Sony scared former Blizzard president with its rejection of physical copies of PlayStation games

Mike Ybarra is worried about players and their game collections.

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra commented on Sony's decision to completely abandon physical editions of PlayStation games. In his opinion, the transition to digital distribution is inevitable, but companies need to assure users that purchased games will remain accessible years later.

Ybarra admitted that he was not surprised by this turn of events, although he noted that he expected such changes later. According to him, he is sad to see the disappearance of physical releases, especially because future generations will lose the special atmosphere associated with buying games on discs.

As an example, he cited Christmas holidays and children's birthdays. According to the former head of Blizzard, instead of immediately starting to play after unwrapping a gift, many will have to spend hours downloading the game, which significantly spoils the experience.

At the same time, Ybarra believes that the discussion should not be limited to preserving physical media at all costs. It is much more important to make digital game ownership as reliable and convenient as possible for users.

He suggested that platform holders develop a kind of "digital promise" that would guarantee players constant access to all previously purchased games. According to him, users should not live in fear that once purchased projects will stop working or become unavailable.

In addition, Ybarra advocated for expanding the capabilities of the digital ecosystem. He proposed simplifying the exchange of digital games between users, as well as creating an official marketplace for used digital copies, where owners could resell already purchased games to other players.

In conclusion, the former Blizzard president urged game platform owners to openly discuss their long-term plans. In his opinion, if companies can earn the trust of users and provide them with more freedom in managing purchased games, the gaming community will much more calmly accept the transition to a fully digital future.