Like the world were currently in? Ok.

I notice that a lot of the argument in this thread is just justification for why SONY or any of the big 3 should continue to have a physical option in world mostly digital, but  not WHY its needed. Justification is never a good thing. Usually it means something is wrong or not necessary but we wanna do it anyways for reason.

Its needed because of:

-Ownership. Having something Sony cant just take away from you because of licenses running out or whatever reason they feel is justified.

-Options. Having the option to buy games digitally or physically. More options means cheaper games. Competition is always a good thing.

-Used games. The culture around used games are huge. There are thousands of conventions and stores around the world that sell and trade video games. It helps people discover franchises they never would have otherwise. Which can lead to them becoming fans and buying new games in that franchise. Its just a very social and fun part of gaming culture.

-Sharing. Lending games to a friend or family member or borrow one from them.

-Saving money. Selling your games if you dont like them or trading them in to a store to get new games or some extra cash if needed. 

-Security. Not having to worry about Sony closing your account or getting hacked and lose access to your digital library.

-Collecting. Collectors enjoy having a physical representation of what they buy to display on their shelves. They appreciate beautiful box art and having a game room for their favorite passtime.

There are many reasons why physical media should stay around(and probably many more examples than what I provided).

Pushing towards AI makes sense, the consumer electronics space is becoming a thing of the past. AIs the future, when that investment starts making back 10-100x the amount PlayStation has ever made every month over month… well Sonys not gonna bother with plastic boxes and video games. I wouldn’t be surprised if by 2028 their PlayStation plant hasn’t pivoted to making AI tech instead of PS6. It’s game over, we all lost to AI.

-_- AI hasn't made money yet. It's all theory and hopes and dreams. 

Yea? The gaming world is digital only since when? Even pcs arent 100% digital only,there are options.

Many have pointed out why its needed included me maybe you just didnt look.

This is to stupid, gaming is the BIGGEST entertainment industry in the world,bigger then music,movies,p*** combined.

If there is ANY industry who potentionaly could even get better with ai its gaming.

Music artist are a thing of the past ai can make perfect pitch sounding songs no human can ever do.

Movie actors are a thing of the past AI can "create" the perfect "actor"

Sure ai could also make the" perfect game" but making a 60+hour open world rpg, good luck! 

A 3min song is easy.

Consoles will be a thing of the past thats for sure, one day you turn on your tv/phone and it says"gaming" ans you can just play all the games that publishers release, but that day will take a long time.

To be fair its not exclusive for gamers, it's how people are in general, just look at politics and the levels of absurdity people all over the world go to defend "their side", even inside their own groups, so it's pretty much just how people are and always have been, but I really can't understand consumers just accepting to be screwed over, and effectively fighting other for it.

It's cool if you don't care about physical games, but it is a pillar of consumer rights, why would you want to antagonize people fighting for consumers to have choice, ownership, market competition, specially when there is just no actual need behind the decision and the company is showing a lack of basic respect towards their customers by completely ignoring them, even more if you are a customer of theirs yourself...

All those boutique retailers that make Indie games for PS5 have the option of releasing a full disk for PC. In fact, since you can use multiple DVDs and DVD drives are cheap, I could see a lot of physical Indie PC games in the coming years. 

I was wondering why major third-party publishers have been particularly quiet on the subject, and it's because they're in the same mindset! This is a particularly laughable conclusion to come to as disc drives don't even cost $100 to buy, and they're not even the driving factor behind console price increases!

He think the increased revenue/profits companies will bring in will make them lower console prices out of the goodness of their heart? Not only think again, but also, what would the purpose have even been to get rid of physical media at all????

Since it was brought up here's a lot more context for the 100k statement. More than anything it's clear that there has been a big shift towards digital in the US the past few years with physical units falling off a cliff which will be a large factor in why Sony thinks they can get away with doing this. Still seems foolish to me to do it this soon though.