Former PlayStation Boss Shawn Layden Says Sony Can't Get Away With Making PS6 Disc-less

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios CEO, Shawn Layden, believes Sony cannot afford to release a completely digital, disc-less PlayStation 6. While acknowledging Xbox's success with this strategy, Layden highlights Sony's significantly larger global market share. Eliminating physical games would alienate a substantial portion of their user base.

Layden points out that Xbox's digital-first approach thrives primarily in English-speaking countries, unlike Sony's widespread global dominance. He questions Sony's ability to ensure reliable internet access for all players, citing examples like rural Italy, where connectivity may be insufficient for digital-only gaming. He also mentions other segments reliant on physical media, such as athletes traveling or military personnel on bases with limited internet. While acknowledging Sony's likely market research into this transition, Layden emphasizes the immense risk involved in abandoning such a large portion of their customer base.

The debate surrounding disc-less consoles has intensified since the PlayStation 4 generation, fueled by Xbox's digital-only console releases. Both PlayStation and Xbox offer digital-only versions of their current consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S), but Sony has yet to fully commit to a disc-less model. This is partly due to the availability of external disc drives for their digital consoles, including the PS5 Pro. However, the rise of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus's Games Catalog raises questions about the future of physical media.

Physical game sales continue to decline, and many major publishers are releasing games requiring online access even on disc, blurring the lines between physical and digital distribution. Examples include Assassin's Creed Valhalla (likely a typo, should be Assassin's Creed Valhalla or another game) requiring online installation and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's similar reliance on internet connectivity. This trend effectively renders the second disc in older two-disc releases obsolete, with the additional content now delivered as DLC. The decreasing importance of physical discs raises the question of how long they will remain a core feature of gaming consoles.

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