Sony’s decision to stop production of discs from January 2028 is definitely the biggest piece of gaming news this year which would have far reaching ramifications throughout the coming months and years, possibly shaping the entire industry in ways that most gamers wouldn’t prefer. And in light of the impending possibilities, industry veteran and iconic videogame creator Hideo Kojima has shared insights on how this could basically reshape the perception of ownership in not just videogames but across all other mediums as well.
Speaking at the Il Cinema in Piazza Film Festival in Italy (as translated by Genki), Kojima discussed how Sony‘s latest pivot can move the industry to a completely new direction that favors the publishers over the players in many ways.
“The situation is different for games, 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.
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’s foresight on the possible future of the industry based on it’s current direction makes sense in lots of ways–the way subscription services have gained popularity plus Sony’s recent decision to end production of physical media definitely seem more like stepping stones to something bigger, like we’re steadily being headed to a future where huge corporations and publishers have far more control and authority over the games we own than ourselves, which is inherently wrong.
