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 highlights Sony's significantly larger global market share. Eliminating physical games would alienate a substantial portion of their player base.
Layden points out that Xbox's digital-first approach thrives primarily in English-speaking countries, unlike Sony's expansive reach across approximately 170 nations. He questions the feasibility of a disc-less model, considering the connectivity challenges faced by users in less developed regions. He cites examples like rural Italy, where reliable internet access might be insufficient for smooth gameplay. He also mentions other market segments reliant on physical media, such as traveling athletes or military personnel stationed in areas with limited internet.
Layden suggests Sony is likely conducting market research to assess the potential impact of abandoning physical games. While a tipping point might exist where a certain level of market loss is deemed acceptable, he doubts Sony would risk a fully disc-less console given its massive global presence.
The debate surrounding disc-less consoles has intensified since the PlayStation 4 generation, particularly 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), but Sony has remained hesitant to fully embrace a disc-less future.
Even Sony's digital-only consoles, including the PS5 Digital Edition, can be retrofitted with external disc drives, maintaining compatibility with physical games. However, the rise of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus's Games Catalog fuels speculation about the eventual phasing out of physical media.
The declining sales of physical media, coupled with the increasing trend of publishers releasing games requiring online installation even from discs (e.g., Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), further complicates the issue. The practice of including what would previously have been a second disc as downloadable content underscores this shift.
AnswerSee Results This is further complicated by the fact that even Sony's digital-only consoles can be upgraded with external disc drives. However, with the growing popularity of subscription services and the decline of physical media sales, the question remains: how long before disc-based games become obsolete?
