LA man Breaks Down Playstation’s Plan Step by Step. Then He Argues the Endgame: ‘$100 Games and You’ll Own Nothing’

One Los Angeles man broke down what he thought was PlayStation’s master plan for getting rid of physical discs step-by-step. The way he arrived at the company’s endgame should be terrifying if true and if you own one of Sony’s systems. His basic argument is that we’re all going to be stuck with $100 games and users won’t own a single title when it’s all said and done.

This could become real if things play out the way that it is argued in the video, and may not be a future that gamers want! On TikTok, @carterpcs covers all kinds of topics from the world of video games. Recently, he dove right into a viewer comment about how Playstation getting rid of physical game discs isn’t a big deal.

Essentially, the commenter argued that because so many of game sales now are digital, getting rid of the discs isn’t a sign that the sky is falling. PlayStation points this fact out during their explanation of the decision. But, @carterpcs pokes holes in that logic in his rebuttal.

In his eyes, this is the first move toward getting games to a larger subscription model. If you’ve ever wondered what a world with XBOX’s Game Pass service on steroids would look like, he’s got a pretty powerful vision. The endgame the poster lays out would be a different experience for the consumer. 

It’s no secret that publishers and platform holders have been testing the waters of raising prices of individual games. Mario Kart World caused a big stir when the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced because of its $80 price tag. There were also industry analysts scared that Rockstar Games was going to charge $100 for GTA VI. And, they almost did! (The standard edition is $79.99 to be exact. However, that doesn’t come with the actual disc! And, the Standard Edition is reportedly missing some missions and special stores are locked behind the paywall.)

So, the idea that the barrier to getting any game could be that $100 is scary for a lot of people out there. I feel like the TikTok lays out a plausible scenario.

What Is Sony’s Master Plan?

“First, they get rid of the disc. Then, they raise prices on the PlayStation Store. Because, where else are you gonna buy games?,” CarterPCS wonders. “Then, once they raise prices and every game is $100, we’ll say that’s ‘That’s too expensive! And, they’ll say, ‘If you can’t afford to buy it, that’s fine. Just sign up for the subscription! Rent it from us.’”

“And then, once we’re all renters, they’ll do what everyone does to renters, screw them over and take all of their money by all means necessary,” he argues. “‘Oh, you want the new game? Sorry! That’s only the higher subscription tier. You want 120 FPS {frames per second} Sorry, that’s only premium. Oh, hey guys, subscription prices were raised. Sorry about that.’ It’ll be like Netflix. Actually, this is exactly how Netflix happened.” 

As all those views attest, it’s a compelling argument. You may not agree with it, but this young person has done some thinking on the topic. And, you can look up charts like the one that the TikToker linked in the video for more proof. Once consumers are locked into a subscription model, they’re really at the mercy of a platform holder. Prices can rise at any time, and terms of service can be altered covertly without their knowledge.

All of these concerns are something that has been bubbling on the Internet for the last few weeks after the big announcement came down.

PlayStation Moves To Get Rid Of Physical Game Discs

When the decision came down, there was consternation from all corners of the Internet. A lot of folks were upset with this change of course from PlayStation. In true corporate fashion, the company took to their blog to try and explain their reasoning for getting rid of physical disks. The blog post was widely circulated through screenshots and left many people even more perplexed by the decision.

“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” they explained on the blog. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”

The funny thing about a statement like this is that Sony dictates the access to these titles. Through being the platform holder and limiting the number of disc-based releases, the company has full control of what gets onto store shelves.

Also, as many people on the Internet have pointed out, going to simple paper inside of a plastic box doesn’t make the games cost any less? Like cutting out the cost of physical disc production doesn’t sound like it would trickle down to the consumer if we keep seeing boxes get shipped out and digital prices remain the same as physical.

In fact, the idea that these games could be revoked at any time is something the players are actively losing when compared with disc-based releases. So, there are some cons along with the pros of physical space being freed up for the person buying the game. 

Yeah, you might not have the stack of discs in the house taking up space. But, you also don’t have the ability to have a foolproof physical backup for your collection. That’s the tradeoff most gamers are looking at.

(Photo Credit: TikTok/@carterpcs / PlayStation)

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