1 - because of Sony’s requirements for printing physical discs, it requires permission and effort from Sony itself. A company cannot simply burn blurays for playstation games, they MUST engage Sony. This isn’t interest in “just managing of the IP,” this is specifically to increase profit by removing physical needs altogether (shipping, manufacturing, distribution, etc) as well as snuffing out the second hand market which, in theory, would drive more profit towards Sony, and finally it provides control. Access can be revoked, products become fluid, and the store can remove your access to older versions if a remake or remaster comes out that you would then have to buy on the new storefront. No new market can spring up with a resurgence in terms of Sony as Sony would have to allow it, being a closed console platform.
2 - they directly respond to shareholder questions around the backlash to the announcement, which they refer to as “various opinions.” They did not retract their statement or change course and choose to push forward. How is that not doubling down?
“There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing. That’s the big factor,” he said. "It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content; digitalization is progressing. And so, when we think about the future – and we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this – and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward.
Tao added, “And to this decision, we have received various opinions and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forth those views to us.”
i was referring to physical games as a whole and not necessarily tied to Playstation games or their discs.
They’ve been transitioning this specific manufacturing division since 2024. It can’t be a “double down” because they’re not going to revert two years of already re-trained staff and re-purposed equipment because of online forum talk.
Messages to shareholders like this is pretty standard. They’re basically saying:
decision is final
components manufacturing is more lucrative than disc manufacturing
we will distribute our IP
So they’re hedging their bets on what their future could be. If they lose out on gaming they’ll make back on microlenses.
2 clarifications:
1 - because of Sony’s requirements for printing physical discs, it requires permission and effort from Sony itself. A company cannot simply burn blurays for playstation games, they MUST engage Sony. This isn’t interest in “just managing of the IP,” this is specifically to increase profit by removing physical needs altogether (shipping, manufacturing, distribution, etc) as well as snuffing out the second hand market which, in theory, would drive more profit towards Sony, and finally it provides control. Access can be revoked, products become fluid, and the store can remove your access to older versions if a remake or remaster comes out that you would then have to buy on the new storefront. No new market can spring up with a resurgence in terms of Sony as Sony would have to allow it, being a closed console platform.
2 - they directly respond to shareholder questions around the backlash to the announcement, which they refer to as “various opinions.” They did not retract their statement or change course and choose to push forward. How is that not doubling down?
i was referring to physical games as a whole and not necessarily tied to Playstation games or their discs.
They’ve been transitioning this specific manufacturing division since 2024. It can’t be a “double down” because they’re not going to revert two years of already re-trained staff and re-purposed equipment because of online forum talk.
Messages to shareholders like this is pretty standard. They’re basically saying:
So they’re hedging their bets on what their future could be. If they lose out on gaming they’ll make back on microlenses.