Lots of people are sad about Sony killing discs. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima. Ex-PlayStation executive Shawn Layden. And over 10,000 commenters on the Wolverine trailer. Now Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro is joining the club. The coming purge in 2028 inspired the designer to pick up a physical copy of Hi-Fi Rush and share his thoughts on the monumental transition coming next console generation with PS6.
“With the recent buzz about the PS5 discontinuing physical media production, we’ve received *Hi-Fi RUSH* from our last hope, Super Deluxe-san!” Taro wrote on X, according to the platform’s translation. “Don’t assume your parents and physical media will always be there, so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out.”
The veteran developer was still working on arcade games when Sony released the first PlayStation game on a disc. Then in the PS2 generation he wrote and directed the cult hit RPG Drakengard. Decades later, anyone with the disc and the original hardware can still play it. “Personally, I can’t help but feel sad about physical media disappearing, but I suppose it’s just the flow of the times,” Taro wrote.
ＰＳ５が物理メディア生産をやめるニュースが話題になった昨今、俺達の最後の希望スーパーデラックスさんから Hi-Fi RUSH を頂きました！いつまでもあると思うな親と物理メディア、ということで気になる方はチェックを。
＞Hi-Fi RUSH DELUXE EDITIONhttps://t.co/WHx6a0vOvl pic.twitter.com/Oqbu113wMc
— yokotaro (@yokotaro) July 19, 2026
He added that he thought Sony would raise the price on physical copies of PlayStation games and relegate them to the status of expensive collector’s editions before getting rid of them entirely. He was hardly alone. A lot of people thought the PS6 generation would still find a way to cater to hardcore fans who prefer to purchase discs over digital.
“I thought that holding the reins on physical distribution itself is an advantage compared to Steam and the like, so even if digital downloads are pushed forward, a future like only high-priced limited editions being physical (like CD distribution) would come,” he wrote. “Missed the mark, too bad.” He’s not much of a fan of half-measures to preserve physical games like Switch 2 game key cards, either.
There’s still time for Sony to reverse course. If it’s going to go to all the trouble of letting publishers manufacture boxes and stick them on store shelves with download codes inside, why not manufacture an optical drive for next-gen discs and let enthusiasts maintain that market on the side? We don’t know the answer to that question, in part because Sony has remained silent on the subject since its original PlayStation blog post revealing the unpopular move was published three weeks ago.
