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A few days ago there was talk about the trend that Microsoft has been pushing for years, that of digitizing Xbox and dispensing with hardware that supports the physical format. It has been announced that Sony is cutting resources to the division in charge of optical devices, laying off 250 people that were linked to their “recordable media business”which includes Blu-ray, the disc format used by Playstation consoles.
It is information that has emerged throughout this weekend by various media, such as MP1ST, which indicates that even Sony seems to be aware of having to abandon the use of this format. Let's not forget that Sony is one of the main promoters of the physical format, specifically BluRay, since its establishment.
Sony cuts resources to its optical drive division and appears to be following Xbox's path of digitizing its hardware
This news may have marked the beginning of a new era for Sony, being something that may surprise much more than the trend that made headlines in recent days. Exposed by market analysts, by which Microsoft had already made the decision to digitize its hardware and promote the digital market. The new range of consoles, including a model of the Xbox Series Many reasons were put forward, being something that could not be replicated in the case of Sony, which has always depended heavily on selling games in this format.
But time seems to be taking steps forward and enabling the need to cut costs and one of the first issues that seemed dispensable is offer a service in physical format. A format that had been a burden for the digital market itself, since it could not adjust the price to its real cost in order not to compete with physical sales. But subscriptions, updates, convenience and greater accessibility to these digital services seem to have seen that the digital market has surpassed the sale of physical games.
Obviously, this It would not only affect the video game industry. It has a significant impact on the multimedia entertainment industry, including cinema. And in the era of VoD platforms, both cinema and the sale of films in physical format is something that has also suffered significantly. In all these cases, the consumption of digital products is predominant, the growth of which has been gradual, but that in key moments, such as 2020, It marked a turning point that does not seem to return to periods prior to that event.
Be that as it may, what previously generated some conflict seems to be settling definitively. That Sony cuts resources to the division in charge of optical devices, appears to be more definitive for the format than Microsoft's decision. Even so, we want to think that this can be treated appropriately according to market circumstances, since the same argument for not wanting to withdraw the option could still be in force in some territories. What does it mean to you that there is no physical format?