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I'm out. I would never buy a console without physical media.
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.
The problem with discs vs. digital 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.
Or even just lend it to a friend. When I was a kid everyone in my group would get a different game and share them. We barely would have been able to play anything if we didn't share
See, this is the real problem. Anybody with an MBA is going to look at your statement and think about all the money they didn’t get because they’re too fucking stupid to realize that you would not have bought more games if you had to buy multiple copies. It’s the same thing with like pirating music they used to talk about how much money they’ve lost, and I used to think no I just wouldn’t have bought that album. So they’ve spent all this time trying to figure out how to chase down dollars they never would’ve gotten to begin with.
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.
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...
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.
That is why you need a strong competition. Unfortunately Sony doesn't have one, so they can do whatever they want.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I would argue that DRM-free has always been what we really need rather than the physical media, particularly in the era of patching.
I'm with you on that which is why I love GOG's efforts.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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. Please consider upgrading to the PS7 to continue paying to play online, where you can pay to purchase your games again. Thank you for your business.
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.
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.
I’m more likely to bite the bullet on the cost of a Steam Machine then 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.
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.
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.
So their prices drop like Steam games too, right? Riiiight?
Yeah, they've got competition just like Steam does. If you don't buy from Sony's store, you can buy from...er...okay, I see the problem.
Careful you'll summon the people that screech about steam being a monopoly somehow
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.
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.
More evidence I did the right thing by completely avoiding Sony this generation.
Guess who's getting rid of movies you bought on Playstation?
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.
I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to buy 4K Blu-rays then…
There is no GOG or Steam for movies. "Digital copies" are just extended rentals for TV and movies, so anyone revolting against streaming price increases are either pirating or moving to physical, because it's all that's left. It pushed me back to physical, for sure, so there's still money to be made there.