Not a fan of this and other consoles moving to digital only. Behind us are the days when you could share/borrow games with friends

Gaming is in a really tough spot right now, and it's not being made easier by the drain AI has put on chip and RAM prices. It's absolutely insane that Sony and Microsoft have had to raise prices on their years-old consoles.

I bet people who bought the PS5 with a disc reader will be really happy...

You can buy copies of DRM-free games on GOG.

This was bound to happen. I’ve long suspected the #1 reason physical games exist was to placate a few big retailers like Best Buy and Walmart and Target so they’d continue to carry the console.

Clearly that’s no longer necessary. Download-only retail boxes or gift cards or whatever are enough.

I know some people really care about physical releases, but I think the writing has been on the wall for years that this was coming.

I really don't understand their thinking here. Sure they want more money, I get that.

But 'physical media' is one of the reasons why a lot o people make a distinction between PC and console games. Removing this will make it easier for consumers to compare a PS5 to a Steam machine, and I don't think that is a good thing for Sony.

The Sony that has just proved you can't trust them to maintain access to the digital content they "sold" you right?

<Unplugs PS5>

From a business perspective, I understand this. The physical games sections of most retailers are pitiful these days - take a walk down the PS5 aisle in Target or Best Buy for example. They also have a need to shore up margins if they want to keep subsidizing the hardware during the component crisis. And their biggest competitor, XBox, is in the process of pivoting out of their current pivot and apparently is about to layoff a massive chunk of its workforce.

But at the end of the day, part of what makes a console a console to me is the ability to swap games with friends. If I can't do that easily, why wouldn't I just use Steam?

One of the major reasons I upgraded to ps5 was because it would also allow me to play blu-ray movies.

If the PS6 comes out with no disc player at all, not a chance I buy it.

Also, that's a definite middle finger to second hand and physical stores then ? Hoping MS will make a bet in the opposite direction (but I don't see it) and the players will follow..

I have a PlayStation and I exclusively buy my games via discs. On the other hand, these days I exclusively buy computer games via digital download (mostly via Steam). I have more consumer confidence that digital games on my computer will remain accessible vs games on my console, maybe because Sony controls the entire console ecosystem.

Interesting timing to announce this at around the same time as the PS3 digital store is discontinued signaling that digital only doesn't last as long as physical.

My old Nintendo Wii is modified with homebrew software that keeps alive some otherwise inaccessible features since Nintendo shut off their servers. I hope the community can do similar for newer consoles when they reach the end of their life.