Piers Harding-Rolls

𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺: “𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝟵𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹. 𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲” This response was during Capcom’s most recent quarterly earnings Q&A when senior execs were queried about the impact of Sony dropping new release discs from Jan 2028 onwards. The digital versus physical split is detailed in the financial data published every quarter and clear to see. However, there is a certain complexity and nuance when considering the commercial impact of dropping PlayStation physical media that becomes clear when looking at Ampere’s estimates of physical share of full games PlayStation sales for Resident Evil Requiem 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆. Topline data on a portfolio, or even at a game level, doesn’t necessarily reveal the commercial adjustments and focus that will need to take place to manage this transition. During CQ2 Capcom’s digital game sales volume reached 93% share, but that covers the entire portfolio. With 89% of total game sales defined as catalogue – these are much more likely to be digital as long tail sales continue. New AAA releases are not at the same level, unsurprisingly, and the share of digital can differ significantly across country markets. Resident Evil Requiem’s PlayStation physical share of sales up to the end of June differs from a little over 10% to more than 50% in some territories! In the biggest markets for sales of the game there is also significance differences. US physical share is estimated at 22% whereas in France it's 55%. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 - Games publishers will need to consider how in key markets they can transition physical media buyers into the digital storefront ecosystem most efficiently - Territories with higher physical media share of sales will need prioritised retail-specific initiatives to maintain consumer awareness and acquisition - These initiatives should be focused on the territories with the highest sales volumes – Europe and Japan will need particular attention as key markets for upcoming releases - Consumer education alongside a strategy to help shift consumer behaviour towards digital should start now in preparation for the upcoming changes - Counter-intuitively, this might mean more investment to manage this distribution transition than the status quo. This will offset some of the margin benefits of shifting to digital sales #capcom #residentevil

Resident Evil Requiem: First discounts tip sales past 8.5m on PS, Xbox and Steam (Ampere data) - The 2023 remake Resident Evil 4 was a major commercial success, reaching 13.6m copies sold as of March 2026. Its release renewed interest in the IP, carving out a new and younger audience, many of whom went on to play Requiem, making the latest game the fastest-selling title in the franchise - Players prepared for Requiem's launch by engaging with the latest and most popular entries in the series, primarily Resident Evil Village, RE4, and the remake of Resident Evil 2 - During Requiem’s launch month, almost one-in-five players across Xbox, PlayStation and Steam also played Resident Evil 4, ranking it as the top game by audience overlap. RE4, however, is directly linked to Requiem’s narrative. It's a natural follow-up or predecessor to a Requiem playthrough - Its position was maintained one month later, with RE4 engagement increasing slightly. Despite engagement dropping thereafter, it remained one of the top overlapping games three months post-launch - One month before the launch of Requiem, 25% of RE4 players were new users to the game. The remainder were reacquired or retained, suggesting that pre-release overlap is largely driven by existing players revisiting key titles. However, a greater share of one-month post launch users were new (33%), implying Requiem encouraged expanded franchise engagement among new users Find the full analysis here: ampereanalysis.com/insight/r… via my colleague @KatieH_Games

This is an excellent game. Check it out if you haven’t!

So pleased to hear that my hometown studio Ninja Theory has found a new home (as well as Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Undead Labs and hopefully Arkane Lyon) Very talented team and looking forward to seeing how Senua develops as it moves towards launch

Most played games on PlayStation in Saudi Arabia! The Middle-East is an expanding console market, with PlayStation in particular building on its long history in countries like Saudi Arabia Gamers are putting a load of hours into the biggest PS games available, with EA Sports FC 26 taking the lead - significant considering Saudi PIF's role in acquiring the publisher. Together with the previous version of EA Sports FC, EA as a whole takes 25% of gaming time across the top 10 The most played games ranked by gaming hours in Saudi Arabia across PlayStation consoles in May (Ampere data) were some of your classic live service titles. What stood out was that although EA Sports FC 26 was ranked highest as it is in most territories, the gap between EA FC and Fortnite was much closer in SA than in almost all other markets (including in markets like neighbouring UAE). Turns out Saudi PlayStation gamers love Epic Games with Rocket League coming in 4th Marvel Rivals is a bit of a surprise inclusion - it tends to be a lot lower down the list in other countries. Suggests that Saudi PS gamers are influenced by US tastes and culture more significantly than say UAE and Turkey Generally, there was a strong showing for F2P titles across sports and shooters of different flavours. No representation in the top 10 for time heavy open-world action adventure RPG-lite title Crimson Desert, which was still there in May across many other markets

Posted some analysis here on the economics of this and also what this tells us about PS6 ampereanalysis.com/insight/s…

Thanks for the chance to chat

Think this tells us quite a lot about the PS6 Almost certainly guarantees that the PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest. Ampere’s current expectation is a launch at the end of 2028 - At a minimum, the standard version of a PS6 will not include a physical media disc drive

🚨 Sony is stopping production of PlayStation game discs for new games from Jan 2028 onwards Games released after this will be available directly through the PS Store or indirectly at retail in the form of download codes (see GTA VI for example) This is a watershed moment for the industry! - This new policy will cover all games released on PlayStation consoles from all publishers after this cut-off date. This will not impact games released before this date, which will still be produced on discs for gamers to buy subject to availability - Sony has stated that after this date new PlayStation games will be available digitally directly through the PlayStation Store and indirectly through retailers selling download codes. The availability through retailers will be dependent on the distribution strategies of each publisher Console gaming is the last hold-out for physical media in the gaming sector, but physical product has been declining in importance Back in 2013 when the PS4 launched, Ampere data shows that only 13% of total full games unit sales for Sony consoles were digital (including digital-only games). Fast forward to 2025, and this digital share of full game purchases stood at almost 80% of the total Inevitably there will be concerns from PlayStation gamers around various aspects of this announcement including choice, accessing older physical games on new consoles, the ability to collect physical games, and game preservation, however the purchasing trends of gamers are clear

Steam Machine sales of over 1m this year would represent a good result taking into account availability, pricing and less-established use cases It’s less desirable to PC gaming enthusiasts who were looking for a cheap upgrade #consolecompetitor

Not sure I agree with this. Depends on loads of stuff that are unclear atm: - When the consoles launch - the price of components when they are being built - the margin strategy next-gen - console spec etc Sony is in a much better position supply-chain wise than Valve

I don’t think Steam Machine pricing necessarily means that next-gen console pricing will be $1000+ Sony is better placed supply-chain -wise and has more hardware scale than Valve, putting it in a stronger position In 2 years there will be better component availability as well

Our comments and analysis on the Nintendo Switch 2 showcase and its implications Key takeaways: - 13m units in 2025. Price point of $450 not an issue - Nintendo in more direct competition with Sony and MS - growth opportunity rests on digital ampereanalysis.com/insight/n…

Thanks for the shout-out guys!

More actively posting on Bluesky You can follow me there for market/industry commentary and our latest insights and research bsky.app/profile/piershr.bsk…

Reuters says Sony is in talks to buy Kadokawa Corp, ~70% majority owners of hugely talented FromSoftware (~14% already owned by SIE) Kadokawa’s business extends into areas that fit pretty well into Sony’s broader business - anime, manga, TV, film reuters.com/markets/deals/so…

lol

Thanks for the discussion @Chris_Dring and @James_Batchelor Could have carried on for hours!