Vertere

Ah Presidential hopeful Mr.Jean-Luc Mélenchon Where were you with meaningful legislation against PC Steam, Spotify and countless subscription services all killing physical media in a death by a thousand cuts. Another politician telling us the problem to which we are acutely aware yet offering no meaningful solution or proposal.

@get2sammyb Or just outsource it to a third party if they don’t feel its feasibly worth it. I guarantee some enterprising person will be able to develop an accessory drive for the PS6 as well as manufacture and ship physical games to order for the PS5/6 if officially approved by Sony.

@TheSingularity I don’t think anyone’s laughing, except maybe the very misguided. I’m all digital since the end of the PS3 era but physical media and a vibrant second hand market tether companies to pricing disparity. No one really wins if physical is abandoned irrespective of your format preference and less choice almost always isn’t beneficial especially for consumers.

@StrickenBiged I do understand what you’re saying but the distinction for the switch was made by the CMA during the Microsoft acquisition and was considered distinct in part to its lack of performance impacting title availability and thus not seen as a direct competitor. This has been contradicted in later cases by the CMA. Cloud gaming, auto renewal and with most titles now appearing on the Switch 2 that distinction would seem less applicable now not to mention new competitors etc. The CMA looked at its market dominance previously, and didn’t move forward as it’s really not as clear a cut case as the type against Apple, Googles, Microsoft’s etc. (I think some people confuse the current class action suit regarding platform pricing which has a decision pending although may provide better insight overall) I’m not sure dropping physical media would swing the needle enough to warrant an individual case. That said I’m all for regulators seeking or strengthening consumer protections if all media across all platforms is going digital, which unfortunately seems to be the case.

@StrickenBiged Not exactly. The antitrust suits against Apple are based on Apple’s dominance of the mobile market making it the de facto market for mobile. Sony restricting its own digital sales via its own devices wouldn’t be equivalent. For equivalence Sony would need to be seen by regulators to control the majority of the entire gaming market. Which isn’t the case due to software being available on PC, Nintendo, Xbox etc.

The problem with this situation is that we only know what we know. If along with the announcement for the PS6 they show an optional optical disc accessory that allows playback of PS1 to PS5 games on the PS6. That in theory allows physical media playback of every back catalogue forwards PS6, PS7 etc.
We just have no idea.
Admittedly it’s still a bit rubbish future titles won’t be physical but I’m not sure that part is really a shock. Microsoft have already indicated they are working on physical to digital solution. I think both companies know how important physical is to some of its customers.

@naruball Honestly there is a never a good time to tell people your taking away what they want. I really don’t think it matters PS6 or PS7, that would mean another generation of physical which clearly they don’t want to do. What would they be really waiting for? Instead of 85% digital sales waiting for 91%. We’ve been given date that probably coincides with the next system launch so it’s fair notice. I do truly hope that there is something prepared like external drive that allows generations of physical media to play or transfer to the PS6.

@ShadowRJ I don’t know if it’s quite that bad. Yes it’s unfortunate but this was writing on the wall when there was a digital only SKU PS5 at launch. It’s not great for anyone losing physical, second hand games keep digital prices in check. We don’t know what alternative is planned or prepared, if any. What we do know is next generation across the board is probably all digital. I’ll wait for the whole picture before throwing my toys.

Now’s the time Sony. Release a cassette Walkman and throw in a few tapes.

@Danloaded Makes me wonder what news they’re all getting ahead of.

@Yor-sama Honestly I wouldn’t worry too much until Sony release firm details themselves. We just don’t have enough information. Yes seems all digital is probable, it’s doubtful we’re going back to carts but we don’t know anything else about B/C or physical PS5 titles etc.

@kmtrain83 It’s true, Japan had strong physical sales but those days are looking over unfortunately. Even Nintendo the majority of sales are now digital and year on year saw 25% growth in digital. Worse still for physical media’s health is Nintendo plan to introduce 2 tier pricing, with digital games cheaper. I imagine the 2028 date will coincide with an all digital next gen console launch.

@8bitOG Bash Sony all you want but it’s a bit weird on an article about physical media evangelising Steam when one dropped physical media decades ago the other invented Bluray. So on balance who’s done more for the physical media industry?

Valve have given us a very convenient digital storefront but also introduced loot boxes, gambling and were early pushers of in game micro transactions so let’s not quite play the moral superiority card over those Studio Canal films in Europe.

@8bitOG Sorry what about Steam? Literally the company that pioneered digital only purchases. Along with a bunch of things people seem to only get angry about when it’s another company doing it.

@WhoderMan I really hope they put out an optional accessory that is a drive that plays PS1 to 5 discs.

I still think they’ll release a stand alone drive that plays PS4 and PS5 games. That said I’d pay good money for a device that plays PS1-5 discs that I can hook up to my PS6.

@SinglePlayer49 I understood the sentiment. Just highlighting the childlike enjoyment is still here and that it’s adults that think this way and let it affect their decisions or enjoyment. Kids can still go to shop pick up a game excited to go home and play it. I doubt many care if it’s an emailed code or disc that requires a download or even a Xmas card with virtual currency inside etc. It’s a completely different generation my friend and they genuinely don’t care about the delivery format type or let that factor affect their enjoyment of games.

@Fishmasterflex96 Of course not. It’s an industry wide issue, I’m just pointing out it’s not some unique Sony issue. With the dominance now of digital sales I’d imagine regulators will or should take a closer look. I understand most consumers don’t read the terms of purchase but I agree it’s disingenuous calling it a purchase or having a buy vs rent button when ultimately they may be the same thing.

@Fishmasterflex96 In fairness film rights expiring aren’t unique to Sony. It’s happened on most platforms. Apple even has listed guidance advice on its website. Basically saying if licensing rights are lost they won’t remove downloads from your device which is a bit of a rubbish solution.
I don’t know if it’s happened with games, I mean completely removing them. I have a few titles that are no longer for sale but can still view in library and download.

@SinglePlayer49 Hasn’t gone anywhere. Children don’t remotely care about the state of the industry or if a game is physical media or digital. They just enjoy what’s in front of them.

@Theamazing1 Zero chance the PS6 has multiple storefronts.

The handheld will obviously be digital only. Less complicated I guess without physical PS6 games. Does make me wonder how backwards compatibility will work with both devices.

@FuzzieGinge88 It’s just sad the sinking ship took down ABK with them.

@Yor-sama Agreed. 100% the more interesting product. Personally I’d be more than happy if they choose to spec and subsidise this product as the affordable offering.

@sonicmeerkat No I don’t think it’s always online. There is local multiplayer and I think it has some type of “episode mode” that’s playable offline. I believe what makes it a live service game is as you mention there is paid optional content drip, additional characters and stages etc.

@SoonForget So………you’re not buying Tokon after realising it’s live service. Then plan on playing other live service games whilst you wait to see how much live service support Tokon will get?

Surely the fewer updates the better then it’s ceases to be ‘live service” and that is what you originally wanted - Sorry, I’m struggling to understand the logic.

@Yor-sama It’s not feasible to subsidise the console by that degree. If they were to sell half the amount of units of the PS5 with a 40% subsidy you are ten of billions in the negative which is more than twice the entire groups annual profits. The PS3 was the most extreme example with 3.3 billion in cumulative loss leading sales but component costs of the product life cycle decreased and there is no indication this is a reliable base case assumption anymore currently. I agree they are going to have to subsidise the product but there is info no chance of a 40% discount.

@Skinny-Pete it’s actually very important if the Xbox is selling an eighth of PlayStation. GTA5 does not support cross play and Rockstar have made no comment on the next online version cross play policy. Regardless the long term financial implications are extremely significant considering GTA Online does over a million dollars a day in revenue.

@SoonForget So you’re cancelling your order of Tokon after realising it’s live service. Then plan on playing other live service games whilst you wait to see how much live service support Tokon will get?
Surely the fewer updates the better then it’s ceases to be ‘live service”.

@PuppetMaster No they are cancelling their order because it’s being supported. It will be safe to buy in 5 to 10 years.

@Robocod it was Shuhei who originally greenlit Concord.

Live service games have been around for 25+ years, and currently dominate the charts. Probably about time some people got over it. Just because it’s popular doesn’t inherently mean it’s bad or of a lower quality or value. The live service genre itself is pretty broad, you have everything from sports, fighting games to mmorpgs. Live service games are high risk but It would be shockingly poor strategy and negligence on Sony’s part to ignore them. This doesn’t mean first party studios won’t make traditional single player games as there is clearly demand.

@knight_spg If Sony funds the project it’s not third party. Tokon isn’t a 3rd party title it’s 2nd party as was Helldivers.
3rd party the most Sony could do is pay a fee to either make exclusive or market the game but this makes no sense in the live service segment.

@knight_spg I’d love a new Killzone by Bungie. Anyone in fact at this stage.

It’s weird some view console price hikes simply as corporate greed. If Sony or Microsoft could sell you a $200 console that would be an upgrade from its current console they’d absolutely do it in a heartbeat. It’s not a hardware profit led business model, shifting 200m units is far more profitable long term. The manufacturers of RAM on the other hand.

@thechetearly it’s not quite so simple as hit the delay button, otherwise I bet they would. They lock in supply and manufacturing orders years in advance, delaying means losing the production slot and who knows when and at what prices it can secure them again. It costs a lot to delay production as well.

@Lizuka You may be right. It happens I guess. I think Joe Ziegler after taking it over has done a phenomenal job getting it out the door. The team post launch has been fantastic with response communication and updates. No matter how polished a product is doesn’t guarantee success if it’s the wrong time, waves has passed, or caught up events outside its control.

@Weebleman I understand the sentiment but it’s not really reflective of reality. There are of course acquisitions as you suggest where “synergies” ( I apologise) of financially stable companies result in job cuts. Then there are acquisitions like Bungie’s. Bungie was so poorly financially managed if not the purchase by Sony or another company this headline would be two years old by now. Sony managed to give Destiny a couple more years and get Marathon out the door. Hopefully Sony have enough confidence left for a smaller team to spin up a new project.

@LifeGirl Destiny had to support itself, which it clearly wasn’t doing. Bad management, unpopular development decisions, player numbers nosediving after The final Shape. None of this is attributable to Marathon.

@Boxmonkey It’s the same industry it’s ever been. I’m not sure optional cosmetic skins are really that bad. I think we’re in a better place generally. Games used to be far worse value and weren’t much cheaper decades ago. The real predatory transactions were Ghost n’ Goblins arcade machines and the number of quarters they chewed through.

@CheesyOatcake Think you nailed it with “ void of imagination not opportunity”. The sheer number and diversity of games available is astounding. From the most polished AAA games, F2P and independent offerings is the best it’s ever been. Some people have no idea where we’ve come from.

@Max_the_German But they are absolute shovelware. The only people buying this rubbish is trophy hunters and unfortunately people who were duped. The entire point of the PSN store is a curated collection of games. There should be a minimum quality bar to clear. This isn’t steam.

@MrGawain Fair enough, I’m not trying to sell you a PS6 and never proffered any suggestion on buying one.
I’m honestly more than happy with the graphics of games these days myself. For Sony to convince me to purchase a PS6 it would be content driven not technologically. If there is a new exclusive FromSoft title or an Uncharted, Killzone etc. it would be attractive offering.

@wildcat_kickz I tend to agree with you based on this generation. A very high hardware price coupled with long cross generational release windows makes me wonder if they could shift nearly as many units. Ultimately it’s on all hardware makers next generation to demonstrate why we should upgrade. I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t buy a $1000 PS6 if it launched with Bloodborne 2, a new Killzone with crazy path tracing technical effects that excite me about technology as much as the games. It’s the same as I feel about Switch 2, I don’t see anything worth buying but all that may change when a new 3D Mario drops.

@MrGawain It’s not so much PlayStation abandoned smaller Japanese quirky games it’s that the market developed and opened up. Which we should probably celebrate rather than nostalgically lament. There are more indie studios and small teams producing games than ever, including Japan. Sony produced those because they had too. It’s natural progression for Sony to want to focus on a segment where they can better compete than in a crowded indie segment. Don’t get me wrong I love titles from Japan Studio but a lot of their output was also co-developed or published work like Rain, Mr Mosquito etc. Whilst Sony may produce fewer of these types of games, we are getting more of these types of games overall. Team Asobi are great and don’t forget there is still departments like XDev and all the regional Hero projects programs in China, India that have loads of smaller titles in development etc.

The cost of losing your manufacturing slot would be significant, any delay would presumably require an updated design. I’m also not sure they can afford to push it back. That said Sony aren’t selling just 10m units so have some buying power even in a crowed cash flush ai market.
Personally if the PS6 was launched as a handheld PS6 Vita and the home console released in 2028-2030 I’d be fine with it.

Herman, Marvel is great old stick and probably sells gangbusters but if you ready want to get the faithful on side. It’s very easy, directly after announcing the price of the PS6 immediately cut to trailers of 3 games. Bloodborne 2, a new Killzone from Guerrilla and a new Uncharted. Don’t be weird and make Killzone live service or Uncharted recast with people we don’t care about. This isn’t rocket science, it really can be as simple as giving your customers what they want and make one at least exclusive to the PS6.

@Yor-sama I’m not a fan much of Roguelikes but Saros was barely one honestly. Returnal yes but Saros was far more of a linear action game. It has settings that make it easy enough so your not suck repeating anything and can just enjoy the sublime gameplay.

@_Nightsever_ Sadly this is closer to the truth. There is nuance obviously but it appears Bluepoint wanted to try its hand as the live service segment after coming off GoW co-dev work. What I find incredible and this is on Sony, that no one said no. They are the parents and you don’t hand the keys of a car to a 10 year old and expect a smooth journey. Bluepoint were a great little Studio but why did they ever think tackling live service was leaning into their strengths.

@NerdyPaul I still don’t really understand this viewpoint. When you say you’re going all in on a PC handheld. How does this contribute to remediation of the issue you’re concerned about? Are you planning on solely buying games on itch.io? I agree job losses are always unwelcome and usually on management but not always. Sometimes global events or industry cycles happen.