'I find it really sad': Hideo Kojima laments the current state of the videogame industry as companies turn away from physical discs
Overview & Key Takeaways
This is a warning for what is to come for the rest of the media landscape.
We've watched the slow death of physical games media for a decade now, whether it be discs costing more, digital-only consoles, or the recent revelation from PlayStation that come 2028 it will cease productions of videogame discs. It's nerve-wracking for videogame conservationists, player's rights advocates, fans of the hobby, and even Hideo Kojima himself.
Kojima already used his wicked foresight to predict the conundrum we find ourselves in today, but now he's discussed the current state of videogame affairs, and he seems just as worried as he was years ago.
"Since [disc] production is ending in 2028, this is about videogames, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad," Kojima explained during a panel at the Il Cinema in Piazza film festival (via Genki). "Currently, I've been buying up a lot of Blue-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too."
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I'm no Nostradamus, but the fact that Kojima is currently stockpiling physical media probably isn't a good sign. Game preservations seem to be at such a dead end right now that one leader went as far as to claim the only option for preservation in a discless future is piracy.
"The situation is different for games, as they are downloaded to the hard drive, that means the game data remains on your own hardware," Kojima continues. "However, if thing shift to streaming in the future, that won't be the case anymore.
(Image credit: Kojima Productions)
"With streaming subscription services, like Netflix or Amazon, there is a server somewhere, and you essentially just have the right to turn the tap, and when you do, the data flows out. That's how movies work on these platforms, right? You don't download the data, you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don't actually possess the data yourself."
The activist group Stop Killing Games has been hard at work for years now lobbying government officials and industry leaders in an effort to get better consumer rights laws for those who own digital media. One way in which the group has attempted to improve circumstances is to advocate for better end of life planning for games.
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"There are companies that own these servers and let you 'turn the tap' for a monthly fee," Kojima adds. "However, with nations, politics, and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens you won't be able to watch or play the movies and games you like. That is what is frightening.
As a final warning to attendees, Kojima explains how what is currently happening in the games industry is like a warning light for the rest of the media landscape: "What is happening to videogames in 2028, might also happen to movies. I'd like everyone to keep that in mind."
