I hate to admit it, but part of this is thanks to Steam's success. Steam made gaming on PC popular thanks to how easy it is to just purchase a game, download it a couple of seconds later, and play it with a few clicks.

I remember back in the late 2000s, when some veteran gamers where impressed by how Steam was helping to reduce piracy in gaming due to how easy it was to get "legit" games.

1. They can invest on their own physical stores

2. Also adressed on 1, but they can also promote open events to advertise their products, which adress point 3, 4 and 5 + digital marketing and TV announcements. There are countless channels to promote. Chain market stores have become too obsolet

Nintendo's position is understandable, as they lose a lot of money for every cartridge sold between manufacturing costs and retailer cuts, and their revenue digital ratio is quite small. So encouraging digital (and GKC to an extent) makes perfect sense. Expect a push for GKC and a larger price gap between digital and physical soon.

Sony is causing an uproar for at best a small return, and at worst a plarform collapse. They couldn't even wait for Microsoft to do it first!

arn't the xbox SSD's pretty big?

Way bigger than a Switch cart, yes.

Unless things change drastically next gen, SNY is in a position to take a bigger cut of the profits for game sales on their platform, within reason.

What are third parties going to do in an all digital future? Refuse to launch for PS hardware or refuse to sell on the PS5/PS6 storefront post 2028?

Ya... right. Here comes $90-$100 games.

Just pirate. Fuck Sony. Fuck the big corps. I used to be so against it but the way they treat customers. There is no moral high ground against it. Only fooling yourself if you think so. Fuck em.

XB only has a few options to gain ground.

A. Wait for SNY to FK UP again like PS3 and simply watch gamers show up because they're done with SNY. Bit by bit or all at once.

B. Go with a blue ocean strategy, with a decent product, and GO ALL IN HARD. No half in half out nonsense like they're doing now.

C. Create undeniably, must have, affordable, new groundbreaking tech, and change the industry forever in your favor.

SNY got lucky with PS4 because they got to go with the best version of option A since MS pretty much got every move wrong possible with XB1, so PS4 could capitalize on all of it at once. MS couldn't have made it easier for SNY back then (besides dropping out and going third party).

Over the last couple of years would've been the time for XB to chip away at SNY slowly with all the negativity towards PS, unless MS was trying to be strategic and are waiting to go big all at once and use this against PS with their next gen XB ecosystem.

A comeback could be made, but only if MS was willing, knowing how brutal it would be, but it seems like the odds are MS would rather avoid that and grab whatever share they can easily get with XB at this point.

I've mentioned before in other threads, that a handful of my gaming friends have been looking at moving from PS4 to XBSS mainly because they want to be able to play GTAVI sooner than later and want to do so as cheaply as possible.
With the dreaded next gen leaks and rumors, and the recent MS announcement that their hardware prices are going to rise again in the coming months, they've been getting more serious about purchasing. They still haven't fully decided yet, as they'd prefer to stick with PS, but none of them are willing to pay PS5 prices.

They're all pretty casual, and none of them really care about physical gaming, but the point is that XB could certainly make some headway in the market if they're willing to change course and revert more so to a previous old school console model. Like subsidized affordable hardware and full (physical) ownership of games, etc.

Time will tell whether MS would allow XB to do that or not. I don't see it being likely necessarily, but SNY is making it easier and easier if MS decides to stick their foot in the door.

Sony should just copy Nintendo. Put a card slot (or even 2) in the PS6. Sell people game-key cards at the normal price or "entire game on card" for $10 extra.