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[mckmas8808]

Ok, this is a dumb take if ever there was one.

Why would you need the console? A television is enough?

Yup... dumb take.

He must have never bought a PC game in his life.

Yep, super dumb.

 

[Ironman_Bad]

Im..

 

[uncreativename]

Not only it's not dumb, but that's the endgame for Sony.

They are already selling that narrative with the high prices bullshit.

Many of the people who laugh it off in this thread will clap in their balconies when Sony announces it by 2035 or so.

They're sort of already there, with Playstation Now . I'm sure they'd love it if they could make that bigger. The barrier to entry for GAAS would be way lower and way less risky for Sony if they could get it bundled with other companies TVs and laptops and phones.

I didn't really think about that before. Gross.

 

[riko]

This literally makes no sense.
So what are 85% of PlayStation users buying if not digital games? Or steam users? Etc…

Japan still has a far bigger attachment on physical games, and a much better resale market.

 

[wreckyat]

Ok, this is a dumb take if ever there was one.

Why would you need the console? A television is enough?

Yup... dumb take.

He must have never bought a PC game in his life.

You buy a mac computer and it's literally just a giant screen, everything is built in within that screen, so it's reasonable as an answer.

Likely though, he was referring to streaming games.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

You can just stream, dumbass, that's what he is talking about.

You must be retarded.... and nodoy... of course he is talking about streaming.

Not only it's not dumb, but that's the endgame for Sony.

They are already selling that narrative with the high prices bullshit.

Many of the people who laugh it off in this thread will clap in their balconies when Sony announces it by 2035 or so.

So you legit believe that Sony's endgame is streaming, the very same thing they have been doing in some shape or form since 2014? And all because Sony took out a disc drive?

If all that was required was taking out a disc drive to become a streaming platform strictly, then how is it that Steam is still a thing? And they have been digital-only since 2006.

This is why I said what he is saying is dumb... like the only thing that makes discrete hardware discrete is a fucking disc drive? Thats gotta be the dumbest shit I have ever heard; the damn thing is a bloody distribution platform. And now the internet and internal drives have replaced boats, trucks and discs.... boohoo the world is ending. This for sure means that everyone is going to be streaming games instead. All it took was for sony to kick off discs.

You buy a mac computer and it's literally just a giant screen, everything is built in within that screen, so it's reasonable as an answer.

Likely though, he was referring to streaming games.

A TV with a built-in PS5/PS6 is not just a TV. Any more than a Mac is the same thing as an iMac. And to even suggest its the same thing is beyond a stretch.

And if we are talking streaming, you don't need to build anything into the TV; just have the TV support a Bluetooth controller and that's it. You can install the app on your TV and stream.... You know... like we have been able to do since 2013.

 

[RCU005]

Welp you probably have two generations left then it's all done for you.

Sadly, you're probably right.

Everyone is complaining about physical discs, but in less than 15 years there won't even be a physical console.

You thought not owning your games sucks? Wait until you are charged for a cloud game! Not even digital game which you can store on an SSD, but a cloud game you don't even get. Stadia already did it.

Microsoft failed to make games digital on Xbox one, and now it's Sony doing it. In a few years, someone will try what Stadia did, and accomplish it.

 

[Neofire]

Disgaea Creator Says PlayStation Should "Get Rid Of The Hardware" If Physical Games End

Disgaea creator Sohei Niikawa says PlayStation should eliminate its hardware if physical games disappear, arguing boxed editions create lasting fan connections.

noisypixel.net

During an interview with Noisy Pixel at Anime Expo 2026, Disgaea creator Sohei Niikawa shared his thoughts on Sony's reported plans to end physical PlayStation game production beginning in 2028. While he understands the business reasoning behind the move, Niikawa-san believes physical games represent something digital releases can't replace: a lasting connection between developers and fans. In case you missed it, check out our preview of Niikawa-san's upcoming game, Demons' Night Fever.

Niikawa-san pointed to fan interactions at conventions as an example. He said boxed games become personal keepsakes that players can bring to events, have signed by developers, and display afterward as reminders of experiences that meant something to them.



For Niikawa-san, that connection is part of being a game creator. Physical copies become reminders of the people who made them just as much as the games themselves.

Although he understands the business perspective behind moving away from physical releases, Niikawa-san questioned whether Sony's leadership has experienced that side of game development firsthand.


Niikawa-san followed that thought with a blunt conclusion about the future of PlayStation hardware if physical games disappear entirely.


The comments came during a broader conversation about Demons' Night Fever, Niikawa-san's upcoming strategy RPG from SuperNiche and Arc System Works. Although much of the interview focused on the game's unconventional design philosophy, he didn't hesitate when asked about the future of physical media. For Niikawa-san, boxed games remain part of the relationship between creators and the people who play their work.

Great, a dumb ass response by a creator to a company that initially made a dumb ass decision.

 

[yet_another_alt]

He should know. Disgaea (arguably the best version of it actually) is stuck digital only phones. The worst part is they dropped support for it and it's no longer compatible with newer OS. It will show up on your library but you can't download it.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Games being digital, doesn't have anything to do with the console being the cloud.

The cloud is where I draw the line. Whenever gaming becomes the cloud, that's when gaming is over for me.

Digital games can become manageable once there are better laws and consumer practices. The cloud on the other hand, would always be a mess.

Yep. People on here Advocating for cloud gaming are nuts. I'm sorry but I don't want another damn subscription. I don't want to get laid off from work or get ill and not be able to play games because subscription needs to be paid monthly. It's sub on top of sub on top of sub until you have nothing left. Fuck this future.

 

[Physiognomonics]

Ok, this is a dumb take if ever there was one.

Why would you need the console? A television is enough?

Yup... dumb take.

He must have never bought a PC game in his life.

To stream you don't need a console. A TV with a dedicated streaming chip will suffice. This is their long term plan.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

To stream you don't need a console. A TV with a dedicated streaming chip will suffice. This is their long term plan.

Seriously, where do you guys come up with this stuff?

Like, are you all forgetting PS Now was a thing since 2013?

 

[Cakeboxer]

That would be hilarious.

 

[The Pleasure]

He's wrong. Fans can still bring in something to sign at conventions. It's just that instead of a boxed copy, it'll be a print out from their Gmail.....

You are so wise

 

[PeteBull]

As a vivid disgea fan(atic) back from its first entry in ps2 times(hell i enjoyed all of those games at similar lvl as FFT on psx, aka my personal ranking all of them are 9,5+/10) what i can say to that dev:

and

 

[uncreativename]

As a vivid disgea fan(atic) back from its first entry in ps2 times(hell i enjoyed all of those games at similar lvl as FFT on psx, aka my personal ranking all of them are 9,5+/10) what i can say to that dev:

and

I feel like Disgara 1's an underrated game these days. The writing and voice acting was super funny and it's still one of the best put together and most polished tactics games ever released, and you could play it for a bajillion hours if you really wanted to.

Were any of the other games as good? I've never actually tried any of the sequels tbh .

 

[PeteBull]

I feel like Disgara 1's an underrated game these days. The writing and voice acting was super funny and it's still one of the best put together and most polished tactics games ever released, and you could play it for a bajillion hours if you really wanted to.

Were any of the other games as good? I've never actually tried any of the sequels tbh .

If u like genre then yup they were, i mean just look at this, from 4th game:

and here trailer, dont wanna spoil too much obviously:

 

[yogaflame]

I think he is being sarcastic. Its more like he is attacking Sony's decision. Clearly Japan developers hates sony's decision. Japanese developers respect physical disc enthusiast

 

[Physiognomonics]

Seriously, where do you guys come up with this stuff?

Like, are you all forgetting PS Now was a thing since 2013?

We don't disagree then. They were the first to bring streaming to consoles.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

We don't disagree then. They were the first to bring streaming to consoles.

That's not the point... but ok, it's clear you aren't interested in facts. So let's agree to disagree then.

 

[Gamezone]

Why would you need a console? Obviously to avoid jitters, latency and always online while playing. It's more of a discussion why you would need console when you can avoid their wallet garden by moving to PC.

AAA gaming gaming would be bad enough. Why would I need cloud to play my pixelated indie games that might run natively on a pregnancy test?

 

[uncreativename]

If u like genre then yup they were, i mean just look at this, from 4th game:

and here trailer, dont wanna spoil too much obviously:

Awesome I'll check it out sometime :].
Posting this here to remind people that jrpg localisation can be funny while also not being full of retarded zoomer jokes and politics if it's done by people with talent

 

[Bojji]

Not only it's not dumb, but that's the endgame for Sony.

They are already selling that narrative with the high prices bullshit.

Many of the people who laugh it off in this thread will clap in their balconies when Sony announces it by 2035 or so.

Yep, Cloud gaming is the next step.

Fans will love it!

 

[Gamezone]

Yep, Cloud gaming is the next step.

Fans will love it!

Console players should run, now. Before the Xbox One release a loved Xbox. I loved collecting physical, then they pulled their stupid move. After reversing their decision I was thinking about buying a PS4 instead, because I needed a more pro consumer company for the future, but I knew it wouldn't last, and look where we are today. I'm glad I went with PC.

 

[crackajack]

I don't get why some people here think streaming is not the end game of Sony's plan. Digital only is being forced since the losses seem to be acceptable from their numbers and expectations. Once people don't own discs, moving them towards not owning the device itself can be the second step to pull the product entirely out of our hands. Just (digital) money for them and digital access for us.
With very expensive hardware, possibly the entire next gen, streaming might be a much cheaper solution....

Eliminating piracy gets a lot easier if there is no full download of anything anymore and emulators would need to hack into the servers to get to the games. For now I guess a download or local install can get ripped like discs have been. So streaming only might be the target for PS7 or 8, certainly for the Portal Player 2 and 3. And native games on a handheld might only return as a temporary transition fix.
It might not be accepted much yet, like it did not work out for Luna, Stadia and limited succes for PS Now, Geforce Now nad MS XCloud, but once the numbers approach 70/30 or whatever they will think about pulling the trigger.

 

[Hudo]

Kinda based take. It's him telling Sony to get fucked and I agree.

 

[Life Diff]

I think he is being sarcastic. Its more like he is attacking Sony's decision. Clearly Japan developers hates sony's decision. Japanese developers respect physical disc enthusiast

Yeah but Japan is a none entity to Sony for sales nowadays. Japan developers is kinda broad statement considering Capcom most sales are digital nowadays. Imagine it's the same case for the other large developers in the region.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Japan still has a far bigger attachment on physical games, and a much better resale market.

We dont know that data for Sony consoles. Besides the digital PlayStation is selling 90% of all consoles in japan for PlayStation currently so that makes no sense.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

We dont know that data for Sony consoles. Besides the digital PlayStation is selling 90% of all consoles in japan for PlayStation currently so that makes no sense.

Disingenuous stat. The digital Japan only version model is 55k yen whereas the disc version is 97k yen. This means a lot and it'd mean a lot more if we knew how many disc drives were sold because it's way cheaper to buy the digital only version plus a disc drive than it is to buy a retail disc drive console.

Digital ps5 (55k) + disc drive (12k) = 67k

Disc based ps5 console = 97k

Way cheaper.

(Prices provided by ai search using July price data)

 

[cireza]

I dare say they should even get rid of their customers. Make them digital as well.

 

[Trilobit]

Edit: removed because cireza made a funnier joke than me.

 

[riko]

We dont know that data for Sony consoles. Besides the digital PlayStation is selling 90% of all consoles in japan for PlayStation currently so that makes no sense.

And yet Nintendo with their physical heavy strategy is absolutely crushing them in Japan.

Japan clearly doesn't matter to Sony the way it did in the PSX/PS2 era. The button swap was proof of that.

 

[archangelmorph]

I love how 75% of the responses in this thread clearly demonstrate that most of you don't understand satire or someone being tongue-in-cheek.

Honestly pull them sticks out your asses NeoGAF.

All this woke rage has fucked ya'll up.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

And yet Nintendo with their physical heavy strategy is absolutely crushing them in Japan.

Japan clearly doesn't matter to Sony the way it did in the PSX/PS2 era. The button swap was proof of that.

If you think Nintendo is crushing it because of physical games existing then why wouldn't Sony be crushing it right now? They also have physical games and always had them.
I like physical games but even i know how irrelevant they are in the great scheme of things and even nintendo wont have them one day.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Yeah but Japan is a none entity to Sony for sales nowadays. Japan developers is kinda broad statement considering Capcom most sales are digital nowadays. Imagine it's the same case for the other large developers in the region.

The funny thing is that, today, the industry in Japan is considerably healthier than in the West.

 

[TGO]

I find it funny that people think this isn't the next step.
Just shows how delusional people are.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Games will still be sold at retail as a code in a box.

Very few games would do that because, if Nintendo leak prices are to be believed, the code in box is almost as expensive as having the box with the disc. Why pay extra and decrease your profits? Collector's versions are usually just a couple of thousands, most sales always come from regular versions.

I see his point, Google tried to do that, Microsoft tries to do that, Sony tries to do that, your console will just be your joystick and the game will be streamed, that's what he's referring to.

 

[PeteBull]

I find it funny that people think this isn't the next step.
Just shows how delusional people are.

We know its next step and that large corpos are giddy to take it, just its not progress, its huge regress, kinda like many talking points are called "progressive" while in reality they 100% lead to huge regression of society/community/country.

 

[Miles708]

This guy gets it.

A box with some digital licences in it is not something anyone can get attached to and therefore we can get rid of it.

 

[lughnasadh123]

Just when you think you've read the dumbest reaction, a new king is pooped out.

 

[simpatico]

Oh that's coming. At least in the way of getting rid of local processing. Margins on screens and controllers is way higher. PS7 could be a better Pulse, USB dongle or a SmartTV app.

 

[K' Dash]

nobody has the infrastructure to provide cloud gaming to their player base, even less with all the shit going on with data centers and memory prices. The cheaper and best option is to offer their own HW.

 

[Gamezone]

Yep. People on here Advocating for cloud gaming are nuts. I'm sorry but I don't want another damn subscription. I don't want to get laid off from work or get ill and not be able to play games because subscription needs to be paid monthly. It's sub on top of sub on top of sub until you have nothing left. Fuck this future.

Removing the disc drive has nothing to do with streaming. Physical VS digital have no differences in how the games are played. Cloud gaming on the other hand will provide added latency, stuttering and a whole bunch of other garbage.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Removing the disc drive has nothing to do with streaming. Physical VS digital have no differences in how the games are played. Cloud gaming on the other hand will provide added latency, stuttering and a whole bunch of other garbage.

I dont think I've ever done cloud gaming ever whether it's on console, PC or a smartphone stream.

So whether I play a slow paced Skyrim session, or a twitchy shooter, is it tolerable or outright garbage?

 

[Three]

nobody has the infrastructure to provide cloud gaming to their player base, even less with all the shit going on with data centers and memory prices. The cheaper and best option is to offer their own HW.

I think it's the opposite. Nobody has the money for local hardware anymore and the big companies like MS, Nvidia, Amazon etc who have money would love to have you constantly paying to stream games.

 

[_Ex_]

You will own nothing and stream shitty games.

 

[uncreativename]

I dont think I've ever done cloud gaming ever whether it's on console, PC or a smartphone stream.

So whether I play a slow paced Skyrim session, or a twitchy shooter, is it tolerable or outright garbage?

I remember asking someone on here about it, and they said that Playstation Now's better than it used to be when I last used it. Which when I last used it it was pretty bad. I'll see if I can find where this was...

 

[uncreativename]

Found it! I misremembered a little, he was actually talking about GeForce Now. Anyway. You'll wanna ask

GeForce Now is there for me with most genres. If Sony put the same investment into the streaming tech as they do into the Playstation hardware, I think we'd closer than you think. Look at how fast software is moving now.

 

[simpatico]

There might not be a choice soon. $500 for 24GB GDDR7? Things are going to get pricey. Supposedly that's Nvidia's price, so good luck to the others looking to get a bulk discount.

 

[cash_longfellow]

And they should have gotten rid of that series 15 years ago…touché