Sony's silence on ending physical game discs fails to quiet PS5 fan revolt
PlayStation is trying to ride out fan anger over its decision to end production of physical games by staying quiet, and the strategy is not working, Polygon's Oli Welsh writes in his Patch Notes column.
Sony broadcast its latest State of Play showcase this week, but the event was overshadowed by angry PS5 fan demands over the disc-production decision. Welsh describes the showcase itself as modest but well balanced, with updates on big games, indies, a Lego PlayStation, and a Grand Theft Auto 6 controller, plus a deeper look at a 2027 blockbuster.
None of it mollified a fanbase in open revolt. Welsh contrasts Sony's approach with Xbox, which regularly pushes executives like Phil Spencer and Asha Sharma on stage to explain its thinking. Sony's business executives, by contrast, have stayed businesslike for 20 years, since the E3 2006 presentation, and the PlayStation brand presents itself as cool, inscrutable, and monolithic.
Welsh doubts Sony can keep that up. The column argues the company has never been one to get out in front of issues, but the disc-production backlash may force it to break that pattern.
Sony's refusal to publicly address its move away from physical game discs is prolonging a backlash that is now overshadowing its own product announcements.