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Forums - Sony - The logistcal issue with physical PS games post 2027

JackHandy on 29 July 2026

I believe the timing is key. I think they were hoping to part the red sea, anger the masses, and then by the time PS6 is announced, people will have already moved on and thus, will eat what they're told. They remember what happened with Xbox One. They knew what this could potentially do to a brand. And since they are clearly anxious to increase revenue across the board (because remember kids, billion-dollar companies need to eat, too), they felt this was the best way to go about it.

It's to be seen if it actually works. Me thinks it won't. We'll see.



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Hardstuck-Platinum 6 days ago
CosmicSex said:
xl-klaudkil said:

Excuses excuses excuses!
Sony wants monopoly(and third parties)
They want to increase game prices(mark my words ps6 games be 90- 100 dollars)
They want to have less meaningfull sale's
They want 100% of the money
They want to take away your game whenever they please( ow boy this is 100% going to happen to many games)
They want nobody to buy second hand games
They want NO compition with games also being physical.
FUCK the gamers they are milking cows is what sony thinks.

Responses:
Sony wants monopoly(and third parties)  A monopoly of what?
They want to increase game prices(mark my words ps6 games be 90- 100 dollars) They got to catch up to Nintendo and Rockstar first
They want to have less meaningfull sale's This is utter BS. Companies have sales to move stock that isn't moving.  They rather get a smaller cut than no sale.
They want 100% of the money I'm sure they do want 100% of the money like every company, but if they return to selling digital at retailers, the store will get a cut.
They want to take away your game whenever they please( ow boy this is 100% going to happen to many games) Why would they want to do this?
They want nobody to buy second hand games Agreed, because they are cut of of the sale. 
They want NO compition with games also being physical. I'm sure they do prefer digital sales for sure.  I'm not sure what you mean by competition though.
FUCK the gamers they are milking cows is what sony thinks. You are a drama queen.  These people aren't cartoonishly evil like you suggest.  Its standard fair for how corporations operate which is another subject in and of itself. 

I think he means monopoly on Playstation game distribution. With all digital, Sony is solely responsible for the customer receiving the game. With discs. It can be a retailer, a friend, rental service (if they still exist). It's a silly thing to call a monopoly as It's their own platforms games. 



CosmicSex 6 days ago
Hardstuck-Platinum said:
CosmicSex said:

Responses:
Sony wants monopoly(and third parties)  A monopoly of what?
They want to increase game prices(mark my words ps6 games be 90- 100 dollars) They got to catch up to Nintendo and Rockstar first
They want to have less meaningfull sale's This is utter BS. Companies have sales to move stock that isn't moving.  They rather get a smaller cut than no sale.
They want 100% of the money I'm sure they do want 100% of the money like every company, but if they return to selling digital at retailers, the store will get a cut.
They want to take away your game whenever they please( ow boy this is 100% going to happen to many games) Why would they want to do this?
They want nobody to buy second hand games Agreed, because they are cut of of the sale. 
They want NO compition with games also being physical. I'm sure they do prefer digital sales for sure.  I'm not sure what you mean by competition though.
FUCK the gamers they are milking cows is what sony thinks. You are a drama queen.  These people aren't cartoonishly evil like you suggest.  Its standard fair for how corporations operate which is another subject in and of itself. 

I think he means monopoly on Playstation game distribution. With all digital, Sony is solely responsible for the customer receiving the game. With discs. It can be a retailer, a friend, rental service (if they still exist). It's a silly thing to call a monopoly as It's their own platforms games. 

This is simply not true.  From the blog:

"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only."

This means that you will be able to buy digital games from GameStop.  This is actually an improvement in terms of choice for digital games as it means PSN is NOT the only place you can buy them. This should also allow retailers to sell previously digital only games.  This is why I don't understand when people keep saying its a monoploy when Sony made sure to add that it would not be. 



CosmicSex 6 days ago
Helloplite said:
CosmicSex said:

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?  

People are pretending that there is no other solution than to kill physical media -- all because of a supposed Sony handheld. But it would have been extremely simple to copy Nintendo's solution and offer a form of GKCs. They could keep disc media for those that wish to maintain them, but mandate the inclusion of a very small SD card - they could get away with as little as 16 MB in size - that can be read by both PS6 and PS6 Mini. They could have found a number of solutions, including moving to a system of 'registering' a key that allows one to 'unregister' it and then make it available for someone else to use. Sony can solve the problem. They don't want to, because not solving it, killing physical media altogether, is the plan.

To be fair, we don't know what Sony is planning for digital distribution at retailers.  I agree that a GKC like solution would help alleviate some concerns but we don't know if that is their plan yet because we don't know the details of PS6 yet.  For all we know, copying Nintendo's approach may be the plan all along and they just are ready to annouce the PS6 yet.  Funny enough, the leaded specs for the PS6 handheld include details of a SD slot on the unit along with support for M.2 drive support... which seems kinda sus because why would you need an SD slot if you already have internal storage and M.2 support?   Even if they do go the rough of GCKs one hopes that they still ship a dockable disc drive for support for PS4 and PS5 discs.  They drive should be such that it can be attached to the PS6 and PS6 handheld dock.  This may mean that you can only play disc on the handheld when docked to a TV... but thats better than nothing.  In fact, I am 100% sure they will do something like this because it would allow them to 'monitize the base' as they seem dead set on doing. 



Hardstuck-Platinum 6 days ago
CosmicSex said:
Hardstuck-Platinum said:

I think he means monopoly on Playstation game distribution. With all digital, Sony is solely responsible for the customer receiving the game. With discs. It can be a retailer, a friend, rental service (if they still exist). It's a silly thing to call a monopoly as It's their own platforms games. 

This is simply not true.  From the blog:

"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only."

This means that you will be able to buy digital games from GameStop.  This is actually an improvement in terms of choice for digital games as it means PSN is NOT the only place you can buy them. This should also allow retailers to sell previously digital only games.  This is why I don't understand when people keep saying its a monoploy when Sony made sure to add that it would not be. 

Does a code to a game on the PSN store count as a game though? They're not selling the game, they're selling you the means for Playstation to issue you the game via PSN. Sony is still solely responsible for the customer having the game, the retailer just acted as a middle man. 



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CosmicSex 5 days ago
Hardstuck-Platinum said:
CosmicSex said:

This is simply not true.  From the blog:

"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only."

This means that you will be able to buy digital games from GameStop.  This is actually an improvement in terms of choice for digital games as it means PSN is NOT the only place you can buy them. This should also allow retailers to sell previously digital only games.  This is why I don't understand when people keep saying its a monoploy when Sony made sure to add that it would not be. 

Does a code to a game on the PSN store count as a game though? They're not selling the game, they're selling you the means for Playstation to issue you the game via PSN. Sony is still solely responsible for the customer having the game, the retailer just acted as a middle man. 

No, they are selling you a license in just the same way that you buy a license on PSN.  Think like buying a Windows 11 from CD keys as opposed to Microsoft.   What you buy is a license key.  The retailer purchases the key at whole sale and resales it to you.  The retailer markup is usually 30% over wholesale so there is a lot of room for them to adjust prices while still making a profit.  

So the real question is if a license sale count as a game sale.  In every other conceivable case it does.   So it should count here.



xl-klaudkil 5 days ago
CosmicSex said:
Hardstuck-Platinum said:

Does a code to a game on the PSN store count as a game though? They're not selling the game, they're selling you the means for Playstation to issue you the game via PSN. Sony is still solely responsible for the customer having the game, the retailer just acted as a middle man. 

No, they are selling you a license in just the same way that you buy a license on PSN.  Think like buying a Windows 11 from CD keys as opposed to Microsoft.   What you buy is a license key.  The retailer purchases the key at whole sale and resales it to you.  The retailer markup is usually 30% over wholesale so there is a lot of room for them to adjust prices while still making a profit.  

So the real question is if a license sale count as a game sale.  In every other conceivable case it does.   So it should count here.

WHat a waste of plastic it will be.

Millions of boxes in a code where once the code is used you can trow away the box,its useless.

Its still a monopoly btw you can Only redeem that at psn,no where else. Sony and third parties will 100% decide how much a game cost or goes on"sale" 

But since your defending them like crazy you must love it! 

Have fun! Don't come crying when you lose your games when they shutdown there store on there old hardware.

Have fun to all the kids who in 20years time want to play there old games,most will be gone.

Iam happy and fortunate to have lived in the golden age of gaming where it at least  seamed that publishers cared about the industry and its fans.

I pitty all who grows up in this digital only industry.



 

My youtube gaming page.

http://www.youtube.com/user/klaudkil

CosmicSex 3 hours ago
xl-klaudkil said:
CosmicSex said:

No, they are selling you a license in just the same way that you buy a license on PSN.  Think like buying a Windows 11 from CD keys as opposed to Microsoft.   What you buy is a license key.  The retailer purchases the key at whole sale and resales it to you.  The retailer markup is usually 30% over wholesale so there is a lot of room for them to adjust prices while still making a profit.  

So the real question is if a license sale count as a game sale.  In every other conceivable case it does.   So it should count here.

WHat a waste of plastic it will be.

Millions of boxes in a code where once the code is used you can trow away the box,its useless.

Its still a monopoly btw you can Only redeem that at psn,no where else. Sony and third parties will 100% decide how much a game cost or goes on"sale" 

But since your defending them like crazy you must love it! 

Have fun! Don't come crying when you lose your games when they shutdown there store on there old hardware.

Have fun to all the kids who in 20years time want to play there old games,most will be gone.

Iam happy and fortunate to have lived in the golden age of gaming where it at least  seamed that publishers cared about the industry and its fans.

I pitty all who grows up in this digital only industry.

You didn't answer my question at all.  You just stated more untruths, warped the reality of the situation, and took personal digs at me.   You aren't trying to have a conversation with me.  You act like we are in competition with each other which is weird.  You claim that digital codes should be redeemable elsewhere which doesn't make any sense and doesn't work that way for any other platform.   Its not a monopoly because they are allowing retailers the chance to sell codes.  You have a predetermined way you want words to be understood even though they are conuter to their meaining. 

The only accurate thing you state is that there is a worry that digital good will be useless when a storefront closes which is real and not unique to any one platform at all.  Like imagine Spotify were to shut down?  Right now, there are no checkins for digital PlayStation games but the caveat is that the device can't have its CMOS reset.  But we can't just have rampent piracy of games on consoles either because developers deserve to be paid for their work.  Its a balancing act for sure. 

I don't pity myself at all.  That is your cross to bare.  I just want digital rights that extend beyond the actual closure of a store front.  This would require legislation I think because it applys to so many different companies and industries.