[[{“value”:”
There is no stopping Sony’s all-digital future for video games. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but the company’s decision to kill off physical game discs in 2028 and effectively turn the PlayStation Store into the only place in town where you can grab a new PS5 title won’t be stopped by an endless barrage of memes in the replies section. Like Thanos preparing to snap the universe into a 50% discount on life, it’s inevitable.
Sony has said as much in recent comments, carefully tiptoeing around the subject with polite, investor-friendly language and stats that seemingly reinforce the plan, as the company said that 82% of games sold during the April-June quarter were digital sales. We’ve written about the topic, how it’s the end of an era, why people are so (justifiably) upset, and the response from some of the biggest names in the industry, but now is the time to look forward and focus those energies where it counts.
If Sony wants to increase its profits and sell games in a digital-only format, then it also needs to ensure that the consumer process is safe and fair, because it’ll have healthy competition from other platforms. And one way it could do that is by taking a page out of Steam’s book, as Valve’s digital platform helped usher in an end to physical PC game sales decades before Sony was catching flak for following in those footsteps.
Sony needs to protect its customers
It’s high time that Sony built a game-refund system for the PlayStation Store. The company has been slow to adopt one of the most basic forms of consumer protection, and outside of incredibly rare instances like Cyberpunk 2077 and Concord, you’ve been out of luck in case you bought a game that working as advertised. That needs to change, and Sony shouldn’t just emulate Steam’s process for refunds–buy a game, play it for less than two hours, or own it for less than two weeks and you can claim a refund–but improve on its entire storefront as well.
One major way that Sony could make using its storefront better would be by focusing on discoverability, because right now, the front page is dominated by a mix of first-party releases, free-to-play games, and upcoming AAA releases. Curation is desperately needed, especially for the smaller developers putting out the kind of in-between content that helps fill the gap between big releases. Sony has made an effort to cut down on slop through its marketplace, sweeping low-effort trophy-farming titles out the door, but it needs to focus on balancing big-name releases with smaller games that deserve to be in the spotlight.
This shouldn’t be too difficult either, as with all the data it collects on players, having a program that generates recommendations based on your gaming habits should be feasible. Throw in more user-friendly options like a rewards program–RIP PlayStation Stars–kill any plans around dynamic pricing, and you’ve got the start of a healthy marketplace to herald in the next PlayStation era.
A specialized focus and consumers with more investment in the storefront is an easy win for everyone, and if Sony wants to pioneer a digital future for console gamers, then it owes them the best possible experience.
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[[{“value”:”There is no stopping Sony’s all-digital future for video games. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but the company’s decision to kill off physical game discs in 2028 and effectively turn the PlayStation Store into the only place in town where you can grab a new PS5 title won’t be stopped by an endless barrage of memes in the replies section. Like Thanos preparing to snap the universe into a 50% discount on life, it’s inevitable.
Sony has said as much in recent comments, carefully tiptoeing around the subject with polite, investor-friendly language and stats that seemingly reinforce the plan, as the company said that 82% of games sold during the April-June quarter were digital sales. We’ve written about the topic, how it’s the end of an era, why people are so (justifiably) upset, and the response from some of the biggest names in the industry, but now is the time to look forward and focus those energies where it counts.
If Sony wants to increase its profits and sell games in a digital-only format, then it also needs to ensure that the consumer process is safe and fair, because it’ll have healthy competition from other platforms. And one way it could do that is by taking a page out of Steam’s book, as Valve’s digital platform helped usher in an end to physical PC game sales decades before Sony was catching flak for following in those footsteps.
Sony needs to protect its customers
It’s high time that Sony built a game-refund system for the PlayStation Store. The company has been slow to adopt one of the most basic forms of consumer protection, and outside of incredibly rare instances like Cyberpunk 2077 and Concord, you’ve been out of luck in case you bought a game that working as advertised. That needs to change, and Sony shouldn’t just emulate Steam’s process for refunds–buy a game, play it for less than two hours, or own it for less than two weeks and you can claim a refund–but improve on its entire storefront as well.
One major way that Sony could make using its storefront better would be by focusing on discoverability, because right now, the front page is dominated by a mix of first-party releases, free-to-play games, and upcoming AAA releases. Curation is desperately needed, especially for the smaller developers putting out the kind of in-between content that helps fill the gap between big releases. Sony has made an effort to cut down on slop through its marketplace, sweeping low-effort trophy-farming titles out the door, but it needs to focus on balancing big-name releases with smaller games that deserve to be in the spotlight.
This shouldn’t be too difficult either, as with all the data it collects on players, having a program that generates recommendations based on your gaming habits should be feasible. Throw in more user-friendly options like a rewards program–RIP PlayStation Stars–kill any plans around dynamic pricing, and you’ve got the start of a healthy marketplace to herald in the next PlayStation era.
A specialized focus and consumers with more investment in the storefront is an easy win for everyone, and if Sony wants to pioneer a digital future for console gamers, then it owes them the best possible experience.”}]] Read More GameSpot – All Content
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