I was watching a TikTok in a parked car when a man from LA drew a line from Sony’s disc ban to a future where you pay more and own less. He sketched five steps that end with $100 games and “you’ll own nothing.” I closed the app feeling both annoyed and unnerved.
Physical disc sales are dropping — LA man explains why PlayStation getting rid of the disc is a trap. Then he breaks down the 5-step plan: ‘$100 games and you’ll own nothing’
I’m going to walk you through what Carterpcs laid out on TikTok, why his logic hits the same notes as recent PlayStation moves, and where you should draw a line. You’ll get names, tech touchpoints, and a short map of risks so you can decide if this is paranoia or a warning you ignore at your own cost.
@carterpcs Replying to @echop1ayz Why Sony ending discs matters.. (even if not many people used them) #carterpcs #tech #ps5 #gta6 #playstation
Stores are already pushing digital-only purchases — what Carterpcs says happens next
Observation: You and millions of others are buying more games digitally than on disc.
Carterpcs answered a defender of Sony who argued that disc removal doesn’t matter because most sales are already digital. He accepted that fact, then flipped it: if the PlayStation Store becomes the single gatekeeper, Sony can raise list prices with little friction. That’s step one in his five-step theory.
Why is Sony removing discs?
Short answer: cost savings and control. Longer answer: removing discs reduces manufacturing, shipping, and retailer margins, and it centralizes ownership and updates on Sony’s servers and the PlayStation Store. Combine that with in-house currency experiments and storefront tweaks, and you’ve got a company aligning incentives toward recurring revenue.
Per-game pricing has climbed — the price-sign problem that feeds step two
Observation: New-release game prices have been creeping upward across platforms.
Carterpcs points to a steep price trajectory: publishers test higher tags on digital storefronts more easily than in boxes. If $60 titles move to $70 or $80, the psychological barrier breaks. Then he imagines $100 (€93) as a headline price for premium releases. When you can no longer buy a physical copy to avoid that, the only choices are pay, subscribe, or play less.
Will digital-only mean higher prices like $100 games?
It’s already happening in pockets. Publishers and storefronts such as the PlayStation Store can A/B price experiments globally, and without retail constraints they can push higher digital tags faster. Sony’s PlayStation Plus tiers then become the obvious next lever.
Subscriptions are growing — why step three is about renting, not owning
Observation: Subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass have skyrocketed in usage.
Carterpcs expects Sony to nudge players toward PlayStation Plus by making single purchases painful. The pitch: pay less per month to stream or rent access to a catalog instead of buying titles outright. If you accept a monthly fee for access, you slowly trade ownership for convenience.
Tier gating is already a marketing tool — the lock-and-charge play for step four
Observation: Companies already gate performance and perks behind premium tiers.
Next, Carterpcs predicts Sony will hide big games, exclusive modes, or performance boosts behind higher-priced PlayStation Plus levels. You’ll see some titles on the base subscription, but flagship releases and 60fps/4K modes could be tiered upward. You end up paying extra to get the full experience or watching your purchase lose value.
Do you own digital games bought from PlayStation Store?
Ownership in digital storefronts is often a license, not property. Sony’s terms give them control to remove titles, change features, or limit access. When physical discs disappear, your leverage—resale, lending, permanent backup—shrinks dramatically.
Exclusive currencies and locked economies — step five that completes the loop
Observation: Platforms experiment with in-app currencies and platform-exclusive tokens.
Sony’s flirtation with a PlayStation Store-specific crypto or token suggests a closed economy where money and access are tracked on Sony’s rails. If your purchases, DLC, or special editions live inside a proprietary currency, cross-platform portability and resale evaporate. That finalizes the trap: higher prices, fewer ownership rights, and subscriptions as the steady rent.
I’ve named Hideo Kojima and Santa Monica Studio before because major creators have publicly criticized Sony’s disc decision, and that pushback signals artistic and consumer friction. Tools and platforms in play include the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Plus, TikTok (where this conversation started with @carterpcs and @echop1ayz), and broader publisher pricing strategies across Steam and Xbox storefronts.
If you want a short checklist: preserve physical backups where possible, track receipts and licenses, and watch store terms of service. Treat a digital-only plan as a subscription to convenience, not a replacement for ownership.
This feels like a slow-motion heist where the registers are left open, and like a bank shuttering its vaults you wake up to find your keys gone—so will you let Sony set the price of your hobby without pushing back?