Former PlayStation Boss Names One Feature the PS6 Should Not Exclude

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 3, 2025 3 Views 5 Min Read
Former PlayStation Boss Names One Feature the PS6 Should Not Exclude
Views: 0

Summary

  • Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden believes that the PS6 must include an optical disc drive.
  • While Sony has already started offering discless consoles during the PS5 generation, an all-digital PS6 would alienate too many existing users, Layden believes.
  • The industry veteran suspects the rumored standalone PlayStation handheld will also have to support cartridges or some other form of physical media for much the same reasons, assuming that device ever makes it to the market.

Shawn Layden, the former Chairman, President, and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, believes that the PlayStation 6 should include a physical disc drive at all costs. The industry veteran said as much during a recent interview, which saw him explain why he doesn’t believe Sony can pull off an all-digital PlayStation console generation just yet.

The PS5 Digital Edition was Sony’s first-ever home console that launched without an optical disc drive. Since then, the company has also introduced the PS5 Pro and a discless variant of the PS5 Slim, both of which can be equipped with a separately purchased Blu-ray drive. In light of these product releases, some fans and industry watchers alike have been speculating that Sony might be gearing up for an all-digital console generation sooner rather than later.

PlayStation 6 PS6 mockup logo over PS5 2x1 composite

Related


Rumor: PS6 Leak May Hint at Console’s Release Window

A well-known hardware leaker provides some new information that may hint at the potential release window of Sony’s PlayStation 6.

Former SIE Worldwide Studios CEO Shawn Layden disagrees with this forecast, having said as much during a recent interview with YouTube channel Kiwi Talkz. “I don’t think Sony can get away with [an all-digital PS6] now,” the industry veteran said. Elaborating on this notion, Layden noted that Sony’s home consoles continue to see plenty of use in environments with slow internet speeds or no connectivity whatsoever, whether due to technical or security reasons. From rural players to users on military bases, there are still many consumers who would be unable to consistently enjoy modern PlayStation games if Sony stopped supporting physical media, the former PlayStation boss said.

A Discless PS6 Lineup Would Alienate Many PlayStation Users

Given this state of affairs, a fully discless PS6 lineup would alienate a significant portion of PlayStation users, which Layden cites as the main reason why Sony likely can’t pull off an all-digital home console generation just yet. Although the former SIE executive didn’t speculate beyond the tenth console generation, some other market watchers already did. E.g., Circana analyst Mat Piscatella previously predicted that the PS7 will be Sony’s first all-digital console.

Rumored PlayStation Handheld Will Likely Have to Support Physical Media As Well

Elsewhere during the interview, Layden discussed the challenges of an all-digital console generation through the prism of recent reports about Sony developing a new standalone PlayStation handheld. While the portable form factor would rule out support for Blu-ray discs, that doesn’t mean Sony could make it entirely digital either—for the same reasons that a discless PS6 would be problematic, Layden explained. As a result, he expects Sony’s rumored handheld to feature a physical media option, possibly using Switch-like cartridges, assuming the device ever materializes. Layden holds similar expectations for the Xbox handheld, which Microsoft recently confirmed is in the prototyping stage but has yet to be approved for commercialization.

I don’t think Sony can get away with [an all-digital PS6] now.

Several Sony executives have previously said that the PS5 had entered the latter half of its life cycle as of early 2024. In light of those remarks and the company’s track record with console release timings, the PS6 is expected to hit the market in either late 2027 or Q4 2028.

Source link