If Sony change their PlayStation disc policy people will like them again – Reader’s Feature

Is Sony starting to regret its decision? (Photo by Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images) A reader is optimistic that Sony could still change their all-digital policy and bring back discs for the PS5 and PS6, if fans keep up the pressure. Before writing this, I checked to see if people were still flooding the comments on PlayStation’s YouTube and X channels with complaints about their no disc policy and… yep! They’re still at it. Good for them I say, as I’m sure this is going on for much longer than Sony imagined, with no end in sight. We all know the issues involved, and the fact that they’ve apparently already changed their disc factory round to making something else. They did that pretty quick though, so that means they can easily change it back it too. And I think there’s actually a chance that they will. A couple of weeks ago we heard they were asking developers about their choice to kill off discs, which seemed an odd thing to be doing so long after they said they’d already made their decision. Then, this week, we found out that physical sales for Marvel’s Wolverine, a game they must’ve worried was going to be a flop, had actually been really good. Wolverine’s exactly the sort of mainstream game you’d expect to sell a lot of physical copies. Although it is 18-rated, so something that was family friendly would probably have sold even more. This should give Sony a very clear message that people still want discs and that not only are they upsetting their fans but they’re losing sales as well. Of course, the only reason they did this is to make more money, because they have to give a cut of sales to the shop with physical, but not digital – because they own the store. It’s also pretty obvious they did this after talking to Rockstar, because this and the GTA 6 no disc annoucement came within just a few days of each other. Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. Greedy corporations aren’t anything new but because they’re greedy there’s a guaranteed way to get them to do what you want: make them lose money. A boycott is too much to ask but if everyone’s buying on disc, and then they stop making discs… not everyone’s going to convert instantly to digital – some people are just not going to buy at all anymore. I think it’s this fear which got them spooked enough to ask developers what they think and if they only had more games coming out, they would have more data showing them how much people prefer discs. It’s over 50% in some countries, which I thought would be impossible nowadays, the way some people talk. But there’s another reason Sony should reverse their decision: people will actually start to like them again. Those comments are going to disappear from social media overnight and people will stop dunking on everything Sony did. After all, most of the grousing about Wolverine seems to be because of general anger at Sony, rather than anything that’s wrong with the game itself. I think the reason publishers don’t respond so much in these situations is that they worry if they give in to one thing then people will immediately start demanding something else and never stop, which is probably true, because unfortunately that’s what people are like – especially people online. But this issue is too important. Games should be available physically, if people want them, and Sony should give in and release them that way. If they want to put them out on little memory cards or whatever then fine. I’d assume discs are cheaper but that’s not the point. We want to own the games we buy and until that’s true again Sony is going to know no peace. By reader Grackle Marvel’s Wolverine has proven very popular on disc (Sony Interactive Entertainment) The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email. Arrow MORE: 7 dead PlayStation franchises Sony should bring back for PS6 - Reader's Feature Arrow MORE: The Naughty Dog news has me optimistic about the PS5 again – Reader’s Feature Arrow MORE: Resident Evil 5 should never be remade but Resident Evil 6 is fine - Reader’s Feature GameCentral Get the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.