Hideo Kojima slyly 'takes aim' at Sony stopping physical PlayStation discs

Hideo Kojima seems to have slyly taken aim at Sony after the company announced it will stop making physical discs for PlayStation games releasing from the start of 2028.

Physical copies of games have remained popular and preferred among some gamers because they own that physical disc, and therefore a copy of the game, whereas if players buy a game digitally, they buy a license to play that game and do not own it.

The company a digital license is purchased from can revoke that license at their own discretion.

And on the day (Wednesday 1 July) Sony confirmed it would stop making physical discs for PlayStation games releasing from January 2028 onwards, Kojima reposted a Tweet he shared from 2021.

In full, it said: "Eventually, even digital data will no longer be owned by individuals on their own initiative. Whenever there is a major change or accident in the world, in a country, in a government, in an idea, in a trend, access to it may suddenly be cut off.

"We will not be able to freely access the movies, books and music that we have loved. I would be a have-not. That's what I'm afraid of. This is not greed."

This has since done the rounds on social media and seems to be connecting with a lot of people online.

The main reason this has caused so much uproar is because digital purchases mean users own a license to access that content whereas physical discs mean consumers own an actual copy of the product.

For example, with GTA 6 being a digital only game at the moment with physical boxes only having download codes in them, no-one will actually own a copy of the game unless Rockstar Games decides to print the game on to discs.

PlayStation is already removing more than 500 StudioCanal movies that were available to purchase on the platform that users have had to pay money for, meaning although they've likely paid the same amount as they would for a physical copy, they will no longer be able to enjoy that movie digitally any more.

That's a key example of why so many users have been keen and even campaigning for physical media to be preserved and continued - but now the biggest step yet in what appears to be an upcoming all-digital future has been made by Sony.

Elsewhere from Indy100:

• Sony confirms end to physical PlayStation game discs and the internet has erupted
• Hideo Kojima reposts 'dig' at Nvidia DLSS 5 on social media

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