ShadowRJ

@tangyzesty I understand this is a small issue in the wider scope of the world, but some empathy for those effected would go a long way. I get that to you, this is a nothing story, but to people like me, this is something that’s going to take a long time to get over.

@Boxmonkey I care about the disc ☹️

Sigh, I guess the future of collecting really is codes in boxes at this point.

@PanFriedSoup yes there are many problems in the world today, but I can only speak to myself here….games are my safe haven. Physical games are my safe haven. And Sony is threatening to destroy said safe haven. You can’t expect people like me not to be upset by it.

@MrStark in this particular case, they’re using it to demonstrate that not even Xbox’s shenanigans have outweighed the mass criticism.

@Robinsad sadly by die hard fans, I believe they mean the ones who don’t actually care about the wider PlayStation landscape, but just buy every big thing they put out. The type of people who rave about how great God of War is, but have never heard of Ape Escape.

@nessisonett I can only speak to myself, but I never actually liked Ratatoullie all that much. It’s ok, but it’s no Monsters Inc or Incredibles.

@stocko Incredibles would be awesome. As for what else I think would make great Kingdom Hearts worlds...?

Atlantis
Inside Out
Brave
Finding Nemo
Moana
Coco
Wreck It Ralph

It's kind of hard, because mot of the recent Disney and Pixar movies don't translate well into a combat game imo.

@stocko What worlds would you include?

@KingPev I’m going to be the odd one out here, I loved KH3. I loved the level design, it was graphically gorgeous, the music was top notch, and I thought the game did a better job incorporating the Disney and SE elements.

The ending to Monstropolis made me laugh harder than any scene in Monsters U.

I don’t think Sony’s realised this yet, but every new conference like this is going to have gamers like me more afraid than excited.

“Will this highly anticipated game release before 2028?” That’s a big worry for me now.

So if the main selling point of buying this over simply buying the original games for a quid each was to not play on hacked servers, then I think I can safely say that if you really want to play the original Black Ops games, just get a preowned PS3 and copies of the games.

Every time I moan about Sony trying to destroy physical games on this site, I should remind myself that things can always be worse.

I can be a fan of Minds Eye.

@JustBusiness I think a lot of that has to do with Microsoft’s shocking marketing. I know blaming marketing is the go to excuse for games failing, but I swear Doom the Dark Ages was just released into the wild without any buzz at all.

The reason why this has gone under the radar is because Sony and Microsoft have both been so catastrophic this past month. Sony tried to promote it, but they got swarmed by an angry mob. This is the fate a lot of games may face the longer Sony try and keep silent over this.

No I’m not over it yet.

I don't get why people would buy this, when the PS3 disc probably costs like a fiver at most.

Actually I know why this is the case. A lot of people have sold their PS3s and are in the mood for some nostalgia. It's still a terrible deal though.

@CheesyOatcake yeah, you can probably tell by now that I treat games like physical objects. I like to love games, not treat them like disposable content. I suppose to me, I need the game to be in some way or form to be physical-ised or else…it’s hard to explain but….it’s as if the games doesn’t exist at all.

And no, I don’t think codes in a box are a good substitute.

@IllusiveMan I too believe that all Sony wants to do is to kill discs, don’t improve the store in any way, and if you want to move any discs to PS6….sucks to be you. You should’ve moved onto downloading game like normal people.

I suppose the one thing that they have done is give themselves more time to address the backlash. Something I’m hoping they’re doing, and not sticking their fingers in their ears going “LALALALALA I CANNOT HEAR YOU”

@CheesyOatcake I’m well aware of true ownership vs renting a license. It’s what stops me from being allowed to rip all the games’ files and dump them online.

I don’t think there is an open goal opportunity as you’re claiming. The removal of anything physical is still a net negative overall, so all Xbox and Sony can do on this front is promote who’s going to be the least awful about it.

And I also don’t think this is going to pass over as quickly as you think. There aren’t any big games being released until September, leaving July and August ripe for angry protests. I don’t see the no disc rants going away any time soon.

@8th_Observer they do, but the longer they wait, the longer the hate mob will linger around. I would’ve thought that Sony will want to eventually get back to being able to market things, as would their marketing partners.

@Oram77 I think if there’s one thing that everybody can agree on at this point, is that Sony need to communicate. They need to address things like transferring discs to digital licenses, how they’re going to improve the store, what they’re going to do for collectors, how digital rights are going to be improved.

The problem with that I suppose is that it requires Sony to actually say anything, which they don’t seem all that interested in.

To me, there are big things Sony need to address. One, the whole digital rights thing, and improvements to the PS Store.

Two. Find something better for retail than simply a code in a box. A USB key shouldn’t be too difficult.

Three. An apology for the completely garbage way that the initial announcement was made.

@CheesyOatcake I do agree that most people who I think that are complaining about physical going away don’t actually care about the ownership rights that deeply, or even ownership rights. I think a lot of us use that lingo because it is the more “correct” part of the problem to be mad about.

I think what us physical lovers secretly like about it the most is the idea that the game takes the form of a physical product that you have to insert into the machine in order to make the game work. I have no issue with owning Doom the Dark Ages on disc, even though it’s only like 75gb on it.

Ironically, I think the people who care a lot more about digital ownership are gamers who are already primarily digital gamers. Those are the ones who are theoretically under threat from Sony deciding to discontinue or flat out remove certain games. That’s the biggest problem I think Sony are going to have, especially if a new company gets hold of the Spider-Man license.

@CheesyOatcake in terms of solutions that will make everyone happy (well…happier) would be my USB stick idea, or for Sony to license out the creation of PS5/PS6 discs to boutique publishers, which can be read via external disc drives. That way the enthusiast collectors can still be left pleased, whilst the masses just download everything.

Regardless, I do believe that Sony need to come up with a better alternative to the code in a box retail method. Those don’t seem to appeal to anybody, collectors or otherwise. Of course this is all in Sony’s control, but I’m sure they’d like to get back to being able to market things without the hate mob following them around.

@REALAIS of course they will. They’re EA.

Well considering that Black Ops 7 has all the popularity of the current Italian football team, it’s not that much of a surprise.

@Bluemoon2008 it is a sports game, so to be fair, they probably did think they could get away with it

@CheesyOatcake I’m not saying that the outcry will work (as much as I’d wish otherwise). I’m saying that it’s stories like these that are going to motivate protestors to keep on going.

As for what I’m going to do when it all takes effect? Excellent question. I haven’t figured that out yet. It’ll depend on how/if the PS6 appeals to collectors, but we’ll get there when we get there.

Honestly I’d be fine with UsB sticks that allow you to download the game that you need to plug in every time you want to start the game, but I fear even that is too much to ask.

What we have here is a reason as to why the “don’t kill our discs” protests on social media are still happening. Here we have a title which generated backlash online with a bunch of protestors threatening to boycott, and a result has been taken.

Now this situation isn’t really like the physical games issue for a variety of reasons, but it’s stories like these which help fuel the protestors into believing they can make a difference.

Trying to finish Persona 1 with the good ending. On the final dungeon now, and it’s enormous. Hope to finish it by the end of today.

I fear that July 2026 will be remembered as possibly the darkest time to be a gamer. Regardless on your opinions on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo etc, you have to admit the atmosphere has been horrible, and not for unjustified reasons.

I know a lot of you are bored of the ongoing conversation, and I understand that, and for the sake of my own well being, I’m not going to say anything else on the subject that hasn’t already been said.

I’m not going to ask you to join a crusade you don’t believe in, but please understand that this is an emotional situation for a lot of us, especially for those in which physical gaming is something of a safe haven for.

Here's why Bethesda announced it so early:

Zenimax wanted a massive buyout, so in its last few years of independance, they did everything they could to increase the company's value.

They announced the sequel to Skyrim, and they had their premiere developers make live service games. That's why Redfall, Fallout 76 and Wolfenstein Young Blood were all developed. To increase the company's value when they were eventually sold.

@MrStark Thank you. While I'll be leaving this battle now, you're more than welcome to use what I said yourself, and that goes for everyone who agrees with me.

@Llamageddon Cheers. It's not you, it's not one individual, it's just, the general negativity of it all. I've done my bit to support it, but I'm going to not follow this controversy for a good while. All I can do is hope for the best.

@Slayer25c @dskatter @Porco @UltimateOtaku91 @Llamageddon @themightyant @Oram77 @CheesyOatcake

I wanted to let everyone know that from today onewards, I will no longer be posting about this topic. I think I've said my piece on the matter, and continuing to dwell on it has only made me more confrontational, and it hasn't been good for my mental health.

I think I've done my bit towards discussing my feelings on the topic here. Most of you regulers probably know what they are. All I want to say is that everything I said came from the heart and out of a place of love. Not out of jumping on the latest hate train.

@dwayne91 you might be right.

I think I need to stop being on gaming news for a while

@dwayne91 doesn’t matter. Most players don’t play them. Does that mean that they don’t matter at all to Sony?

Anybody who’s passionate about their hobby is in the vocal minority of that hobby, but that’s no reason to be silent.

@dwayne91 sorry, but I’m getting very sick and tired of “the vocal minority” excuse

If we only ever listened to what the majority said, then we’d all be playing Fortnite all day.

Want to know why Sony’s first party games are so cherished. THE VOCAL MINORITY!!!

I needed to get that off my chest

@themightyant we should use this image and send it again and again every time Sony tries to pretend we don’t exist

@Slayer25c why should we be ashamed about us trying to protect something that we like?

And for everyone who is spamming Sony with this KEEP DOING IT

Sony can't hide from us forever, especially as we're in the backlash to the backlash phase.

That is such a cowardly move. Do Sony really think people are going to forget this? I can guarentee you that by the end of the day, we will have loads of videos online lambasting Sony for being so ignorant and refusing to speak to their fans.

@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.

@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.

@MinervaX76 I'd love to see physical/digital comparisons between more casual games like Fifa and COD to games like Metaphor ReFantazio and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound.

@Titntin Ah...

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

Sorry

@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.

@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.

@NerdyPaul The logic is that the more bad publicity Sony get, the less attractive the PS6 becomes, which in turn does make it back to the Sony executives, and therefore course correct the ship.

That is the logic. Whether it works is on a case by case basis.

@Wizardweb collecting for investment's sake is a terrible idea. There is so much unpredictability and it often doesn't even make any sense (like the stock market)