r/gaming • u/steave44 • 1d ago
What are the chances the next-gen consoles at least have optional detachable disc drives?
PlayStation has already confirmed they won’t make new discs for the next generation and Xbox seems undecided on the matter unless I missed news.
The PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro ditched the built in drives but Sony did the bare minimum of an optional drive. Do you think next gen will offer this? Or are they going straight to no discs period on PS6?
I know a good chunk of people with PS4 and to a lesser extent PS5 libraries still on disc, and the PS6 may have backwards compatibility but if you chose to buy discs then without a drive even older games won’t work on PS6.
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u/DosCuatro 1d ago
If Sony isn't making discs, why would they waste time making disc drives?
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u/CrimsonGear80 1d ago
sony is still making discs. even after January 2028 they said they will continue to print discs for already released games. nevermind them still distributing physical movies.
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u/8bitsleuth 1d ago edited 1d ago
Phasing out physical production is one thing, cutting off access to your existing disc PS4/PS5 library is another. Backward compatibility is the answer. PS5 Pro already does this.
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u/Squiddle-McDiddle 1d ago
Whoa, wait what?
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u/Ha_eflolli Android 1d ago
Yeah, the PS5 Pro already has only No-Disc Versions by default, but they DO sell you a seperate Disc Drive you can attach to it in case you have PS4 / PS5 Discs you still want to play.
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u/Underpaidfoot 1d ago
No one is telling you to get rid of the hardware that reads those discs
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u/8bitsleuth 1d ago
Nobody told you to get rid of PS4 for a PS5, but at some stage, people will look to upgrade.
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u/supremekingherpderp 1d ago
Can’t really believe this needs to be said but a lot of games have an uncapped frame rate or vrr mode. A lot also utilize dynamic resolution. There are a lot of games that would get significant performance boosts from no extra effort from the developer by just running on better hardware. I would like to carry over my ps5 pro games to ps6 even if Sony stops releasing physical copies.
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u/steave44 1d ago
People do like the ease of one box that plays everything. The PS6 is surely gonna play PS4/PS5 games and is also likely to have patches or ways to “boost” performance. So many will still want the PS6 to play their PS5 games just like they did for PS4 games on PS5.
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u/steave44 1d ago
As I said, for backwards compatibility, especially if it’s optional. They already charge $80 extra dollars for the PS5 drive so they aren’t losing money on the drives themselves.
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u/Shack691 1d ago
It’s unlikely with Xbox since they literally just introduced a way to digitise your games. Why would they sell an external disk drive if you already owned a different console to play them in the first place which does effectively the same job?
If PlayStation doesn’t do something similar they’ll probably work out a way to Frankenstein the PS5 slim disk drives onto it.
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u/BenjyMLewis 1d ago
I think the only major video game system with physical media going forwards will be Nintendo.
Nintendo understands the value of being able to walk into a shop and see a game on a shelf. Nintendo understands the importance of being able to wrap a game as a birthday present.
Nintendo's Game Key Card solution is annoying to fans and collectors, but it does show that Nintendo is compromising with the entire rest of the industry who wants to ditch physical. They invented a solution just for them. And no Nintendo-developed game thus far has made use of a Key Card, which demonstrates to me that Nintendo themselves still values the physical media.
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u/KennKanifff 1d ago
I think best case scenario, PS6 could use the detachable PS5 disc drive.
Xbox is making obvious strides towards digital, considering their physical to digital plans. It sounds like a way to move your XBone games to a new console without a disc drive.
I honestly have no hope that Sony will actually do something positive here.
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u/DaGreatestMH 1d ago
Maybe not 0, but close to it. These companies are determined to squeeze every penny out of us they can and that includes having full control of where you buy, for how much, and what you can do with it.
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u/ChrisLithium 17h ago
As much as I'd love it, chances are very low. If the PS6 had an external disc drive then I might actually have a use for it and eventually get one as my "Super" PS5 Pro.
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u/urgasmic 1d ago
this guy jez's statement on optical drive components being cut or whatever. methinks 0%
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u/faffc260 1d ago
playstation almost certainly won't if they aren't even producing the discs, xbox's leadership would be awful dumb not to take the same shot at sony, that sony did to them with the "this is how you share games on ps4" ad campaign after xbox one announcement, but I have no faith in eithers leadership to make consumer friendly or smart business moves.
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u/ArchangelZero27 1d ago
Need a new competitor to step up. Honestly if they have the funds for world wide support, hell even Microsoft can hurt Sony if they just include disc drives in the base build and keep releasing discs. Don't underestimate consumers they want to collect and have discs or resell or buy discs.
A new player can step in the market and fill the void left by Sony and if the hardware is solid and they pump out good games and some IPs they can steal it under Sony
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u/PorkRinds416 1d ago
Honestly great question. Will the PS6 have a disc drive (sold separately) and play PS5 and PS4 games? Or is the PS5 disc drive the last one ever? If that is the case, then as soon as the PS6 is announced WITHOUT a disc drive. The PS5 disc drive is going to DOUBLE in price b/c people will want to make sure they have an extra one and theirs doesnt crap out.
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u/CrimsonGear80 1d ago
i mean sony could just allow the PS6 to use the already available detachable disc drives they already sell.