Hideo Kojima ‘really sad’ about PlayStation killing discs, ‘frightened’ for future of ownership
The Death Stranding director has reacted to PlayStation going all-digital
Hideo Kojima has reacted to the news that PlayStation will soon discontinue disc games, telling an audience that he’s “really sad” about the news but more concerned about what could happen if cloud gaming becomes dominant in the future.
Speaking at the “Il Cinema in Piazza” Film Festival in Italy (translated by Genki), the Death Stranding and Metal Gear director said that at least with digital games, users have the data on their systems, something that isn’t the case with cloud gaming.
“Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad,” he said. “Currently, I’ve been buying up a lot of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too.
“The situation is different for games [than movies], as they are downloaded to the hard drive, that means the game data remains on your own hardware. However, if things shift to streaming in the future, that won’t be the case anymore.”
He continued: “With streaming subscription services, like Netflix or Amazon, there is a server somewhere, and you essentially just have the right to turn the tap, and when you do, the data flows out.
“That’s how movies work on these platforms, right? You don’t download the data, you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don’t actually possess the data yourself.
“There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee. However, with nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like.
“That is what is frightening. So, what is happening to video games in 2028, might also happen to movies. I’d like everyone to keep that in mind.”
Kojima is worried consumers could lose their games
Kojima’s comments echo a 2021 tweet that has been recirculated this week, in which he wrote that he was worried about access to people’s content libraries being cut off in the future.
“Eventually, even digital data will no longer be owned by individuals on their own initiative,” he wrote. “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.”
Earlier this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced to the public that it will stop manufacturing physical game discs from January 2028. However, it’s since emerged that the company has told partners they will be able to reprint discs for games released before this point.
It also told partners that it will “provide publishers with the opportunity to release new games at retail using digital codes,” with more details to come. Potentially, this could come in the form of download codes in game boxes, like GTA 6’s upcoming physical version.
