'Mentality Issue': PlayStation Founder Waves Away Disc Ownership Anger

PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi has pushed back against fans' anger over Sony's plan to discontinue physical game discs, calling it a "mentality issue." One game industry veteran claims that cutting discs is "only" ever pushed by publishers as they seek better profit margins.

It comes amid a storm of controversy surrounding Sony's decision to stop disc production in 2028. Former PlayStation exec Shawn Layden called it a "heavily spreadsheeted decision" and said it damaged the company's reputation. Meanwhile, fans have garnered more than 385,000 signatures on a "Don't Kill the Disc" petition.

"I understand that physical discs have become a metaphor for 'owning' games. I really understand that mentality," Kutaragi said at the Game Republic New Horizons event. "But nobody thinks [physical media] is necessary for a networked device like a smartphone, for example, because people feel that they will keep their content. So it's a mentality."

Kutaragi retired from PlayStation in 2007 and is best known for being the architect of the first three generations of the PlayStation console. Since leaving, two more generations of the console have been released. He is currently serving as CEO of Japanese companies Ascent Robotics and Cyber AI Entertainment.

“I really understand [why some people are upset]," he said, according to the Video Games Chronicle. "But I don’t think it’s economically reasonable. Maybe it’s a mentality issue.”

Former creative strategist for Infinity Ward Robert Bowling told Decrypt that publishers are the "only ones ever pushing" to cut physical game discs. He said that it is because cutting discs can increase profit margins by reducing the cost of production, as well as crushing the game reseller market led by the likes of GameStop. 

"It speaks to the divide that has formed in our industry between those who see games as just a software product," Bowling, who is now studio head for game studio //18.bravo, told Decrypt, "And those who see them as something more like art, entertainment, collectibles, and a lifestyle."

Sony has argued in court that no reasonable consumer believes that they own digital games they buy on the PlayStation Store, according to court filings. Instead, Sony says that Store purchases equate to purchasing a revocable license.

Game industry veteran Chris Heatherly said that corporate executives are used to "issuing decrees" from their offices and "hiding behind their PR teams," but that doesn't work in the social media age. He argues that Sony isn't "in dialogue" with its audience, so it misjudged how the move would land.

"I think it’s insult upon injury for gamers who feel used and abused by these console makers in general," Heatherly told Decrypt. "If you look at Steam, people buy way more games than they play because they like to collect games. What is that other than owning them? You’re not playing them at all!"

That said, Heatherly argues that it isn't "an entirely rational coherent thought process" to want to own online multiplayer games, since the publisher usually controls the servers anyway. But he thinks there is a middle ground.

"I think there are models for ownership worth talking about, but not fake financialized ownership like web3," he told Decrypt. "I think people would be happy with local forever and peer-to-peer [online services], frankly."