PlayStation appears to be moving away from physical games, and industry analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana has likened the shift to Apple's decision to remove the CD drive from its laptops — a change he argues drew objections at the time but is now barely noticed. His comparison frames the decline of discs as an inevitable technological transition rather than a loss, suggesting that consumers ultimately adapt to and accept the removal of once-standard hardware features.

The remarks come amid ongoing signs that Sony is de-emphasising physical media, including disc-less console models and reduced production of physical releases. Piscatella's point is that resistance to such changes tends to fade quickly once the market adjusts, drawing a direct parallel with how Apple's dropping of optical drives was contentious initially but is no longer a subject of complaint. The framing has fed into a wider debate about digital ownership, preservation and consumer choice as the games industry increasingly shifts towards download-only distribution.