{"id":71138,"date":"2026-07-24T01:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=71138"},"modified":"2026-07-24T01:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:04:00","slug":"after-scrapping-discs-sony-might-as-well-go-all-the-way-and-scrap-consoles-too-disgaea-creator-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=71138","title":{"rendered":"After Scrapping Discs, Sony Might As Well &#8216;Go All the Way&#8217; and Scrap Consoles Too, Disgaea Creator Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Disgaea creator and former Nippon Ichi Software CEO Sohei Niikawa has criticized Sony\u2019s decision to ditch physical games, and said that the executives responsible didn&#8217;t &#8220;understand the feelings&#8221; of impacted fans.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Earlier this month, Sony announced that from January 2028 onwards it will no longer produce disc releases of new games. This decision triggered huge backlash online, with fans even expressing their anger at Sony in the comments on trailers for upcoming third party games.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><u>Noisy Pixel<\/u> interviewed Niikawa at Anime Expo 2026, where he was promoting his upcoming game, Demons\u2019 Night Fever, which describes itself as a speedrun-training simulation RPG. He also gave his opinion on Sony\u2019s move to ditch physical disc releases.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;From a purely business perspective, I can understand why the people at Sony would make that decision.\u201d said Niikawa, who was CEO of Nippon Ichi Software between 2009 to 2022. \u201cHowever, the executives who decided it have probably never experienced coming to an event like Anime Expo and having someone approach them with a physical game to ask for an autograph. I don\u2019t think they understand the feelings of those fans, and they may never have considered what physical editions mean to the people who value them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Nikawa then added that &#8220;If they\u2019re going to go as far as eliminating physical packages, they may as well eliminate the hardware too. A television would be enough. Why would you need the console? If you\u2019re going to get rid of physical games, you may as well go all the way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The Best PS5 Games<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"&lt;h2&gt;The Top 25 PS5 Games&lt;\/h2&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;We\u2019re more than halfway through 2025, making it an excellent time to revisit our list of the best of what the PlayStation 5 has to offer. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;But what do we mean by \u201cbest?\u201d To be very clear, this is not an attempt at an \u201cobjective\u201d ranking that will indisputably line up with the tastes of gamers of all types. That, sadly, cannot exist; when one person\u2019s epic RPG masterpiece is another\u2019s boring and impenetrable slog, they\u2019ll never see eye to eye on where that game should rank against others of different genres. Even the personal lists of two people who love the same types of games will rarely line up exactly. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;Instead, this is a list of games that IGN\u2019s crew of PlayStation gamers recommend as a group, ranked using our Face-Off tool so that everybody got to weigh in equally on which games they thought should be placed above others. It\u2019s presented in the spirit of recognizing games we love, and encouraging others to try them if you haven\u2019t. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;With only 25 slots to fill, there are tons of amazing recent games that didn\u2019t float to the top \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t think they\u2019re awesome, too! Everybody who participated in voting has tons of personal favorites that didn\u2019t gain quite enough traction with the group to make the cut, which is inevitable when there are this many games and so many different perspectives. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;Bear in mind that while the PS5 is a powerhouse that can play any PlayStation 4-compatible game, for the sake of clarity our criteria for this list narrowed the pool down to focus on games that have PlayStation 5-specific versions. So while we still love games like the 2016 Doom, God of War, Minecraft, Red Dead Redemption 2, and many, many more, until they get that update they're relegated to the PS4 list \u2013 and of course many will have a spot on our list of the Top 100 Games of All Time.&#10;Most importantly, remember that this list is just our group\u2019s perspective and is no more \u201cright\u201d or \u201cwrong\u201d than a list that you create yourself. Speaking of which: if you have your own ranking you\u2019d like to put out into the world, we\u2019d like to invite you to make your own top 25 (or top 100!) list of PlayStation games using our Playlist tool and share it in the comments. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&#10;&#10;The most recent updates were made on July 15, 2025\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sony\u2019s digital game sales have been on the rise for years, far outselling physical releases. For example, just <u>7 PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical copies<\/u> in the US so far this year. Sony have framed their decision to stop releasing discs as following current PS4 and PS5 owners\u2019 behavior. In the<u> announcement<\/u> on the official PlayStation blog, Sony framed phasing out discs as &#8220;a natural direction\u201d for Sony as the company is adapting &#8220;to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Despite this trend, the backlash shows that physical media, especially the act of owning a game on a disc, is still very important to many. As Niikawa referenced, there is the importance of having something physical to put on your shelf. However, a disc-less box with a download code inside just doesn\u2019t cut it for many, as shown by the backlash to <u>GTA6\u2019s physical release<\/u>. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">From conservationists\u2019 point of view, games getting a disc release that only contains part of the game (see 007: First Light for a recent example) or which require a patch download to function properly has been a growing issue in both the PS4 and PS5 generations. This calls into question whether there is any value at all in having a physical game that can\u2019t even be played without a download from a server.<\/p>\n<p><span data-cy=\"poll-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<section class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\"\/><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Others in the Japanese game industry have also weighed in on Sony\u2019s decision, with many raising concerns about the risks to game ownership and preservation in a digital-only future. Death Stranding creator <u>Hideo Kojima expressed concern<\/u> about how access to digital content can easily be withdrawn, removing the purchaser\u2019s ability to own and use it when they wish. More recently, <u>Kojima<\/u> said of Sony\u2019s decision that &#8220;I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad.&#8221; Nier creator <u>Yoko Taro also echoed these sentiments<\/u> in a recent tweet where he urged people to buy physical game releases while they still can.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sony\u2019s statements point clearly to games being digital only on the upcoming PS6, which is likely to be some kind of hybrid console\/handheld, if <u>comments from Sony CEO Nishino<\/u> are anything to go by. It\u2019s still unclear whether Sony will offer some kind of disc drive add-on that will enable gamers to play their discs from previous generations, or whether physical game collectors will just have to stick with older hardware. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Going forward, it seems that true physical games (where everything is actually in the box and ready to play) could become a niche, expensive product, only released in limited quantities by companies like Super Rare and Limited Run, who have a long track record of re-releasing physical games on various platforms. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This week, it was claimed that Sony knew its decision to kill PlayStation 5 discs would spark outrage, and reportedly has issued staff with the &#8220;strictest&#8221; social media guidelines to stop them from publicly commenting on the controversy.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/disgaea-creator-slams-sony-for-scrapping-discs-says-playstation-might-as-well-go-all-the-way-and-scrap-consoles-too\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disgaea creator and former Nippon Ichi Software CEO Sohei Niikawa has criticized Sony\u2019s decision to ditch physical games, and said that the executives responsible didn&#8217;t&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3581,591,25366,27060,27059,26525,1586],"class_list":["post-71138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-consoles","tag-creator","tag-discs","tag-disgaea","tag-scrap","tag-scrapping","tag-sony","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}