Anyone who was there remembers the silver discs of the first PlayStation and afternoons at the rental store picking games by their cover. Now the man who created the console, Ken Kutaragi, thinks the attachment to physical discs belongs to the past. In an interview with VGC at the Game Republic New Horizons event in England, he discussed Sony’s plan to stop making discs for new PlayStation games.

What he said

Kutaragi said he understands the frustration of people who do not want to give up the box on the shelf: to him, the disc became a metaphor for “owning” a game. But in his view, the resistance may be “a mentality issue.” He compared it with smartphones: since nearly everyone is online, nobody expects physical media, because they trust their content will stay with them. He does not think keeping discs makes economic sense.

He also suggested that current leadership sees PlayStation differently, as a content platform, noting that Sony Interactive Entertainment has hired many people from Gaikai and other streaming companies. In a separate conversation with The Game Business, he went further, saying AI services running on remote servers could one day make consoles unnecessary.

Sony’s plan

On July 1, Sony announced it will stop producing discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028. Games already released on disc, and those launching before that date, are not affected. The company pointed to player behavior: according to its results, digital already accounted for 85% of full-game sales on PS4 and PS5. On the following earnings call, Sony’s CFO reaffirmed the plan.

Keep in mind that Kutaragi left Sony in 2007, so this is his opinion, not the company’s official position. And for anyone who has collected boxes since the rental-store days, the debate is far from over.

Source: VGC, The Game Business and Sony Interactive Entertainment.