Former PlayStation CEO Speaks Out Against Sony’s Move Away From Physical Games
Even though PlayStation is expected to stop producing game discs starting in 2028, not everyone agrees with the decision. In fact, many people believe it is the wrong move.
That includes former PlayStation head honco Shawn Layden, who also disagrees with Sony’s plan to stop releasing games on physical discs.
Speaking about the topic, Layden shared his thoughts on the move toward digital gaming. He said his opinion has not changed, even as the industry continues to become more digital.
Shawn Layden Also Disagrees With Sony Ending Physical Games
Layden believes that there will come a point when “I’m comfortable enough to believe that worldwide, broadband throughput is good enough to support that download experience, good enough to reach the majority of customers.”
He also said he has no idea why Sony decided to make the change and admitted he does not agree with it, but added, “I don’t necessarily agree with it but I don’t work in the business anymore. Maybe it’s just too prohibitively expensive to stamp out discs. If you look at any decision to discontinue a product or a feature or model or what have you, largely it’s a straight spreadsheet [decision]. What are disc sales compared to digital sales?”
Layden remembered when digital game sales made up only 10% of the market, and even when they were at 0% because there was no digital store.
“Majority does not mean entirety,” he explained, “so there is a point, a tipping point, where if I have 80 percent of the opportunity, which represents 95 percent of the revenue source, what’s my incentive to keep the lights on for the other 20 percent if it’s effectively only 5 percent of the business? See what I’m saying? At some point it just becomes obvious that we can’t keep this whole thing running just for this very small slice of opportunity.”
In related news, it was reported that Sony’s move away from physical PlayStation games has been planned for years, as its disc factory shifts to producing optical microlenses.
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