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 model, Layden emphasizes Sony's significantly larger global market share. Eliminating physical games would alienate a substantial portion of their player base.
Layden highlighted that Xbox's digital-first strategy thrives primarily in English-speaking countries (U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). In contrast, Sony's dominance extends across approximately 170 countries worldwide. He questioned the feasibility of a disc-less console for regions with unreliable internet access, citing examples like rural Italy. He also mentioned the needs of specific groups like traveling athletes and military personnel who rely on offline gaming. Layden suggested Sony is likely assessing the potential market impact of a disc-less transition. The key question, he stated, is determining the acceptable level of market share loss before abandoning physical media.
The debate surrounding digital-only consoles has intensified since the PlayStation 4 generation, fueled by Xbox's release of digital-only consoles. 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 Digital Edition. However, the rise of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus's Games Catalog raises questions about the long-term viability of physical games.
The declining sales of physical media, coupled with games increasingly requiring online activation even on disc (e.g., Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), further complicates the issue. The practice of including what was once a second disc as downloadable content reinforces this trend.
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