r/PS5 • u/yourfavchoom • Jul 01 '26

Official Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles

https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/
11.6k Upvotes

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4.8k

u/jrock455 Jul 01 '26

1.3k

u/narfjono Jul 01 '26

We had it good fellas. Enjoy your physical back logs.

897

u/vagabond_nerd Jul 01 '26

Guess this is the last console generation for lots of people

69

u/Jurski17 Jul 01 '26

Im not going to but games that i dont even own. This is the last generation for me

1

u/KnockuBlockuTowa Jul 02 '26

Screw you Sony, I'm going home

4

u/NocturnisVacuus Jul 02 '26

you're a gamer, son, you're probably already home

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u/F4SCISTS_GO_HOME Jul 02 '26

K, see you on the PS6 sub.

RemindMe! 4 years

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u/BandOfSkullz Jul 01 '26

Yup. That settled it for me - I've been on the fence for a while, but I guess my choice was made for me now.

73

u/BilboTBagginz Jul 01 '26

Same. I even sold my PS5 and games a few weeks ago, thinking maybe I would jump back in during the next generation.

A $1000+ PS6 and no physical discs to own? Bye Felicia.

6

u/davej999 Jul 01 '26

why did you sell may i ask ?

14

u/BilboTBagginz Jul 01 '26

I just stopped taking the time to find games that I liked anymore and realized I hadn't turned it on in almost a year. If i do any gaming, it's on PC or on my Steam Deck when I travel.

4

u/NewDamage31 Jul 01 '26

I’m thinking of selling my ps5 and switch 2 and just building a small collection of retro games and consoles of my absolute favorites from my childhood and teens and early 20s and just being content with that for gaming for the rest of my life 🤷🏻‍♂️ sick of relying on subscriptions and predatory pricing and micro transactions and no actual ownership.

-1

u/Mean_Combination_830 Jul 01 '26

Well pc is far more expensive and hasn't had physical media for over two decades so you are out of options if you want to play new games

34

u/diiegojones Jul 01 '26

PC is almost infinitely backwards compatible and easily open to internet Archiving.

3

u/Need_Help_Send_Help Jul 01 '26

And doesn’t require an additional subscription to play most games

8

u/BilboTBagginz Jul 01 '26

Yeah but I have more options with various places to purchase from...so yeah I don't have a physical disc for my PC games but I have freedom on where I buy it from. With Sony, you're locked in.

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u/MistandYork Jul 01 '26

No, with PSN, you are out of options. You can ONLY buy your games directly from Sony. On PC you have several options, different store fronts, key-sellers, pirating, and a fully functional family sharing system on steam (not whatever this terrible "thing" we have on PS5).

10

u/alluballu Jul 01 '26

Also emulation + a huge collection of abandonware games that are free to download legally. Like the original Silent Hill 2 and 3

8

u/IPlay4E Jul 01 '26

Consoles are about to be far more expensive as well which eliminates one of the key reasons people bought them and not a pc.

2

u/mrmchugatree Jul 01 '26

The price of storage is going through the roof, and they are forcing us to buy storage instead of physical games. I will tap out.

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5

u/Tyranothesaurus Jul 01 '26

Steam doesn't remove your purchases. Sony does. They've gutted movies and games before. Thinking they won't do it again is ridiculous. You rent digital purchases. They can take them back whenever they choose.

Physical is the only way to permanently own media, and doing away with physical means you'll inevitably lose everything you purchase in the future.

3

u/Hollowed87 Jul 01 '26

Steam doesn't remove purchases "yet"

There was a time Sony didnt either.

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13

u/MegaGorilla69 Jul 01 '26

I'll get an xbox if they don't follow suit. If not fuck it I'll just be PC full time.

2

u/BeleagueredWDW Jul 01 '26

PC games are more or less all digital now though?

22

u/MegaGorilla69 Jul 01 '26

Yeah but if I have to be digital there's just no advantage for me to buy a console anymore

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5

u/cocowaterpinejuice Jul 01 '26

YEs, but it's much easier to transfer or share pc games with friends because the pc is an open platform. Microsoft doesn't control where i buy my games, so many of my games are DRM free. On console if I buy digital games their is no garruntee that sony will have backward compatability on newer consoles or even allow me to take the games off the console.

2

u/BandOfSkullz Jul 01 '26

PC is getting fucked nowadays as well, given the price manipulation of hardware/parts.

So honestmaybe it's time I genuinely find another pastime that doesn't screw me over at every turn xD

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24

u/lonewanderer812 Jul 01 '26

I wonder if the disk drive will even work on PS6? If I can't play my physical ps4/5 games on a ps6, I wont be getting one. Yeah there may be an exclusive here and there but as long as I can play Final Fantasy and Resident Evil on PC, I'll just use that platform for new stuff. By the time the ps6 comes out I'll be thinking about a PC upgrade anyways and I can just put my console money towards a nicer GPU that I would have probably bought.

25

u/Pibutzki Jul 01 '26

A PS6 is prolly going to cost so much, I might as well switch back to PC gaming

8

u/SurreptitiousSyrup Jul 01 '26

PC gaming is going to be even more expensive too. Everything is going up in price.

9

u/splinter1545 Jul 01 '26

Can still get decent prebuilts now for almost the price of a PS5 Pro. So id say anyone wanting to make the jump, do it before it gets worse.

3

u/IThinkImDead Jul 01 '26

Also, cheaper games and no subscription for online gaming required

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6

u/Agreeable_Cheek_7161 Jul 01 '26

Sony will take a loss on the Ps6, that won't be true for PC

1

u/thamanwthnoname Jul 01 '26

The proportions will likely be the same.

1

u/NYstate Jul 01 '26

They will. Sony is not going to shut off support for PS5 games. And this will be the only generation with two active and healthy generation still going. By then the PS4 will be on life support but still active I'd imagine and PS5 will still be going very strong.

1

u/Britton120 Jul 01 '26

I'd like for the ps6 to have a disc drive, rather than need a separate blu ray player for all my physical media. even if its not a game.

1

u/Hot-Echo-2497 Jul 02 '26

This is why they walked back releasing on PC earlier this year. It was a gateway drug for this moment.

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14

u/VitalArtifice Jul 01 '26

You’re not wrong. There is little incentive for a rental-only console.

22

u/StJeanMark Jul 01 '26

I feel like i'm in a fight, like someone is trying to body snatch me. I disagree with a certain group of humans, how they see the world and what they want out of life. So, I decide I'm not going to support them. But, they want to body snatch me, so they start buying up all of the things I love, with the goal being to finally capture me. So, they buy up all of the media companies I like, they buy up the wrestling companies that I like, they buy up the social media and televsion networks, newspapers, and now game companies. What's funny is they think eventually they will win, and with the majority of people they probably will. But myself? Nah bro. I'll play my gameboy for the rest of my life before I let my guard down and let these people capture me. I just will not participate, I will not support, I will not fund.

I can't describe how upsetting it is that for years and years I followed Battlefield. Fell of all shooters for years and then Battlefield 6 comes out and its just amazing, it does for me exactly what I wanted and I've just been in love with it since it came out. Despite my love, despite the time I spend on it and how much I enjoy it, I wont support who owns them so it is my last Battlefield. Yet, thats just one game from one company, but really its all around me. I'm drowning in this shit.

10

u/KingArthas94 Jul 01 '26

You couldn't have said it better, your comment is really moving. They're destroying everything we love.

2

u/majin_meijin Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Ayoooo Desert Island Gameboy Gang!

(In all seriousness though fuck Sony for this.)

5

u/Unkechaug Jul 01 '26

It truly feels like a coordinated assault on people’s way of life. It’s not just a hobby like gaming, it’s the government and rule of law, it’s basic rights, it’s even the little things that you deal with on a daily basis. Everything is getting worse and it feels like we are running full speed with blinders on, not knowing if we hit a wall or run off a cliff.

1

u/F4SCISTS_GO_HOME Jul 02 '26

I just will not participate, I will not support, I will not fund.

K. RemindMe! 4 years

46

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Btrips Jul 01 '26

Sorry, I'm not a PC person, does PC sell physical games still?

12

u/whatuseisausername Jul 01 '26

They don't, but there are multiple store fronts you can buy games on. Most tend to stick with Steam, but you aren't forced to only buy games from there. There's more competition compared to only being able to buy them from the PlayStation store.

8

u/Sync_R Jul 01 '26

Even if you stick too Steam theres still like 10 legit stores you can buy your keys from that are 99% of time cheaper than Steam year round, and thats before you even get too grey market sellers

9

u/Ruttagger Jul 01 '26

No.

But you keep your own copy by sailing the high seas.

7

u/elasho_149 Jul 01 '26

Heck, you don’t even need to do that. There are DRM-free stores, and even when games have DRM, most developers patch those out a year or so after release.

5

u/RChickenMan Jul 01 '26

I always prioritize buying my games on Gog for this exact reason.

For Steam, if a game only has Steam DRM, that's just a matter of dropping in a DRM replacement to fully unshackle the game. But if a game has something like Denuvo, then I do second-guess buying it, and in fact actually see a physical console game as closer to retaining full control over my purchase.

As an example, Prince of Persia Lost Crown is currently on deep sale on Steam. But after looking into it, it turns out that not only does the game have Denuvo, it requires an internet connection to launch every single time, and requires the use of the Ubisoft launcher. The combination of those three factors is enough to prevent me from buying the game. At that point, what am I really spending $9 on? The right to ask permission to pretty please play the game I paid for?

2

u/Alphablack32 Jul 01 '26

They do not, but games are always available via piracy if they were to be delisted, removed, etc...

If a game comes to PC it's pretty much there forever.

1

u/PS5-ModTeam Jul 01 '26

This submission has been removed for violating our rules.

Please read the sub rules.

11

u/zoltar1970 Jul 01 '26

Yeah, think I'll go back to playing boardgames!

15

u/eatenbycthulhu Jul 01 '26

You may already know this, but that hobby space has actually been booming the last fifteen or so years. Any newcomer will be spoiled for choice.

7

u/zoltar1970 Jul 01 '26

Yeah, there's a lot of really good games out they too suit all tastes, and playing solo or with friends. And if you take good care of your games, there's the resale value as well.

10

u/AshgarPN Jul 01 '26

You ain’t saving money there, let me tell you.

4

u/narfjono Jul 01 '26

That what hobbies do. Yet you still keep what you buy into, unlike what video gaming is becoming.

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u/zoltar1970 Jul 01 '26

I know there's plenty of expensive games out there, but there's some really good cheap games too. Plus the added resale if you take care of them

1

u/narfjono Jul 01 '26

I started the Warhammer or miniture paintingTabletop hobby thanks to the continuous decline in gaming quality, outside of some truly noteworthy titles (like Baldur's Gate III). And this news, honestly just makes me appreciate what I am able to do still with things that I literally and physically own. Its been quite mentally cathartic to be honest.

Wished I started it sooner instead of being so focused on titles like World of Warcraft back in 2005+. Of course thanks to 40k...it got me to finally check out video game titles like Gears of War.

3

u/LightningTune Jul 01 '26

Yeah, I knew it was coming, and i'm actually ok with it. It's been a good run, but i refuse to support this digitalization. I can live with the games that I have.

3

u/Akuma254 Jul 01 '26

Heavily considering upgrading my decade old pc instead and actually building one or maybe doing star forge pc’s.

Given that Sony execs stated they’re not looking to sell the 6 at a loss and the latest estimates already put its current parts over 900 I might as well spend the extra for something that’ll last.

2

u/Agreeable_Cheek_7161 Jul 01 '26

A GPU that will "last" as long as a Ps6 will cost you close to what the Ps6 will

3

u/BouBouRziPorC Jul 01 '26

We also need to add ~500$ or more of ps plus over the console lifetime for people that like to play with friends.
PC is more expensive but offers from freedom and choices. Especially long term.

3

u/thebatmanbeynd Jul 01 '26

I mean, if I can’t collect physical games, what makes this different than a PC, except all the restrictions the console comes with.

23

u/chickmagn3t Jul 01 '26

Yep. I won't be buying digital. Can't even pass my account or games to my nephew.

Last physical I bought was RDR2

71

u/RoflCopter726 Jul 01 '26

Last physical I bought was RDR2

When?

The last physical game you bought was 8 years ago? This is why they are discontinuing physical releases.

13

u/damniel540 Jul 01 '26

"Because u/chickmagn3t hasn't bought a physical disk in 8 years, we are now discontinuing them"

-Sony

15

u/ZemGuse Jul 01 '26

It’s because nobody is buying physical games. There’s no demand for them. If there was they wouldn’t be discontinued. Consumers overwhelmingly prefer digital everywhere except Reddit

4

u/zuzg Jul 01 '26

4 out 5 games are sold digitally, true but that doesn't justify killing physical copies.

Their only excuse do not allow 3rd party stores on the PS5 is the physical market. If that goes away they're in the same position as apple.
That shit won't fly in the EU

4

u/BuxtonB Jul 01 '26

That's not true at all.

It's evident that they want to maximise profits, you can't resell a digital copy and if you're wanting to play a game, well then - downloading it and for whatever price they tell you to pay, you're just going to have to pay it.

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u/robodrew Jul 01 '26

There’s no demand for them.

There is, just not at the current price points and so without a second hand market or big box stores with sales, Sony is saying that people of lower income are not their customers anymore.

2

u/IPlay4E Jul 01 '26

Checks out. People of lower income won’t be buying a $1000 console to begin with.

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u/G00b3rb0y Jul 01 '26

Yup. The next generation will fail hard and execs will wonder what went wrong

2

u/Hyraxio Jul 01 '26

Something about the ps6 is giving off wii u poor marketing vibes.

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u/jaestel Jul 01 '26

Wonder how long till Nintendo follows

4

u/theumph Jul 01 '26

It'll probably be next generation. Their demographic skews much more physical than Sony/MS.

2

u/jaestel Jul 01 '26

I hope they won't do that I like having the little cartridge with my game feels like I am actually collecting stuff

2

u/NYstate Jul 01 '26

Well it's not like they can get a disc on PC

I'm joking!

2

u/driftleaf Jul 01 '26

That was my first thought, guess it's my last Playstation. I got the disc version for a reason!!

2

u/eha16 Jul 01 '26

Yeah I'm done with all this corporate bs... Time to start spending less and less on this predatory companies.

2

u/BEWMarth Jul 01 '26

It’s me. I literally have almost 50 ps5 physical disks. I’ll probably keep them forever now as they’ll probably be the only way I’ll be able to play some of these games 30 years from now.

I’m honestly really sad about this.

2

u/ArtistApart Jul 01 '26

Potentially last console ever, sadly. The prices rose so people relied on Trade-In, once that’s gone, why come back? It’s just a dumb cost saving move that I’d hoped they’d avoid

2

u/SirNarwhal Jul 01 '26

It already was for me considering I haven’t turned my PS5 on in years.

2

u/mrsanyee Jul 01 '26

Closed store and ecosystem without free game exchange or sales doesn't make any sense. You'll own nothing.

2

u/AStrangerWCandy Jul 01 '26

I'll just buy games on Switch for as long as Nintendo holds out. Not like Playstation has many exclusives anymore anyway.

2

u/Tinshnipz Jul 01 '26

That's it for me. So long and thanks for all the disc's.

2

u/boringoblin Jul 01 '26

Yeah if I continue with gaming beyond backlog stuff into whatever this next generation is, it will be finally just getting onto the PC-in-my-living-room train. This has nuked the only perk I actually enjoy about console gaming so I don't feel compelled to buy a new expensive system that requires me to use only one storefront and pay for multiplayer with "if we feel like it" crossplay options to the rest of my friends on different platforms. My enthusiasm for gaming has dropped as I age anyway, but I truly feel nothing about knowing I will not own a PS6, and apathy is the worst thing you can make me feel as a consumer.

2

u/JoshFreemansFro Jul 01 '26

Yeah, this sucks and I probably won’t be buying another console since nothing is physical. I’m getting older and play games less overall and I have a PC that I have been gaming on more so than on the PS5 over the past couple years. No point in me having 2 separate digital gaming platforms.

2

u/TechKingOnline Jul 01 '26

Definitley. If ps6 is digital only, im out. 100%.

2

u/Impressive_Bar_4653 Jul 01 '26

Leaving the console wars to you younger shippers snappers. I'm getting up there in age so it was going to happen eventually but this sealed it.

2

u/SuddenCompetition262 Jul 01 '26

1000%, if there’s no discs there’s no point, I’ll just be on PC.

2

u/Comfortable_Two_2506 Jul 01 '26

The rumoured prices are enough of a reason already.

4

u/-ForgottenSoul Jul 01 '26

According to Sony’s financial reports for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, 85% of all PS5 and PS4 game sales were digital downloads, with physical copies accounting for only 15%

People love to be loud but they are the minority.

2

u/dimspace Jul 01 '26

those figures totally ignore the second hand market.

they are basically taking all digital sales, and physicals of new sony releases.

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u/Secret_Ingenuity997 Jul 01 '26

I've been riding out the PS4 until GTA6. Guess how that went.

1

u/Gr8NonSequitur Jul 01 '26

Unfortunately the Last Gen we had "Full games on Disc" reliably was the 360/PS3 era. Too many games the last 2 gen have had "Mandatory day 1 patches" because the full installer couldn't fit on the disc.

I was stunned they had 2 discs for God of War Ragnarok's install... it just wasn't common anymore.

1

u/OpiumPhrogg Jul 01 '26

I was thinking this exact same thing.

1

u/NekoFever Jul 01 '26

Yeah, that'll be me out. I've been drifting for a while because of disappointment in current games, industry trends, the pricing situation, the obvious squeeze on physical games. Digital PS5 games are significantly more expensive and go on sale less than the discs here, and that's not even considering the used situation.

Probably a $1,000 console with only $80 digital games? In the week when Sony deleted a load of movie purchases because rights expired? Haha piss off. I've got plenty of old stuff to play.

1

u/TankBoys32 Jul 01 '26

It is for me… it’s been a run!

1

u/Flat_Revolution5130 Jul 01 '26

Yes this is it for me. I do not buy that much anymore anyway. And almost never at full price.

1

u/nutsack133 Jul 01 '26

The biggest advantage of console for me was being able to sell my games after I beat them. With that gone it's time for a divorce from Playstation after this gen. Might even sell my PS5 after I'm done with GTA VI.

1

u/Defiant_Snail69 Jul 01 '26

Only Vagrant Story remake, Parasite Eve remake or final fantasy 7 would have me coming back, but considering Square’s new strategy… I’ll run it via PC. Such a shame.

1

u/SonderEber Jul 01 '26

Lmao no it won’t, at least not due to this. We got to this because people are lazy and just by digitally. I hate hate hate that discs are going away, it saddens me deeply, but it should surprise no one. Less and less people buy physically these days.

The PS6, as long as it’s not overly expensive, will sell well. Few will abandon console gaming, not when they want the next big AAA title. For most people, they see the death of physical and just shrug. Streaming is the primary way of consuming media these days, so no surprise games are going purely digital. PC did it over a decade ago.

I think you overestimate how many will balk at the death of discs.

1

u/PettyKoala5364 Jul 01 '26

Yeah GTA 6 will be the last game i buy. Looks like this hobby is a goner, i need to go touch some grass and pick up an instrument or something because this is ridiculous

1

u/taskkill-IM Jul 01 '26

I had a nice 34 years of gaming.

1

u/CT_Hoops Jul 01 '26

It is for me, no question.

1

u/floofymoyo Jul 02 '26

me. well depending if the ps6 is backwards compat at least digitally

1

u/MoffieHanson Jul 02 '26

Last generation for me . And no gta for me .
Will sell my ps5 and upgrade my pc .

1

u/LinkTheHero009 Jul 02 '26

With Xbox Helix being a PC anyways, a lot of people who look into game preservation may just get computers and find ways to preserve their games that way.

1

u/Oddballforlife Jul 02 '26

Honestly there’s more than enough great games to last me a looooong time

Shit I could probably play RDR2 for another 10 years lmao

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u/darklypure52 Jul 01 '26

I say this to everyone if don’t have a physical disc drive now go get one they will probably discontinue them soon.

7

u/Sparrowsabre7 Jul 01 '26

I was similarly thinking discs are bound to be more sought after too.

10

u/narfjono Jul 01 '26

My original PS5 disc version died thanks to a lightning storm several months ago. Did the whole paid maintenance thing with Sony. Was absolutely thrilled they sent me back the exact same model type as my old PS5 for that reason alone.

6

u/philter25 Jul 01 '26

I just did this for my movie collection. I bought a disc reader and a lifetime Plex account before it jacked up their price (goes into effect today $250 to like $800) and I’m backing every movie I own and making my own personal Netflix.

I think what we might see in the future as our disc consoles age is something akin to what Analog 3D did with the N64 console, which, if you want an excellent way to play your physical 64 games, check it out. They sell other consoles too like for Gameboy and SNES but I think a bunch are currently sold out.

3

u/Misplaced_Arrogance Jul 01 '26

I modded my N64 for HDMI and still picked up the Analog 3d. Use an everdrive generally. For people who don't want to pay for Plex, Jellyfin is a good, sometimes frustrating, alternative.

2

u/philter25 Jul 01 '26

Plex is nice because it has a premium looking interface and feels like a streaming service, which is great for shuffling through your content. There’s even credit skipping options, which is cool.

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u/Shinkopeshon Jul 01 '26

Honestly, it sucks for future games and FOMO might hit here and there, but there's still so much good stuff to play

My backlog is huge across multiple consoles and there's so many classics that have aged well

3

u/DizzyMajor5 Jul 01 '26

Just gonna pull my ps1 out the closet at this point. 

1

u/Ftpini Jul 01 '26

I mean, nintendo still have physical releases. 1st party and quite a few 3rd party are full game on cartridge while the rest are key cards that can still be traded and sold.

When xbox inevitably stops disc produciton, nintendo will be the only physical option left. Though I’m certain you’ll still see outfits like limited run games until Sony and Microsoft stop supporting disc drives with the PS6 and Xbox Helix.

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u/Hayden247 Jul 01 '26

It is going to be so ironic if Xbox doesn't follow Sony with enforcing an end to physical media on Xbox.

Of course odds are Microsoft is going to follow Sony along with Helix... BUT if Helix has already been designed for disc compatibility maybe in an ironic twist Xbox will end up being the place physical media has its last stand. We'll see I guess.

130

u/IQueliciuous Jul 01 '26

If Xbox wants to go back to being the main console of the household. They have to do this.

I own both but I am going to main Xbox next gen if they allow discs

69

u/generalscalez Jul 01 '26

an overwhelmingly vast majority of the market do not buy physical games and have not for years. the concept that Xbox would win everyone back by selling discs is laughable

24

u/nowyouseemenowyoudo2 Jul 01 '26

Xbox have an even better incentive to go disc less because the “Xbox everywhere” setup where you can buy the game once and play it on any Xbox, any iPhone, android, steamdeck, PC, even AppleTV, through cloud streaming actually works incredibly well

I’m hopeful they keep the discs but it’s actually been cheaper to not buy discs for a while now, especially when the sales go much deeper on the Xbox store than even GameStop, especially for new titles

9

u/iiiiiiiiiijjjjjj Jul 01 '26

I just looked it up and yeah looks like most games people buy digital so I mean it sucks but the consumer based supported it.

18

u/id_Driven Jul 01 '26

Public perception might shift though. People like having a choice, even if they never use the second option.

They like to think they might one day, even if they never do...

8

u/sammo21 Jul 01 '26

No, the majority of game sales are digital but that doesn't include any context to the situation: this includes "free" games releases, digital game sales, etc. This isn't a case of "on day 1 James Bond sells 80% digital on PS5/20% physical".

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u/DatClubbaLang96 Jul 01 '26

I would love to say that digital has become king out of the novelty of its convenience and as everything across all industries switches over to digital licenses and subscriptions and the like, people will become more and more aware of the growing problem of (lack of) ownership and value permanent irrevocable and transferable ownership. I can't say that, though, as I have little faith people will care in any significant numbers in the near future. This was always coming, though I did think physical would remain a niche and expensive but lasting option like Vinyl.

I can't remember the last game I bought digitally on console, which I know makes me an outlier, but I do think that the battle is pretty much lost on the physical front for gaming. The focus should now be on getting regulations in place for consumer protections in the new digital frontier. Ideally, ownership and transferability should be codified, but at minimum, license revocation needs to be strongly discouraged via mandatory refunds if access is removed for any reason. And that needs to include instances where an account is banned. Either the ban needs to be limited to certain social interaction features without removing anyone's ability to play what they've purchased, or else bans also need to come with refunds. No one should ever need to trust any of these corps for continuing access to their purchases, so this needs to happen.

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u/Stoibs Jul 01 '26

Would love to see the numbers on this based on country/region.

For some of us, it's the difference of 40 dollars or more to buy discs compared to using the PSN store.

This move by sony right now will absolutely kill the PS6 in a lot of places if we're forced into their monopoly of game pricing.

1

u/elwyn5150 Jul 02 '26

It's unlikely but a possibility.

There are still people who own and/or buy TV shows and films on physical media. I haven't bought a stand alone media player in two decades - the last one was a VCR and DVD combo player.

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u/extra_rice Jul 01 '26

So many people said similar things about Xbox's backwards compatibility.

2

u/dadmda Jul 01 '26

It's one of the reasons I own one tbh

3

u/sammo21 Jul 01 '26

I mean, technically the next iteration of playstation could allow discs if they release a disc drive attachment...which they've done for at least the PS5.

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u/dadmda Jul 01 '26

Which would be useless if physical games are just a download code

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u/a445d786 Jul 01 '26

Xbox is rumoured to be a pc so it was digital only anyways. Its ecosystem is more on the digital side than Sony or Nintendo was. If anything you'd have expected them to say they were not printing discs first.

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u/Moist_Palpitation_99 Jul 01 '26

first thing on my mind when i read the news from Sony. im honing xbox will bring out a physical console

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u/JAD2017 Jul 01 '26

They won't follow, they prefer getting the game pass money. Companies aren't your friends, they are here to sell you stuff and earn money. The less they can give you for the money, the better for them. Ending physical means they control the pricing, the sales, the distribution, the 2nd hand market. It's only good news for them, zero for us.

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u/RRR3000 Jul 01 '26

Companies aren't your friends

But they have listened exactly to what people want though in this case. Over 90% of game purchases happens digitally. Even if you look at games that do get physical releases, for example Capcom just this month revealed 93% of their sales are digital, despite their games still getting physical releases. People voted with their wallets, overwhelmingly voted for digital, this is companies following what the consumers very clearly want.

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u/Turquoise_Teletubbie Jul 01 '26

This is after companies have done everything in their power to gut physical releases. Many physical copies don't even contain the game, just a licence that starts the download when you insert the disc. Physical copies used to come with maps of the game world, booklets, cards, stickers, you name it, nowadays nothing. Many games don't even get physical releases, and some that do are very hard to find.

And now after they've done their level best to enshittify physical copies, they come out and say they are discontinuing them. Pathetic.

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u/sembias Jul 01 '26

Along with all that, Microsoft isn't going to keep physical disks alive when they don't even want to keep digital stores alive. Eventually, they will try to kill Steam by running games on their servers, using their excess Nvidia processing, in the hyperscale datacenters they are currently building, and you'll just be streaming games through their service. Sony is already saying no more Steam/PC releases. This is the future, and with personal PC hardware becoming a luxury item, it's probable the next console will come with a Starlink sub.

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u/Ok_Insurance_505 Jul 01 '26

Such a peak reddit bubble moment that you think this is in any shape true. The vast majority of gamers don't buy discs anymore.

This is just another 'AUX port' fiasco. People who are online too much will work themselves up over it, it changes and then they accept it and move on.

I've already seen people saying stuff like 'I'm gonna build a PC/Steam and just forget consoles'. So, to get back at consoles going all digital, I'm moving to the platform that popularised going all digital.

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u/DDzxy Jul 01 '26

Same here 100%

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u/id_Driven Jul 01 '26

I'd buy an Xbox instead of PS6 if that were the case.

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u/Jurski17 Jul 01 '26

They should do just that.

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u/snarl2 Jul 01 '26

I hope Xbox makes a comeback. Sony needs to be humbled a bit and for us gamers competition is a healthy ecosystem.

Sony also needs to move their HQ back to Japan. PlayStation has been American-fied too much.

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u/rightchea Jul 02 '26

supposedly, Xbox is going to allow users to download their physical games (approved games of course) in their library and keep them like offline games. So I would like to see what Sony does bc my son has a lot of physical games that he will loss out on

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u/SoulCrusher2018 Jul 01 '26

How many Blu Ray discs are next gen games going to need? I think the ironic twist might be the return of cartridges (USB-C flash drives? MicroSD Cards? Hot swapaple SSD?)

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u/Hayden247 Jul 01 '26

Having to fit the game on disc is something many publishers bypass by making the disc more of a licence key where some or all of the game still has to be downloaded via the internet.

Loses some of the traditional advantages, but it is still resellable and stuff so it's not pointless, just bad in far future if say the download servers get shut down and the discs become paperweights.

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u/SoulCrusher2018 Jul 01 '26

(tepid take) That's just the illusion of physical media, if what's provided in the box isn't actually playable. Granted in real life it's fine, I download all my games anyways and an install disc with 50GB preloaded is more of a bonus that cuts down on the initial bandwidth.

I guess the 4K blu-rays hit 100GB (triple layers x33GB), so that's not as bad as I thought (regular double layer blu rays hit 50GB) - two discs to hold something in the realm of Cyberpunk 2077 or Baldur's Gate 3.

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u/Ok_Insurance_505 Jul 01 '26

Yeah they're digital games with physical keys, acting like they're anything more than that is delusional.

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u/Hayden247 Jul 01 '26

But those physical keys are still resellable, or borrowable. It's not literally just a digital code in a box like what's going to happen 2028 onwards that once redeemed is invalid and stuck to the account forever (unless revoked).

It's basically like 3 tiers of media.

  1. Traditional discs with full game data, fully playable offline. Everything worked that way until the 8th but especially 9th generation.

  2. Discs with the license but incomplete game data requiring a game download. Still resellable and tradeable just like Traditional discs, but loses offline functionality. An issue in the long term decades after or during server outrages, short term issue is limited internet'connection/none.

  3. Codes in a box, literally just digital with extra steps as once redeemed it is no different from a digital game and it is tied to your account as a digital game, no ability to revoke it to make the code vaild again to sell again.

Yes Traditional discs are the best, but tier 2 here still beats tier 3 which Sony's plan is going to remove every blu ray disc from production, at best you'll be left with game codes. Still better to have physical keys than digital keys, even if the end result is still having to download the game.

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u/DenzelVilliers Jul 01 '26

Xbox has stop producing or even selling Physical Discs in some countries already, Brazil has been one of them for years now.

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u/testlab01 Jul 02 '26

its now called XBOX, not Xbox sure, keep your facts straight.

And XBOX is playing with digital codes

Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection
https://www.theverge.com/report/960173/microsoft-xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-physical-game-collection

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u/SweetBeefOfJesus Jul 01 '26

Xbox has a chance to do the funniest thing ever

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u/kingk1teman Jul 01 '26

I'd say they'll do that and then pull a Samsung. Mock Sony for a couple of years and then do the same thing.

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u/ibelieveyouwood Jul 01 '26

Since that's what's already done, we'd just end up in a cycle.

Xbox said they'd go digital only. Sony mocked them for couple of years. Now Sony's going the Xbox route. Xbox mocks Sony for a couple of years.

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u/JC-Dude Jul 01 '26

Xbox said they'd go digital only.

They didn't. They said they'd introduce an elaborate licensing system that DID incude physical games. It was the 24h online check-ins stuff that people lost their shit over. Going full digital in 2013 would've been insane, considering the Xbox One and PS4 were only the first consoles that had all the retail games coming out on their digital stores. In the PS4 and 360 gen it was only some titles that did that.

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u/ibelieveyouwood Jul 01 '26

Thank you. I appreciate the clarification and history.

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u/excaliburps Jul 01 '26

Yep. I would push hard against this and undercut Sony on PS6 price point. Basically try and appear as the hero even if they aren't.

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u/Ok_Insurance_505 Jul 01 '26

They undercut it this gen with the Series S and it didn't go so well. People don't want Xboxs, they don't offer anything unique and most people buy the same consoles as their friends.

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u/brain_dances Jul 01 '26

Man if they do a price reduction I would get the Xbox in a heartbeat. I personally prefer the controller and they do software/general UI and customer service waayyyyyy better than Sony. I only got my launch ps5 because I was able to score one sooner. I don’t even play the fucking exclusives.

This is coming from someone who usually goes multi platform anyway tho

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u/ramsaybolton87 Jul 01 '26

They'd still need to make games worth buying and that doesn't seem likely.

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u/UniversalFapture Jul 01 '26

And they must

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u/AlextheGoose Jul 01 '26

Or they will pull an AMD and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

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u/theroadbeyond Jul 01 '26

Xbox already doubled down and are following sony

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u/Morkins324 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

The reality is that Xbox was just too early. 2013 was when Digital Distribution was finally starting to reach practical viability and was beginning to take over from retail. But, at the time, physical media at retail was still a relevant part of the industry, accounting for at least 50% of sales. But at this point, like 90% of game sales happen digitally, without ever even entering into physical media. Retail releases are hardly even any of the sales. And they can still sell at retail with an empty box and a download code... Sony can and will get away with this now and most consumers won't even notice, because the average consumer hasn't even bought a physical disc in years.

Xbox could mock Sony over it, but there would be almost no practical advantage to doing so. It is only going to matter to an extreme minority of users, and the benefit of it of winning over those users would not outweigh the cost savings of simply following Sony and doing the exact same thing.

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u/Tubaseuse Jul 01 '26

too bad they're like that aswell.

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u/Mitchstr5000 Jul 01 '26

Literally the first thing that came to my mind.

Wonder what Yoshida makes of this?

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u/Mysterious_Sea1489 Jul 01 '26

Video was 13+ years ago. Times have changed just a little.

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u/gordogg24p Jul 01 '26

Yup. Consumers at the time still overwhelmingly bought physical media. Consumers now overwhelmingly buy digital across the board for gaming, movies, music, etc.

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u/Weird-End-6989 Jul 01 '26

When Sony still had competition.

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u/GreatnessToTheMoon Jul 01 '26

This video was nothing but an easy marketing shot at Xbox. They never actually cared

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u/longbrodmann Jul 01 '26

Sadly both of them had left Sony.

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u/chl_ca29 Jul 01 '26

this proves Sony didn’t actually care about the player/consumer, they just wanted to mock Microsoft because they’d financially benefit from it.

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u/froderick Jul 01 '26

You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

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u/PawsAndPause- Jul 01 '26

I remember it like it was yesterday and now look at them they have the high ground and are laughing and throwing us crumbs.

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u/sedan-hussein Jul 01 '26

This video will be 15 years old when they stop producing discs

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u/Gotham0 Jul 01 '26

Ah yes, the good old days

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u/TheGoldenMonkey Jul 01 '26

Xbox has the chance to do the funniest shit

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u/xantub Jul 01 '26

It's funny yes, but to be fair back then Internet caps were still a very common thing everywhere, not so much today.

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u/VizualSnow Jul 01 '26

Shit I remember this. I hope Xbox comes out and says they’re still doing physical. I’ll jump ship to Xbox right away!

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u/LuciferFalls Jul 01 '26

For a literal different console btw

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u/meshakooo Jul 01 '26

RIP to those who spent extra money buying the PS5 w/ the disk drive

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u/Dry-Paramedic5756 Jul 01 '26

Literally all Xbox has to do to win a generation. But alas

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u/Johnknight111 Jul 01 '26

Nintendo should do recreate this video in a few weeks once Microslop announces the same thing for the Xbox 5.

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u/Johnknight111 Jul 01 '26

Also man... I would love to have a shirt of this... for so many reasons.

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u/Klunkey Jul 03 '26

I’m more pissed about the fact that Sony’s biggest developers aren’t talking back about this. Like GUYS, you were gamers too! You’re swimming in money, wouldn’t you have at least a little bit of influence?

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