An analyst has suggested that PlayStation's shift away from physical games acts as "a bridge across the bad years" of rising console and hardware costs, helping Sony offset expensive manufacturing and distribution through a greater reliance on digital sales. However, the same analyst warns this strategy carries a downside: without cheap physical copies to draw in less committed players, "casuals and youngsters will drift off to mobile, PC, and free-to-play even faster," potentially narrowing PlayStation's audience over time.

The comment reflects broader industry pressure from surging hardware and production costs, which have pushed platform holders to lean more heavily on digital distribution as a way of protecting margins. The trade-off highlighted is that digital-only models can alienate younger or more casual gamers who are typically more price-sensitive and more easily tempted by free-to-play titles or cheaper platforms such as mobile and PC. Note: the source article's full text was largely inaccessible (returning mostly formatting code), so this summary is based on the article's headline and the analyst's quoted remarks.