After the news that Sony will be sunsetting PlayStation discs, Hideo Kojima has spoken out on the importance of physical media.
"Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad," Kojima said at the Il Cinema in Piazza film festival (translated via Genki_JPN). "Currently, I've been buying up a lot of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too.
"The situation is different for games, as they are downloaded to the hard drive, that means the game data remains on your own hardware. However, if things shift to streaming in the future, that won't be the case anymore," he continued.
"With streaming subscription services, like Netflix or Amazon, there is a server somewhere, and you essentially just have the right to turn the tap, and when you do, the data flows out. That's how movies work on these platforms, right? You don't download the data, you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don't actually possess the data yourself.
"There are companies that own these servers and let you 'turn the tap' for a monthly fee. However, with nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens you won't be able to watch or play the movies and games you like. That is what is frightening.
"So, what is happening to video games in 2028, might also happen to movies. I'd like everyone to keep that in mind," he said.
One hot topic in streaming has been movies or shows getting deleted from their streaming homes, effectively rendering them lost media. For example, Disney and Lucasfilm's Willow TV show was removed from Disney Plus and, since it never got a physical release, you can no longer watch it.
As for games, the shift might already be here ahead of 2028, as GTA 6 will ship out codes in boxes rather than a physical disc.
"As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format," Sid Shumen, senior director of SIE's content communications, announced in a post on the official PlayStation site.
"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.
"We'll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that's at retailers or PlayStation Store. We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support," the post concluded.
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