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[Pagusas]

Nope, because every other competitor (Nintendo/MS) will follow. This is like saying apple ditching the headphone jack was going to hurt them. It didn't, and everyone followed a year or 2 later. Its sad, I don't personally buy physical media anymore, games are toys to me and my life doesn't revolve around them, but I do feel for the people who take them extremely seriously and feel like they've lost something.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I don't get it...Playstation will find out what exactly? And how do the Xbox decision in 2013 is the equivalent of this?

Digital sales were 90% on Playstation's latest quarters talking about only full games sales

When in 2013 Xbox tried to go all-in on DRM, , online checks for physical games, etc...90% of game sales were physical.

Playstation is following market trends while Xbox was going against them.

They are polar opposites to each other.

Do i want this to happen? Fuck no, i still collect physical games and i like to have options...but this is nothing like what happened in both those situations lmao.

 

[Geometric-Crusher]

This decision is unpopular; all it would take is for a company to capitalize on this mistake by Sony, the problem is that the market is acting cowardly. So, until a new challenger consortium emerges, we'll be relying on Sony—though not me; I buy digital games on PC for cheap and don't pay to play online.

 

[Vr46]

well, you live long enough to see yourself become the villain

 

[Hideous Snake]

I think they will be fine. People always move on

 

[lughnasadh123]

Backlash from the consumers driving this decision? This would make sense if the physical/digital ration was flipped. As is? Thinking there's going to be a mass exodus from the vocal minority is nonsense. What people should be doing now is pushing for better digital rights.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

If they find out it won't be from the lack of physical games, it will be by launching a $1000 console next year.


Nobody wants an overpriced console. The lack of physical games stings but it's a minor issue for most gamers, the real issue is the price of everything going up.

 

[rm082e]

...Xbox did found out in 2013...

There is a big difference between what Sony is doing here and what Xbox was pitching in 2013.

If Microsoft had gone to a one-use key that bound the license for the game to your account forever, that would have been like Steam and all other digital ecosystems, which were well established and mostly accepted at that time. But that's not what they were proposing.

Xbox wanted to have a one-time key system, but they wanted to create a back-door for GameStop to be able to unbind that key from your account so it was "returned" to the disc. That way the disc could be resold as used. Because a user could have a license unbound from their account, that meant they had to force the console check in with a license server to verify the licenses very often. If they didn't, then I could buy a single player game, install it on my Xbox, go offline, then sell the disc to GameStop and keep playing the game offline.

This is where the mandatory once-a-day online check-in idea came from. And the immediate question was "What happens if my internet is down? I can't play my offline single player game?" And the answer was yes - you would be locked out of playing your game. "What happens if Microsoft's license authentication server goes down and I can't check in, which has happened to Azure multiple times over the years?" Same thing.

I'm not saying a one-time use code isn't an issue for some people. I get that it is. But as someone who was totally comfortable with Steam back in 2012, what Xbox was proposing was completely unacceptable. Steam let's me go offline and continue to play my single-player games. Xbox was effectively going to block that ability.

And it was all in service of bowing down to GameStop, who were probably hated much more back then than they are now. It felt gross at the time.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

Yes. As the pendulum swings more towards PC and Nintendo, Sony will lose their leverage and third party deal "bias" (for lack of a better word) they enjoy.

 

[Boo Who?]

Somehow it will be white people's fault. Especially white males.

Me and the other whitey's say "You're welcome."

 

[Northeastmonk]

This makes me wonder if they'll even bother with a disc drive add on for PS6. Backwards compatibility for digital wouldn't be a problem for digital content. All those PS5 game discs will be considered legacy software.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Backlash from the consumers driving this decision? This would make sense if the physical/digital ration was flipped. As is? Thinking there's going to be a mass exodus from the vocal minority is nonsense. What people should be doing now is pushing for better digital rights.

That part. The data is there, our enthusiast enclave doesn't change reality.

Better digital ownership rights is the next battle we should all be gearing up for.

 

[SappYoda]

I would even argue that Sony has won every generation due to retail and retailers pushing the console over other options

 

[MMaRsu]

Ps6 launch is gonna suck for em

 

[PeteBull]

What are they finding out?

Nasty consequences of them fucking around

 

[MMaRsu]

Better digital ownership rights is the next battle we should all be gearing up for.

And you see this happening why exactly?

Stop killing games couldnt even make a dent.

 

[Elios83]

Hurt by what?
It's the market that has decided that physical games are a thing of the past not Sony.

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Americans have a funny saying about doing something wrong and face the consequences of their actions. Xbox did found out in 2013, and when they bought Activlizzard, and then later found out that Netflix wasn't a viable business plan in this industry. Nintendo found that the casual customer of the Wii wasn't really loyal or returning. Nobody is above bad managing decisions. Will PlayStation be?

Not that much it'll be mostly the forum dwellers who will stay outraged.
And that's a tiny fraction of gamers.

 

[playbignbox]

It's time for a reality check:

Please note that 2028 is a year and a half away

PS5 Game Sales (current trend)

This type of statistic is somewhat skewed because it considers sales of digital-only content.

The right approach would be to only compare the breakdown for content available on both physical and digital media to determine actual preferences, given that both options are available.

 

[DeepEnigma]

And you see this happening why exactly?

Stop killing games couldnt even make a dent.

The Yurop Coalition of unelected officials likes to meddle, so this may just give them something.

FFS, they went in for a charging port on a phone

 

[Shifty1897]

They won't feel it until 2028, but if Nintendo can keep the Switch 2 MSRP to $550, I don't think the average normal consumer is going to be able to justify a $1299 PS6 purchase. I think you're going to see a massive swing to Nintendo as an alternative.

 

[PeteBull]

And you see this happening why exactly?

Stop killing games couldnt even make a dent.

Politicans wont do shit, they are very bribebable, only chance is to jump to pc where u dont pay for online, can upgrade whenever u want for however to whichever hardware u want and can buy games much cheaper.

 

[Radical_3d]

Hurt by what?
It's the market that has decided that physical games are a thing of the past not Sony.

There is a lot of manipulation in the numbers given (indie games not released in physical, MTX, etc). These are data from Sonyland:

 

[Omnipunctual Godot]

I suggest we all get out of Neogaf for some days and see the real world... because NOTHING will change, no matter what you root in this case... :-(

Yeah, I'm sure Microsoft felt exactly like that coming off of the 360 when they announced the Xbox One.

 

[Luipadre]

Regionally yes. PlayStation's global brand is going to take a hit. More people will stick with prior gens. Some accountant probably churned out numbers that said this was a good idea.

Puts a big exclamation point on the worst PlayStation gen ever. You had a good run, Sony, but you fucked it all up

I sure hope the ps6 launch will be a disaster, because currgen sony deserves it. I was so hyped for both the PS4 and PS5, but im not buying PS6 until kojimas next game, and probably gonna sell it afterward

 

[Gambit2483]

The biggest challenge facing Sony is selling the PlayStation 6, given the hardware costs.

The lack of physical media won't make that much of a difference for them.

They are trying to make it as tough as a sell as possible.

- Most likely not an incredibly huge leap in visuals
- Games aren't any more impressive or innovative as they are now
- Insanely expensive hardware
- Games and prices that are 100% controlled by Sony

Overall, an Absolutely anti-consumer product with ZERO options how we purchase and consume their games, all at a MUCH higher price

Nah, I'm out.

 

[Madflavor]

And you see this happening why exactly?

Stop killing games couldnt even make a dent.

It might eventually start to really hurt their bottom line. If it gets to the point where consoles are $1000+ and even single player games are being pulled from people's library, it's going to push people out of the hobby, and piracy is going to become absolutely rampant.

 

[existensmaximum]

What will do Sony in is the combination of every retarded decision they made.

1. digital only
2. shitty exclusive lineup
3. ridiculously expensive console
4. paid online

We're simply at a breaking point here. If you have the choice between a $1000 console that doesn't even have physical games, has zero worthwhile exclusives and paid online on top of it all might as well just get a PC.

Sony pretty much pissed away every single advantage consoles had in the past.

I largely agree with you, but good luck finding a PC cheaper than $1000 at the time that the PS6 is released..? The PS6 might still be the cheapest option around then.

 

[MMaRsu]

Politicans wont do shit, they are very bribebable, only chance is to jump to pc where u dont pay for online, can upgrade whenever u want for however to whichever hardware u want and can buy games much cheaper.

Oh Ive been on PC forever now, and it has been my main gaming platform for a long time as well.

On Steam for over 20 years!

 

[MisterXDTV]

This type of statistic is somewhat skewed because it considers sales of digital-only content.

The right approach would be to only compare the breakdown for content available on both physical and digital media to determine actual preferences, given that both options are available.

You are grasping at straws here

Reality is out of 100 games, Sony sells 85 digitally and 15 on disc

And every quarter that goes by, the split gets worse for discs

When PS4 launched in 2013 the split was basically reversed (like 88-12 in favor of physical discs)

The reason is very simple....

In 2013 internet speed sucked in most of the world

Now I have a fiber cable that reaches gigabit speeds. So I can download, delete and re-download games in 15 minutes tops

 

[Elios83]

There is a lot of manipulation in the numbers given (indie games not released in physical, MTX, etc). These are data from Sonyland:

Physical is dead.
All publishers are reporting in their fiscal results that their sales are 80%+ digital already.
More and more publishers are skipping physical already.
Deluxe and Collectors editions are already being done with just codes inside.

Fucking Rockstar won't release a physical version of GTAVI, a game that will sell over 100m copies.
Other platforms like PC have been digital only for over a decade, Microsoft will obviously follow suit and Nintendo is already selling empty cards.

What are talking about here?
Market has already decided.

 

[Guardian Monkey]

Sony will pay the price for the industry change that Steam made like 20 years ago??

Steam is an open storefront. There isn't a comparable similarity at all.

 

[playbignbox]

You are grasping at straws here

Reality is out of 100 games, Sony sells 85 digitally and 15 on disc

And every quarter that goes by, the split gets worse for discs

When PS4 launched in 2013 the split was basically reversed (like 88-12 in favor of physical discs)

The reason is very simple....

In 2013 internet speed sucked in most of the world

Now I have a fiber cable that reaches gigabit speeds. So I can download, delete and re-download games in 15 minutes tops

You're mixing total PlayStation Store revenue with the physical vs. digital choice. Those 85% include DLC, MTX, subscriptions and digital-only games, all of which have no physical equivalent. If the goal is to measure consumer preference when both formats are available, you need to compare only titles released in both physical and digital. Otherwise the statistic is inflated by products that could never be sold on disc.

 

[Sohurmk833]

I largely agree with you, but good luck finding a PC cheaper than $1000 at the time that the PS6 is released..? The PS6 might still be the cheapest option around then.

Maybe not cheaper but for a similar price. The point is, with retail disappearing software prices will skyrocket on PS6 as you have no other option than to buy $80+ games on launch. No deals, nothing. Compare that to the software prices on PC.

 

[diffusionx]

This decision is unpopular; all it would take is for a company to capitalize on this mistake by Sony, the problem is that the market is acting cowardly. So, until a new challenger consortium emerges, we'll be relying on Sony—though not me; I buy digital games on PC for cheap and don't pay to play online.

Is it unpopular for nerds on NeoGAF or for the general public.

For most people (90%) buying PS games, it makes no difference because they don't buy physical.

it's not 2013 anymore, most people don't touch a disc. Remember Sony also has data on who even bothered to install a drive on their PS5 Pro, which is the most hardcore users. It's probably not many people.

And I say this as someone who buys discs. It's just where we are at now.

 

[Aenima]

No, the western consumers did this to themselves. They adopted digital media to a point Sony can now discontinue it and dosent move a needle. Just Japan remain physical media land, cuz consumers there have a working brain.

In the west, digital media takes 80%, while in Japan just 30%. Nintendo will be the last one to abandon physical media for this reason alone. But they will get there too eventually once all 3rd parties see no reason to make physical games just for nintendo consoles since all other platforms will be digital only.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Sony will pay the price for the industry change that Steam made like 20 years ago??

If PSN was as good as Steam is in both pricing and mod capabilities, then yeah they wouldn't get hurt. Here's the deal: PSN sucks balls. This just makes the unflattering comparison to Steam look even worse.

 

[CamHostage]

Have you considered why ~250 million customers don't choose PC?

...Because they were in high school some time between 1995 and 2012?

 

[PauloRoberto]

If PSN was as good as Steam is in both pricing and mod capabilities, then yeah they wouldn't get hurt. Here's the deal: PSN sucks balls. This just makes the unflattering comparison to Steam look even worse.

I hate to to be the one that is defending Sony... but the full price of a game on PSN and Steam is basically the same... You should exclude sites that sell steam keys for this comparison (or root for sites the sells PSN keys to appear).

Dont get me wrong, im pissed as anyone else... but the general consumers clearty are going to this direction :-(

 

[Sephimoth]

Where did these figures of 85% digital vs 15% physical come from anyway?

Likely true, but I like a good conspiracy theory. So what if- since it benefits platform holders- it's bollocks?

 

[mhirano]

Sony will find out for sure...



That gamers can't help themselves and swallow every bulshit the industry feed them

Gamers boycotting Playstation in 2028:

 

[Bonfires Down]

Why can't I vote for both? They'll get hurt but they'll be fine.

 

[Larivel]

I do believe that this decision, in the long run, will lead to greater losses in both revenue and console sales than the 80/20 digital/physical ratio would suggest.

For many people, the ability to buy physical games was still a big advantage of console gaming - even if they didn't mind buying digital games here and there(better price, digital only release etc.). Don't treat this 80/20 ratio as digital-only vs physical-only gamers...

 

[Bonfires Down]

There is a lot of manipulation in the numbers given (indie games not released in physical, MTX, etc). These are data from Sonyland:

This exactly. Catalogue sales, indies, microtransactions are all large majority digital. But for new AAA games, physical is still very popular.

 

[MisterXDTV]

I do believe that this decision, in the long run, will lead to greater losses in both revenue and console sales than the 80/20 digital/physical ratio would suggest.

For many people, the ability to buy physical games was still a big advantage of console gaming - even if they didn't mind buying digital games here and there(better price, digital only release etc.). Don't treat this 80/20 ratio as digital-only vs physical-only gamers...

So your idea is that people loved the IDEA of physical games but in the end they never bought them?

Doesn't seem logical to me

 

[jshackles]

So your idea is that people loved the IDEA of physical games but in the end they never bought them?

Doesn't seem logical to me

Believe it or not, even people who are staunchly digital only have benefited from the mere existence of physical games.

 

[Fabieter]

Sony will pay the price for the industry change that Steam made like 20 years ago??

As long as sony is forcing me onto their shitty psn it is not comparable. I almost never buy steam games on steam actually.

So no fuck sony.

 

[calico]

Might not look such a hot idea when they are forced to allow third party digital stores on the console.

 

[VulcanRaven]

Sadly they and Rockstar will be fine.

 

[damidu]

nope, physical is basically dead and buried since those 2013 times, you'll have 45yo manbabies loudly cry themselves to extinction for a week at best