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twintail on 04 July 2026
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G2ThaUNiT said:

I’m still genuinely shocked at the timing. 22% of the console base buying physical still is no chump figure. That’s still millions of players.

I figured we still had at least 1 more generation of physical with the PS6’s disc drive being what the PS5’s is now. Technically optional.

What a bandaid rip.

I don't believe 22% of the userbase. It's 22% of games sold. If physical consumers are 100% (or close to) physical, then the actual percentage users affected is far lower. But this is a difficult stat to get I think.

KLXVER said:

Its more than that. 82% of PS5s sold are the ones with a disc drive. Even the 18% digital consoles arent even accurate since people buy the disc drive add-on. So it could be like 10% of all PS5 owners have a digital only console. Thats like 9-10 million gamers.

Wouldn't this suggest that users with a disc version of the PS5 are also buying, perhaps exclusively, digital games? Just because someone has a disc PS5 doesn't mean that their buying habits haven't changed as the gen has gone on. 22% of all game units being physical is like a complete reversal of what it was around 10 years ago.
CaptainExplosion said:
twintail said:

Sounds like that is that then. The decision seems to have been maybe 2 years in the making. With the need for physical discs dying, at least the employees at the plant aren't losing their jobs (it appears) as they move to microlenses. 

What are microlenses good for? Can they be used for gaming hardware in any way? I don't know enough about them.

One suggestion from the factory was car lights. It's used for anything that bends light. If I am not wrong, they're able to repurpose parts of the factory and have the lens made on discs, or at least disc shaped items.

EricHiggin said:
twintail said:

Hard disagree with PS5 Pro. Getting PSSR out for wider testing from consumers and getting publishers onboard with it as a default for next gen are pivotal steps for PS6 and the PS6 handheld. PSSR is going to be very important tech for Sony next gen. 

In this scenario, with a PS5 only gen, no Pro model, PS6 should've launched no later than holiday 2026. It would have PSSR, which likely would've been closer to what PSSR2 is rather than what PSSR1 was because of FSR4.

Then if SNY wanted to improve PSSR a bit, they could've on PS6, and could then advance it well beyond what PS6 could do, with a PS6 Pro. Both consoles in the same gen using PSSR to their advantage, unlike this gen with PS5. That or SNY could've done another 5-6 yr gen and moved on to PS7.

Since PS6 could be in the ballpark of PS5 Pro specs in this case, give or take, since PS5 Pro never existed, the PS6 launch price could actually be somewhat reasonable holiday 2026 because SNY would've locked in RAM and SSD prices about a year ago already.

This is actually what I suggested SNY should do back when PS5 Pro leaks were being talked about. While I didn't know the RAMPOCALYPSE was coming, it didn't need to happen to be a worthy idea. Go back to a slightly shorter gen with a single SKU (no Pro) and move on to PS6 by 2026.

I don't think there's every been a suggestion that Sony would launch the PS6 so soon. I mean, yes they could've just launched PSSR with PS6 and still see upgrades. 

But with PS5 Pro, they're doing that on an earlier timeline.