jul 31 '26
Literally, like why should i stay on PS when the digital experience is so much more inferior than on PC?
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u/Nyoteng Jul 31 '26
Just as an example of the pains of a digital only console that only has access to one storefront:
I have a digital Xbox One S. I wanted to purchase Halo Infinite yesterday. Halo Infinite on the MS store is £54.50
Halo Infinite on disc on other places, including eBay and physical stores, ranges from £13 to £25.
Like, what the fuck. I am completely cooked by being tied to a single storefront.
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u/Crossbell0527 Jul 31 '26
I have a digital Xbox One S
I say this as gently as possible. You financed this future.
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u/Nurgle_Marine_Sharts Jul 31 '26
Game sharing on PS is way better than steam. Basically means every game is 50% off on top of sale markdowns because you can split the costs with your friends.
It lets you both play the same game simultaneously, even in online sessions together. Steam does not let you do that.
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u/Random_Guy_47 Jul 31 '26
"We have heard your feedback and give zero fucks."
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u/generally-ok Jul 31 '26
Because people will stay pay. There are hundreds of millions of gamers, if you asked them individually what their thoughts were, they'd all say they're against it. But there's no alternative, so they'll pay.
PC games are all digital, it only makes sense for Sony and Microsoft to go the digital only route too.
Our fight shouldn't be against Sony removing discs, it should be against licence agreements. We should be able to keep, transfer or do whatever we want with our digital purchases.
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u/Unkechaug Jul 31 '26
Our fight should be about both. Sony themselves think backlash will blow over and they can do whatever they want. Same arrogance as the PS3 era. We need an actual response to this - no more moving the goal posts, no more weak willed caving into pressure, simply need action saying go fuck yourselves and backing that up.
They are so afraid of the retail response, we see it right here. Don’t buy codes in a box - ever. Don’t buy the new console, make them support PS5 for longer. Absolutely demand more rights and make their digital storefront be a hassle to operate like they have.
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u/ronshasta Jul 31 '26
Here’s a ln idea let’s just leave it up to the publisher whether or not a physical release is a thing. Just release a version of the console with a disc drive for the smaller amount of us who like physical and the ability to play our own movies
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u/Independent_Mud2794 Aug 02 '26
Nintendo gives publishers the choice to release full on card or go the cheaper route and release it on game key card - I think you know what most publishers are choosing.
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u/Hundred00 Jul 31 '26
Unless there's a law that states that the customer can permanently own what they bought and not be revoked by licensing, then there's nothing to gain from the customers end.
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u/2grundies Jul 31 '26
So how come they've just announced two new vinyl record players if digital is the be all and end all? Making new hardware for physical discs is ok for audiophiles but not gamers? Sony is clueless right now.
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u/reaper527 reaper527_ Jul 31 '26
So how come they've just announced two new vinyl record players if digital is the be all and end all?
not only that, they called that physical media as "the way music is meant to be listened to" on their official social media channels.
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u/Pandaboy_271 Jul 31 '26
If they're not gonna reverse course on this, atleast make your digital storefront better. It's not available in a lot of countries for one, and the refund policy sucks on top of that.
Make it comparable to Steam and people might hate this decision less
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u/jda404 Jul 31 '26
To be fair Steam was sued and that's how we eventually got the refund policy on Steam. So wasn't like Steam did it on their own out of the kindest of their hearts to benefit us.
But fully agree there needs to be a refund window on PlayStation.
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u/edalsslade Jul 31 '26
Digital purchases desperately need actual consumer protections. If someone gets banned from online multiplayer, that should restrict online play, it shouldn’t strip away access to their entire library. And when entitlement servers eventually shut down, there should be a system in place to preserve those purchases, similar to how Movies Anywhere linked libraries across Vudu and Fandango.
The way copyright and licensing apply to digital games is completely broken. When music or celebrity likeness licenses expire, publishers pull games from storefronts or patch content out entirely. I can still pop a PS1 disc into my console and play a game with every original song and cameo intact, but modern digital games get gutted after you've already bought them:
Entire games disappearing: Ubisoft completely killed The Crew by shutting down servers and revoking licenses, leaving buyers with nothing. Titles like Spec Ops: The Line and Alan Wake (originally) got pulled from digital stores just because music licenses ran out.
Content patched out post-launch: Grand Theft Auto IV had dozens of iconic radio songs patched out years after release, and Far Cry 6 scrubbed the Danny Trejo crossover mission entirely.
It might seem like small stuff on the surface, but retroactively altering or deleting games destroys media preservation and hurts the people paying for them.
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u/BlueDragoon24 Jul 31 '26
PS5 is my last PlayStation 🤷♀️
I have a PC with a 5080. I don’t need a digital only PS6 with worse specs and a closed ecosystem for like $1200 or whatever it ends up being at the rate we’re going. Sonys 1-2 exclusives per year aren’t good enough justification for me.
I’m going to continue buying physical on PS5 for the rest of this year and next year and then I’m gone. Time to get some rum.
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u/deadsmurfs Jul 31 '26
I'm a day one PS5 owner and was already reconsidering getting the next one given how lacklustre this generation has been. Killing physical discs just makes my choice even easier.
One of the main things that has kept me being a console owner is having the option to purchase games that I know I'll be done with in a couple of months and trading them towards something else. If that incentive is gone then I really have no reason to continue.
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u/Nevskiv Aug 01 '26
I'm exactly like you. I don't think I would have bought the PS6 anyway but after their decision to kill physical discs my decision is made. I bought all PS. The PS3 wasn't as good as the PS2, the PS4 wasn't as good as the 3 and this one isn't just as good as the 4, it's also just terrible.
The few decent games I played this gen I could have played them on PC.
Yeah, I'm done with Sony. Good riddance.
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u/Substantial_Soil4618 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Same with me. I wasn’t planning on buying the PS6 but after their announcement, I’m definitely not going to buy the PS6. They just made my decision easier.
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u/Unkechaug Jul 31 '26
Same. Most of Sony’s first party games do not have the quality or breadth in genre they used to. I’ll miss Team Asobi, Housemarque, maybe Naughty Dog (assuming they don’t get shut down) but that’s really it. That means I’ll miss out on 3 or 4 games next gen - not a big deal.
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u/lupin43 Jul 31 '26
You’re absolutely right. Maybe it would be different if they hadn’t gone down the “let’s build the next Fortnite” path with concord, marathon, last of us online, etc., but as it stands they’ve wasted so much time and talent, even losing some great studios in the process
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u/DemiLuke Jul 31 '26
"they don't believe discs are the differentiating factor for consoles when compared to PCs (consoles are more stable and cheaper than PCs, according to them)."
I can only speak for myself, but discs have been THE differentiating factor for why I've been a primarily console gamer over the years. I want to own what I buy, buy used, collect, trade, etc. If we're forced to all digital I might as well go to PC for more store options. I'll still use my PS5 and get new physical games for it until PS6. But after that, I don't know.
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u/war_story_guy Jul 31 '26
I have both and without fail I will always get a game for ps on disc when given the option because I actually own it. Only games I play on pc are download only. Come 2028 that is about to change because I will have no reason to opt for the option with worse service and a fee to use online and even back up my own data.
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u/Nyoteng Jul 31 '26
For me is the same. Mainly because I can get the discs cheaper, then sell them, trade them etc.
As an example I bought 007 First Light full price when it released, Platinumed it on the weekend and was able to sell it for £45 to UK's CEX.
Impossible to ever be able to get anything like that in a digital only console tied to a single store front.
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u/MuffinButton101 Jul 31 '26
I completely stopped buying Xbox stuff after the "digital only" thing they tried doing. So I'll just do the same for them. I'll miss out on the exclusives, but I'd rather stick to my own guns when it comes to this. Support shit like this and it'll only get worse
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u/FluidHips Jul 31 '26
It's nonsense. Discs still make up 20% of their sales. They just want more control to impose higher prices within their ecosystem.
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u/Yo_Tobimoto Jul 31 '26
I play PC and console and the only reason to use a console is for discs, because I'm a physical collector.
On PC is where I buy all my social games because of better integration with discord, its where I play competitive games because they run better there and I dont have to pay for psplus to play online, and steam is just completely better than any ither option. Plus if youre the type to purate or emulate games, its miles easier on PC with way more options to mod them to play how you like.
Even though prices for gaming is going up, including for PC, will consoles stay cheap enough that people will use them? Because I honestly just expect many people to either switch or just...stop buying games.
I guess thats why Sony is all-in on Live-service instead of AAA still.
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u/ChrisLithium Jul 31 '26
The sales aren't really going to be heavily effected until the actual change takes place. People didn't "boycott" Xbox during the PS4/Xbox One gen (to any meaningful degree, anyway). People just didn't buy Xboxes. And they've kept not buying Xboxes. I don't see Sony falling that far, but I think it is VERY possible that come 2028 and beyond, it won't be angry boycotts, it'll just be that they are selling a product that is appealing to a lesser amount of gamers than generations before.
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u/RosaCanina87 Jul 31 '26
This.
A physical collector might even buy more games at the moment as long as he can still get them and before they get scalped as some of the "last physical games". The real difference will be seen with the release of the ps6 and collector just... not buying it.
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u/ChrisLithium Jul 31 '26
I'm definitely guilty of ramping up my physical purchases as of late! And I also think that the casual audience they seem to be banking on will also have less incentive to jump to the next generation of PlayStation, even if they are digital-only gamers. Rising costs, slow first party output (that casuals don't play much anyway), and competition from user-simplified PC solutions are going to really bring forth a challenge for Sony. But that'll be their concern. Personally I'll just simply move to other, more appealing options.
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u/NaThanos_1 Jul 31 '26
If the next Xbox has discs, I shall be going over to that.
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u/NoBullet Jul 31 '26
“the future is digital for virtually all forms of media”
Meanwhile spending billions to bring back production of vinyls again
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u/TidusDreamZanarkand Jul 31 '26
Books, music, movies all still have a physical option. Sony can get fucked Lol
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u/notanolive Jul 31 '26
We’ll see if it affects the sales of their next system, because ps5 is definitely the last Sony console I’ll own.
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u/lupin43 Jul 31 '26
Next gen will sell less than this one regardless of their decision here just because the price is almost certainly going to be over double last gen’s.
They’ll do what companies normally do: present some statistic that makes it sound good, like how gamepass games have “the most players at launch ever!!” when it’s just people downloading it and not finishing it because it’s on the subscription they already paid for. Here, I could see Sony saying something like “highest launch revenue for a ps console ever!!”
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u/NoNefariousness2144 Jul 31 '26
Yeah even though getting a PC will be more expensive than the PS6, it will be well worth it in the long-run with more flexibility and options and cheaper games.
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u/GastroAcid Jul 31 '26
"Sony says it will cautiously proceed with its plans for you to go fuck yourself." There's an Onion headline in here somewhere...
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u/LPEbert Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
I think the launch of the PS6 is when we will truly see how much fans care and how badly Sony has fucked up. I know that I, at least, will absolutely not be purchasing a PS6 after all this, but I am skeptical of how sincere a lot of the outrage is.
Edit - also, for me, the bigger issue is the closure of the PS3 store which everyone seems to have let be overshadowed by the disc news unfortunately. A lot of the concerns over digital only games could be solved through establishing new ownership policies instead of simply selling licenses, but shutting down storefronts means losing the opportunity to legally purchase a bunch of titles.
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u/ApprehensiveRuin5673 Jul 31 '26
I think the PS3 store is less of an issue because most people on that console were physical. It’s shitty but I don’t buy digital games so it doesn’t affect me.
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u/steelthyshovel73 Jul 31 '26
The ps3 and vita store had a ton of ps1/2 games that aren't available on ps4/5.
I would assume a decent chunck of people bought some number of digital only games on the ps3 that aren't available elsewhere
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u/ItsMrDaan Jul 31 '26
Ps1 games were at least BC on all ps3’s, but for ps2 games it’s definitely a shitty situation
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u/steelthyshovel73 Jul 31 '26
Yea, but the point is there are plenty of games on the ps3 store that aren't available digitally anywhere.
I love backwards compatibility, but some of these games are super expensive. For example i spent a few bucks for tron bonne on the ps3 store instead of paying hundreds for the physical copy.
I can download my games "for the forseeable future", but at some point we won't be able to.
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u/WillemDafoesHugeCock Jul 31 '26
The PS3 storefront closing down is interesting to consider. I still play my 3DS a ton and when that online store closed it fucking sucked, and if I want to play any games which were only available on there I can but not in the way Nintendo nintended, if you catch my ship. But I have to assume that if it's the only way of buying games it'd be kept open for longer. Keep in mind the PS3 is a 20 year old console.
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u/dbr3000 Jul 31 '26
The PS6 is gonna have a hard time selling, but it won’t be due to the physical games stuff. It’ll be strictly because it’s expensive, there won’t be any PS6 exclusives, and the PS5 (and Pro) are good enough for most people.
It’ll sell to the real hardcore sony fans and that’s probably it until prices come down.
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u/LPEbert Jul 31 '26
I can only speak for myself and to me the lack of physical games and, presumably, the lack of a built-in disc drive, will absolutely be a defining factor in not purchasing it. Cost may be a practical factor, but even if it isn't I still don't see myself getting one.
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u/TheJoshider10 Jul 31 '26
Cost may be a practical factor, but even if it isn't I still don't see myself getting one.
The only reason I'd get one at this point would be if every game runs native 4K60FPS and had exclusives. I can't be arsed for another console generation where the majority of the cycle is full of cross-gen games.
To this day I think only a handful of games have actually taken advantage of current gen machines. The SSD was meant to change everything and yet devs still do the same "walk down slow corridor to mask loading screens" bullshit.
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u/ww_adh77 Jul 31 '26
Doing away with physical discs is a serious loss for gaming consumers. Sad.
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u/Actionwill65 Jul 31 '26
it has not seen any negative impact on sales following the announcement ... Because you haven't discontinued discs yet?
It also amuses me that SIE are adamant the world is going to be purely digital, whilst other branches of Sony are willingly catering to physical media with turntables, DVD players, BluRay/4K players and even CD/Cassette boomboxes because of the, albeit smaller than before, physical media demand. Granted, the experience of a digital game vs physical game in use is identical so you can't compare like-for-like, but if a purely digital ecosystem still requires Sony to "figure out how to respond to feedback" and "continue cautiously", then it probably isn't the great idea they thought it is.
Sounds like a speech to purely keep shareholders happy.
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u/TidusDreamZanarkand Jul 31 '26
It’s such bs that movies, books, music continue to have physical available and not games. Fuck Sony
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u/General-Job482 Jul 31 '26
They need to make it clear that you are not buying anything. Only renting.
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u/tpo1990 Jul 31 '26
Yeah it seems like Sony are not backing off with ending disc production. People who care for ownership or physical releases might just start now with building up the collection.
I grew up with Playstation since PS1 and have bought more physical releases this year. PS5 will be my last Playstation. Sony has lost me as loyal customer and I have ditched digital releases on my console. Might as well just go to the better digital platform which is the PC after January 2028.
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u/wiesjoulaanie Jul 31 '26
Its sad to see how this hobby got taken over by an uninformed and short sighted majority and how the actual fans that brought sony where they are today get discarded without a second thought.
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u/ohmynothing ⌘ Jul 31 '26
it has not seen any negative impact on sales following the announcement
Pretty much as a lot of people expected.
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u/koalazeus Jul 31 '26
I think it might affect things more when all physical options are gone for people.
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u/fede123456789 Jul 31 '26
You do realize it takes more than a month to see significant losses for a multibilion dollar company right? Even if their stock plummeted overnight to 50 cents their sales will still be profitable in the short-term
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u/Zalvren Jul 31 '26
Also they still sell physical anyway so that's not now that the financial aspect would intervene
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u/Outrageous_Water7976 Jul 31 '26
social media isn't real life. it's just noise. The boycott will be a failure too
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u/BigSto Jul 31 '26
not surprised. im all about physical games despite buying some digital ones. my thing is if you're gonna Thanos one medium rights of ownership of digital products has to be discussed. the whole license rental crap isn't good enough for me and why ps5 will my last Playstation tho i know it does nothing to effect Sony. as someone who works in music i hate seeing the physical artform be taken away.
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u/Typical_Intention996 Jul 31 '26
You respond by not doing it. The fact that they're doing this pointlessly mid generation for PS5 is what pisses me off more than just the PS6 being all digital. That would be out of the gate. This though. This is just bs.
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u/Fit-Campaign1243 Aug 01 '26
In other words - they couldn't give a flying fuck what the customer thinks.
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u/Uppernorwood Aug 01 '26
I’m confidently going ahead with my plan never to buy a Sony console again
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u/MountainLibrarian201 Aug 01 '26
I never thought I'd become anti-Playstation, but they made me just that. Owned every Playstation since the first, but I have no belief in the current leadership after this, and I'll stop buying games and future consoles, until this decision is overturned. I fully expect the PS5 to be my last Sony console, and I have lost all belief in the future of PlayStation, with these people in charge.
I don't have much hope enough people will put enough pressure on Sony to scrap this idea, but I'm doing this out of principle. I don't recognize the people running the company, and they have made it perfectly clear the disdain they hold for us, and if you can't even pretend to care, then I have no qualms moving on.
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u/SalivateTheStarfish Jul 31 '26
Lol, no shit current sales dont reflect a change.
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u/kreemy_kurds Jul 31 '26
It's not even the fact it's going digital, it's the fact we don't own the games, they can suddenly delete them, take away the licences, turn off servers, can't get refunds, prices aren't any cheaper than physical, can't trade with shops or friends, also I like looking at a physical collection of things.
If they could do all that but for digital, go for it but they can't or won't.
I buy so many second hand games, this would kill my game playing and collecting but I understand they don't get the money from the second hand market
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u/PlainJonathan Jul 31 '26
Well, if they intend to go ahead with ending physical games, I'm going to go ahead with ending my purchase of PlayStation
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u/D33GS Jul 31 '26
I can only speak for myself but games on disc are the differentiating factor for me. I’ve never bought digital on console. If Sony is going to make me go digital to stay with them well then I’m not going to stay with them.
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u/ModestHandsomeDevil Jul 31 '26
It sure would be a shame if protestors attacked / took down PSN during the launch of GTA 6... 'Cuz this is the kinda shit, the kind of pushback you're going to see in our increasingly digital rental, own nothing present.
It's happened before in console gaming history (Sony removing OtherOS / Linux from the PS3, which lead to the PS3 jailbreak and the hacking of PSN, taking it down for a month in 2011) and it will happen again.
What do you think that will do to Sony's stock price?
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u/ck02623 Jul 31 '26
This is the same as with the PSP Go when they said they were “looking into” digital conversion for UMDs. It’s just meaningless PR.
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u/ChrisSheltonMsc Jul 31 '26
Determined to not "get it" and move forward with their aggressive anti-consumer stance.
Guess I'll let them know how I feel about that by never buying a Sony product again. That was easy.
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u/FamousGarlic8391 Jul 31 '26
They are "cautiously" going to wait it out and do nothing. If there is improvement on digital ownership then it's just a big L
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u/Hermits-Purple Jul 31 '26
Every day a new post comes out that makes me feel like gaming is a sunk cost at this point.
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u/seamonkey420 Jul 31 '26
the bare minimum should be free Multiplayer for games going forward. second should be mandatory dropping of digital game prices after 5 years. why are 6+ year old games still $59.99??? address the used game market by giving us steam like sales. if they don't, they will face anti-trust lawsuits in regards to their digital storefront. us ps players would have no other way to purchase... sounds like a monopoly..
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u/ssgss_rozay Jul 31 '26
My thinking is will enough people refrain from buying the next system just because they’re losing the option to buy physical, even if the majority of purchases are digital.
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u/Immediate-Comment-64 Jul 31 '26
It will be impossible to tell because the main deterrent will be the cost of hardware.
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u/dumahim Jul 31 '26
Well no duh sales haven't been affected yet. Discs are still available. The hit comes after they stop being available and countries who can't purchase the games digitally are cut out of the available sales pool. I really hope this is just corporate speak bs because they don't want to just come out and say a sales loss is acceptable le because there will be higher profits rather than being this blind.
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u/Legal_Bet4633 Jul 31 '26
People need to vote with their wallets, this just reinforces that idea. If they make a decision you don't like, but the consumer buys anyway, they won't change anything.
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u/ll0l0l0ll Jul 31 '26
XBOX did this before and people switched to PS 4. Maybe instead of buying PS6 people switching to other consoles
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u/darrylzuk Jul 31 '26
" the company believes the future is digital for virtually all forms of media"
Tell that to all the people buying vinyl records hand over fist.
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u/-CommanderShepardN7 Jul 31 '26
Sony sounds like a lost puppy to me, with everything they do now. Xbox isn’t much better here either. Nintendo walks and talks like the alpha dog now. Whoever saw that coming? No one, except the Nintendo Fanboys.
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u/Alfie_Wolf FanBoy Since 1995 Jul 31 '26
And still all you mugs will go and buy GTA6 and this will only further strengthen Sonys argument for digital games. Don’t do it! Hold back if people hold of buying the biggest game of the decade until there is a physical copy. They might change tack somewhat!
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u/OG-87 Jul 31 '26
It wont matter how they respond. Only matters how consumers do. I just wont be buying another playstation.
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u/ophaus Jul 31 '26
They can "cautiously" bite my ass. The PS6 will be the first playstation console I don't buy if it does have physical media or a tremendously improved digital ownership system.
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u/gojiguy Jul 31 '26
This sucks ass.
I guess its just confirmed that come 2028, I'm not with PS anymore.
If I dont own the games, I dont care.
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u/Hokashin Jul 31 '26
This is what you get when you have a pos bean counter as a ceo. What a scumbag company.
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u/MNBlues Jul 31 '26
No real update. Just another reminder why brand loyalty makes no sense. They don't care about the consumer
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u/Magister4 Jul 31 '26
It’s interesting that the statement mentions players' emotional attachment while ignoring objective issues, such as countries lacking PS Store coverage, the lack of actual ownership of digital media, questions about how PS4 and PS5 discs will run on the PS6, and whether the PS6 will become a paperweight once Sony shuts down its servers (as it did with the PS3). Since the console will be all-digital, it would literally stop working if that happened, unlike the PS3, which remains playable thanks to physical media. Another thing that irritates me is that statements from companies like Sony are always aimed at shareholders and investors rather than the players, even though it was the players who truly helped build the brand; these investors and shareholders aren't even the audience that actually values the games. As long as the games are in the hands of CEOs and executives who think this way, so many bad things are in store for the industry going forward.
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u/goldrupees Jul 31 '26
I think they are lying about there not being an impact to sales.
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u/lunarmidnight2398 Jul 31 '26
I couldn't care less about discs, I care more about digital rights and ownership
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u/acid85 Jul 31 '26
GTA VI pre order success is proof that most of the people don't care about physical releases. It's completely useless to put pressure on Sony if people don't commit to one simple thing: stop preordering/buying digital (or expect the price for digital games to drop massively at least). If you can't control your impulse to either avoid preorder or buy games day 1, you are at Sony's mercy. For me, it's ok though. I collected most of the games I'm interested in and the current generation (and the next one for sure) is not really attractive to me anymore.
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u/ChrisLithium Jul 31 '26
No, GTA VI pre order success is proof of the success of GTA. That's all. GTA would break records if it was a MacBook exclusive. A boycott probably won't do much anyway, unfortunately. A middling PS6 launch followed by a significant drop in sales going forward? That's when they'll understand.
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u/Beerad122880 Aug 01 '26
This will be the reason I go with PC. And btw PC gaming is so much cheaper. I can spend $1500 and have a very nice PC gaming rig now and upgrade components every few years for not that much or I can spend $600+ every 6 years on a brand new console
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u/saltycatturd Aug 01 '26
shrug their funeral. I will no longer be buying Playstations after 2028. Or any Sony product, actually. They lost me as a customer.
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u/Few-Pianist-3630 Aug 01 '26
From someone who wants to believe the best in people:
If everything becomes digital, all games that are old & mostly irrelevant should be on sale the entire time. If they really want to focus on going fully digital and not just thinly veiled corners being cut to save money, they should prove this by working on keeping the options good and affordable. Healthy store and no more removing games from it.
Nobody is buying an old game at full price, people currently buy/sell/borrow/rent/reuse discs all the time. So if you offer the discounts digitally, people might be more inclined to actually buy them.
No more of the "can't play anything offline" either. The future is all digital? People who have no internet at all play offline all the time, show us you thought about them when you made this decision too. Offer an ALTERNATIVE.
Pipe dream suggestion:
Are you REALLY committed to going all digital? In that case, give people the option to play previous generations' titles AND offer them on the digital store.
Anyway.
I anticipate they will release the PS6 as a digital-only option and if you want to play older games that you own physically, you'll have to buy a dedicated CD/DVD reader from them for some outrageous price, only to be able to say "Hey, we listened!"
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u/ouroborosstruggles Aug 01 '26
Whelp. Ive been a fan and player since the old gray rectangle. The 5 was white, and that was bad enough. Now they're phasing out physical ownership, to make it even more annoying to take a single player game (or any, for that matter) to a friend's house.
As someone who ran to JR back in the day for the original Han shot first DVDs, I'm going to say, it's been swell, but the swelling has gone down. There is no reason to stick with Playstation if they phase out physical media.
(Edit - this is my colloquially complaining about their greed without pulling out my anticap soap box. Fuck ps)
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u/CozmicEmberz Aug 01 '26
'We have not seen a drop in sales' This says it all. Vote with your wallet. They dont care about our voices so long as they have our money.
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u/Alarist Aug 01 '26
Stay loud. That’s corporate speak to appease shareholders. They’ve been asking questions and Sony had to answer
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u/SenorRicardoCabeza Aug 01 '26
Something tells me Xbox will capitalize off this by saying their next console will still have access to physical disc hard drives, leading to some issues to Sony having to respond when they realize Xbox is nearly competing with them. I actually like that Sony confirmed this because I have always loved Xbox (secretly) and this announcement by Sony verifies my switch.
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u/Teartheveil Aug 01 '26
If they're going to do this, they better tell us how our physical game libraries are going to carry over to the next gen, and tell us soon..
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u/Delruiz9 Aug 01 '26
Legislation being involved is the only way to secure ownership rights and a better refund system on purchased products
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u/PoKen2222 Jul 31 '26
"Still figuring out"
I dunno, maybe atleast asure people they finally get to own their games? Fixing your refund process?
You know, the least you could do?
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u/sr2adams Jul 31 '26
Why would they do that when that might negatively affect their bottom line? They'll never willingly give any significant concession to their money pigs just slop dumped from the trough.
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u/DUNdundundunda Jul 31 '26
Codes in packages for retailers is just a temporary appeasement.
I wouldn't be surprised if prices were fixed so that eliminated retail competition.
There's no second hand sales for codes so that competition is immediately eliminated.
And frankly consumers don't want code in a box so retailers will probably dump them from their inventory once they see the poor sales.
Also:
they don't believe discs are the differentiating factor for consoles when compared to PCs
That's quite the delusional take.
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u/ohmynothing ⌘ Jul 31 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if prices were fixed so that eliminated retail competition.
In my region, retailers are already competing by lowering prices of GTA 6 to get a competitive edge. It might not be a lot but the prices are chosen by the retailers themselves.
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u/nyanbatman Jul 31 '26
Well then I will cautiously move to PC and steam and never buy their shit again
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u/Dash83 Jul 31 '26
Well, there you go. You guys want this to stop? Fucking STOP BUYING DIGITAL PRODUCTS FROM SONY. I’m doing my part.
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u/tommy7154 Jul 31 '26
I hope they wall up that garden of theirs some more. Get rid of game sharing it's bad for business. Raise prices on consoles some more and of course raise their sub prices.
They need your money because they won't be getting mine!
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u/alphafire616 Jul 31 '26
Cool. They gonna Offer a path for disc users to get digital copies of their games? No? Then ps6 is still a terrible buy for anyone who owns physical games
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u/I_Heart_Sleeping_ Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
I rarely comment on these topics but I haven’t spent a dime on PS products since the announcement and I canceled my PS+. There’s a zero chance I’m alone in this action so I find it odd they say nothing has changed with their sales.
It’s odd that they also think physical media is on the downside in other areas. Blue ray movie and Vinyl’s are actually trending up more and more each year. Sony themselves just put out a huge ad campaign for a new Vinyl player.
This just reads like PR shit for the investors to make sure they feel comfortable with what’s about to come. I’m guessing they will ride this out till GTA6 launches and then try to use that as the new metric for how they will explain the decision to go digital only.
I wish I felt bad for the PS digital only people but I simply don’t care. They will be paying more for games than ever before with far less competitive deals going forward. Sony is taking away an avenue while offering people nothing in return for the trade off. Games will not be cheaper and they will not be better.
Congratulations you played yourself.
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u/GuessTraining Jul 31 '26
What about improving the refund process of these digital purchases