Former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios CEO, Shawn Layden, believes Sony cannot afford to release a completely digital, disc-less PlayStation 6. While acknowledging Xbox's success with this strategy, Layden highlighted Sony's significantly larger global market share. He argued that eliminating physical games would alienate a substantial portion of their player base.
Layden pointed out that Xbox's digital-first approach thrives primarily in English-speaking countries, unlike Sony's expansive reach across approximately 170 nations. He questioned Sony's ability to ensure reliable internet access for all players, citing potential issues for users in rural areas with limited connectivity. He also mentioned specific demographics reliant on physical media, such as athletes traveling internationally or military personnel stationed on bases with restricted internet access. Layden suggested Sony is likely assessing the potential market loss associated with a disc-less console.
The debate surrounding disc-less consoles has been ongoing since the PlayStation 4 generation but intensified with Xbox's release of digital-only consoles. Both PlayStation and Xbox offer digital-only versions of their current consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S), yet Sony has refrained from a complete shift to digital. This is partly due to the availability of external disc drives for their digital-only consoles, allowing for backward compatibility with physical games.
However, the increasing popularity of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Games Catalog, coupled with declining physical media sales, raises questions about the future of disc-based games. Many major publishers are now releasing games that require an internet connection even when purchased on disc, further blurring the lines. This trend effectively transforms what was once a second installation disc into downloadable content.
AnswerSee ResultsThis shift towards digital distribution is further evidenced by the fact that even high-end consoles like the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro can be augmented with external disc drives. The question remains: how long before disc-based games become obsolete?
