Play has limits.
Recently, Sony has announced that it will cease the production of physical discs starting January 2028. If you are like me, you buy most of your video games digitally anyways. The phasing out of physical discs from gaming seemed inevitable. Even for someone who buys primarily digital copies of games, I wondered what a world without physical copies would look like moving forward.
Why are physical copies of games important? Isn’t a digital copy of a game just a better form of a physical one? Digital games do not take up space, they don’t require inserting and removing discs when you want to play a different game, they can’t get lost. What advantage does a physical game have that a digital one does not?
There are many advantages to owning a physical copy of a game, the key advantage being ownership. When you buy a physical copy of a game, you own it. Unless it is physically taken from you, that copy of the game is yours. A digital copy of a game is a license. When you purchase a game digitally, you technically buy the license to play the game, not own a copy. A license can be revoked, a disc cannot.
In a world where accounts are suspended and licenses are revoked for seemingly ludicrous reasons; do you really want to place total trust in a corporation that only honors your “right” to the license that you paid for as long as it suits them? While they outright cannot deny you access to a game which you purchased, your account that the licenses are tied to can get suspended or banned. At least if that happens, you always have the physical copy of your game.
Truly, the biggest argument in support for Sony going fully digital is that there is a possibility that consumers will see the prices of future first party titles belonging to Sony release at a lower price. Ceasing physical production saves Sony millions on manufacturing costs. Perhaps we will see that reflected in a price drop from the now standard $70 game.
Personally, I’m not holding my breath.
Featured Image: Sony (via Alphacoders)
Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games
The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.
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