Alluding to a future for gaming where we no longer need physical media, Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has revealed that every single PlayStation 4 game will be made available to download digitally.
Just as Sony does for the PS Vita, new titles will be added to the PS Store, or equivalent, as they are released by developers. This means that gamers won’t have to leave the house to buy a game, simply buying and downloading directly to the console over the net.
Speaking to The Guardian, Yoshida said, “PS4 will be similar to PS Vita in that every game will be available as a digital download, and some will also be available as a disc”
That specific sentence seems to hint at the traditional game disc not being the primary method of delivering games on the PS4 and merely an additional option. It sounds as though Sony wants downloads to come first, and so an internet connection will play a big part.
Yoshida also hints at a paid subscription model in the interview, similar to the PlayStation Plus service the company currently runs for PS3 and PS Vita owners. He says that indie titles will be available to buy much cheaper – for a couple of pounds or dollars – as part of a subscription service. There may also be free-to-play games in the PS4’s store.
With regards to subscriptions, Sony is considering ‘multi-tier’ models. The company hopes to offer bundles and ‘attractive packages’ as time goes on and more content is added to the console. Interestingly Yoshida says that the company has considered gold, silver and platinum levels of subscription, which doesn’t sound dissimilar to Xbox LIVE.
“With one subscription you have access to thousands of games – that’s our dream.” It sure sounds like a great dream to us!