Key Insights
- Industry Shift: PlayStation plans to cease physical game disc production by 2028, sparking significant backlash.
- Fan Disappointment: Many fans are upset as they prefer the option to buy physical copies of games.
- Kojima’s Concerns: Hideo Kojima voiced his sadness over the shift from physical media to digital streaming.
- Future Fears: Concerns arise about the potential loss of access to games if streaming becomes the norm.
The video game industry is never far from controversy, although it seems that, lately, there have been more controversies than usual. The biggest of these came last week when PlayStation announced it would stop producing physical game discs beginning in 2028. This announcement was never going to go down well, but perhaps PlayStation didn’t anticipate just how big the backlash would be. At a time when digital media is becoming more common than ever, fans have been returning to physical preservation, with the rate of decline in DVD sales starting to slow.
For fans to at least have the option to physically purchase their latest favorite game seems decent, so it’s far from surprising that this announcement from PlayStation has disappointed millions. Add to this Sony’s recent removal of hundreds of purchased movies from users’ digital libraries due to licensing changes, and the storm is starting to entice even the biggest voices to speak out. One such voice is that of legendary director Hideo Kojima, best known for his work on the Metal Gear and <em>Death Stranding</em> franchises.
Speaking about PlayStation’s decision at the Il Cinema in Piazza Film Festival in Italy, Kojima expressed his frustration with the decision, saying (translated into English), “Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad.” He continued, “The situation is different for games, as they are downloaded to the hard drive; that means the game data remains on your own hardware. However, if things shift to streaming in the future, that won’t be the case anymore.” Fears for the future haven’t escaped even the most talented of video game minds, with Kojima further adding:
“There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee. However, with nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens, you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like.”
