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Sony is our enemy now?

This is like that Michael Jackson movie. Critics destroyed it and online it was savaged for sugar coating his legacy. It ended up being the most successful biopic of all time. This is what the recent controversies will be like.
 
Topher said:
This isn't just about digital though. Gaas and pisspoor first party output have been common complaints about Sony all generation long. They way they went about cutting off physical disc for PS5 was just the final straw for a lot of us.

But we are going to point out "dramatic cunts" then let's start with the over the corporation defense being put on display. Fucking cringe man
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I won't go as far as to call anyone a dramatic cunt, cause I believe the people on the other side are just doing what I am doing, standing up for their preferences.

I also feel I am well documented on my position on digital and physical, and my grievances with the inevitable all-digital future. I also feel I have talked at length on why I find most of this hypocritical.

I do think that anyone calling anyone who is OK with digital distro a corporate shill is just as bad as anyone calling people who want discs to remain dramatic cunts, though.

As for stuff like GAAS, DEI and the less than stellar first party output this gen... I can't knock them for trying tehir hand at GAAS, even if the only good that came of it was helldivers and GT7, every company tried, even nintendo. I can knock them for the DEI nonsense, which I believe is a by proiduct of moving their HQ to NA, I can't knock them for their output so far this gen, cause there has been some good stuff, and the gen isnt over.... more importantly though, I have got 4 good gens prior to this one, and this gen so far isnt that bad, albeit I feel its their worst one yet, not financially, just feels different...

But they have credit in the bank with me, if next gen tehy don't step up, then I can start doing what most on here are doing. Because I doubt any platform hasn't fucked up at least once before, hell, there are people that gave Xbox a two-generation-long benefit of the doubt.
 
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Mr.Phoenix said:
I won't go as far as to call anyone a dramatic cunt, cause I believe the people on the other side are just doing what I am doing, standing up for their preferences.

I also feel I am well documented on my position on digital and physical, and my grievances with the inevitable all-digital future. I also feel I have talked at length on why I find most of this hypocritical.

I do think that anyone calling anyone who is OK with digital distro a corporate shill is just as bad as anyone calling people who want discs to remain dramatic cunts, though.

As for stuff like GAAS, DEI and the less than stellar first party output this gen... I can't knock them for trying tehir hand at GAAS, even if the only good that came of it was helldivers and GT7, every company tried, even nintendo. I can knock them for the DEI nonsense, which I believe is a by proiduct of moving their HQ to NA, I can't knock them for their output so far this gen, cause there has been some good stuff, and the gen isnt over.... more importantly though, I have got 6 good gens prior to this one, and this gen so far isnt that bad, albeit I feel its their worst one yet, not financially, just feels different...

But they have credit in the bank with me, if next gen tehy don't step up, then I can start doing what most on here are doing. Because I doubt any platform hasn't fucked up at least once before, hell, there are people that gave Xbox a two-generation-long benefit of the doubt.
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You've always been reasonable bro. And I probably need to be clear that I'm not criticizing anyone who is already all-digital. That's a preference, as you say, and nothing wrong with it. I'm just talking about the staunch defense of Sony in all this along with the mocking those who are criticizing Sony for it. I don't think criticizing this move by Sony is an attack on all things digital. Not in my mind, at least.

We differ a bit in opinion on Sony this gen. That's fine too. I'm not going to drudge up all my grievances. The point I was making is that this isn't the only issue on the books for a lot of us. It is by far the biggest for me, but also just the latest.
 
LuxFixxins said:
How is that a meme? (I'm old. So maybe I don't fully understand what a meme is)
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I'm not saying it's a meme in the sense of a humorous or informative image being shared, but as a sentiment spreading online, and that sentiment being: "You're lying, being performative, and you're going to buy it anyway."

I'm not saying it's inorganic, just that it's interesting to see this sentiment spread when Rockstar and PlayStation decide to go all in on digital. Otherwise, it sounds like cope for mindless consumers. And I'm not saying that you are one.
 
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Woggleman said:
This is like that Michael Jackson movie. Critics destroyed it and online it was savaged for sugar coating his legacy. It ended up being the most successful biopic of all time. This is what the recent controversies will be like.
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If you think that there's gonna be little to no ripple effect irl regarding this and not affecting PS6 sales, you're in for a rude awakening along with Sony.

Physical media is the last bastion of consumer goodwill in Console Gaming.

An entire fucking generation of Consoles were flipped in favor of Sony, for just continuing what they were already doing, allowing used games to be playable on the PS4, which was already the norm and Sony capitalized on Xbox fumbling and played the savior card, while throwing PS players under the bus starting to charge them for online MP while no one was noticing.

Now take away that entirely by shutting down physical media, on top of close to $1000 Consoles being digital-only, increased PS+ sub prices to $80/year (rumored to be $100 soon) just to play online and a shit tier backwards compatibility program, you're ruining the 1 single division that's bringing profits to the entire company.

This will get uglier if Nintendo and MS capitalize on it, but MS will most probably follow the same path.

The E3 (SGF) prior to the new Consoles' launch next year (or 2028) will be massively bad PR for both these companies and there's no escaping it or Console players becoming that good old MW2 boycott meme on Steam because IW didn't pick ovide dedicated servers on PC.
 
realcool said:
I'm not saying it's a meme in the sense of a humorous or informative image being shared, but as a sentiment spreading online, and that sentiment being: "You're lying, being performative, and you're going to buy it anyway."

I'm not saying it's inorganic, just that it's interesting to see this sentiment spread when Rockstar and PlayStation decide to go all in on digital. Otherwise, it sounds like cope for mindless consumers. And I'm not saying that you are one.
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I've only bought a ps3, played GTAV and sold it all the 100th time I drove across the map.

So I'm not sticking up for PlayStation here. I pretty much solely play Nintendo stuff.

But i honestly believe that most people are just knee jerk reacting and they will get a ps6 regardless.
 
th4tguy said:
So people are now willing to buy from others stores than steam?

To be clear, I actually think it's good to put pressure on Sony. Not like they have competition to put pressure on them otherwise.
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You are coming across as someone who hasn't heard of alternative digital stores where you can buy Steam game keys cheaper than Steam sell them for.
 
LuxFixxins said:
I've only bought a ps3, played GTAV and sold it all the 100th time I drove across the map.

So I'm not sticking up for PlayStation here. I pretty much solely play Nintendo stuff.

But i honestly believe that most people are just knee jerk reacting and they will get a ps6 regardless.
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As I was pointing out in another post, this really isn't just about this one thing. I've been on Sony for a while about the quality of their first party and the amount of resources they allocated to live service has a lot to do with that. Despite their failures in gaas, Sony seems hell bent on doubling down on that nonsense.

So yeah....I could understand your point about this if it were just about this digital stuff, but is just ain't. So I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the reactions. I think they are quite genuine.

Does that mean PS6 is going suffer due to this? Probably not, but it doesn't help when they are already going to be charging an arm and a leg for the thing. Taking away options and incentives to continue gaming on PlayStation isn't the right move there, imo.
 
Schmick said:
You are coming across as someone who hasn't heard of alternative digital stores where you can buy Steam game keys cheaper than Steam sell them for.
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First the store credit gift cards go away. Next will be game key codes. Then, "introducing Steam cloud service"… Just wait

Valve isn't immune to corporate greed and despite how open people like to prop pc as being, they still refuse to buy anything anywhere other than Steam and pirate anything they can't.
 
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Topher said:
You've always been reasonable bro. And I probably need to be clear that I'm not criticizing anyone who is already all-digital. That's a preference, as you say, and nothing wrong with it. I'm just talking about the staunch defense of Sony in all this along with the mocking those who are criticizing Sony for it. I don't think criticizing this move by Sony is an attack on all things digital. Not in my mind, at least.
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Oh i get you... The all-digital doesn't affect me, being that I have been all-digital for a while, but I get it... I personally felt they have absolutely no reason to do what they have just done; I mean, if the thing is dying off anyway, there is no reason to pull the plug. I doubt anyone would have given them grief if they made the PS6 and announced an external USB-C drive peripheral right alongside it like it were a media controller. And let physical media sink or swim. Or if they started pricing discs higher than the digital option.

Like this whole thing would have been avoided.

Hell they could have even started releasing games digitally first and then released them physically like 2-3 months later, if they were even trying to shuffle people onto digital, and the backlash would have been less than this. Say some shit about not wanting to release the disc until all the relevant and necessary patches have been mastered onto the disc.

Wild choice they made I will give them that...
 
It's probably been said already but I'll stress it: Even if the last time you bought a physical game was in the last decade, this will still affect you. Sony will have a complete monopoly on the way you obtain games from now on, and that means you'll have to pay whatever it wants do play the games from now on.
 
The great Asmondgold is right about this. He said instead of fighting for physical that people largely quit buying, we should fight for stronger digital media rights.
 
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GAF has spoken.
 
No actually this is the most pro consumer thing Sony has done in the past decade.

We need to give the suits leading Sony some credit here. They saw how expensive parts were getting and decided the most pro-consumer thing they could do was make their next console so unappealing that no one would want it. Instead of paying $1200 to play new remasters from the PS4 era, we aren't going to be paying anything at all. We will have saved so much money.
 
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Neolombax said:
Corporations are never your friend. Make them work for you.
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So true.

But there's an advantage gaming corporations and studios have over most companies you buy stuff.

They do PR, social media, and have people who act as the face of the company. So they try to get gamers (customers) on their side as chummy buddies. You'll never get that from companies selling apples, shower curtains, or new tires (3 things I've bought the past year). Most products have a very functional/price/value equation to it.

But gaming companies and employees try to slickly get gamers on their side. So stick with them and buy their consoles and games as part of the family.
 
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Yes. I'll buy Final Fantasy VII Revelation for the PS5 because I've played the other games in the series on PS consoles so it feels fitting, but outside of that and maybe Marvel Tokon, I'm done buying games on PlayStation platforms.
 
Prodyhig said:
I'm waiting to receive my computer after years of not using a PC.

But it's true that the PC community on NeoGAF is like a group of vegans protesting outside a slaughterhouse.

I don't know how many threads about Sony have been started lately, but some people really ought to see a therapist and rethink their obsession with Sony PlayStation.
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Bro what lol? A lot of us here use Playstation but this *IS* a dick move regardless. I said it before that this, in my opinion, is moot. I fully believe they expect a rubberband and the ones left will justify thier investment going forward.
 
If discs/physical media are expendable or obsolete, when do your Playstation consoles become expendable/obsolete? Sony has nearly 0 compelling IP. When consoles disappear, Sony/Playstation will be forgotten while 3rd party devs with strong IP (like Capcom) will rule.

Sony can't pull a Sega and reframe themselves as a 3rd party publisher. Sega has IP. Sony has wife of war, Horizon, endless The Last Of Us remasters, a Naughty Dog game every 10 years and deals to use Marvel properties.
 
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Everybody needs to understand that Sony stopping physical releases is not a Sony decision, but an industry one. Sony just announced it (first). It's been obvious for awhile that the Xbox was going to be digital only.

On the other hand, what are physical games now? 90%+ are useless now as is. You buy a game, put it in your console while offline, and it doesn't work, and can't do anything. I don't understand why people pretend that having a useless disc is better than digital. The very first offensive was exactly that, making discs that do nothing anymore.

People are arguing that even key cards from Nintendo are better because they can still sell them, etc. but they are not. Whenever servers go offline, your game key card will be a useless piece of plastic. At least, a digital game can be stored on a hard drive and be capable of running anytime you want as long as the hard drive works.

The problem is not people arguing about not having a physical disc anymore, the problem is that people are crying about something that has been long dead before this announcement, they knew about it, were conscious about it, and right now are pretending wasn't the case.
 
Gamer_By_Proxy said:
The great Asmondgold is right about this. He said instead of fighting for physical that people largely quit buying, we should fight for stronger digital media rights.
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While I often agree with him, this isn't one of those times. This is a bad take for several reasons. First off even if you have a DRM-free digital copy, it's just data, you don't own anything tangible. It will never appreciate in value, nor will you ever be able to sell it. And secondly, and most importantly, it's completely unrealistic to think that most companies would agree to go DRM-free for their new games, it's just too easy to pirate. If piracy is more convenient and provides a better user experience, then people will just pirate, it's that simple.
 
RCU005 said:
Everybody needs to understand that Sony stopping physical releases is not a Sony decision, but an industry one. Sony just announced it (first). It's been obvious for awhile that the Xbox was going to be digital only.

On the other hand, what are physical games now? 90%+ are useless now as is. You buy a game, put it in your console while offline, and it doesn't work, and can't do anything. I don't understand why people pretend that having a useless disc is better than digital. The very first offensive was exactly that, making discs that do nothing anymore.

People are arguing that even key cards from Nintendo are better because they can still sell them, etc. but they are not. Whenever servers go offline, your game key card will be a useless piece of plastic. At least, a digital game can be stored on a hard drive and be capable of running anytime you want as long as the hard drive works.

The problem is not people arguing about not having a physical disc anymore, the problem is that people are crying about something that has been long dead before this announcement, they knew about it, were conscious about it, and right now are pretending wasn't the case.
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You're focusing strictly on the technical side of the disc, but the real issue here isn't nostalgia for plastic, it's the end of market competition.

As long as physical media exists, the digital storefront is forced to compete with prices from Amazon, major retailers, and the used game market. When a console goes 100% digital, the platform holder gains an absolute monopoly on pricing. A game won't just stay at $70, they can easily push it to $100, $150, or whatever they want, and the consumer will have no choice but to pay. Getting rid of the disc is, above all, the end of consumer choice.
 
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