Sony ain't gonna change their ways until their attitude hits them in their wallet...and even then, with the current leadership, I'm not sure. We went from one bad boss to another, from Ryan to Hulst. All they care about is making money, not how their customers feel about anything.

zero reason for Playstation to do this. The brand online is taking a thrashing, but it's very powerful and more profitable than its ever been. They can just always just show up and sell 80 million consoles without a single exclusive. I've dealt with Playstation behind the scenes, and their arrogance, especially in marketing division is legendary. They know exactly how powerful their brand is and how casual their main users are. They won't change anything.

I think Sony just walking away and ignoring the fire until things cool down is just as bad of a strategy as Xbox replying to every Twitter schmuck that @'s them. Problem is, I don't think they're ever going to change until it really hurts their bottom line.

We definitely don't want Sony to turn into Microsoft 2.0 when it comes to public relations.

So the lessons here are, Sony needs to talk more (fair), Social media needs to be held accountable for posting false info (who we kidding that's never going to happen). While understand this is very important to a lot of people, I think we can all try and use some patience,

Sonyvis hiding like the cowards they are it's like a bully getting knocked out.in my fred sanford voice Sony need 5 across they're lips you big dummy. Queens new york represent.word up son

The article headline sounds like a clingy bf/gf 😂

For a long time, I haven’t thought their lack of communication has been a problem. But I’ve been converted, it’s bad and it’s becoming a real problem. There’s a huge gap between the Spencer Xbox era of seemingly just wanting to hear the sound of your own voice and the absolute nothing that PlayStation is right now. I still tend to think less is more, but there’s a space somewhere between those Sony can fit nicely in.

As for right now, I suspect there’s nothing they can say that will really make it look better. They’ve used their skewed 85% statistic that makes them look best already. For reference, Alinea reported they estimate Ghost of Yotei has sold 65% digital, which I’m guessing is pretty representative of most AAA releases. If that’s true, speaking up and giving customers more data is only going to make them look worse.

The community note on the PS post on X about physical games has changed multiple times.

And they have been radio silent for 5 days now.

Yes and no, parasocial relationships can be more toxic than corporate silence, but to just drop the worst news for gaming and disappear for a week is just disgusting cowardice, they should’ve already addressed it in some way.

I don’t need to feel valued by game companies or have any kind of relationship with them beyond enjoying the games available on their platform.

Rather than spiraling and self-flagellating, I’m going to continue playing games.

@IllusiveMan Not defending them but I would much prefer they take their time and present an extremely detailed explanation on how things are going to work, rather then some half-assed JPEG saying "my b"

@get2sammyb Here is one thing about the physical media aspect. PS6 is coming, they need to make the system as cheap as possible without subsidy. Subsidizing systems is a thing of the past. They had to eliminate the retail middleman to take a larger cut of sales. They are hedging against, losing very few users, against a bigger margin in order to keep their price down.

$1k usd console can work withe PS brand. Honestly the stuff we saw in customer feedbacks as to why people were buying PS5 would blow your mind at the time. Canadians were lining up to buy NHL 21 and desperate to buy a PS5 to play it. There was no NHL 21 native copy for the PS5. Things like this are what the majority of Playstation users are thinking when buying their system.

The brand is powerful, a 1k usd console with no disc drive will sell based on all information every major 3rd party has and info Sony has. There is more precise data than ever to help guide them in making these decisions. They could still be wrong, but I wouldn't bet again Sony marketing. That is Jim Ryan's true legacy, marketing and getting Playstation into markets that Nintendo and Xbox are not in.

I doubt anyone’s mind would be changed by groveling online. If someone exclusively buys discs (apparently there are a lot of such people online) they are going to be pissed by the decision no matter what. If someone doesn’t buy physical they won’t care and will measure the PS6 by its games and price tag.

@get2sammyb I see that 1K number thrown around a lot in the past 5 days, are we just running with that or has it been confirmed, I'm aware of the article you guys did on it, but surely until it's confirmed we can't use it no?

If I were Sony I wouldn't waste my time engaging at the moment.

Some people don't want to hear or accept the way that the wind is blowing. They simply respond abusively, or with dishonesty.

You can't have a rational discussion with such people. It's a waste of time arguing with them and achieves nothing.

It's like the whole thing about wrestling with a pig, in that you both get covered in brown stuff but the pig enjoys it.

Better for Sony to stay silent and not waste their time and energy dealing with the nonsense.

Just post clear concise policies once they are decided. Ignore the noise and the energy vampires.

@Carnage The one thing I'm going to look at are the GTA6 sales numbers, if people truly don't want a digital only future then I expect it have muted sales other wise it comes across people aren't putting their money where their mouth is...

Here’s a stat for you. The tweet where Sony announced their massacre of physical games has more views than GTA 6’s trailer.

This entire debacle has proven to me that I can go on without a PlayStation in my life.

It’s been fun, Sony. I’ve been with you since the PS1. But once you stop making new game discs, I’m done with you beyond buying previously released disc games.

Unless Sony backtracks immensely, I hope the PS6 fails and fails hard.

@Oram77 Yeah I don't get why people can't just wait for Sony to discuss this in more detail if they might have a disc drive/alternative or something else. They just announced this last week and the whole process isn't going to start until 2028, they have no need to talk about it until late this year or next year.

People just need to be patient and relax. Also Microsoft probably being digital only but not getting as much hate is crazy as well.

I do think Sony should talk more here and there but people should also be patient and see if they have any plans for people that want disc for the next generation.

@Oram77 I think any explanation or countermeasure should’ve been included in the announcement, the fact we haven’t heard anything yet leads to be believe there simply wasn’t anything, they just expected us to swallow it and forget about it and now are scrambling to come up with some response.

Are you a shareholder? If not, they don't care. Customers have proven that even when they complain, they will put up with anything. They'll cry themselves out over the killing of physical games and then they'll get on board, buy a $1,000 console and own nothing. Sony doesn't care if the money intake pipe is happy, sad, or angry. They only care when the flow slows. It won't.

@get2sammyb Did you forget a year ago when everyone was yelling "drop the price" for the Nintendo Switch 2? Fastest selling console ever. Clearly all the online comments didn't relate to the real world.

@Deadlyblack why do people think that this is going to calm down any time soon? Xbox has fired about a fifth of its work force, and it barely put a dent in the changing of conversation.

This isn’t a topic that’s going to die anytime soon, in fact the longer Sony keeps on being quiet, the more it shines like a beacon.

@Oneluckyfarmer Why are we comparing lesser controversies to this massive one

@kyleforrester87 I’m talking about the total amount of views. This controversy has been viewed 140 million times.

140 million…

@Oneluckyfarmer Game keycards and $80 games were supposed to kill it off as well.

As far as PlayStation, an online petition to reverse the physical media decision has reached 120,000 signatures, or about 0.001% of the console player base.

What if Sony's only explanation is:

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

I wouldn't wanna engage with the ravenous mob either to be honest. I understand the outrage here to an extent. But when you say something even remotely different from what they all want to hear, they immediately start into personal insults and ripping your head off. Maybe its just me, but I would probably stay silent too and not engage. I'm not talking about everybody but it's definitely there.

People can bring this up as much as they like, Sony ain't going to change anything, the PS6 is already deep in production and is most likely too late to change and would be too costly also.

@ShadowRJ do you not see the parallel? The entire comments sections were fill with outrage and when the day finally came it didn't matter. People still bought it. And when the PS6 come out people will still buy that too.

Also I'd rather see Sony silent than run their mouth like Xbox has done countless times, just to the backtrack and look like a fool.

They've been awful communicating for years even during the PS4 as well. Though they didn't do as much controversial stuff back then.

Would love to see shu come back. PlayStation management needs to be replaced

@Sanrio_Man Seems like nothing they can say will make things better except fully reversing course, but we know how likely that is to happen.

@8th_Observer exactly. And using social media as a reference for showing how angry people are is just silly. People only go online to complain. No one is running to X to say "This doesn't change my opinion at all". But yes let's use the echo chamber is really loud about this so it must be true...

“It’s just not good enough.”

Couldn’t agree more. The fact they dropped a bombshell and then ran for hills on social media is so cowardly, unprofessional and simply insulting.

Like I’ve said before this leadership team isn’t fit for purpose, undoing all the good work their predecessors laid.

I will be spending a lot less on PlayStation come January 2028.

It's too late for me. After they raised PS+ prices a couple years ago I built a PC. I've still used my PS5, which is a fine piece of hardware. I just don't think they've maximized it's potential yet, and they're already looking beyond this generation. Between talks of YET AGAIN raising PS+ prices, a disc-less future, and them pulling purchased movies from libraries I'm officially done. It's been a hell of a ride, but Sony won't get another dime from me.

Sony need to be taken down a few pegs, and reminded without customers they are nothing.
They have been, and are, a complete joke!
They need to suffer.

@Oneluckyfarmer I see the parallel, but I think you’re underestimating how big the backlash is.

@Titntin what makes you think that the backlash won’t exist later on in the week?

I understand why they're getting rid of physical games but it they had explained it clearly to us, it wouldn't have been that bad.

@UltimateOtaku91 That I do agree on. The Xbox approach was what caused the whole “we have a product for you, it’s called Xbox 360” meme. I want to open up too, but I want them to open up in a way that doesn’t cause more damage than they’ve already caused.

There's not much to like at the moment when it comes to Sony, I have been with Sony since the PS1 days and this is as bad as I can remember.

The leadership appear to be tone deaf when it comes to their customer base, the decisions are questionable and aren't in the interests of their customers, so I agree it's not good enough.

We understand this is a business and the need to return a profit but in that pursuit of profit they seem to have forgotten gaming is an entertainment business where the experience and community are important factors.

I suspect the only way to make the Sony management sit up and listen is to vote with our wallets, the PSN storefront is frankly a joke compared to the likes of Steam. I for one am seriously considering stopping with the PS5 and moving to PC instead.

@ShadowRJ yes lots of backlash by people on X, youtube etc. Just like all those people who said the S2 was dead on arrival. Nobody is going to buy it. Flooded all of the comments sections of every nintendo post weeks after the announcement. It didn't happen. I don't see the PS6 failing either. All of those social media sites are echo chambers for people to complain.

@ShadowRJ Never said it was, just talking about the comparisons between how Sony and Xbox communicate on issues.

I know they won’t but I’d actually love to see Sony’s sales fall through the floor for this.

Yes ps6 will sell like hotcakes but I’m putting my money where my mouth is and voting with my wallet. Just gonna have to remember to log into psn every 3 years so I don’t lose my collection!

Been my problem with them for the whole generation.

@Oneluckyfarmer I’m still arguing there’s a massive difference between Switch 2 and what’s going on right now. I haven’t seen anywhere near the amount of hate in Nintendo that Sony is currently getting.

@ShadowRJ do you mind if I ask. Is this personal for you? Are you the type to have like shelves of your games on display? Or like a collector of physical media?

The only real possibility I see is Sony announcing that physical discs will continue to exist, but will cost more than Digital.

Either way, gamers made a conscious choice to go digital, so they shouldn't be surprised now that the industry is simply following suit.

@Oneluckyfarmer Is it personal for me? Couldn’t be more so.

Am I the type that has shelves to display my games on? Absolutely. I have almost 60 PS5 games on that shelf.

A collector of physical media? Almost strictly. I had to wait years to play Hi Fi Rush, because I was waiting for the physical edition.

Yet another self inflicted wound to the death of the console. You will look back in a few years and see that this was one of the biggest sparks to burn the industry to the ground. PC will emerge the victor at then end for obvious reasons. I guess I'm going to go ahead and start moving in that direction.

I think what PushSquare means is they want Sony to talk more because it makes there job easier by giving them something to talk about rather than having to rehash the same story all week.

@KawakiisaFraud Gotta wonder if that is all part of the plan. Drop a bombshell like this, then roll back on it only to increase physical prices and then come out with the "we hear you" statement to make fans feel that their protesting has made a difference.

The main boss & Hulst are just awful if you ask me!! they better pray Helix does not go full bait & switch on them!

But I do have a feeling this is how they FORCE you into streaming in the end & that will be the end of gaming for me.

If you all want physical media to persist… you could buy all disc you find around! 🤣
More than 90% of people only buy digital.
PC games are only digital. GamePass is only digital.
Also, a lot of countries the only way to get the games are digital. Discs are not something readily available everywhere.

@ShadowRJ I think that is part of the problem. Even if Sony came out and explained why they are making this decision, how they will fix the issues of not having physical and it made perfect sense to the masses it wouldn't be good enough for you. Because at the end of the day you still wouldn't have the 2nd half of your hobby.

PushSquare is getting boring to read lately. It’s the same story over and over again. 😓

@MidnightDragonDX Yeah, we all have bitter pills to swallow in life. But I wouldn't even try to have a conversation with people who dogpile you and start cussing you out nonstop. Obviously this is a company we're talking about but I can kind of see where Sony is coming from with just not engaging.

@Oneluckyfarmer in an ideal world, the backlash will be so big that Sony will have to backtrack on this, and the dream is that is the first thing Sony posts when it comes back to social media.

Yes, I’m a dreamer. I’m aware.

I'm not sure they need more communication, it's more that they never have anything positive to say anymore. I can't remember the last time they delivered any good news, outside of a game release announcement. Maybe the introduction of accessibility options to their first party games.

Imagine Sony making a public announcement that brings a positive benefit for us just because they can. Something like making online play free, whilst improving PS+ in other ways, just because they want to improve the service they provide, or lowering the price of games back to £60 as a thank you after the record profits they've recently had. This is what happens when they're no competition unfortunately.

I wouldn't be surprised if they backtrack slightly with the physical discs, maybe continuing them for the PS5's cycle, but they 'have' to now charge £100 for physical games, with this being the real agenda all along, but acting like they've done us a favour.

@thiagoauler the same story is being posted over and over, because this is the most significant threat to game collecting. This isn’t a brief bit of news that’s soon replaced by the next story. This is a fundamental shift for the worse in how we engage with games.

This is the cheapest poll I‘ve ever seen on this website.

Sony's mistake was not accompanying their announcement with a set of (proper, non corporate speak) answers to foreseeable questions:

• Will the PS6 have an optional disc drive, and if not, what arrangements will be available for physical back catalogues.
• What changes will be made to the PS Store.

Having made that mistake though, they are doing the right thing keeping quiet until all the silliness dies down a bit.

"The repercussions of its actions won’t be felt immediately, but they’re going to bite eventually." Oh they were felt immediately in fact Push Square more than helped with that. "It's awful, I don't feel appreciated as a customer." I'm not that entitled to even begin to think choosing that option. I'm in the couldn't give a monkey's choice and please note it's a personal choice and no vitriolic responses needed 👍

In fairness, being transparent isn't good in Sony's case where they apparently have nothing positive to share.

Sony hasn't cared or listened to their fanbase, in years. They REALLY need to get humbled again.

The title of this is too funny!
"Sony need to start speaking to us again!"
Followed by "Talk is cheap"
Does anyone else see this as ironically???

@Titntin I agree with you on this. And your follow up comment too.

@Mr-Cage it didn't escape my attention either 👍

@Northern_munkey We are the same you and I!
I've started to notice this!
I like your style dude!

@Mr-Cage why thankyou very much 👍

Awful. They used to be so friendly. Kaz harai , Yoshida even Phil Harris.. I want the old Sony back and this stupid idea with physical games reversed

Hulst: “Don’t hear you”

As long as entitled gamers are making pompous demands online that Sony must be do this or that as if they're somehow obligated by law or some higher moral imperative, I can see exactly why Sony aren't engaging.

They've made their decision and, as others have said, you can't reason with people in a swivel-eyed state of mania anyway.

I disagree. Even if they were to explain the rationale behind this decision I would still vote with my wallet. I simply do not care. The PlayStation store is not fit for purpose, the refund policy is disgusting, they will retain monopoly on price and we will own nothing, and let’s not forget the very poor output from their first party studios that are taking forever to release games because they were chasing (and still are) the GAAS dream due to company policy; therefore them coming back online to share the rationale about their decision perhaps crying misery when they are amassing massive profits for shareholders is not going to cut it. This is not just about how they communicated which, frankly speaking, is appalling, is it also about the content of the communication, the announcment which, given the little rights we would have in the digital world is unacceptable. After purchasing every console from the PS1 to the PS5, multiple PSP and PS VITA and multiple PSVR 1 and PSVR 2 I am frankly done with that company. The PS6 is going to be an inflated overpriced console, digital only, the output from first party studios is relatively poor and takes forever to release anything (naughty dog has not released a new game during this generation) makes the future of playstation unattractive. I wish them to have continuous declining profit because arrogance and taking customers for granted deserve to be punished in the only way they understand, by losing money and achieving ongoing decline sales and profit.

@MasterChiefWiggum those people take orders from Tokyo who the CEO is Japanese

Hope they at least update their terms for digital purchases -by force if necessary- after this decision starts its course.

Sony dont owe us anything because your not an investor those are the people they are interested in

@GamingGod ooooooh, now I’m EXTREMELY ant Sony at the moment, but saying that Phil Harrison needs to come back???

No….just no

@MasterChiefWiggum This is where the slogan "vote with your wallets" will ultimately decide the future of Sony. If this outrage is short-lived and people still decide to purchase (vote) the PS6, it will send the opposite signal.
It's no mystery that Sony was trying to hide behind the launch of GTA6 with this news, and GTA6 will be a litmus test, of sorts, to show how serious all this outrage really is.

@thiagoauler I'll need some evidence for this because, once again, it looks like an invented or misinterpreted statistic.

@Alpine would actually be hilarious if helix ended up with a drive. I’m not a fan of MS but it’d be enough to sway me personally.

Their lack of saying much of anything has bothered me since around 2019 when they announced the PS5 randomly in a Wired article. Which was, and still is, strange.

Not really bad, or good, just... strange. Then it has persisted from there.

You know what would be interesting to me? What is actually different today in Sony communicating compared to ten years ago. I think there is actually zero difference.
And they do not owe me anything at all (excluding PS+ here) as a customer, just as much as I do not owe them anything. And I consider PS my home. This outrage and the always never ending demands all feel like a weird form of FOMO, mixed with not accepting change or wanting change - Kind of like an unhealthy relationship.

@Nakatomi_Uk

We are not shareholders, but we are stakeholders because we buy their crap. What gets me is I see the logic here, the spreadsheet math they are doing.

BUT. Here's their 5 to 10 year problem: the hardcore and physical crowd overlap a lot. It's a high spend segment they are cutting out to gain a few more dollars and cents on game purchase revenue, etc. Sure. But if they alienate this crowd, who is gonna be lining up to buy their $1000-1500 PS6 in a few years? Casual users?

The casual 2-game-a-year market who don't care or think about physical releases or ownership won't splurge that money for the next console. They will not. So I think they will be in not a good spot when the PS6 releases. Sony has a $1000 problem they need to solve if they want to pull a trick like this.

Not to be a cliche, but if they hold to this course, I will be moving my spend over to PC. And I've spent a lot on Sony hardware and software this gen. Over 10k, easily. 6 PS5s (some given as gifts), 200 physical games. And a ton of digital purchases too (dlc)! They lose me, they lose the equivalent of 10-15 casual spenders. And... they lost me. Oops. Take a lot of Fortnite microtransactions to make that up. Good luck.

I dont have a crystal ball. But I think this is really bad timing and an insane gamble.

Think Sammy's observations sadly say a lot about this Playstation management They truly don't feel the need to engage with gaming media much less their customers. They'd rather engage with business sites & only engage with investors in shareholder calls.
They only bother with word salad chatgpt like statements like the one by Sid Shuman then go & hide.

Given Sony's track record in recent years like promising PS Plus Deluxe having a library of classic PS1/PS2/PSP games, yet it has little third/first party support of genuine best selling classics of those eras & clearly it devotes a pittance of its PS Plus revenues towards it vs just profiting off customers with continued price increases.

The obvious questions of how they plan to address PS4/PS5 backwards compatibility of players physical libraries on an all digital PS6 suggests no plan, or a premium one for digital licenses of those games.🙄
Likewise have zero confidence they have any will to improve the PSN Store feature wise as much as they're looking to profit off customers with a full monopoly.

Unfortunately the only real language that'll make them pivot I suspect is financial if they suddenly find their PSN revenues tank if PS players actually follow through & take their business elsewhere.

@ShadowRJ that’s why I said ‘even’ Phil Harris. I’d take him over this load of faceless suits

@Titntin Why do you assume the "vast majority of customers" do not care? Is that just because you do not care and you are projecting your own values on the market?

It looks pretty obvious to me that there is a significant portion of the customer base that do care. Look at YouTube, X, or the PlayStation fan websites (like this one) for your examples.

Just because a customer has bought a digital game in the past does not mean they are okay with the option being taken away.

Conflating their anger with being childish is using an ad hominem fallacy. Assuming that you are the majority is using a bandwagon fallacy.

The sample base of this website's comment section is not necessarily proof, but it does show that there are a significant amount of PlayStation players who have concerns. Dismissing them by insulting their maturity looks like a bad faith argument.

Giving customers the silent treatment after 3 catastrophic announcements is juvenile and unprofessional at best. I'd call it unacceptable.

The change.org petition to keep discs currently has only has 149,795 signatures. That's an incredibly measly 0.16% of all PS5 owners. Most people don't care whatsoever. It's just that the minority are always FAR more vocal. Bring on the PS6. I don't care if there are no discs.

@OcelotsRevolver "Conflating their anger with being childish is using an ad hominem fallacy." There are those here that exhibit this behaviour though. "Assuming that you are the majority is using a bandwagon fallacy." Where did @Tintin assume he was in the majority? I only saw somebody voice an opinion.

@Titntin ", I expect there will be some calming down soon and I look forward to it." I admire your optimism.

@CheesyOatcake well said. I admire your gumption lad 👍

Nishino and Hermen are tone deaf leaders. I don't expect anything will change even if they talk.

@CheesyOatcake I understand what you’re saying, but surely that’s the same with every hobby. The casual enjoyers always outweigh the hardcore.

honestly there are so many games coming out between now and next year , i need to find time to even play them. sony wants to make people happy show off the next horizon game ( we all know you are working on it), whatever sucker punch is working on , and show off that infamous remake , and whatever uncharted project they are working on ( if its a remake or new game).

They need to revert PS5 game discs. PS6 is a different product and they can try to sell me whatever, doesn't mean I will buy it.

I bought into PS5 knowing it would have new game discs for years or even a decade from now. If Sony wants to stop first party games that's also whatever but all new games? Anti-consumer.

@Zuljaras though I like the meme, it is somewhat misleading as it would also suggest Sony are the heroes of the story and the disgruntled gamers are corrupted monsters

One thing is for certain, this news has been massive for Push square and it's engagement metrics. Every cloud as they say.

Why would they? By all accounts the Helix will be significantly more expensive than the Steam Machine, and the real version of that (2TB w/controller) is $1420 so MS is effectively leaving the console market. Admittedly the PC business has surpassed consoles, but if Sony can keep the PS6 under 4 figures it'll just be them and Nintendo. I could see future pricing working in the Switch 2's favor, but Sony can do whatever they want that way as nobody is going to accuse Nintendo of being communicative.

@Titntin How do you know what the overwhelming majority of sony's customers do? How could you know? That is an assumption.

I disagree that vocalizing being upset on a fan forum is 'stamping feet'. Vocalizing concerns about a hobby is best done in a fan forum. These are the last bastions of a "community" in the age of an internet.

I think some people hope that Sony would have employees that frequent gaming sites to get a pulse on what the fan base thinks. Maybe they do, maybe they don't; but that could explain why you are seeing such a vocal out-pour.

Again, that may not be a good sampling of the mainstream crowd. The mainstream crowd could be oversimplified as Fortnite/COD/FIFA players as well, but that does not mean that is what gaming means to many gamers across the world.

@CheesyOatcake That is an interesting take. You are commenting on this forum just the same.

Why is a post you may not agree with reduced to just "Fanatics, those who are lonely, those who seek approval, those who seek validation, they seek out those on here who will agree."

Are you doing that yourself? I don't think you are, but it sounds presumptuous. Your friend circle is a smaller sample size than this forum. Do you think people that don't play games just look for forum sites to post comments about a hobby they don't care about?

I think the only way to gauge the real outrage it to see if this announcement has a monetary impact.

@BigMike22 They'll change when it really starts hurting their bottom line. Look at how cocky they were going into the PS3 gen. They just assumed everyone would buy it because of the PS logo. In fact, one of the execs said something along the lines of "People will work multiple jobs to afford the PS3." And it blew up in their faces. Then they started doing different things to win back people. They were seen as the hero when Xbox unveiled the One and its controversial policies.

@CheesyOatcake Do you think "in the know" gamers won't share the info with their family and friends? You really seem to be downplaying word of mouth. It's why movies, TV shows, games, etc sink or swim. Even if people aren't finding out directly, they'll find out regardless.

I do remember quite a few of them on stage taking a bow when apologising for the 2011 PSN hack, this made the national news at the time too as it was a bit unprecedented. But just having real people apologising helped the situation I thought.
Also loved that era of Andy House and Shawn Layden. Great E3s and Showcases for the playstation nation.

@MasterChiefWiggum hulst isn't even the boss. Just the guy in charge of the studios. At least get your information correct.

@get2sammyb why? Are you a stakeholder in the company? They provided the options and it turns out it overwhelmingly favored digital. The customer chose this.

@ShadowRJ twitters views are fsmously known to be broken

Would much rather the Asha Sharma approach of honest communication about issues rather than Sony, who will throw out a blog post and hide like cowards, leaving Push Square to speculate and try to fill in the many gaps.

I for one am not spending another dime on PSN until they explain to me how I'm going to play my old games on the next system.

Their messaging, their organised game design, their costs, their decisions. They want to hide, they want to be 'professional' but not communicate at all. Why should we trust them?

The engineers making hardware that's niche, mess up expanding markets (not all but some) and yet they have the excuses they have made over time, it just doesn't add up.

If they cut Portal or PSVR2 I'd understand I'd be sad for PSVR2 but I'd understand, they supported Vita/PSVR1` for as long as they did. They have other products in other areas tech side not just gaming. But they don't communicate and we go why should i care.

I think in my head all the time what a friendly console maker speech would go like and I'm not even anywhere near capable or in that position.

I moved on years ago and only care for the news articles now.

I know all 3 aren't trust worthy but Sony really did disappoint with many decisions. Even regardless of policies of digital purchases and all 3 may be just as bad of 'download' and you can't refund (unless other countries have refund particular laws) which some do.

They mess up expanding to other markets, but try to expand, they want as much money as possible but can't be transparent even a tiny bit, not say all their plans but just encase to make us want to support them or else why should we bother.

Gaming is a want not a need but they make us not want to support that want just look at them funny.

Fair wording in this article for sure.

While PS3 era Sony was particular and you can tell with the PS+, 3D, Move/Sixaxis, co-op, PSN, PS Store, etc. that feature in the games and devs trying to work with the PS3 hardware.

I always saw the early ads as 'the experiences you'll have' rather then the PS logo but that's just me. I wasn't that active in what they were doing. The games looked fine to me even looking back. To me PS4 era had less games I wanted, PS5 has even less so to me their decisions/game design and services/hardware hasn't impressed me at all. Same with Xbox.

Nintendo has their IPs, their gimmicky hardware, their niche and popular IPs, they still have their decision making I'm not big on either but they still have the things I'm looking for despite all the other factors. Kind of like PS3. XD The IPs and things I want but with awkward leadership. XD Not saying it' a good thing but it's just ironic.

Why? Because you lot are running out of ideas for content? Are the clicks dying down a little too much?

Sure they'll communicate when they have something to say. Common sense.

@Contimaloris by buying the optional disc drive obviously...old games are unaffected. It's the ones after Jan 2028 🫣

I'm just responding by leaning further into indie/homebrew/mods and my backlog.

@dapinionated
What a weirdo response to this article.

@CheesyOatcake Lol. The only social media ive ever posted anything on is here and on youtube. Otherwise I might look like a psychopath skimming comments everywhere.

@CheesyOatcake It came from Elder Scroll Oblivion. It was kind of an inside joke with my friends when the game came out because the character basically jump scares you and introduces himself and we thought it was funny.

Well said! And while I hate money and think it has no place in human society, Sony does have the responsibility to answer to its share holders, and they are not doing that here. They should be communicating to them and releasing statements about this. Their social media presence is as much for shareholders as it is for customers, and they fumbling on all fronts.
A company like Sony can buy the best PR people, so where are they?
There is a fallacy that CEO’s are crazy smart and that is how they got there, but they often are the dumbest people that have just sought out power and have connections/come from money.

The people who don’t want power are the ones that should have it. And the ones that do want power should never get it. Everyone reading this article could run Sony better than they are, and are smarter than they are. Sony is making money despite their CEO’s, not because of them.

They did have good leaders at one point, but forced them all out. It’s telling they forced out the only intelligent people there. The entire PS5 generation have been baffling decisions after baffling decisions, and they have lost all goodwill they gained during the PS4 generation/latter half of the PS3 generation.

i think if youve got nothing good to say dont say anything at all and thats what sony are doing

I'm sorry, but Sony is doing the right thing and they're correct that this is the consumer preference. They should not change their strategy based on a few loud voices on the internet, which are made mostly for their own rating.
Physical is a redundant, dead medium, has 0 technical advantages over digital (Bluray at least has better quality than streaming), and it only makes processes more cumbersome. Sony should not invest anything in it.

I miss the PS3 era Sony but I don't see the point in them getting chatty now. No matter what they say it'll only be used against them. The internet is a hate pit at the end of the day.

Nah damage is done. Not taking chances on the next generation. Xbox and Playstation are done for me. The next console prices are gonna be through the roof. So I'll save up so I can upgrade my PC where all of my friends play anyways. Sony can talk all they want or not it doesn't matter. Their actions scream louder than any half baked AI written PR feelgood statement

@get2sammyb The next Xbox is gonna cost even more, PC gaming hardware remains in shambles for the next 2-3 years minimum, Nintendo makes no better offer, what else is left?

All Sony needs to do is fill the PS6 with AAA exclusive games (no crossgens for new games), put the price at 999$ to lower the psych impact, and it will fly off the shelves.

There is a reason they don't speak and I will give a recent example why:
They had their GNS investors meeting where they spoke about how they will not sell hardware "at SIGNIFICANT LOSSES" anymore.

A lot of media wrote "Playstation won't sell hardware at a Loss anymore" notice the difference?

Eurogamer in a recent article called "Disc drives and release dates: Sony just told us two major things about the PlayStation 6"
wrote the following near the end of the article: Sony is no longer interested in selling hardware at a loss

Do you notice the issue? Do you notice how by removing one word they shift the context?

@Zuljaras so true, I will never understand why people will go out of their to defend corporations that only care about how much money they can extract from us.
It seems to me people are terrified of possibly looking a bit foolish to total strangers because they might have backed the wrong horse, I have infinitely more respect for people capable of showing an ounce of humility.
What an age we live in, I think I might just go and become a hermit for some peace of mind.

Lots of arguments about what the "silent majority" think but that's irrelevant to if killing off physical games is a good thing...

Kinda telling that people are making "Here's how Sony will get away with it" arguments as if they were "Here's why Sony should do it" arguments.

Personally I am mostly digital overall as a gamer and would go so far as to say exclusively physical gamers are silly (there are a TON of excellent indie games that never make it to physical) but the option existing is important for the fundamental health of the industry

@NerdyPaul I will say that despite being on the Sony hate train as of late, I do try to be as factual as possible, and not be lured in by grifters. I do my bit and correct people when they go on about the three years before their games are deleted.

@Titntin The people who are genuinely outraged about this are not spoiled children throwing their toys out of the pram. They are hardcore console gamers who genuinely care that Sony is destroying their hobby.

I agree that there are better protections to be made for digital purchases, but they shouldn't be at the cost of Sony destroying physical media.

@Titntin Ah...

I read the post, saw the bit about adults and got a bit emotional.

Sorry

Game gifting needs to be a thing on PSN. It Steam has it, Playstation Store needs to copy it whatever the feature is.

@CheesyOatcake Okie dokie, I'll try and be as concise as I can.

I have been gaming pretty much my entire life, and unlike other gamers, I've mostly kept my games and consoles from generation to generation. I still play my first GBA to this day.

Ever since the Wii era, I got massively into old school Nintendo stuff. I downloaded a load off stuff from the Virtual Console, and soon enough I became a hardcore Nintendo fan, but something clicked during the Wii U era.

I downloaded all these games off the eshop, and I felt nothing towards any of them. Not even Earthbound. I had no passion for them at all. That's when it dawned upon me. I loved the Wii Virtual Console, but outside of that, digital games were just...stuff to me.

So slowly, I stopped buying Virtual Console games, and began buying consoles for the games that I either didn't have, or weren't on the Virtual Console, so I ended up with a SNES and an N64.

Over the years I would expand my horizons even further than Nintendo. Today, I have every major console since the NES apart from the Xbox One and Xbox Series X. All this time, I loved gaming this way. I was playing real games on real hardware. I even bought a NTSC PS2 and SNES because I love playing on "actual" games, and not just engaging in content. I even forgot that I owned some games digitally, which I can't do on a gaming shelf.

This is essentially me. I love collecting games sure, but I collect them because I love playing games that I collect. I've at least played all bar 20 of my collection.

I can't stress enough that to me, games are important, and I think that importance is lessened as a digital purchase that exists to be content filler before the next content filler.

I also can't stress enough just how hardcore physical I am. Hollow Knight, Hi-Fi Rush, The Messenger, Super Meat Boy...I wanted to play those games, but I had to wait years for their physical copies to come out. I loved them all upon first playing them, but it was a long wait for them to come out.

@CheesyOatcake And yeah, I'll admit, it is a safe place for me to be in. I get easily stressed (as the posts here probably imply) and I don't like to think about what's going on outside of my bubble in life. Collecting and gaming is a big part of that.

@cainhurst94 Sure.

Maximise profits while monopolising distribution. Will digital prices decrease without the burden of various physical media logistics? Of course not. And even with the various streaming platforms, I am still able to purchase retail dvds, blu-ray and cds. This should be no different for physical video games.

Not the biggest fan, but still good, that someone like Kojima, also hates this:

https://www.eurogamer.net/hideo-kojima-physical-media-really-sad

They will continue to sell consoles and they won't care, shareholders will just demand their dividends and onwards and upwards.

VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET FOLKS

The only language these people speak is money. Big talk online combined with zero action will result in things staying exactly the same, but the adults in the room have known that already for a long time.

This article is more poignant than ever after the PlayStation Twitter account went silent for 5 days and then just acted like nothing happened.

I don't need Sony to tell me the reasons they do anything. My job is to decide if their actions align with my values, no matter what the underlying reasons are. If they do, they get my money. If not, I'll spend the money on other things.

The ending of physical games made me go from a day 1 PS6 buyer to a maybe several years down the line. I have enough of a backlog to be a satisfied gamer for years.

@Titntin When I asked you "How do you know what the overwhelming majority of sony's customers do? How could you know?" That was in response to your claim that "The overwhelming majority of Sony's customers do not inhabit forum sites, X or YouTube." I am a Sony customer and I inhabit forum sites, X, and YouTube. How do you know how many customers don't inhabit those sites? That is presumptuous. How could you possibly know what other sites PlayStation customers use? There are 2.7 Billion monthly YouTube users. There are 132 Million monthly PlayStation users. Could there possibly be a cross section?

It is funny you bring up Fortnite. My son got into it in a big way. He loved it, until he didn't. Fornite is crashing. I'm sure you know (since you follow the metrics) that they laid off 20 percent of their workforce in March. With this PS news, he said he would rather save up for a PC for the next generation. It wasn't feet stomping, it was a rational choice.

Just because we played a digital game does not mean we did not have a substantial physical library as well. We count for digital numbers and physical numbers simultaneously.

I have been a PS console owner since PS1. I had the fat and slim PS2, I had the fatboy PS3 (for backwards compatibility with PS2), I had the launch PS4 and the Spiderman PS 4 Pro. Now we have 2 PS5s in the house. The consoles are dual purpose. We can watch Blurays as well as play games on the same device. We can share games in the house.

Even when it comes to digital trend metrics the understanding is murky as well. Are PS plus games being included? I usually always claim PS plus games, even if I never play them. Do MTX transactions count? What about games that come with a console purchase? What about games only available digitally, that may have been purchased physically if available?

I normally don't comment online. You and a handful of other accounts seem to insinuate the negative response to PlayStation is somehow fake or manufactured outrage. That people will just get over it. I'm just perplexed by that stance. That is why I replied to you. I'm not trying to insinuate you should have a different opinion. It is the dismissive attitude to those that don't share your option that has me puzzled.

I am a long time fan of the brand and I don't like the decision. There are just a handful of games that can play only on a PS5 vs PS4. If that trend holds for PS5 to PS6, I'm wondering is there a good reason to upgrade to a new generation? Especially if it doesn't come with a disk drive (we don't know that yet). I don't want a cluttered entertainment center and neither does my wife. If it can't play Blurays or my previous games I don't think I want it to replace my PS5. I like choices. I have been a PlayStation customer for a long time, but my continued patronage is not guaranteed. That is not foot stomping, it is a rational decision.

Is there anything PlayStation could do that would make you not continue purchasing their products? What if they told you that you could no longer purchase a game, but only rent it instead? Would that be okay? What if they said we don't need a physical console anymore, all your content will be streamed through a smart TV? Netflix does it. What if they said the only people that could enjoy their products have to have an internet speed faster than what is available to you? Would that be a bridge too far?

@OcelotsRevolver It’s not controversial to state that people on gaming forums or watchers of gaming YouTube channels represent a relatively small minority of the hardcore. I mentioned this in the office and even the ‘gamers’ I knew in there either didn’t know or didn’t care.

Knowing whether an overwhelming majority of their customers do anything probably doesn’t matter here. What’s clear is that Sony do have the data and based on that data they decided the best course of action was to go all digital.

Agree with your other points. I don’t care about physical but if it became clear that what long term ‘ownership’ I have is being consistently eroded alongside rising prices I’d stop being a customer.

People making points about social media grifters is fine, but this has been going on longer than that. After a record breaking PS4 gen where we PS players showed up and supported every exclusive released, we then watched Sony take us for granted and go on these live service & PC side quests, we watched both quests fall flat on their faces and completely flop out. On console we got our games cut, we got our support cut and they really never said anything.

So yeah I do agree with the article, as a PlayStation player/customer since PS1, I'd like some communication on how Sony plans on supporting and dedicating their efforts to the thing that makes most of their $$$.

The physical media disaster that they caused is just icing on an ugly cake that they've been baking for years.

@tangyzesty I am by buying physical games as much as possible.

Why should they talk to you if they still hear your wallet singing to them..?!

Close your wallet. They will come talking.

@CheesyOatcake Fair enough. I have been watching "Rome burn" in society for some time. I can relate to that perspective. I can also relate to being an industry insider. I used to work in the military industrial complex, so I understand how unique experiences can shape perspective.

It doesn't have to destroy the platform to have a significant impact. Look at Sega. They used to be a behemoth in the industry. Not destroyed but less of a player. Look at Xbox. They used to be much stronger. A series of missteps can most certainly have an impact. Doesn't mean they will cease to exist. I would say that some of those missteps hindered PlayStation's growth. The price certainly impacted the market share of the PS3. I was an early adopter but most of my peers were buying xbox.

Your right that gaming is a privilege, but it is also a bit more than that for many. Many people find their identity through their professions and their hobbies, not that I think that is healthy. There are some people who identify as a "gamer". When that hobby is threatened, it is more than free time being attacked, it is a part of their identity being attacked. So yes some will understandably get angry. I'm not necessarily angry, I just am not convinced I will buy a PS6. My patronage is not guaranteed.

As we both agreed, the monetary impact will be the real indicator. Some people are canceling their PS Plus subscriptions and sharing their "wallet vote".

With the usage of AI Sony could easily scrape public sentiment just the way a search engine uses AI to scrape reddit opinions or Amazon scrapes product reviews.

People may just moan and continue to buy PS6 and GTA6, or maybe they don't. I know many people who left the xbox platform. I don't think Sony should take their customers for granted. Even though I have been a PlayStation customer since their first console my purchase is not promised.

Just so you know, I don't have an issue with you disagreeing either. I enjoy understanding other perspectives. Thanks for the handle hat tip.

@Ed_Zeppelin I was saying there are significantly more users on YouTube than use PlayStation. A large public outcry on YouTube is not insignificant. There are many PlayStation owners who use YouTube. This topic will creep into their feed based on the way the algorithm works.

Data is the new oil. Attention is the new currency. There is an increase in content and comments for this topic because it is significant.

Was the backlash of Xbox DRM policy bad for the brand? I would say so. This is similar. Sony can ignore it, but it could be to their detriment.

@CheesyOatcake The Coast Guard is one of the best kept secrets. Great option for someone who wants to join the US military. I was in the Air Force. My segment of the Air Force became the Space Force. We had Canadians, Brits, and Aussies that worked with us. I always enjoyed having convos with them. Different perspectives, but always fun, respectful, and entertaining.

I don't necessarily think I will stop gaming, my backlog is large. Who knows what player will enter the console market. I think a good competitor for Sony keeps the company on its toes.

I suspect this move is to facilitate a seamless experience between console and hand held. I'm sure we will learn more when they are ready. This pause in communication could be due an analysis of of the market response...but maybe not. I don't know, but I like to speculate.

@OcelotsRevolver Good point. The algorithm has a chance to impact this although by the same token the algorithm might be making this look more severe to some and be completely blind to many others! I guess the volume of comments does tell a story, it’ll be interesting to see how sustainable it is.

@Titntin having fun mate?

@Titntin I'm good bud. Its just a bit weird seeing you on the end of the stick I'm usually being poked with..its almost cathartic to be honest 🤣

@Titntin The nature of my hypothetical questions were to discern the nature of your perspective. I was trying to discover if you were just a dedicated fan who felt PlayStation could do no wrong. Or someone who is a victim to inevitability. Someone who just accepts something because they can't fight or does not see value in fighting for themselves. This was because some of your comments insinuated that people should just get over it, that it is a done deal.

I understand your perspective much better now. You are actually against the production of the plastic. I can respect that opinion. I don't agree, but I can respect it. From my perspective there are way bigger environmental impacts than game disk cases that stay in most peoples homes. Data Centers are an example.

Just as I said to CheesyOatcake, Many people find their identity through their professions and their hobbies, not that I think that is healthy. There are some people who identify as a "gamer". When that hobby is threatened, it is more than free time being attacked, it is a part of their identity being attacked. So yes some will understandably get angry. I'm not necessarily angry, I just am not convinced I will buy a PS6.

Shareholder's votes never stop. They may vote on the day of an announcement, but they also vote when the impact of said announcement is revealed to the public. If they announce at their next shareholder meeting that a massive amount of PS Plus subscriptions have been cancelled in protest to the strategy the stock could go down. I don't think shareholders as a whole understand the health of a platform's gaming community. Microsoft is a great example. That is why if you do invest in the stock market it is great to invest in products you use because you can see the degradation of the product before the other stockholders recognize it. That reminds me, I might want to sell my Sony stock.

The act of downloading data is not the root of the frustration. This is evidenced by the Xbox DRM fiasco. There still was a physical disk, but it eroded the ownership of the disk. If I pay for something I want to own it. I want to be able to lend it, sell it, and trade it.

I despise where the world is heading to endless subscriptions and rentals. I abhor the idea of perpetually renting everything. There are some who like to see everything be rented. Clothes, cars, homes, and everything they can feasibly rent. Corporate owners of those things want people to rent because they they understand the value of ownership. I want to own and not rent. This move erodes ownership, so it pushes me away. But for you the issue is case manufacturing. I don't agree, but I respect your perspective.

@BigMike22 I think you underestimate the risk of Nintendo and Microsoft eating marketshare. If one of them goes on the offense and it ends up in papers here casuals could very well be swayed (like Xbox 1). At the least they need to address the elephant in the room with those movies that got deleted from peoples accounts and give players piece of mind about digital media rights that they won't allow it to happen on their store ever again (even citing agreements with publishers to use their platform). Things like lending, commitments to never turn off download servers and it not being 100% allowed to remove licenses from accounts, scrapping the 3 year account deletion condition would go a long way to defusing the situation.

@Titntin I actually enjoyed the discussion. Sorry if it bothered you to the point of taking a break. Take care.

Let your money do the talking for you. I got plenty of other hobbies. I really don't need video games

@CheesyOatcake I'm glad you got such a unique experience. Those moments really make life an adventure.

It makes sense that you don't want to spill the beans. I wouldn't want to burn sources either. There is something fun about having some insider perspective.

I'm sure they are cooking something. Sony knows the consumer trends in Japan which has skewed towards portable gaming for some time now. They saw how the portal beat their expectations. They see the switch success. It makes sense.

I actually liked my vita, but they made a mistake with the proprietary memory cards. They should have just used micro sds. I always wished they focused on porting less demanding games from previous gens to fill the library. There were a few, but I wish there was more. PlayStation has always done a poor job capitalizing on their IPs in my opinion.

The choice to announce at the same time as removing movie content and announcing closure of vita and ps3 stores was blunder. That was the accelerate for this bonfire. You can meet cool people at a bonfire though. For how little I comment in 11 years on this site, it encouraged me to participate. I'm generally a lurker online.

Good chatting with you. I'm looking forward to know what you know. I think it might be awhile though. I have a hard time imagining a hardware announcement this year.

@Titntin my wife and I tied the knot at oldway mansion. That can't be far away from yourself. September 2001 was the day I sold my soul not that there was much of one left 🤣

@Titntin That is fair. I have a tendency to try to read in-between the lines and that can lead to me inferring incorrectly. Your dialog helped me understand. Enjoy your time with the misses. Take care.

Yep, I'm done. Done with Sony. Done with Xbox. I'll ride out the PS5/XSX hardware generation through next year, but I'm so done. They've disrespected me and countless gamers like me for the last f-ing time.
These two degenerates have caused untold damage to the games industry, with their layoffs, successful studio closures, lack of communication, lack of compelling exclusive software, unwarranted price hikes, pulling purchased content from people's libraries, and now Sony killing off discs.
I have zero interest in PS6 as a piece of hardware. I have zero interest in Helix (though we don't have as much detail about it yet), but both certainly will not justify their likely $1000+ price tags.

I. AM. DONE.

Their communication is dog *****. I start to hate Sony more and more. No PS6 for me from such a ***** company.

@MasterChiefWiggum I mean, yea they would be a horrible job if they don't care about money. That's the main reason they're hired.

@CheesyOatcake Until Sony decides to delete them like they did the movies. Cos their ToS allows them to delete them for whatever reason.

@Titntin there we go, you make money off it. It financed you. That's why you love this. I guess it's like an oil company worker saying why oil is cool.

@OcelotsRevolver They know people are mad and waiting until things cool down.

@CheesyOatcake Nintendo first party games have all been on the cartridge, other than Pokemon which they co own with Game Freak.

@Titntin lol that explains a lot. The brainrot has hit. Probably a few years away from Alzheimer's and drooling.

@CheesyOatcake Ah the genocidal military that invades others and kills for no good reason. You should be ashamed.

@CheesyOatcake The simple reason is they want to make more money and they make more from digital where they are the only storefront and where they can revoke your license if they wish, just like with the movies. It's just a pure greed decision made by rotten people, that's all.

@CheesyOatcake you know what I mean the life of the console and it's new games. It will live up to short of 7 years about 6 years and 10 and half months to Jan 1st 2028 for having multiple entry points for game purchase choice.

If I knew they were going to pull this mid generation I simply would have stuck with PS4 and only picked up a Series X.

This isn't like Sega and them releasing a Dreamcast and it cut off due to Sega stop selling the console. This is Sony's full ass showing for everyone to see while they smile at you and take your money.

@CheesyOatcake I understand where you are coming from here with trying to only effectively going after 'playable off media without download' games is highly desirable by myself too with having about 70 PS5 games but only about 25 of the same on Series X, though they do exist.

When PS5 is done with discs there could still be new full on disc Series X games so it (at least my mind) is worthy of the support/investment into the future. And what if the disc to digital next gen option is there for Xbox as rumor? The money wasn't wasted effectively as it will be at least an 'off ramping' from one gen to the next to digital only unlike what is happening within this debacle mid gen for PS5.

Wild to think Xbox may have actually done something right over PlayStation crazy as it sounds. And to me that is better than nothing for game preservation/resell.

i honestly couldn't care how any billion Doller companies communicate. i Enjoy video games not the ins and outs of corporations and analyzing every decsion they make. Over the years game sites youtubers etc seem to be spending less time actually talking about games.

We more people like Ken Kutaragi , working in Sony again and less like Jim Ryan or not at all like him

I think like in. case of developers leaving and creating new studios , some of the ex sony people should create new console that is truly for the players