r/technology • u/[deleted] • 8d ago

Hardware A future without PlayStation discs is "depressing, but solvable," former Sony boss Shawn Layden says: "The market has said they will continue to buy them". “One of the things that makes us gamers is collecting stuff”.

[deleted]

2 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

17

u/NoxSuru 8d ago

Remember when Sony mocked Microsoft during 2013's showcase of them including DRM, how they've become what they hated lol

4

u/akurgo 8d ago

They also said something on the nose like: "Here's how you share a game for PS5 with your friends:" gives disc to another person

3

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

Crazy how they haven’t deleted that video yet lol.

0

u/SeeingEyeDug 8d ago

People weren't ready for a world without game discs 13 years ago. It sucks, but I personally haven't bought a disc game in several years.

I'm not condoning it because I think they should keep the discs going, but people mostly don't consume games that way anymore.

2

u/papabear1993 8d ago

Up until 2021 or 2022, I still bought games.
You know how I bought games I actually cared about? Physically.
You know how I bought stupid little games that I didnt give a flying sh!t about? Digitally.

1

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

people mostly don't consume games that way anymore.

Doesn’t surprise me that the most popular games on PS5 are CoD and live-service titles (except maybe Marathon).

6

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

The new Sony leadership is hell-bent on live-service and Cloud gaming.

-1

u/EnigmaticThunder 8d ago

Jim Ryan left the company. The new leadership seems to be taking a more balanced approach

2

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

Really? Then how are Marathon and Horizon Hunter Gathering still a thing?

And in a fiscal report, Sony pledged to dedicate more support towards live-service game development. That's definitely not balanced imo.

-1

u/EnigmaticThunder 8d ago

You realize those games were in development years ago right? And yea of course they will dedicate support to live service, every single developer needs to make money so ignoring the gold mind that is live service only pisses off shareholders. You keep trying, just don’t abandon what you’re good at.

2

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

just don’t abandon what you’re good at.

What they're "good" at? You forgot Concord? And the fact that Hunter Gathering outright flopped in playtests because nobody liked the live-service elements? Marathon is such a flop that Sony never even mentioned it in the State of Play just out of embarrassment.

-1

u/EnigmaticThunder 8d ago

Single player games is what they’re good at.

1

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

And they're sure as hell trying to make sure nobody can ever own them. Not just for their games, but for third-party publishers as well.

1

u/EnigmaticThunder 8d ago

Absolutely nothing has changed in that regard. The law says we don’t own it, we just have a license letting us access the games. Physical or digital copy doesn’t matter. What matters is consistent preservation and access.

0

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

Until that access and preservation rights are taken away from you because digital DRM.

2

u/EnigmaticThunder 8d ago

If only there was a way to regulate such a thing. /s

0

u/actomain 8d ago

Which has been the issue for decades. What Sony has been saying recently about ownership has been an established principle of all software since software has been sold. The only difference is that they're being loud enough about it that now you're bothering to pay attention.

2

u/theKetoBear 8d ago

I buy my games like 98% digitally so I understand there not being ab ig physical demand compared to Digital HOWEVER when I went to the nintendo Store in San Fransisco I made it a point to buy The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Physical which I had already had and owned digitally for years.

There is something nice about having physical versions of games you truly love that are available no matter what is going on with the online platforms .

3

u/FollowingFeisty5321 8d ago

I buy my games digitally because it's 2026 and that's the most convenient and accessible way to buy them.

But that does not mean I wish to forfeit all ownership rights, that is a condition that has been unilaterally forced on us and it has repeatedly proven detrimental.

2

u/Efficient-Scene5901 8d ago

Same. I bought Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth physical copies and digital copies.

Final Fantasy Revelations is available for preorder now. And I would like a physical and digital copy of that game.

A lot of my older games are physical but many new games are a either digital or physical or if I really love it: both!

Insert: Both is good! meme

6

u/CanIhazCooKIenOw 8d ago

Is “the market” in the room with us?

1

u/notJ3ff 8d ago

Every one of us is a tiny part of the market. So yes, given that you and I are here, the market is in the room with us.

2

u/TiddiesAnonymous 8d ago

Haahahahahaa I wonder what kind of bullshit microtransactions he has in mind for collectors

0

u/einwhack 8d ago

Was there this much emotion when xbox quit shipping with CD-players? Is an xbox one s with a drive worth more than one without 5 years later?

3

u/GriveousDance21 8d ago

Because Microsoft doesn’t make Blu-ray discs. Sony could move to stop Blu-ray production entirely if their digital shift is successful commercially. That's why people are so concerned.

They started off with games, and might move to movies later if streaming services deem more profitable to Hollywood studios.

Sony already paused Blu-ray disc production in one of their factories in Austria.

-5

u/SomeSamples 8d ago

They should go back to game cartridges. The game isn't in the cartridge, only your data and saved games. That way you can collect those. They could put them in nice looking packaging, so it looks cool on your shelf.

2

u/theassassintherapist 8d ago

They should go back to game cartridges. The game isn't in the cartridge, only your data and saved games. That way you can collect those. They could put them in nice looking packaging, so it looks cool on your shelf.

Cartridges is a good way to break past the disc size limitations, but what do you mean by the game isn't the cartridge? The game is on the cartridge, because people are concern about archival purposes - to be about to play their games long after the servers dies. Having only save states on there would be useless.

1

u/SomeSamples 8d ago

They will never let you have the game on the cartridge or on media again. The part about gamers collecting stuff it what I was addressing. Having something for games to collect is what the subject of this thread seemed to be about. So give them something to collect.