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Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

blog.playstation.com

421–430 of 833 posts

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in europe it's often cheaper to buy a game new in box from the retailer than from the PS Store. Not for long maybe. I will mourn the loss of physical games as they are such a big part of console experience

I am in Europe but I just don't do launch prices on any platform or delivery form so I didn't notice that. Obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/606/

Also: https://www.toonhoundstudios.com/comic/20001202/?sid=372>

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#422
post #314

I don't own a PS5, I do own a PS4 however and still buy physical copies of games - some of which of late have been secondhand from CeX - because 1. I don't like renting content, 2. I hate DRM, 3. physical copies are harder to censor. Sony recently expunged copies of movies people had bought, so I honestly don't trust them not to do the same with games. Also, they announced the closure of the PS3 store, so that's even…

Actually, thinking about this now, I tried to play PS1 games on my PSP about two years ago, but couldn't because they needed to be (re-)authenticated.

Sadly, there's NO way to authenticate PS1/PSP games on PSP anymore. Even connecting it to the PS3 via USB and trying to authenticate it didn't work.

(At least PS1 games still work on PS3 for now, though.)

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#423

Between DRM, DLC, mandatory connectivity and the end of physical media, the future will look back on this era as the 'dark age' of digital gaming history. Maintaining activation servers, cloud storage and digital delivery costs money. If it doesn't disappear when the title reaches EOL, it certainly does when the company is gone or shifts business models. And draconian copyright laws create legal jeopardy around orpha…

Yes, those things cost money, but the money that we want to make, we want to make it today. And this is how we make it. What economic incentive is there for preservation? (/takes off devil's advocate hat and puts on flame suit)

Nintendo has shown the way, for better or worse.

Tightly managed first party IP with a lot of retro throwback games/compilations/crossovers/virtual console and an overly aggressive copyright approach to managing what people do with their IP (even if fair use).

Nintendo plays the long game. They do not compete directly with Sony, Microsoft and the like.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#424
post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The heyday of commentary tracks and extras was long ago, over a decade ago. Except for a few boutique labels like Criterion, distributors found that adding such extra features often wasn’t worth their while in the face of declining physical media sales. So, increasingly one just got the film and little else.

I am very annoyed by this with the recent surprise smash hit of the movie 'Obsession'. This is a new director made popular by his devoted fan base and they just announced the blueray. One director commentary, a tiny 'featurette' and then just the film. I remember back in the heyday of physical media(2010s) directors like Edgar Wright took curation of physical media extremely seriously: Multiple commentaries by not on…

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Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#425
post #412
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was having this discussion with my 9 year old yesterday. He mentioned that a friend had Rocket League on their Switch 2 and "it didn't even need a game card". I told him that anything without a physical card can be taken away, the company that made it can decide to take it back or to stop letting it work. Compared that to my old DS which he found along with game cards for Lego Star Wars and Scribblenauts that still…

What is frustrating is that even when you buy physical games, often what you get is a buggy beta release of the software that isn't playable without GBs of day-one patches. I have little confidence that 20 years from now I will be able to play console games I bought today, without resorting to "pirating" and console mods or emulators. I'm pretty sure that the Switch will be my last console because of this. At least w…

I've thought it would be cool to have a console where later updates are installed on the game cartridge directly.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#426

This didn't age well : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA

Sony won a whole console generation on not being knobheads (as much as MS).

I wonder if MS could eat their lunch in the same way, or if the market has changed enough that it won't matter.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, those things cost money, but the money that we want to make, we want to make it today. And this is how we make it. What economic incentive is there for preservation? (/takes off devil's advocate hat and puts on flame suit)

The economic incentives will only come when enough people stop buying these kinds of games. Whether or not that will ever happen remains to be seen.

Videogame preservation is on par with other media conservation, like literature; something that's an overall good for humanity as a whole, but not in the mind of the majority of consumers of such media. And that's perfectly OK. Most people just want to consume and forget.

Conservation is a social interest amd must come from organized initiatives, it will never take shape magically from individual judgement.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#428
post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With this news, I have to wonder how much longer bluray will live. I hope that physical media sticks around. DVDs and Blu-rays often include something that digital releases don't: director's commentaries, "making of" featurettes, and other extras. For me, it adds a whole new layer of fun to movies I already like.

The heyday of commentary tracks and extras was long ago, over a decade ago. Except for a few boutique labels like Criterion, distributors found that adding such extra features often wasn’t worth their while in the face of declining physical media sales. So, increasingly one just got the film and little else.

I assume they only did it to explain why the DVD cost more than the VHS you might already have. Even with Redbox you probably didn't have the DVD long enough to get a chance to watch the extra content.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#429
post #165

Well, if Nintendo and Microsoft go the same route (and sadly, I see that being almost inevitable at some point), that's probably the end of my interest in gaming as a whole. I generally refuse to 'rent' or 'license' things on a temporary basis, and have decided in this generation that every game I'll get for Switch 2 will be a physical game on cart version, without exception. And the reasons for that are pretty simpl…

I'm guessing you know this already, but I thought it's worth saying - some Switch 2 carts only contain a game key and not the actual game. https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...

Yeah I've seen those, and I deliberately haven't bought any games only available in that format.

They're theoretically a tiny bit better than download codes, but the same applies. If this is the format going forward, I'm out.

Re: Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation

#430
post #165

Well, if Nintendo and Microsoft go the same route (and sadly, I see that being almost inevitable at some point), that's probably the end of my interest in gaming as a whole. I generally refuse to 'rent' or 'license' things on a temporary basis, and have decided in this generation that every game I'll get for Switch 2 will be a physical game on cart version, without exception. And the reasons for that are pretty simpl…

What about PC gaming? There are stores that sell you the game and it's yours to keep

Like GOG? Yeah, I'm a bit more accepting of those, since they're DRM free. Being able to just copy and paste from one computer to another or what not is how I feel digital games should work, and how I know they don't work on console.
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