95%
Highly Likely
Yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment left gamers speechless by confirming it will no longer release physical discs of PlayStation games starting from January 2028, effectively changing gaming forever, and definitely not for the best. However, beyond adapting to current market conditions, which see the vast majority of sales in digital format, there are a few reasons related to the PlayStation 6 hardware and rising costs that have prompted Sony to make this decision, according to known hardware leaker Kepler_L2.
"My BoM estimate was for the digital model anyway," the leaker said on the NeoGAF forums, clarifying that the nearly $ 1,000 bill of materials estimate for the PlayStation 6 already didn't include a disc drive. "Killing discs is more about making the transition to the console+handheld model easier and ensuring higher game revenue with higher ASPs [average selling prices] and no game reselling (possibly to offset the higher HW costs)."
Kepler_L2's statement is not particularly surprising, everything considered. Although Sony itself did have a cross-buy program for some of its PlayStation 3 games which included a free digital PlayStation Vita copy of the same game even with a retail release, trying to get third-party publishers on board for a new similar initiative would have been impossible.
At the same time, no one should be surprised to learn that ditching discs and imposing higher average selling prices are part of the broader strategy to offset soaring hardware prices by further monetizing users. Still, the question remains: would the Japanese company have gone down this road if the AI craze didn't cause the price of gaming hardware to raise so much? With no real competition from Xbox, at this point, it's really hard to tell.
With the Xbox Project Helix reportedly ditching discs as well, although reportedly with a migration program meant to allow users to transition their physical game collection to a digital library, it definitely seems like the next-generation of consoles will be completely discless. However, given the significant outcry from the community, Sony may change course in some capacity, although with the prospected high price of the PlayStation 6 which is not going to make games any better according to a former Naughty Dog developer, it's hard to tell how else the Japanese company could offset the higher hardware costs.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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