Disc-Based PS5s Now Warn Buyers About the Impending Death of Physical Games

Good bit of salt in the wound.

More proof in the pudding that the decision is set in stone by Sony. It does suck for peeps that are hardcore physical though.

2028: RentStation 5

At least my physical PS5 collection resold can easily pay 3-4 times over for the rest of 4-5 few exclusives rentals that even happen.

Forewarned is forearmed.

I guess announcements on social medias aren't enough to anger your audience Sony.

yeah, 2028 is where I'm officially leaving the PS ecosystem.

Hope this blows on Sony's face.

I still feel that all of this backlash was entirely avoidable (ok maybe not entirely but at least easier to stomach).

Personally, I don’t think they should’ve announced this at all until they were closer to releasing information about the PS6. And they should’ve done so in a less corporate way. At the very least TRY to resonate with the core gamers, and try and come up with SOME SORT of compromise.

What they decided to do instead (as Digital Foundry put it) was to throw a grenade and run away. Whatever happens from here on out, can we at least agree that this is not how you announce something so dramatic.

@get2sammyb It's never too late for Sony to reverse course.

Them going through the trouble of printing a notice on a box certainly isn't a grander point-of-no-return than completely disassembling their production capabilities.

If the latter didn't stop 'em, I don't see why this should.

Sony went all out just to service their most dedicated fanbase and people are still not happy even though the company put a lot of effort to ensure that "Discs for games released before January 2028 can continue to be played on this console."

January 2028 is when I'll finally be able to focus on my enormous backlog

I have already come to terms with not getting a PS6 through lack of support for physical gaming. So Sony can double and triple down all they want.

@get2sammyb I disagree to an extent. The endless spamming has the potential to make the PlayStation brand toxic, which can have major ramifications when it comes to trying to market the PS6. Bear in mind, that machine is already going to be incredibly hard to market. Fewer games are coming out than ever before, less innovation than ever, graphical leaps are plateauing, the price is going to be gargantuan, and your getting less choices to buy games than ever before.

For the sake of our consumer rights and the very future of this beloved hobby, let us pray it’s a lie like the 8K banner on launch console boxes.

@ShadowRJ Once Sony decided they're going to do it, giving as much advance notice as possible is as consumer-friendly a decision as they can make. Sitting on the decision and springing it with less notice would be even worse.

And as I said earlier - people want Sony to say more, but what else are they going to say that will make you happy if they're not giving in?

Do I think they should announce some disk-to-digital plans? Yes, I do. Do I think they should announce allowing third-party sellers to sell PSN codes to unlock a game (not just store credit)? Yes, I do. But most of the things people want aren't coming any time soon.

And Sony isn't alone on this. Their publishers WANT this. They see physical sales as a loss, and resales as very close to theft. I'm not saying they're right - but that's definitely their point of view.

@ShadowRJ I'm guessing it was a mix of Sony assuming it would blow over faster and just trying to rip off the band-aid.

But yeah, maybe give people with a physical collection an idea of how it'll translate to the PS6. Or announce a better refund system, or something similar to Nintendo's digital lending. Make game trials available to all players and mandatory for any games that cost $50+.

Important notice: from January 2028, newly released games on PlayStation will not be purchased by me. Discs for games released before January 2028 will continue to be played on my last Playstation console.

Sony should create artificial shortages for digital games. Create rarity to crank up the price, as if they were scalping their own shop. I'm sure some people would still try to defend Sony.

Dread it, run from it, the all digital future arrives all the same.

They still need to give playstation 6 the option of a disc drive because alot still own alot games PS4 games on disc.

@get2sammyb Financially speaking, this won’t effect Sony for a long long time. Probably not until 2028. People who already own PS5s aren’t going to stop buying games for them. And COD has a massive casual audience who don’t care that the ports are bare bones. They’re just happy Black Ops is back, and they don’t need to spend any effort to buy or plug in the PS3 or 360 like a nerd 🤓

@ShadowRJ that last bit was made in jest in case it wasn’t obvious enough.

the literal only solution is to vote with your wallet but we know consoomers don’t stand together for squat, so, oh well.

@Herculean technically they weren’t scarce, just up for a limited time.

@Deadlyblack It sucks for everyone.

No physical means NO actual ownership.

No secondhand market means Sony decides what you pay.

The bigger issue is not about collectors and their hobbies.
It’s EVERY SINGLE CONSUMER and their vanishing rights and power.

@get2sammyb It's just sarcasm about anti-consumerism. But I'm sure Sony could do it.

Diabolical!!!!!!!! Screw you Sony

I’m honestly surprised they’d even bother with that. I’m sure it’s just to cover their butts from any possible return claims and the like.

@Herculean Agreed. I think the only reason people weren’t more mad over it was because they were bare bones ports of games that already existed.

As someone who has chosen to play on PlayStation since the late 90s, I won't deny that I'm extremely curious to see how things pan out in two years. Will they have another early PS3 on their hands? Will it be worse? Will nothing change?

Personally, I'll be affected by the end of discs, as it's a way to pay less for games that are extremely expensive here in Brazil (Sony's first parties are already around 80 dollars, for some reason). But I can't say that I'm going to leave the platform once and for all since I buy Sony consoles mainly to play their exclusives and the simple fact of being able to play these games is more important for me than how and if I will own them.

Said this elsewhere but the majority of people who buy these consoles will neither know or care that this is a thing. The rest of us are a small section shouting at a big void.

@kuu_nousee I rent the vast majority of my games because I care more about playing than collecting boxes.

At least Sony have literally spelt it out for those that needed it in another form.

The PS6 will struggle but so will project Helix, it'll be because of the price though, it will have nothing to do with the all digital future. That will just be the icing on the cake.

Whilst I’m digital only I do see the merit in discs. Sony has determined that physical media makes up an insignificant part of its revenue, and that’s true. However it has to be careful not to alienate its most engaged users.

But like has been said above, I’m sick of the immature adult kids spamming comments online - that’s not helping.

Well, I've already made peace with the PS5 being the end of my PlayStation journey, and I've been with them from the very beginning. My PS plus expires in November and i won't be renewing. I'm now of the mindset that even if Sony decide to reverse their digital only position, I really don't care. I also sat down and went through how much I'd get from CEX for my PS stuff and its around £1100. Over to you Xbox, whachu got?

So glad I got out of the ecosystem before prices got crazy.

I think the most disturbing aspect of it all is essentially they just lobbed a grenade into their own community and walked away. no communication, nothing. the only little bit of insight we've got into their thinking process was in an earnings call pandering to investors.

Sony has just seemingly abandoned the idea of communicating with their player base or the idea of cultivating goodwill or customer satisfaction in any form. They seem to just not give a s*** and thus the smartest move would to be stopped giving a s*** about them.

the only thing that's going to get them to even remotely change their ways is for you to stop giving them money every time they try to milk you a little more.

The ultimate confirmation this is set in stone, there’s no countermeasures planned or any improvements whatsoever for the all-digital ecosystem, it’s really an ultimatum of “this is what we offer, take it or leave it” and I honestly expect them to remain in that cocky attitude up until the PS6 struggles to sell after launch which will inevitably happen.

They’re banking on the casual audience to keep buying the brand forever but they’ll leave as soon as they see the price tag and the enthusiasts who were willing to pay any price are the ones who Sony is forfeiting with their decisions, if you want any indication on how “loyal” the casual audience is just look at how many jumped from the PS2 to PS3 (barely half of its user base), the PSP to PS Vita losing 3/4 of its user base or an even more dramatic case with the Wii and Wii U losing 90% of its audience, and yes I’m aware those are different circumstances and times but no brand is invulnerable of flying too close to the sun…

@SBBuds With the cost of things because of ai data centers the Xbox helix is going to cost over $1500USD.

Due to this move by Sony I wont be buying a PS6 and subsequent consoles, but i'll still be playing and enjoying my collection on the PS5. If project Helix has a physical disc drive as rumoured then i'll pick that up instead.

I hate you, Playstation. I hate you so much for this, and I never expected I'd be saying it this early especially when I just started this gaming hobby halfway through the PS4 generation. It's a damn shame, and upsetting.

Between the end of physical media on PlayStation and likely Xbox as well, the PS5 will be my last PlayStation as well as the Series X being the last Xbox I buy.

Removal of physical media is one thing, which I hate, but I refuse to pay anything over $600 for a console.

@Random_play05 Hate? So you're putting them in the same regard as people like Hitler, or other genocidal maniacs of which I'm sure you have a hatred for.

I mean surely you could just dislike a companies decision, get over it, move on, don't interact with its fan sites and continue on your life.

Hate is a strong emotion to ever feel for a company that literally doesn't know you exist, nor cares ... and never has.

EDIT: And to add, I don't use PureXbox, as in participate, but it would be like me not liking Xbox as a brand, which I don't, to then go on their fan site and keep saying it. Just literally leave the brand behind, do yourself a favour and don't worry about hating any company, they're as close to useless as hating as a spoon.

Hahahahaha goodbye

@get2sammyb Sony arent going to change their minds but that doesn't mean we have to roll over and take it. Company's that do consumer unfriendly stuff should never just get away with it.

@get2sammyb been buying physical games for 30 years, some people even longer. Might take more than a month for people to "get over it."