- Sony plans to stop producing physical discs by January 2026
- The announcement has generated an overwhelmingly negative reaction from many PlayStation fans.
- Many are concerned about what this means for game ownership and the PS6 era.
Sony has announced that it plans to stop producing physical discs by 2028, dealing a blow to the concept of game ownership, and the reaction from PlayStation fans appears to be overwhelmingly negative.
The company shared the shocking news in a PlayStation blog post and, as of this writing, it has more than 6,645 comments. Most responses ask Sony to reverse the decision and argue that they technically won’t own any digital games they purchase in January 2028.
“We literally own nothing but licenses now. This is a horrible decision, Sony,” one user wrote, while another said, “I’m going to be honest, I’m going to stop buying games. I hope I’m not the only one who sees this trend of buying licenses versus buying games and it’s disturbing that you’re okay with this. Or worse, you have many of us convinced that it’s okay.”
There is also concern about the lack of options to buy second-hand games in the future, as well as not being able to resell or trade your titles later.
Some fans are also considering skipping the PS6 generation entirely if there are no physical discs on the table, and others are promising that the PS5 will be their last PlayStation console.
“Looks like this is where my PlayStation journey ends, so goodbye,” one fan commented.
“Well, if you want to stop people from buying new gaming systems, I guess this is an option,” one commenter wrote. “But this will mean I will never buy another Playstation, as the way digital purchases are handled has shown me that it is a risk to pay a single penny for a digital game, as one mistake on Sony’s part can get your account banned and make you lose all digital purchases you have made.”
Another said: “This is a terrible decision. As a long-time PlayStation customer, this will make me re-evaluate my choice of console for the next generation. Digital only is not best for the consumer, and it is something I am not interested in.”
“This, coupled with the decision to go ahead with the release of a “PS6” at a time when components are at record prices, is making this hobby unaffordable for many. You risk killing the industry with these short-sighted decisions rooted in greed.”
Following the announcement, analysts have determined that Sony’s decision indicates that the next-generation PS6 console will be released in late 2028 and “at a minimum” will not feature a disc drive, but an additional disc drive could be available to play older PS4 and PS5 games.
It appears that Microsoft is pursuing a similar all-digital business plan, as new reports claim that the company is testing a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles and could also launch a next-generation Project Helix console without a disc drive.
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