A gaming expert, Fisayo Oke, has expressed concern over Sony’s decision to stop physical disc production for all new games released on PlayStation consoles by January 2028.

Mr Oke, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Founder of Gamble Alert, a non-profit responsible gaming organisation, made his concern known on Tuesday.

Sony, the developer of PlayStation, had said recently that it would discontinue physical game disc production for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles starting January 2028.

The organisation said this decision was to accommodate shifts in consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry away from physical discs to digital.

Sony said from January 2028, new games would be available on the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only, adding that thetransition had no impact on games already released or to be released prior to January 2028 in disc format.

It said that the transition would enable the organisation to align more closely with how most of its community preferred to access and play games today.

Reacting to this development, Mr Oke said physical game discs gave a sense of belonging to traditional gamers and were easy to just slot into a playstation and play with friends at any time, unlike the digital version.

“There’s a sense of belonging that a number of persons are looking for. Someone like me, I probably would be more interested in sitting down, slotting in my disc with friends and then we can share.

“However, this is not so with the online version. It means if you don’t have it, you cannot play,” he said.

Mr Oke submitted that apart from the costs that would be incurred by the players, the passion for the gamers might reduce, as these discs usually served as a form of connection for players and lovers of games.

He also noted that gaming discs do not have ads that tend to disrupt the games while playing as opposed to playing online.

He said: “These factors might lead to resistance of this move by gamers.”

Mr Oke said that the company may have reached the decision to do this for economic reasons, adding that though the move may cost the company less, it would cost the players more money.

He added that the decision was not all bad, as it might make it easy for software developers to come up with their own game software since people won’t need to buy discs anymore.

On the challenges of site malfunction or crash, Mr Oke said continuous improvement of the gaming site/applications and strengthening of the developers’ information technology team might mitigate or totally eradicate incidences of crash or site malfunctions.

Mr Oke submitted that apart from the costs to be incurred by the players, the passion of gamers might reduce, as playing discs usually served as a form of connection for players and lovers of  games.

Gamble Alert is a non-profit organisation that is into responsible gambling, games, player protection and e-sports. 

(NAN)