A tease for the future of next-gen video games has left fans feeling divided about the prospect of Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 6.
For a generation or two (perhaps longer), publishers and developers have been pushing for an all-digital future with companies such as Ubisoft telling us not to get comfortable owning games. After all, from the publisher and developer perspective, it gives them more control over the products that we buy, compared to owning physical media.
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For example, whether it's digital TV series and movies, music or video games, purchased products can be pulled from our platforms in an instant, as already proven earlier this year with Sony removing content from libraries. It also reduces overhead costs for a publisher and developer with no need to create packing materials and ship them to retail.
On the flip side, owning digital content does have its perks, such as downloading and playing a product without leaving the house and we’re able to play games without moving off the sofa to change a disc (as a disabled man, that can be very important for me).
However, despite taking up more room and having to move to swap discs, once we purchase a physical video game, we will always have that product in our possession unless it's stolen or misplaced. It’s also important to preserve media because years from now, we won't be able to gaze proudly upon our retro collection.
To accommodate the digital and physical gamer, the likes of Sony and Microsoft have produced digital-only consoles as well as consoles that can play both. Yet, despite being offered that choice, it should come as no surprise that Sony and Microsoft are all still pushing for an all-digital future and fans are divided.
“PlayStation May Go Fully Digital After PS6, Analyst Predicts,” says the headline shared on Reddit. In an article published by PlayStation Lifestyle, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella believes that we should prepare to say goodbye to next-gen physical media.
“I don't mind digital so much on PC because you have things to fall back on to keep your games if the storefront disappears, servers go offline, etc,” replied tacticalcraptical. “But on a closed platform like most consoles, you are completely at their mercy.”
“I will buy physical media until that day. Honestly, though, mandatory online DRM for single-player games is a bigger issue to me. I will NOT support that,” JamesEvanBond exclaimed.
“That would suck for many people that still have bad Internet. Nowadays everything needs to be always online or at least a one-time connection to activate the game,” said gutster_95 making a very valid point.
Those above comments seem to reflect most opinions on the Reddit thread and I believe that many of us might agree, that the day we lose physical media will be a sad day for preservation. Hopefully, it won't come to that.
Topics: Sony, Tech, PlayStation