Even though it happened 13 years ago, I think there’s still a deep-seated resentment among some Xbox enthusiasts for Shuhei Yoshida’s infamous “game sharing” video.
It was the PS4’s “finish him” moment on the Xbox One – a blow which truly turned the tides, and pushed PlayStation back out in front, after the PS3 and Xbox 360 had traded blows.
It’s also looked upon with deep irony over a decade later, as Sony has now announced plans to cease manufacturing physical games in January 2028.
But could Xbox get its own back with its next-gen console Xbox Helix and recommit to physical media at a time when Sony has managed to p*ss off its most vocal fans?
Comments from Digital Foundry’s John Linneman have gone viral this weekend, when he said that – according to his sources – Microsoft had planned to include a disc drive in its next device.
He notes that he’s uncertain of the situation since new CEO Asha Sharma’s arrival, and stresses that the drive may have been included purely for legacy support.
In other words, according to his information, the console would have played your old discs – but no word on whether it’d make new ones.
To be fair, Sony has not yet communicated its plans for the PS6, and I’d be surprised if it didn’t at least offer an optional disc drive accessory for legacy physical media.
The company may be coming across cold hearted, but it knows there are millions upon millions of PS4 and PS5 discs in the wild – it’ll need to find a way to make them compatible with the PS6, even if that is a digital-only device.
Of course, this conversation has led to a lot of hot takes on social media, with many almost willing Microsoft into continuing to support physical media as a means to strike back at Sony.
So could it happen?
Well, anything is possible, but I think it defies the realities of the market as it exists today. PlayStation may be controversially pulling back on physical media in 2028, but the irony is I think it supports it better than any other manufacturer in the present.
Microsoft, for example, has been shipping discs with very little data all generation. One recent example includes Halo: Campaign Evolved, which requires a download on the PS5 – but Bethesda efforts like DOOM: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have shipped with literal megabytes on the disc.
Furthermore, I think it’s really important to underline just how non-existent Xbox’s store presence is around the world. You may still find a few boxed games in US shops, but there are barely any physical game retailers in the UK anymore – and the brand has practically evaporated in Asia at this point.
Perhaps there’s an opportunity for Microsoft to claw back store space from Sony once it ceases making physical games, but I can’t see it. I think shops will just focus on the Switch 2 instead, and its Game Key Cards.
It’s also worth underlining that the Xbox is even more digital than PlayStation these days, and boxed media makes up just 15% of Sony’s software sales at most.
According to Circana’s Mat Piscatella, PlayStation “physical software outsells Xbox [physical software] in the US by a multiple now far higher than the install base gap”.
In other words, Xbox physical software is a fraction of the percentage of PlayStation physical software in the US, which is already a tiny proportion of Sony’s software sales.
So could Xbox Helix hit PS6 with a gotcha? In theory, it’s possible – Microsoft may think the PR win is worth the costs associated with supporting physical media.
But realistically, at a time when the Redmond firm is cutting staff and focusing firmly on profitability, I can’t see it.
Frankly, I think the writing is on the wall for all console makers, and that’s why even a month after Sony’s decision, you haven’t really seen anyone go in for the kill on this.
