The announcement that physical games for the PS5 will cease production in 2028 has caused a lot of reactions in the industry. However, an analyst explains that Sony is facing an even bigger problem than frustrated players.
Why is the lack of discs “only” a temporary solution? The industry analyst Rhys Elliott shared his speculations regarding the announcements about the abandonment of physical PS5 games in a post on X. For him, it is more of a kind of “stopgap” rather than a strategy to cope with a difficult time of high hardware costs:
This is short-term margin optimization during a challenging phase. PlayStation is buying itself time. It is betting that today’s cost pressures are just a phase and not a permanent condition.
A quick fix that could have serious consequences
What makes this stopgap so dangerous? The problem, according to Elliott, lies in the fact that this approach relies on the component crisis calming down and hardware becoming affordable again.
By abandoning physical media, the revenue per player continues to grow, supporting the numbers as long as the underlying economic situation is poor. Thus, when conditions normalize again, PlayStation can emerge from the crisis with intact margins and continue to show growth. It is a bridge over the bad years. The risk, of course, is that this bridge does not lead to anything better.
Rhys Elliott on X
However, how could this stopgap backfire? Elliott explains in his post that this bridge simultaneously tears down another one: namely, the one that brings new players into the PlayStation environment.
With rising console and game prices and the abolishment of physical media – and consequently, cheaper, used games – an entire generation of gamers loses access. They might then prefer to switch to mobile games, PCs, and free-to-play titles, leaving the expensive PS5 behind.
What do you think about the opinion of the industry analyst? Do you think it might be a temporary solution that could harm Sony in the long run? Let us know in the comments!
MeinMMO demon Cortyn is less worried about the abolishment of discs. She cannot comprehend the frustrations surrounding the situation, on the contrary: Everyone is complaining about the end of discs – For me, this future cannot come fast enough
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