Shawn Layden, the former CEO of PlayStation, is unsure if the PlayStation 6 will be released without a disc drive. In a recent interview, he explained that the wide global reach of the PlayStation brand plays a big role in his doubts.
Unlike Xbox, which has a strong presence in countries with good internet access, PlayStation is popular in around 170 countries, many of which have different levels of internet reliability. This means Sony needs to think carefully about how a disc-less console would affect players in areas with poor internet service.
Layden pointed out that certain groups, like athletes and military personnel, really depend on physical game discs because they often find themselves in places with unreliable internet. For these players, having physical copies of games is very important. So, if Sony decided to eliminate disc drives completely, the company would need to consider how it could negatively impact a significant part of their worldwide customer base. Basically, it’s too big to completely lose the feature.
Layden’s opinions are educated guesses based on his previous work at PlayStation, but since he left the company in 2019, his views aren’t official Sony statements. However, he has been leading the business for years and understands how the company thinks. It’s an interesting opinion, nonetheless.
I am pro-digital and believe we should be moving to digital only, but I also live in an area with high-speed internet. It’s easy to forget that while it seems like most of the world can handle a disc-less future, many areas cannot. Some players look at digital-only the same way many of us did when Microsoft first tried the idea in 2013.
The conversation about the PS6’s design also brought up some bigger trends in the gaming industry. Layden pointed out that the costs of making AAA games are climbing, possibly hitting an unsustainable $400 million for each game. Adding the cost of distributing discs is another issue, especially when tariffs are involved.
He mentioned that the industry might need to think about changing game lengths, suggesting shorter experiences of about 23 hours. This would help cut development costs. This would help solve the problem without needing to cut out discs entirely.
The success of a disc-less PS6 depends on how well-known the PlayStation brand is worldwide, the differences in internet access in various regions, the number of players who still prefer physical games, and how quickly player preferences and technology are changing. For now, many people still want to keep discs around, so the pressure on Sony isn’t as high as it could be.
Source: Kiwi Talkz, MP1st
