Will this actually change anything? From my understanding you have needed an internet connection to actually "install" games off the disc for a good while now.
Physical disks haven't contained the playable game for almost a decade now. Disks have already been reduced to glorified game keys that prompt your system to download the other 90% of the game before you can play anything.
To tl;dr this from a legal perspective:
Disks have basically been keys to download the game for like a decade at this point. It started with getting a small patch, and now is them getting like 90% of the game. This is true.
However, people are idiots and the law is slow. When I buy a physical copy of Big Mother Truckers 2:Truck Your Mother, due to existing property law, if I can no longer install and play my big-rig driving game + MILF dating e-sim, this is a problem I can seek legal redress for via established channels. Juries are very likely to find it fucked up that a physical item was sold broken and then rendered unusable by the company that sold it.
That is, there was no form I had to fill out when I bought the game at retail that said "Oh BTW at any point in time some corpo can just render this completely broken and worthless and your only redress is to suck shit and seethe". The fact you have to download files at all has been reasonably shakey legally, but the ease and readiness with which they provide the files and the warning on the case (and willingness to refund) has so far kept them out of trouble.
However, when I buy a copy of Tranny Walking Simulator MCXXIII via Nintendo's e-store, there is a big license popup that I click "agree" without reading that says "We can just yeet your whole library at anytime for any or no reason. You own nothing, will eat the bugs, and be happy. " That is, when I get pissy about the game I play while dialating being no longer playable, I have zero options for redress because I willingly and ""knowningly"" gave up those rights.
This is why Microsoft and Sony are still providing downloads for purchased PS3/X360 games but cutting off new sales, because the minute those repos go away they open a pandora's box of legal liability; this is also a goodly portion of why they haven't gone after piracy in those spaces.
MS especially is allegedy considering turning hosting of required game files for X360 to a third party/potential non-profit - they already tested waters with this with MechWarrior Franchise and making a third-party the distributor for Windows 7 isos. If successful, this provides a legal defense for MS should they offline the X360 store "The files are still freely available your honor, and we still provide a store update to let any consoles locate the new company holding them".
There are issues with Xbox ID cross verification but the real issue (again, ALLEGEDLY) holding this up is how to handle DLC since MS doesn't own those, game studios are unlikely to surrender license to a non-profit, and trying to handle/track payment makes the spin off infinitely more complex.
Feel free to rainbow react this but I'm hoping (coping) that they're testing the waters and will do a 180 once player backlash gets bad enough. Even if this is true this doesn't bode well because that just means they're waiting for a time where they can get it over with.
They already did this with the OG XBone back in 2013. That was the water testing. Same with the "all digital" Xbox S. It was a retarded move in 2013 because the network was not ready for all-digital. I knew a lot of EXTREMELY pissed military members because you cannot get reliable internet in the sandbox.
(It is my professed opinion MS only walked back their retarded decision because of the military backlash. You have a bunch of mostly 18-25s with stay paycheck and living expenses covered, with a lot of downtime. EVERYONE had consoles/handhelds, EVERYONE was gaming becaues that's what you did to hang out. The ammount of money funnel to the gaming industry by the average barracks at the time was probably over 6 figures a year)
This is Sony trying it again but harder this time. They might pull it off, the network is closer to being able to permit it.
I don't want to play devil's advocate for an entity like Sony, but I think people overestimate the decision-making of the average Joe. Looking at the launch PS 4 and 5 there was never a reason to get those on release, and they still sold out. GTA 6 is not coming out for a while, has no preload at this time and there are no additional incentives like DLC to justify and preorder. I would be surprised if it sold already and incomprehensible amount of copies. Not to mention that the majority of people buy barely any games at all and tend to stick to the yearly CoD/Fifa and whatever other MP game their friend group is playing daily (Fortnite). But they need to have a console to do that. Nintendo is not part of that equation and if I had to guess XBox probably is just a few people comparatively. The PS5 has sold over 93 units as of March of this year. That's where the majority of gamers are ( PC is a big chunk but not really part of this argument), the moment the PS6 launches is will be the same sold out everywhere for weeks, so people can play the same stuff ( CoD,Fifa,Fortnite, flavor of the month) with the same friends all over again. PlayStation players haven been milked at every conceivable point for the most asinine bullshit for years now. Assuming that a potential $1000 PS6 will suddenly find no buyers is a bold prediction considering how willing people have become to spend their money on everything regarding the cost. People fill flock to that system like they did to the previous two because where else will they go ?
And to make another point. People buy the newest iPhone yearly at a similar price point, which is less about a value proposition and more about the perceived status of owning one. I don't doubt that Sony has a similar thing with PlayStation when it comes to brand loyalty.
So unless XBox and maybe Nintendo become the de facto place to play the average three games a year with your friends for an entire console generation I would be shocked if people reject the PS6 regardless of its price point.
(sadly) Agree with you about the lack of decision making ability of the average person, but disagree with you BIG TIME on Xbox's market share. This how I know you have brown hands.
This clip shall remain evergreen.
