PlayStation started the month with a massive bang, and not in a good way, when it announced that it was killing game discs once 2028 rolls around. Reports indicated that, behind the scenes, it’s a decision that was long in the making. But a new report has surfaced, pointing out that while the parent company Sony may have made the decision, it wasn’t necessarily communicated to everyone under the PlayStation umbrella.
High Chaos Run, a relatively new Indian outlet, reports that the Sony videogames subsidiary did not inform “its publishers, business partners, or even branches in other markets before making the move”. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the report points to the decision being a unilateral one, with “one executive at a major AAA Publisher” quoted as saying that “it’s only hitting us now that we may be out of jobs sooner rather than later”. This is “despite our seemingly close working relationship with PlayStation”.
As mentioned, even regional offices were not informed ahead of the public. The report claims that PlayStation India was actively “negotiating deals with local distributors and retailers to invest in and set up exclusive PlayStation brick-and-mortar stores”. At the time, the goal was to have “100 of these in India by 2028”.
One such investor was cited as saying that PlayStation India “didn’t know either”, as the branch “kept asking us to put money in all the same”, seemingly up until the blog post was published. “Why would we even work with PlayStation let alone invest a couple of crores (1 crore = INR 10 million / ~RM427,400) on a store when they won’t be selling discs”, the investor was quoted as saying.
The report also claims that the Sony videogames subsidiary has been treating publishers with “condescension”. Sources claim that the former told the latter to “take it or leave it”, but for now, there has not been any public reaction from any publisher. That being said, prominent developer Hideo Kojima did react to the situation in an interview in Italy.
Of course, a report coming out of a new outlet does not exactly inspire confidence. But for what it’s worth, videogames preservation advocate Does It Play? has somewhat corroborated the report, citing insiders who claim that third-party partners “had no clue it was coming” either. While these claims should still be taken with a pinch of salt, it certainly doesn’t inspire much confidence either way.
(Source: High Chaos Run, @Genki_JPN, @DoesItPlay1)
