Brief

• Sony has stated that it will cease producing physical discs for new games in 2028 and believes that digital downloads do not equate to ownership.
• Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden stated that this decision dealt a "major blow" to Sony's brand.
• He added that this measure affects the "most loyal" players, and it is likely to be driven by table-based reasoning.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden questioned Sony's decision to stop producing physical discs for its gaming consoles starting in 2028. This senior figure in the gaming industry described this as a "highly bureaucratic decision" and stated that such a move damages the company's reputation.

Since the announcement of this decision in July, players have been criticizing Sony for "killing the disc format." A physical gaming advocacy group has called for a organized boycott, and a petition named " Don 't Kill the Disc " has gathered over 385,000 signatures. Nevertheless, Sony seems unmoved, and there are no signs that they will change their course.

Layden said in the The Expansion Pass podcast: "This discussion has shifted from 'do you own a game' to 'do you just have access to a digital asset?' If you can't sell something, that means you don't actually own it. If you don't own it, then what are you buying? If what you're buying is just access, that doesn't sound so appealing."

"And, as people often do, they will work through the worst-case scenarios."

Just a few months ago, Sony argued in a California court that no rational consumer would think they own the digital games purchased at PlayStation Store, according to court documents reviewed at Game File.

This statement is in response to a proposed class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the purchase buttons in stores imply ownership, rather than a revocable license. Sony, on the other hand, states that its terms of service and software product license agreements clearly state that users do not own the products, and users should understand this as a fact.

Layden served as the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America from 2014 to 2018. He stated that it was precisely due to this stance that Sony's "brand suffered a significant blow." He also mentioned that this decision was likely driven by financial calculations, showing that Sony could control costs and maximize profits.

This former PlayStation executive emphasized that although only about 20% of players may still purchase physical discs due to the convenience of digital downloads, this group is often the "most loyal."

He said, "They are the kind of people who buy two copies of every game. One copy is never opened, while the other one is played with. Just like comic collectors. We are the kind of people who like to collect things and also like to show off what we have. Look at my collection!"

So, for these reasons, I disagree with that decision.

The crypto community once again takes the opportunity to promote NFT, claiming it to be a solution to players' problems. NFT provides verifiable ownership records for holders, and supporters believe this can prevent companies like Sony from revoking access to the game.

However, NFT still relies on public metadata and centralized hosting of files. Therefore, users still cannot access content that they “technically own” without the help of third parties. To solve this issue, metadata needs to be encrypted, and the content must also be hosted on completely decentralized infrastructure – which is not currently the case for many NFT.