Sony Doesn't Believe Cloud-Based Gaming Will Render Consoles Obsolete Yet

this read to me that the ps5 will still be disc based and that they have no plans to ditch discs untill the ps6 atleast.

good news if true.

My prediction: PS5 will be disc based, but I wouldn't be surprised if a PS5 Slim variant isn't esp. In North America.

@jdv95 oh i hope so although i hope that physical media is never dropped, just look at what happened to Ultraviolet they closed down

as someone on Twitter said about it "it's another not-so-subtle reminder that your only "forever" library is your physical one."

“longer than five years”

Well since the PS5 wont' even be out until late 2019 at the earliest, maybe even 2020 or 2021, who knows, and it will certainly last 5 years, that "not in the near future" could easily be interpreted as "PS5 is the last console."

And while Sony may have the only streaming service, Japan has at least 1, maybe 2 games, only available as streaming on Switch. So I could see Japan moving to streaming faster than the rest of the world. Still not withing 5 years, and not ONLY streaming, but a lot more streaming.

And with all the hyperbole about 5G replacing home broadband - I dont' believe it but the talk is out there - in another 5 years time 6G could theoretically be good to go for streaming.

https://www.lifewire.com/5g-internet-wifi-4156280

@rjejr Still if the stability or reception is not perfect whats the use. The full coverage in the Netherlands with 4G is also nonsense. So i have 10 years to build up a game collection and be a retrogamer. 😁

I can't see consoles disappearing for a while. Cloud based gaming can be used to enhance a consoles game or even run the game entirely in the cloud but I still think there will be a disc drive and they will continue to sell games on disc - they will want to tempt people with collectors editions that have Steel books, art books, statues, stickers, etc

Cloud could be used to play games on the go. Start game on your console, save your position, sign in to your account on a mobile device and carry on - maybe that's why they have increased the cloud game saves too..

Isn't the lesson here that Sony still wants to sell consoles to people in rural areas?

@rjejr not sure what you mean regarding 5G it’s been available in the UK for years and is very fast, on a average connection I can manage 60mb download and 10mb upload. And that’s WiFi not at its best, Ethernet is just crazy speeds.

Still streaming is questionable at best ps remote play works well when in a location that I might as well just use the console. So despite having 5G home broadband it’s not good enough for flawless game streaming and couldn’t think of any worse way to play from Experiance. Don’t get me work it works well but then you get stuttering or frame skips at a vital moment and it ruins your gameplay and experiance

Yeah most places outside metropolitan and suburban areas (that also have internet connections above a certain level) won't be able to do streaming-only that soon, and Sony won't want to knowingly shrink their pool of potentials.

I can see a cheaper redesign that is streaming-only come out halfway into the PS5 cycle though.

Physical going no where nor is the disc drive. It would ruin economy’s and numerous company’s for distribution etc cut of millions of gamers who live in rural areas. (City people are noicable a mile off in these posts) it’s just not going to happen the way people seem to make out.

Or I find it very difficult to see it that way, so people logic is streaming exists so no other form can why?

@Claude @Mince Not even many metropolitan or suburban areas have sufficient speed, at least in the US. I live in the suburbs of the 6th largest city in the country and even downtown doesn't have reliable enough speeds to stream games from the cloud. The best the internet in our city can muster is remote playing PS4 games on Vita and even that is sketchy at best.

@Mince we don't have 5g mate,it's only rolling out over the next couple of years,4g yes 5g not yet

@ROTTIEMAN Might have been confusing 5g with 5Ghz then.

Yes but pertrol contributes toward golbal warming and has a need to be removed. Meanwhile removing physical games would only hurt sales, econemy etc no real reason to change suite.

Also rural areas would be unable to stream like the big cities, which again would hurt sales so alltogether it doesnt really compare to the removal of petrol.

@Mince Are you sure you aren't confusing 5G WiFi band and the new 5G cell service which is supposed to be 300-600mb up to 1GB? I linked an article.

@Flaming_Kaiser Ya know how everybody got used to listening to music as crappy sounding mp3s on their PC speakers rather than albums on record players with booming speakers? Well in the future lag won't be a glitch, it will be a feature.

Or everything will just look 8-bit, we seem to be headed that way anyway. 😂

@BAMozzy "I still think there will be a disc drive"

Your my tech go to guy, I was surprised to read that. Switch has already gone cart only. Sony tried digital only w/ PSPgo years ago. MS is reportedly shipping a cheaper non-disc Scarlet besides the more expensive model w/ the disc. Yet you still think disc is here to say, huh?

Unless you are just talking about the PS5. PS5 will have a disc drive, heck they still need to catch up to Xbox and have a 4k drive. Not b/c anybody needs it but it just looks bad and embarrassing. But going forward, are discs still the way to go? Yeah, I know, Switch carts are too small, and they suck b/c of it, but they should get cheaper, and have better tech. By the time PS6 rolls around I'd rather have something less big, bulky, slow and scratchy than a disc. Let me have a thumbdrive. I really hate changing carts in my Switch, not meant for man hands, kid hands maybe. Just let me plug in a thumbdrive w/ a game on it. Or even a bigger GB cart.

I dont' know, tech changes, how long can discs stick around? 5" discs and 3.5" discs, gone, 8-track and cassette, gone, shouldn't' dics go at some point too?

Not in PS5 though, still holding out hope for my PS1 - PS4 discs to go in there.

@rjejr though Japan is often considered to be very high tech and convenience-oriented, tangibility is still very important. So despite the presence of Netflix etc., brick and mortar stores like Tower Records are still popular and people still rent DVDs etc. Most people also pay in cash for the majority of their purchases! It's a funny place sometimes.

@rjejr Of course I think they will have a Disc Drive. Cutting out that will limit customer choice and limit the functionality of their console - inc Backwards Compatibility (if they do add it) with previous consoles.

I don't know how long disc drives can be used for. It could just have the Licence to play a game on if things do get much to big for the Disc storage or, as we have seen, they could put some of the game on disc and download some other parts - maybe things like the language pack you want, the assets for your spec (if we have a two tier system like we do now) etc.

Whilst Digital sales account for the majority spend, there is a LOT more digital only content but on a head to head basis - where games are available on Disc, Physical purchases outnumber Digital by a significant margin, so I think it would be foolish to commit to just a digital only console.

I could see them making a digital only console but as cheap alternative to their console with a disc drive. Disc drives are important for some people especially those who want the 'best' media as streamed content is compressed - you get compressed video and audio and some people want the uncompressed lossless video/audio that disc based media offers. Netflix may offer 4k HDR and Atmos but its all compressed and lossy. For some its 'good' enough because its 'cheap' compared to buying discs but for others, they want the best PQ and Audio that only disc based offers. Consoles offer the convenience of having a DVD/Bluray player and console in one rather than having to buy separates. My XB1 doubles up as my Bluray player as it also offers 4k HDR and Atmos audio and can play my old DVDs and Blurays too.

I think streaming may become a option, but not the only one. I think before consoles go the streaming route they will go digital only. Just think how many people wouldn't be able to play games if they had to stream them. Just dont make since to me atm. 10 years from now, we will have to see.

@Mince 5G isn't out in the UK yet unless it's the small trials that have been carried out. Companies are still to bid for the 5G rights

Just seen your were getting 5G and 5Ghz mixed up 👍

@rjejr what amount of bits are we on now that will do it for now. 😋

@BAMozzy And a lot stuff what they call digital is DLC which counts towards digital sales.

@Flaming_Kaiser I am well aware of that - which was included when I said there is a LOT more digital only content rather than just saying a lot more digital only 'games'. Digital content encompasses games, DLC, micro-transactional 'extras' etc - everything that can be purchased digitally.

@Flaming_Kaiser "what amount of bits are we on now"

Not enough if you ask the customers, too many if you ask the companies that are providing them.

Unlimited data = depends how much we owe on our yacht maintenance that month

https://www.marketplace.org/2017/12/14/tech/fcc-net-neutrality-ruling-reaction-tech-companies-business

@rjejr lost track after the PS2 to be fair but as long as the games are fun im good.

Losing netneutrality.

@BAMozzy Ok understood. 👍

@Flaming_Kaiser I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have nightmares about that Spongebob gif. Really. Bad. Nightmares. 😂

@rjejr I know but even as a old guy spongebob is funny i just cant help it. Eek the Cat, Angry Beavers, Terrible Thunderlizards, Rocco's modern life, Life with Louie love these cartoons. 😁 😃

@Flaming_Kaiser I really don't like the look of most modern cartoons. Spongebob actually looks ok, but a lot of them these days are harsh. I'm a Hanna Barbera guy.