[THOUGHT] Disc Rage Isn't About Discs

This is a hot take that deserves a fuller treatment, but: The outrage about Sony giving up on producing physical discs isn’t about discs. It’s about ownership. Physical game sales are super low, and PC gaming has been essentially digital only for some time without an uproar. But, like—thanks to sales and bundles, PC games are often available at deep discounts. This is becoming more true for console games but they do lag behind, and so the option to buy used is much more important there: even if you don’t buy physical, the fact that it’s an option puts a cap on what the digital store can charge. And a lot of PC games (especially if bought on GOG) can easily be backed up and played completely offline, whereas it’s not at all unheard of for even single-player games to become unplayable if PSN goes down… unless you have the disc. And of course there have been multiple news items recently about PSN closing digital stores (which isn’t new) and removing content, including from the libraries…