Don’t be quick to dismiss any potential price increase, they literally said something similar mere weeks before announcing this year’s price hike…

Wow. I mean I already expected them to not reverse course but I did expect some kind of counter announcement but nah, they sh*t on us and expect us to thank them.

For anyone thinking they would distribute digital games as they did back with the PS4 they just confirmed they won’t, their only retail presence moving forward will be code-in-a-box for select games while monopolizing the PS Store, I just hope they face a mountain of legal challenges in every single market, if they’re unwilling to budge hopefully some regulator will go nuclear and force Sony to open the platform as they did with Apple, even if it upends their entire business, I even hope it does at this point, whatever hurts them the most.

The most gaslighting earnings report ever “these are tough times for YOU so we jack up your prices and remove your options so that WE keep doing better than ever”.

I honestly expect all single-player games from EA to cease to exist, we will get whatever is already in development (like Jedi 3) but I fully expect them to turn into a full sports live-service predatory game company that I’ll continue to not consume.

Also there must be some separation between your account where you “own” all your games and your social profile, meaning that if you get banned online justifiably or not on whatever game you won’t lose everything you’ve invested in that account.

One big thing missing is security, it’s by far the most vulnerable account of any modern platform as it can be easily hacked through social engineering and the platform provides zero security measures to prevent it as it can be done even if you have passkeys/2FA enabled in your account.

Also region flexibility, not only allow any account to switch regions with its due limits but it’s imperative they get rid of distributing Asian, European and American editions for all games separately and distribute one global version as every platform does.

@get2sammyb And there’s hundreds of VR games that just ignored the platform because Sony refused to support it.

Guess more reasons for MS to keep it exclusive…

I heavily disagree with many of Sony’s recent decisions but this is just silly, my PS5 stays off for more time randomly throughout the year when I want to play on my other consoles or do something else instead.

This whole debacle has been ugly to watch, on one hand these grifter accounts are having tons of engagement doing ragebait posts one after another and now they feel in the position of organizing a large-scale boycott which I’m sorry it’s laughable, they hypocritically repost that image of “f*** Sony” on discs while also sharing how excited they are for GTA 6 or to replay Black Ops on PS5, but on the other hand Sony’s deafening silence and lack of any countermeasure has been making everything worse and will only continue to escalate.

@Nightcrawler71 I don’t think so, Santa Monica immediately moved over from Ragnarok to Laufey, while Guerrilla has been making their Horizon live-service that no one wants.

Amazing timing to show everyone how ready Sony’s infrastructure is for an all-digital future…

@AdamNovice A business that has been most profitable this generation than any other according to Sony themselves, even counting the billions of losses for pursuing failed live-services.

I really don’t get why every single time there’s an article talking about physical media and its value for many people all the corporate defenders come here and spit the same nonsense trying to dismiss it and becoming a trivial debate of “us vs them”, y’all act like Sony’s shareholders while getting absolutely nothing the same as the rest of us, no options, no ownership and higher prices, if you don’t want to complain or don’t see any value in physical media it’s fine, but to click every article to actively defend oh-precious Sony and its business is simply pathetic.

Read the full data before rallying on the comments justifying Sony’s decisions as if you were shareholders yourselves, sure only 7 games have managed to sell more than 100,000 copies but 35% for Ghost of Yōtei is still pretty significant, specially since it being a first-party game it relies solely on selling copies on PS consoles, by ceasing a physical release they’re essentially forfeiting 1/3 of sales for any first-party game which only spells future problems for first-party studios.

I still find it jarring they went for the nuclear option of ceasing physical discs altogether instead of keeping it as a more expensive and niche option for those willing to pay for it, they easily could have found a middle-ground to make everyone happy (or not as mad) they simply chose not to.

@Krlozgod They did initially for all games, only just recently they’ve begun to match prices with other platforms for third-party games as seemingly they’ve allowed publishers to set their own prices which gives me some hope that they’ll do so here as well, however first-party games remained considerably higher as Sony is both the publisher and distributor.

To give some example for the “just don’t buy it” crowd, I’ve got preordered Wolverine for around $900 MXN ($52 USD) on disc with some retailer’s coupon and it’ll now probably cost upwards of $1,500 MXN ($86 USD) to buy it on digital and after 2028 it’ll be the ONLY option that’s if by then they don’t raise base prices to $80 USD, if this permeates to every game from every publisher it’ll simply become impossible to keep consuming on PlayStation as much as I like their games, really can’t make it more clear how much a problem it is to keep removing customers’ options.

I’m from Mexico and this move will basically determine if I keep consuming PlayStation at all, I’m uneasy because this could either mean fair prices on the PS Store after years, decades of being significantly more expensive than Xbox, Steam and the eShop for most games, or charge even more based on whatever conversion rate they come up with as they did on Brazil, where some games ended up costing 300% more than any other platforms.

In theory it’s the right move as we’ve had prices in USD since the PS3 days(!) but this is Sony we’re talking about, if they treat all consumers like garbage us LATAM users are a complete afterthought, we don’t even have proper PS+ Premium and here physical media remains extremely relevant, also, isn’t a bit a ridiculous than in the middle of an all-digital push they will take down the store for 2 full days and pause any sales until late September? PS Store is so archaic for real…

@8th_Observer I’m sure for some that’s true and I was wrong in generalizing it and calling out someone who didn’t act like that, yet I’ve seen users who actively click and engage in every single article regarding physical games only to dismiss the issue, if they’re so tired of this online discussion why keep engaging with it? Are those particular people really ‘tired of the discussion’ or for some bizarre reason they can’t stand to read some criticism against their favorite brand?

@8th_Observer Did you miss the part where he said this whole discussion of physical copies is old and tiring? And again, I made my comment out of frustration because in every single article that talks about physical games there’s comments like that trying to disregard this whole issue as if there’s no discussion to be made, like if you really find all this an exhausting topic just ignore it and keep buying games however you like instead of clicking on every article trying to insist this is a non-issue because it doesn’t affect you (again I’m talking in general to all who have been behaving like this since this was announced, not towards you or anyone in particular).

@8th_Observer I said acted like it, and you don’t need to be frothing mad, only not try to immediately dismiss, downplay or disregard all the complaints from the people who do have a legitimate problem with this decision and still buy their games on physical discs, is it really that hard?

@NimrodNation20 I guess you’ll be tired to read stories like this for years to come because the discourse will simply not go away even after the 2028 deadline if not addressed in any way, specially if you frequent sites like Push Square which is filled with decades-long PS fans who happen to have their collection in physical discs.

And sorry for the harsh term (in my defense I only said you acted like it), I just get very frustrated when someone tries to dismiss this whole issue, I understand there’s many who are not affected or simply don’t care about this, and it’s ok as it’s your opinion and your money, but at least let us voice our frustrations and cherish the little things we still have left for physical releases like this before immediately trying to downplay it or disregard it.

@For-Kier At the very least address me directly.
You got it all wrong, I don’t support any good or bad corporation, I CONSUME their products/services and CRITICIZE whenever I disagree with their decisions, there’s not a single brand I’m a religious follower of, unlike some here who immediately jump to defend Sony even when not addressed.

And thank you for proving my point, immediately calling me out “leave the corporation alone” on the basis that I consume from other corporations (like every human being in the modern world) as if that prohibits anyone to call out Sony or any corpo for their BS, what a nonsense take to have more issue at the people criticizing Sony for their BS, than at Sony for doing their BS in the first place…

@NimrodNation20 It’s always disappointing to find comments like this, if you find “physical copy story” so old and tiring why did you click this article? Why did you even take the time to leave a snarky comment?

If you want to blindly keep supporting the brand it’s fine, it’s your money, what I really don’t get is why act like a corporate bootlicker, not getting mad or having a slight problem at the corporation for removing options and jacking up prices, no, no, rather get mad at the people criticizing or reposting this decision and dismissing all arguments only because it doesn’t affect YOU.

@Rich33 It’s very ambiguous what they said, from all we know the retail presence they’re talking about might be selling only select games via code in a box like GTA 6, unlike Xbox, Nintendo or Steam that allows you to buy keys/codes for almost every game on several storefronts, I hope this is what ends up happening but they’re being sued for not allowing this and so far they prefer to settle them by paying out a few millions instead of going back to how they did it during the PS4 gen, guess only time will tell but their silence isn’t very convincing.

@Swandivetotheasphalt As someone else already said, you can have a monopoly on video games boxes too, and Apple tried to use the same argument for the App Store, it being a platform and arguing people could choose between App Store or Play Store, and again, they lost.

@get2sammyb Sony is in an even worse position than Apple specially with European regulators as they have more than 50% of the EU’s console gaming market share, plus all the ongoing lawsuits for all anti-consumer practices like not allowing to distribute digital games in other storefronts as they did during the PS4 gen.

I agree that allowing other storefronts would upend the entire console business but they simply need to budge a little in the absolute monopoly they clearly want to have with the PS Store, Apple doubled down on their App Store and end up losing in both the EU and Brazil, if Sony takes the same arrogant position regulators WILL crack them down

@ShadowRJ The thing is I don’t think there ever was a plan to mitigate all this otherwise they’d have disclosed it already, they really have nothing else to communicate other than “we’re ending discs production and monopolizing our platform with PS Store, deal with it”.

Perhaps because of the pushback they’ll announce some future countermeasures or store improvements in a blog post but honestly the way Sony is behaving I don’t expect it at all, they WILL lose customers over this but as the recent CoD ports demonstrate, the “ball and gun” gamers is the majority of Sony’s audience and couldn’t care less about physical discs, ownership or purchasing options, but personally if I need to go full-digital it simply won’t be on PlayStation.

This is the true discussion to be had, the digital-only future seems inevitable, even if Sony were to reverse course (which they won’t) they’d only be delaying the end of physical discs production as not only gaming is phasing them out but all mainstream media.

If we’re to live in all-digital future we NEED serious legislation to prevent any of these companies to remove any digital content from your library, force them to distribute digital codes in several storefront as Steam, Xbox, and even Nintendo currently allows, if refused we could even see them forced to allow installing other storefronts on PS hardware as EU and Brazil forced Apple to do so, if they managed to force Apple to open their ecosystem they could easily force Sony to do as well, even easier as Sony controls a much bigger share of the EU’s gaming market than Apple’s share on the mobile market, ironically all this may cost Sony more than just keep producing physical discs…

Sadly most people will only complain for clout just to later pay whatever price Sony decides to charge, look at how many gaming media outlets or streamers were so “outraged” last week but now they all forgot because some old Call of Duty’s were ported to PS.

If anything it proves Sony right, the vast majority of its customers don’t really care about discs, ownership, or having purchasing options, and they’ll allow Sony to get away with it while still retaining a significant base of users who either don’t care or will stay loyal to the brand, I’m accepting complaining will not change a thing but also that PS6 will not be my main platform next-gen.

Never been into PCs, actively despise Windows 11 and yet I’m heavily thinking about it, frankly if Xbox’ Helix delivers on being a hybrid PC/Console and has multiple storefronts that would make it more attractive than a PS6 for me, if Sony doesn’t improve anything on their digital marketplace I’m out long before they’ll be squizzing users when they operate as a monopoly.

If they’ll not reverse course and physical media is dead can’t they at the very least upgrade their digital ecosystem to not be as archaic as it currently is?

That’s what the corporate bootlickers are missing, they’re very quick to dismiss any argument only to defend Sony’s decision completely missing the fact that they have LOTS of room for improvement or many countermeasures they could have to make the only-digital future less jarring, like having a decent refund policy, regionalize pricing, expand into more territories, sell digital games at other retailers, come up with something, anything, even Nintendo is looking much better with the eShop compared to the PS Store, yet if you keep bootlicking they’ll have no pressure to do anything which is what’s going on.

@Dogbreath Back again with that nonsense arrogant take as if digital games were distributed by air alone and data centers used to host them didn’t have any environmental impacts whatsoever…

Wow. They really just tweeted as if there’s nothing else going on, there’s zero justifications or countermeasures, they really did expect us to swallow it and forget.

@BacklogBrad Yeah I wish Bluepoint was given the option to be independent or sell it to someone else, with their expertise and current industry appetite to remake games surely someone would’ve been interested.

@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.

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.

There’s many questions regarding the studios’ future but at least this was better than outright closing them which would have been easier and cheaper for MS to do so, at least there’s that.

@AdamNovice It’s not really usual, it only happened with Toys for Bob and Tango Gameworks was closed but revived by Krafton, honestly if anything they have more financial incentives to downright close the studio so it’s commendable they at least seeked alternatives rather than just closing all 5 studios, I’m honestly more concerned about the teams that remain at Microsoft with 50% of the announced layoffs still looming for the next few weeks.

@Oram77 Yup that’s my thinking as well I buy games wherever I see them cheaper, for new releases I tend to buy them on disc since it’s always more expensive on the PS Store but after 2028 if they really monopolize everything on the PS Store I might go back to buy some games on Xbox if the platform still manages to exist or jump to a PC if prices aren’t prohibitive by then.

@AdamNovice And yet you keep clicking and commenting on every one of them, while some have been repetitive this one is actually a good read as it’s more about the retail presence PlayStation is abandoning which used to be a huge priority for Sony.

@Oram77 It’s still much better than a digital game since you’re able to sell it or lend it, and personally I found Black Flag for $40 instead of the $60 it costs in the PS Store and I already have preorders for most games I want this year on discs, all cheaper than paying the PS Store price, and I’d say we’re helping to prove that people still buy discs even if it’s just a ‘game key-disc’.

Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s another “glitch” preventing physical games from earning trophies or some other BS.

And worse if you have the audacity to make an account in another region as you won’t be able to change it ever, did so back with the PS3 as my region wasn’t supported and still to this day there’s no way to change it, making a new account is not an option since all my purchases and trophies are tied on that account.

PlayStation Network really feels archaic compared to every other storefront nowadays, not to mention security wise being the most vulnerable to social engineering, it’s simply not nearly ready enough for it to be the only way games are distributed going forward.

@DennisReynolds Again you’re being so quick to jump at defending Sony and disregard any argument that you didn’t even read my main point, even assuming the 85/15 split is legit for all games (I insist it isn’t) there will be lost sales specially for first-party games as those are the ones that still sell millions of units on physical, so what will happen to first-party studios when game sales are not up to their expectations? Will they blame and punish the studio when Sony is the one forfeiting some sales?

And yes I and everyone on Earth knows the digital trend, and so what? Because of that we should cross our arms and do nothing? It’s not only the end of physical games but the start of a monopoly with the archaic PS Store being the sole way to buy games into 2028, if this is how’s going to be I’d rather be loud on my way out this ecosystem even if bootlickers find me obnoxious, as I said, no one is forcing any of you to click and comment on every article but Sony will not defend itself (literally as they’re hiding in cowardice).

@DennisReynolds Lol perfect example of the defense force being quick to disregard any argument, so now we will disregard a 3 year old leak as ancient and assume the official 85/15 split applies to all games and is not inflated even when many games nowadays simply don’t have any physical release, sure, sure, got any rewards from Sony yet?

Funny how the defense force are choosing to complain about others complaining instead of Sony’s BS, quick to dismiss any argument yet still clicking and commenting on every single article as if they’d be rewarded by Sony for trying to defend them, both hilarious and sad to read.

Here’s an idea for “yet another” article @get2sammyb, look how many Reddit posts are being deleted pointing out the true split between physical and digital sales for many first-party games from the Insomniac leak, it’s far from the inflated 85/15 split reported by Sony and some even still sell more on physical, it’s clear they don’t want to spread this information but it poses a more important debate, if a 2028 first-party game, let’s say Intergalactic, doesn’t reach the sales target will Sony punish the studio when they themselves are forfeiting 50% of potential sales by not having a physical release? With budgets as high and less sales overall they are putting their own studios at risk.

@Northern_munkey Not in my region but that might have to do with the lack of PS Direct, there’s only a handful of retailers that distribute them so they run out quickly or get scalped and has been like this since they launched it, I remember I couldn’t get any when I got my Pro and took the radical option to buy a slim PS5, removed the drive and sold it at discount as a digital console, I’m even thinking about getting a spare whenever I see it available.

I’ve always thought these things have artificial scarcity as there’s random weeks where it isn’t available anywhere, with these week’s news they all but confirmed it.

The true console war now is consumers vs shareholders…

@AdamNovice For once I hope they keep milking this, keep reposting these news to oblivion, don’t let people forget what they’re taking from us and keep being as loud as possible, it probably won’t change anything but at least we’ll not go down quietly.

@wildcat_kickz And how is providing alternatives “ruining businesses”? Is PlayStation now suddenly running at a loss because they still sell physical games? Come on, don’t make up some BS to help your argument.

In your ‘defense on reality’ what should we do then? Cross our arms, keep quite and collectively allow Sony to do whatever they want? Is it now “performative” to complain? Are we not allowed to ask for alternatives or call for to at least improve their digital policies?
It’s maddening when some get more upset at people complaining at Sony for some BS, than for the BS Sony is pulling in the first place…