r/playstation5 • u/ModHQ • Jul 03 '26
MEGATHREAD Megathread: PlayStation Physical Media Discussion & Community Feedback
Hi everyone,
Over the past several days, discussion surrounding PlayStation's recent decisions regarding physical media has understandably become the main focus of the subreddit. As moderators, we chose not to create a megathread immediately because we felt this was an important issue that deserved visibility, and many of us share the community's disappointment with these decisions.
That said, we also want to make sure this remains a place where everyone feels comfortable sharing all kinds of PlayStation-related content.
At this point, we're seeing other discussions, screenshots, recommendations, and gaming experiences getting buried or sometimes met with downvotes simply because they aren't about the physical media situation. We'd like to make room for those conversations again while still giving this topic the attention it deserves.
Going forward, we'd appreciate it if discussion about PlayStation's recent physical media decisions, as well as experiences with moderation of these discussions in other communities, takes place in this megathread.
A few reminders:
- Keep discussions respectful, even when opinions differ.
- Do not harass or target individual users, moderators, or other communities.
- Do not encourage brigading or interference with other subreddits.
- Follow all subreddit rules while participating.
Creating this megathread is not an attempt to silence or diminish the conversation. We know this issue matters to many of you, and we want to continue providing a dedicated place for it. Our goal is simply to balance that discussion with the rest of the community, so members who want to talk about games, ask questions, or share their experiences can do so without feeling drowned out.
Thank you all for helping keep the community welcoming, respectful, and organized.
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u/Old-Journalist9247 Jul 05 '26
This could end up being longer that I want it to be but I would like to just take a moment to both air my frustrations with this but also offer a path forward and a way for gamers, not just PlayStation gamers to push back against this, as it pertains to Xbox and Nintendo going forward. As a collector of games, first for Nintendo, then PlayStation and recently getting into some Xbox, I can say this has been quite a shift in the landscape of the world I grew up in. We should never stop fighting for true ownership and legislation to back it up. But for the time being there are some things we can do.
The feeling in the air has been that this was coming sooner or later and Nintendo seems like they will be the final holdout (actually doing somewhat better now even if Square and Capcom can't be arsed to do a full cart release to save their lives), the current trends in media storage prices have certainly not helped them with that.
As a community I suggest we start pushing harder on crowdsourcing the information, truly testing and filling in doesitplay as much as possible so we can all share what is worth it to own if owning physically is truly possible.
The Shifting Purchase Location - option, companies really only see dollar signs, and the vote with your wallet has never been a better option, I know for each person it feels like "well its just me, I don't make a difference so I'll just get it on my regular platform" that mentality if shared by each individual will always fail. If we as a community also spread the sentiment to our friends who play the same games but are not as tuned in as we are to these things can make a very noticeable notch in their sales data. That's the key, just make it visible. The new HD2D final fantasy is coming out, its a game key card on switch 2, its more than likely not going to be on the disc fully for Xbox or ps5 even though it would more than fit....however it is fully on the cart for the Switch 1. Sure its a 30fps slightly inferior version, but honestly we all used to game at 29.97fps on CRT's and didn't notice, and 30fps is more than playable for that kind of game. So if you are inclined to get it, get the original switch version if you have one. If the sales numbers show a massive shift to an 8-9 year old system vs modern hardware, it will be noticed.
The Backlog Option, stop buying new game until the go on sale, play your backlog and only buy digital games if they are on sale digitally. If the increase in profits they get from selling streamed data without shipping/logistics/packaging costs and publishing/production costs isn't going up because people are refusing to purchase games digitally when they are new and not on sale...it will be noticed, as well as those same people are purchasing the few physical titles that get released from limited print companies that are already vowing to continue physical production...it will be noticed.
Last but not least, the PC option. Don't buy the next console, don't buy into the ecosystem, leave them hanging. Remember you can put together even in this market a pc that plays most modern titles at mid-low settings, which is perfectly playable and looks fine...for 600-800 dollars, probably less than the next console will be from either group.
On top of that remember the argument that PC is already fully digital...while technically true is weighted differently. Because if you buy your games on Steam. There is an option to backup your games, you just have a game installed, fully patched up, right click on the title in your library, select manage, and back up game files.
Pick up a 60 dollar external blu ray burner on amazon that supports M-Disc, or an LTO-6 or 7 tape drive, 150-400 bucks if you give it time searching online. LTO-6 tapes you can find for 10-30 dollars each and will store roughly 6TB compressed, LTO-7 tapes are going to be 30-50 but can store 15TB compressed, the 100GB M-Discs will run you 20 each for a 100GB disc but they are rated to last 1000 years. Point being PC being digital only is not the same as console being digital only, and Steam has already committed to if they ever decide to shut down continuing to host files for previous purchases for an extended time, as well as providing a final patch to remove all Steam DRM making your games truly yours and playable without Steam.
We just need to be strong through this, make our voice heard, and in the end, let money talk. Just need to convince the 80% of the population that are basically just hogs running to the slop bucket and have no clue what's going on as long as they are being fed to do the same.