While I feel this is spot-on regarding Sony's underlying motives—cutting out retailers and killing the used games market is absolutely their endgame, here, I feel like framing the physical media argument around Resident Evil Requiem leaves out some important high-level context, and I hope not intentionally. For one, RE is an outlier; it's a 30-year-old legacy franchise with a massive, dedicated collector base. Naturally, it's going to skew heavier toward physical sales than the average release. While RE did well on disc in select regions, Sony’s broader ecosystem data still consistently shows digital accounting for 70% to 80%+ of total software sales. The overall consumer shift has already happened, and this "pick and choose" data selection doesn't change that. Further, dismissing the low 22% physical share in the US as purely a stock shortage issue ignores that the US has been aggressively leading the digital transition for years, this isn't just for Requiem. The article also doesn't even attempt to backup the assertion. Low physical attachment is the norm in the US now, not just a supply anomaly for every single game. It’s also not just platform holders pushing this. Third-party publishers are also eager to go digital because physical manufacturing, global shipping, and warehousing have become massive financial liabilities. Discs are expensive, and the justification for some of those more "flat" costs decreases the less discs are sold. Not to mention as games get more expensive to make, providing an expensive physical medium that will bite into the profitability of a game in terms of distribution and future sales makes even less sense. People want Sony to make more games, that are riskier projects, then get mad when they try to find ways to save money to make that possible. I bet people wouldn't be willing to pay more for discs to make up the difference.
I won't disagree with the very valid critiques of how Sony is handling the transition (and their lack of communication), but looking at the broader industry data, it's easy to see why they feel comfortable finally cutting the cord and an article like this that ignores the context of the data it is about doesn't help the disc(ourse).
I'm actually surprised that at the current tally, ~50% of voters would pay the more premium prices. I was one of those people, understanding that the price of components are outside of Sony's control, but I figured most wouldn't want too regardless of that understanding and figured it was best for Sony to potentially delay. While an extremely small sample size... it does still support the idea that perhaps Sony doesn't have to wait for a better outlook on components.
Comments 3
Re: Do Resident Evil Requiem's Healthy Disc Sales Call Sony's All-Digital PS6 Strategy into Question?
While I feel this is spot-on regarding Sony's underlying motives—cutting out retailers and killing the used games market is absolutely their endgame, here, I feel like framing the physical media argument around Resident Evil Requiem leaves out some important high-level context, and I hope not intentionally. For one, RE is an outlier; it's a 30-year-old legacy franchise with a massive, dedicated collector base. Naturally, it's going to skew heavier toward physical sales than the average release. While RE did well on disc in select regions, Sony’s broader ecosystem data still consistently shows digital accounting for 70% to 80%+ of total software sales. The overall consumer shift has already happened, and this "pick and choose" data selection doesn't change that. Further, dismissing the low 22% physical share in the US as purely a stock shortage issue ignores that the US has been aggressively leading the digital transition for years, this isn't just for Requiem. The article also doesn't even attempt to backup the assertion. Low physical attachment is the norm in the US now, not just a supply anomaly for every single game. It’s also not just platform holders pushing this. Third-party publishers are also eager to go digital because physical manufacturing, global shipping, and warehousing have become massive financial liabilities. Discs are expensive, and the justification for some of those more "flat" costs decreases the less discs are sold. Not to mention as games get more expensive to make, providing an expensive physical medium that will bite into the profitability of a game in terms of distribution and future sales makes even less sense. People want Sony to make more games, that are riskier projects, then get mad when they try to find ways to save money to make that possible. I bet people wouldn't be willing to pay more for discs to make up the difference.
I won't disagree with the very valid critiques of how Sony is handling the transition (and their lack of communication), but looking at the broader industry data, it's easy to see why they feel comfortable finally cutting the cord and an article like this that ignores the context of the data it is about doesn't help the disc(ourse).
Just my two cents.
Re: Which PlayStation 3 Games Deserve a Full Black Flag Resynced Style Remaster?
The Resistance trilogy would just be fantastic. Really the only major games I miss that aren't anywhere else at this point, and could use some love.
Re: How Much Would You Pay For PlayStation 6?
I'm actually surprised that at the current tally, ~50% of voters would pay the more premium prices. I was one of those people, understanding that the price of components are outside of Sony's control, but I figured most wouldn't want too regardless of that understanding and figured it was best for Sony to potentially delay. While an extremely small sample size... it does still support the idea that perhaps Sony doesn't have to wait for a better outlook on components.