Abstract:
Sony announced that it will stop producing physical discs of new games in January 2028, which triggered a strong backlash. Players are calling for a boycott of Sony, but even so, Sony says they will proceed with plans cautiously. Now, for the first time, rumors surface that Sony may be reconsidering its plans for a digital-only release — or at least its launch timing.
The reason? It all stems from competition, and more specifically, Microsoft's Xbox strategy. Microsoft is said to be promoting Project Helix as a "100% physical version," thanks to its disc-to-digital capabilities.
Not only that, a major game manufacturer is said to be considering not releasing games on PlayStation without a physical version.
In a recent Eurogamer Spain podcast, they mentioned some key information they heard at Cologne about PlayStation and Xbox. It's important to note that these are unconfirmed rumors, so please treat them with caution.
The rumor heard by MP1st is that Sony’s deadline to stop producing new optical discs has been postponed by 1-2 years from December 31, 2028.
"This rumor is gaining momentum as different publishers are mentioning it, and more importantly, it seems (there is another rumor circulating)... that PlayStation realizes that it is leaving opportunities for other market players to change their strategies.
These players may take advantage of people's needs or complaints about physical form to change their future gaming concepts.
Microsoft is among them. Microsoft is rumored to be communicating internally with all publishers, stating that their next-generation consoles will be "100% physical" and support the conversion of physical games to digital versions. Microsoft is said to be telling developers that its upcoming console, Project Helix, will be entirely physical. ”
Given that Microsoft recently announced that it will launch a disc-to-digital version plan later this month, don’t be surprised if this rumor is true.
This is the second time Sony has faced boycotts from game developers over its disc-less plans. According to media reports, the atmosphere at Gamescom was tense, affecting marketing and third-party support.
The rumors don’t stop there. Rumors also mentioned that Sony had also been approached by a "large" game developer, hoping to cooperate in the development of a "heavyweight game." If Sony cannot guarantee the release of a physical version, this large game developer (which is said to be not Rockstar) will abandon the PlayStation platform and release the game directly on Microsoft and Nintendo platforms.
Only time will tell whether Sony will eventually give in and move toward bringing more mainstream games to physical versions.
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