PlayStation has announced plans to stop putting games on discs starting in 2028, and despite fierce backlash, it isn’t backing down. It’s a decision that continues to confuse those who buy and play its games, and even the studio’s former chairman can’t really get his head around why it is pushing for an all-digital future quite so forcefully.

Shawn Layden worked at Sony for more than 30 years, aiding in the production and distribution of every single PlayStation console, and was chairman of SIE Worldwide for the final three years of his tenure before leaving the company in 2019. There aren’t many who know the inner workings of PlayStation better than he does, and even he can’t quite understand what’s going on behind the scenes.

“We are an inquisitive collecting sort of people, and we like to show off our stuff. So I think for those reasons I don’t agree with that decision,” Layden said during a recent appearance on The Expansion Pass (thanks to VGC for the transcription). Those comments came after Layden admitted PlayStation’s move away from discs was likely a “heavily spreadsheeted decision”, but even then, he’s still struggling to understand the thinking behind it.

It’s what digital ownership represents for those who still prefer to buy physical, and even many of those who largely stick to digital downloads, that Layden believes poses the biggest threat to the PlayStation brand. " Layden questions. “If you can’t sell a thing, that means you don’t own a thing.

Source link