While people are having a heart attack over digital games, I find it odd that no one ever stopped to think about why physical may actually be an issue in the near future. I mean after all for a game like GTA, selling only digital will prevent multiple purchases for a lot of folks... 

The obvious issue with Sony doing physical after 2027 is the PS6 handheld. Im kinda surprised that no one has brought this up before.  

Now this issue won't be a same kind of problem for Xbox because their disc contain unique DRM IDs. PS discs do not so a disc to digital program would be harder to pull off.

Also, Sony states that Code in Box will be at retailers. This solves the predictable issue of a casual buying a PS6 game in a store and then realizing their handheld doesn't have a disc drive.  It also creates a competitive landscape for digital pricing.  This is a win for those of us that are already primarily digital. 

I see the value in physical media but knowing that the handheld is coming, I would prefer the digital format if I can't use the disc on this device in the future.  For the PS5 in this present day this issue isn't really a thing because even if you buy a disc and only have a digital console, you have the option to add a drive.  Clearly Sony had to be thinking about this.

Can anyone think of a possible solution that enables disc play in handheld mode that doesn't create a tsunami of confusion for the consumer?  

If you have only the handheld you would be expected to buy digital games, yeah, no physical media for it.

But if you have both, they could include a one time only code for the handheld in the case together with the disc for the PS6.

So if you have both systems you can play anyway you choose, obviously you would need to have the disc inside the PS6, maybe once a week, so you could play the handheld version and not sell the disc and keep using the digital code for free forever.

You still would have a completely functional used market for the PS6, people would have the incentive to buy the digital version from Sony if they have only the handheld, and could choose in equal weight between digital and physical if they have both systems and want to play all their games on both systems, and the two of them would cover it, used games would not cover it as the one time only code would be tied to the first onwer so it's even an incentive to buy new instead of used if you have both.

Or many other ways to explore it.

What Sony is doing has nothing to do with logistics, they said themselves, its to "align with current customers prefferences", which is complete bullshit, it's to align to their own full control wet dreams.