The game designer behind classic PlayStation titles like God of War and Twisted Metal has chimed in on the Sony-killing-physical-media debate, and he has an explanatory take on why this is all going down. David Jaffe, who pivoted to content creation on YouTube after finishing his most recent game Drawn to Death in 2017, served as the game director for Twisted Metal 2, God of War, and God of War 2, so he’s got the pedigree and history in the industry that might make you want to listen to what he’s got to say, especially when it comes to PlayStation. Image via Santa Monica Studio In a new YouTube video, Jaffe explained how he thinks the reasoning behind Sony moving towards an all-digital future is indeed a financial decision, but not in the way that many people have been thinking. “Here’s the truth, the actual, uncomfortable truth that very few people in this space seem to want to admit,” he said. “And the truth is, phasing out physical media is not some evil, greedy, Rothchild-coded, Illuminati-stuffed, anti-consumer plot to ruin your life. It really isn’t. It is just the brutal unavoidable financial reality of an industry trying to survive when the kind of games that made you love PlayStation in the first place, those games now cost $300 million-plus.” $300 million or more? That sounds egregious, especially considering it’s a bit of a rarity for blockbuster Hollywood movies to reach that high. Avengers: Endgame, for example, reportedly cost around $356 million to make. But according to Jaffe, development costs are a big reason as to why this is all happening. “And I want to emphasize the ‘plus,’ because that’s a conservative estimate,” he continued. “Three hundred million dollars to make games today. Now, look, some of you guys, you don’t have your facts straight. And I don’t wanna pour cold water on your ‘no disc, no buy’ movement, but I’m gonna have to.”‘ In the video, Jaffe goes on to talk about how physical games are “a fraction” of the industry now (and sales data does support that), and that’s also a part of the reasoning behind Sony’s hugely unpopular decision. Jaffe is definitely correct in that triple-A game development costs have ballooned to unmanageable levels. Many games have astronomical profit goals because of it. But none of that is the fault of the consumer, and yet they are the ones being punished by physical discs being taken away. I don’t know if there is or isn’t a CEO in a boardroom twirling their mustache and cackling evilly about killing discs or raising prices, but I know money is the only thing that matters here. Taking away physical games allows publishers to control the prices at all times and nuke the second-hand market. Destroying good faith with your customers by saying “you have no choice in the matter at all anymore” is probably not the way to go about it, regardless of how much a game costs to make. Instead of streamlining development or having more realistic goals, devs are being laid off at a rapid pace and soon enough, we will not own any media physically anymore. That’s definitely the most “uncomfortable truth” I can think of in this hobby, along with the fact that no matter how much gamers protest and shout, nothing can change the path we’re headed on.0The post God of War creator explains ‘uncomfortable truth’ behind why PlayStation is killing discs appeared first on Destructoid.