3 ms·

Interesting that Sony considers a Blu-Ray drive to no longer be a key feature of the flagship console model. They’re probably not wrong, given the long slow dec

by jl6 2y ago

Interesting that Sony considers a Blu-Ray drive to no longer be a key feature of the flagship console model. They’re probably not wrong, given the long slow decline in importance of optical media. Feels like the beginning of the end when even Blu-Ray’s primary creator is walking away.

marricks 2y ago
Sony & MS aided in the decline of discs by making a disc drive an expensive add on and having every game need an online connection or day one update to fix bugs. I'm sure they had a marketing plan of making $90 bucks off a $10 buck disc drive and then go "oh wow, look, only 30% of people spent an extra $100 bucks!"
- dvdbloc 2y ago
  It also enables them to effectively kill the used game market when you have to buy all games new through their store (or a code). You can’t even share a game with a friend, unless you share their whole account, which is way more friction.
  - marricks 2y ago
    Yep, then they can offer "share with a friend for a week just 5 bucks" at some point and we can all act like it's some revelatory experience :(
- rtkwe 2y ago
  They were also following consumer trends, digital purchases were already getting very popular before they introduced diskless versions of the consoles.
echelon 2y ago
They have sales data and probably analytics on actual usage. Even if the numbers aren't diminutive, they're likely looking to cut retail out of their margins. I like physical media. A loud subset of gamers like physical media. But when you compare against Steam, it's clear what actually sells.
- gs17 2y ago
  > But when you compare against Steam, it's clear what actually sells. And not just "what actually sells", but also that digital games remove a lot of costs while consumers don't necessarily expect a discount. There are a lot of people who wait for sales and bundles, but IMO that's more likely digital games being able to capture parts of the market that physical games struggled with rather than expecting a discount. I know I would definitely think a lot more before buying games if every title in my Steam library took up the space of even a disk.
- jamespo 2y ago
  steam is not on a closed platform though... maybe the EU should look at the console gaming marketplaces
awiesenhofer 2y ago
I always wondered why both Sony and MS stuck with discs instead of ie. SDCards like Nintendo - with up to 1TB in size and faster speeds that seems to be a way better fit?
- Snild 2y ago
  Discs are super cheap to press, and word is that Switch games are significantly more expensive to manufacture: https://www.eurogamer.net/why-nintendo-switch-games-are-ending-up-more-expensive https://www.eurogamer.net/why-nintendo-switch-games-are-endi...

by jl6 2y ago

marricks 2y ago

Sony & MS aided in the decline of discs by making a disc drive an expensive add on and having every game need an online connection or day one update to fix bugs. I'm sure they had a marketing plan of making $90 bucks off a $10 buck disc drive and then go "oh wow, look, only 30% of people spent an extra $100 bucks!"

dvdbloc 2y ago
It also enables them to effectively kill the used game market when you have to buy all games new through their store (or a code). You can’t even share a game with a friend, unless you share their whole account, which is way more friction.
- marricks 2y ago
  Yep, then they can offer "share with a friend for a week just 5 bucks" at some point and we can all act like it's some revelatory experience :(
rtkwe 2y ago
They were also following consumer trends, digital purchases were already getting very popular before they introduced diskless versions of the consoles.

echelon 2y ago

They have sales data and probably analytics on actual usage. Even if the numbers aren't diminutive, they're likely looking to cut retail out of their margins. I like physical media. A loud subset of gamers like physical media. But when you compare against Steam, it's clear what actually sells.

gs17 2y ago
> But when you compare against Steam, it's clear what actually sells. And not just "what actually sells", but also that digital games remove a lot of costs while consumers don't necessarily expect a discount. There are a lot of people who wait for sales and bundles, but IMO that's more likely digital games being able to capture parts of the market that physical games struggled with rather than expecting a discount. I know I would definitely think a lot more before buying games if every title in my Steam library took up the space of even a disk.
jamespo 2y ago
steam is not on a closed platform though... maybe the EU should look at the console gaming marketplaces

awiesenhofer 2y ago

I always wondered why both Sony and MS stuck with discs instead of ie. SDCards like Nintendo - with up to 1TB in size and faster speeds that seems to be a way better fit?

Snild 2y ago
Discs are super cheap to press, and word is that Switch games are significantly more expensive to manufacture: https://www.eurogamer.net/why-nintendo-switch-games-are-ending-up-more-expensive https://www.eurogamer.net/why-nintendo-switch-games-are-endi...