Gamer Traffic Show.
Funny and interesting views of video games, movies, anime and sports.
Gamer Traffic Show.
Why PlayStation Going Digital-Only Changes Ownership and the end of game discs.
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We dig into the backlash around PlayStation reportedly ending physical media and why digital-only gaming changes ownership, pricing, and preservation. Then we zoom out to the bigger squeeze: rising console prices, premium game editions, and what that means for the future of the hobby.
• PlayStation’s reported move toward digital-only releases and why it feels premature
• Digital licensing limits, outage stories, and why “buying” can mean “renting”
• The loss of trade-ins, used games, and what happens to GameStop
• Sony leadership, poor communication claims, and partners caught off guard
• How a single storefront can drive higher prices over time
• PS5 sales declines, price hikes, and why consoles getting pricier is alarming
• Shrek 5 trailer reactions and sequel fatigue versus comfort franchises
• GTA pricing expectations, deluxe editions, and the new $100 standard fear
• Steam Deck pricing breakdown and whether Valve is selling a console or a living-room PC
Support, we out
Welcome To Game Of Traffic
SPEAKER_01Let's do it. It's welcome everybody to another episode of the Game of Traffic Show. I'm your host, Mike Samson, chilling my co-host. Everybody did what up for Mr. Amazon of today's Game of Traffic Show. Mr. Mason, I'm not
PlayStation Targets Disc Shutdown
SPEAKER_01sad. Let's go to the heart of the topic that's been kicking doors down, making the internet go buck wild. Mr. Amazon, it's PlayStation killing physical media. Mr. Amazon, PlayStation announced that they're killing physical media in 2028, January, it's over. They were no longer distributing this for the PlayStation system, Mr. Mason. I guess it's me, old digital for PlayStation 6.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, oh that's absolutely what the direction they're going. I mean, was it not what a little over a decade ago? 13, what's it 2013? What was that? At the when they were debuting. I forgot what's playing was debuting when they were saying, you know, Sony would never get rid of their diss. You get to keep your uh you get to keep your content. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Jack Trenton was saying, you get to keep the disc. You could give it to your friend. Get to your friend, you could trade it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. We flash forward a decade or so later, and now we get the worst announcement most gear fans have received in a while.
SPEAKER_01Damn, Mr. Amazon. This reflects. The problem is when you think you're the king.
SPEAKER_05That's what happens. You know so funny, the analogy of that is that this happens just in life. Like the Roman Empire, never I saw the fall of that. Everything always comes down. Like you when you think you're you're you're on top and whatever you do is untouchable. There's consequences to it. So that said, I think Sony's filmed this off too much. I think the fact that they announced this, it's a little premature for me because you're still selling uh a hard drive uh PlayStation. You just raised the price on it. Why why would I pay that price for a system that you guys are gonna uh suspend making games for in less than two in less than two years? So like make that make sense. You you just raise that that model by what $50 or going to raise the price by $50, they're not even when it's a fact. The Sony, the the the the console. The price the you guys just raise the price on those. So my thing is you're getting your raise the price of something that's now longer to be there.
Digital Games Are Not Ownership
SPEAKER_05People, as we all know, when you don't own the disc, you're pretty much licensing it because it's not yours. And there's so much stuff that goes behind that. I don't know if we are we gonna do you wanna talk about this topic or not? About I don't know if you heard about this one, where there is a clause where Sony said that I think after three years of non-interactive or logging into your licensed document that you purchase, they have the right to wipe it from you. It's no longer yours.
SPEAKER_01The digital?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, the digital content that you have.
SPEAKER_01When was this though?
SPEAKER_05This was recently. This was very recently. I should I should have saved the article. You said you sure that's accurate? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was. I saw that recently. I I was reading about that somewhere. I I'll I'll get it, you know, just to back that up more. But I think after three years, I think there's something like that. They have the right to erase it.
SPEAKER_01I think they had the I don't know if that's correct.
SPEAKER_05We could look, I'll look into it. I'll look into it though. But nevertheless, it ain't yours. And we've spoken about this several times on the show. And, you know, and over the years, about the time you had experienced when we had that blackout, and then you couldn't even play your digital games.
SPEAKER_01And remember the out remember when Madden server was uh was more Madden, yeah, we couldn't play it on the digital copy. But if we had a physical copy, we could have played it. You could have played it, exactly. And Saint I remember it was a storm, I was playing Doom. At Doom. I had for Xbox One. Yeah, I remember that. Oh Xbox, no, Xbox, yeah. Couldn't play it. I'm like, hold up. But it was physical, but it was connected to the Jitsu. You gotta digitally, or not digitally, you had to actually contact the server to actually play this game.
SPEAKER_05Mm-hmm. I mean, I'm not happy about this. I'm hoping that this can be because the well, I'm not happy about this, and I'm not the only one. There are tons of content on social media, people showing the displeasure with this move by Sony, and I'm hoping they listen to the fan and change course. We've seen it happen. Rarely does it, rarely does it happen, but we've seen it happen where the the studios the companies listen and they give back into the fans what they want. So I'm hoping that happens. Because I think that um this it's a big error, it's a big mistake. And some people are even blaming I don't know if you're there to blame, because I don't think this maybe it influenced, maybe it did not, but some people are even blaming uh Grand Theft Auto for this. Some people are. I don't know how deep you're gonna get into it. I don't think that's idiotic. Because I think Grand Theft Auto or not, this was gonna happen, but who knows? But I admit, you know, the way they have blame is I think it might it's happening a little sooner than I expected. And I do think Grand Theft Auto might be able to do that because of the cells that they had on this thing. I think at the end of the day, you see numbers that you've never seen before, you're like, whoa. And I can't, I and I guess so he's looking at it, this is this is technology, we gotta move forward with technology. If we can if we can remove a cost that can lower the price, maybe they're thinking, why not do it? It's a digital world now, which it technically is, I can't argue that, but I'm not a fan of it. Where you stand, Mike Mair? What's your thoughts?
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, as they say in the blog, PlayStation blog, the national direction of Sony Interactive Entertainment is to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media has significantly outpaced physical discs. This transaction will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.
SPEAKER_05I totally disagree with that, actually. Where the numbers might show, I am wrong. The reason I disagree with this is that you don't have access to physical games like you did before. Like back then, I can walk into a lot of uh local stores and pick up a hard copy of a game. For example, I can go to Best Buy or GameStop. They they barely barely have physical games now.
SPEAKER_01You go to GameStop, they'll have physical games.
SPEAKER_05I'll talk about New York games that just come out.
SPEAKER_01Like when they come out, they don't have some of them exist.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly.
Nostalgia, Manuals, And Midnight Releases
SPEAKER_05Because it's stocking. It's real. And what was the best part about having a physical game? There's a lot of memories attached to this. Imagine for Christmas, you know, for those that celebrate Christmas or whatever the holiday or birthday, going, getting a gift, unwrapping it, and it's your first it is your Sonic or Mario or whatever it was, unwrapping that game. That's the best feeling in the world. What are you unwrapping now these days, Michael? A gift card to go buy the game? I don't know. What are you unwrapping?
SPEAKER_01I gave I gave your son a gift card.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but like my thing is it's it's not the same though. It's been for a smaller chunk. And another thing about that is what's gonna happen to GameStop and your trade-ins now? Are those stores gonna go out of business? Because I mean that that's that's all that's left for them, unless they take the Nintendo route and then they do those media key cards that Nintendo has. Unless they do that, I mean, I don't know what's what's what's the point of it. Or just having a physical copy in your hand, a way to play, but you're staring at the picture, reading back in the case, and you're looking at you're looking through the book or the books, it's books, game books, and video games in a long time. Instruction manuals. Instruction manuals, yeah, they haven't had in a long time. So I can't even argue that. That was one of my first beats, to be honest with you. But I just feel like it's a big mistake by that, man. And then the bet the best, best, best part of physical copies was standing online for that midnight release of your favorite game, man. I thought that was so fun.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, that's a time that's gone by.
SPEAKER_05It has gone by. But I thought, but if there was, if there was a game that can do that, Michael, what do you? Of course. There would be lines out the door for that if they were to do that. You and I both know that. I think Grand Thought Water could have kind of did numbers on that. Maybe the Wolverine game, too, but nothing, nothing near what Grand Theft Auto could do.
SPEAKER_01I think they at least announce it like the afternoon. No, the Wolverine game wouldn't do that.
SPEAKER_05No, probably not, because only for one system, too. So that's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_01It's one system plus, uh yeah, it's Wolverine. Not saying Wolverine is still a hot character in the Marvel Universe. And but no, it wouldn't have done that.
SPEAKER_05It probably wouldn't have done it, but I still think you'd have got sales for it, but not as because Grand Theft Auto.
SPEAKER_01I just look at it like this. Physical media, uh, I thought it was gonna go out probably the PlayStation 6. I thought it was gonna be the same.
SPEAKER_05But this is the PlayStation 6 that we would reaching, though.
SPEAKER_01Reaching we're not, yeah, reaching it, but we're not there yet. I would have thought that they would have the same thing at a Playstation Pro, um, had a taxable disk drive. I thought it was gonna do it that route. Hey, we still support physical media, but order the physical media, you gotta buy attached for a disk drop. People would have bought it because when the PS Pro had the taxable disc drive, it sold out quick. Yeah. And this is basically this is Sony just being greedy. I agree. And I always said greed reads that cash rules everything around, greed rules everything around. Yeah, dollar dollar bill yard.
SPEAKER_05I I thought you'd be a bit more angry because you're a collector. I'm I'm I was buckets of gays. Gaze you even touch yet. Yeah. Gaze you probably remember you have.
SPEAKER_01So we try to steal them.
SPEAKER_05But I think you'd be more upset at that because you don't have that no more, Mike. Like I said, I mean.
SPEAKER_01What's your new passion about? I didn't, I didn't, I didn't I didn't get no input. Yeah, you talking whole most of the show. But my thing is like like I said, uh um I thought we're gonna take that right route. Just to go to Task Force Disk Drive for the PlayStation 6 and continue with physical media. But as I look at it, this is Sony that's be cutting out everybody. GameStop, Best Buy, all the mill and men to make all 100% profit there, especially if it comes to first party games. And Sony first party games do sell well physically. Because most of Sony um players or we call supporters like buying their single-player games physically over digitally. The only thing you buy and say is and we'll be the show. But the
Retail Fallout And Trade-In Future
SPEAKER_01first player narrative games, majority of PlayStation customers, customers, fanboys, supporters, whatever you might call them, buy those games physically. Am I upset with Sony? Yes, I think they have a lack of communication. And I told you before, the people who lose to run PlayStation no longer run PlayStation. Like Shuhei, Jack Trenton, other several other individuals. They no longer run it. These are strictly businessmen looking for make a profit for Sony. And you gotta remember, Sony sold most of their TV, uh TV uh accessories to I think it was T uh TLC? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05T T S T TLC, I think it was.
SPEAKER_01TSL. Yeah Come on, when last time you heard when last time you seen Sony with a uh computer?
SPEAKER_05I don't know, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01When last time you see SwyU, I got my new Sony computer.
SPEAKER_05I don't remember.
SPEAKER_01Come on, let's keep it real. Let's keep it 100. Even the TV, too. So it's like the TVs are man expensive. Always thought Sony should have got, okay, we have this tier, this is a higher tier, this is a mid-tier, it's low tier.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, they could easily have done that. All TVs pretty much do that. Samsung does that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05See LG does that.
SPEAKER_01So, but Sony never did that. They and then they're very good quality TVs, but they never did that.
SPEAKER_05Bravo was like their number one one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But this is Sony, again, PlayStation is probably the biggest money player in the Sony portfolio. So they're trying to make this money. It's trying to make as much money as they can from this asset they have, which is the PlayStation.
SPEAKER_05So let me, I have a question for you. So let's say between now and 2028, Sony noticed a shift that hard copies are have risen. The sales of hard copies has gone up exponentially, like 70%. Do you think that would make them change course? So the sales of hard copies are have risen by a lot. More. It's not gonna be more than digital copies, just keep it real, it's not. But they have risen a significant amount. Do you think that might change their mind? Besides consumer feedback and angry videos you see them doing? I think it's you think it's already a done deal.
SPEAKER_01Done deal.
SPEAKER_05I I I'm I'm on the other side of that.
SPEAKER_01I think only thing Sony's silence on um on why we say Instagram, Twitter, or what we call X now, maybe to try and figure some plan to adjust. Maybe doubt it.
SPEAKER_05I think I think I changed course. And I think I changed course, I think they're gonna do what you said. They're gonna have uh uh next to you know the attachment. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, look.
SPEAKER_05I think they are.
SPEAKER_01This is I mean, Sony's getting in front of by Domino's. Tell about Domino's said this made an announcement that we no longer have physical pizza, we've send digital pizza. You got the creator of uh Miller Gear shiming in on it, saying it's a sad day, and worry about gameplay. Kojima.
SPEAKER_05Kojima, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yes, talking about talk about game preservation, and he has a collection of movies and video games.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's true too. Yeah. Because even even though the it's so funny you said that, even though movies have changed, I have, you know, have, you know, varied in from VCR cassettes to DVDs and all that, they've always still been around. You still have access to them. And despite in the world of streaming, we still have them, though.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the problem is, uh this is, I mean, I'd cut you off. Let me cut you off, but probably now when they do advertised movies, they will put digital. They'll say, oh, it's on streaming. Don't even say digital. Now they say streaming now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They say streaming. Don't we say digital, you buy the copy of the movie. Before they would say get it on digital and Blu-ray DV or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They didn't say streaming now, you're right. Now it's like they're hiding it from you. They're hiding from the room. You gotta do research. Still, you gotta do your research. I know screen seven was on Blu-ray until recently. Kind of look it up. Yeah, screen seven, I got that on Blu-ray. Oh, okay. So, yeah, it's almost like they're hiding it. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please. Oh, damn, Mike found it. You know what I'm saying? So, no, companies want to make as much money as possible. And that's what Sony is doing. So, PlayStation is the biggest entity in Sony portfolio and trying to make as biggest money for the stockholders, which I'm one of them too. Trying to make the biggest profit as possible. And the thing with Sony is they're horrible communicators. The new the new generation of Sony leadership, horrible communicators. It's so funny. You read online, I believe it's Tweet Town, who say that some of the publishers didn't know. Some of the Sony office didn't know this was gonna happen.
SPEAKER_05That's that's why I think this is this is a knee-jerk moment. That's why I do think this this there's more reasons why I think this is based on like seeing how the digital market went for Grand Theft Force. I think it all correlates. I really think it does, man. I think it's a knee-jerk moment. I really think it is. I think I think there's two things, two things to be true. I think um they were influenced by Grand Theft's order of sales, six of sales.
SPEAKER_01I don't think so.
SPEAKER_05I think they were because how do you not tell third parties and people, you know, that's something that's something that's something they had they thought about.
SPEAKER_01They thought about it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but my thing is I think this is all a knee-jerk moment. I think it's all is. I think I and I and also I don't like I we argued it back and forth, we you know, on different topics, different shows. This also signifies to me that we're not seeing Sony six to 2028, also. You see, you thought maybe next year. I I said nah, it's gonna be beyond that. I definitely think you're not gonna see nothing to 2028. And I think when it comes out, they they're preparing us for it. I think these are all knee-jerk moves. I think everything is gonna lead to one thing, beyond.
SPEAKER_01It could say knee-jerk, it could be a knee-jerk action. According to Tweet Town, PlayStation Prizing announcement to end physical disc production in January 28, caught players, publishers, partners, even the own region office off guard. Yeah, key partners, including India. Well, you think India were called off guard with this. Exactly. This is poor communication, and this is the problem with Sony, this generation of Sony, which is pitiful right now. And I said it before in previous podcasts. Don't read the Sonies on top, come Microsoft Fumbo. Agree. And Microsoft and Fumbo, they're oh shoot, we're in trouble. They wouldn't be able to do that. Because with money, look, Sony's about, like I said, greed rules everything around me. Get that dollar bill, or the older live service. How the hell you can have 10 live service game thing gonna make money off of that?
SPEAKER_05No, you're not. You're not.
SPEAKER_01How the hell is that possible? I agree. What was the logic of that? I agree. What was the logic of that? And according to another source, which is um Game Biz, stated that uh High Chaos Run, executive, and which is a major triple A publisher, described the situation a blunder. Despite our seamlessly close relations relationship with PlayStation, they were informed this was happening.
SPEAKER_05Wow. That's embarrassing. That's embarrassing. I mean, I I think it's a knee jerk woman, and I don't think is a movie. I don't think it's gonna stand. I I think Sony somewhere right now, going over it, talking to people, like, yeah, I think we kind of screwed up.
SPEAKER_01Furthermore, let me go, Mr. Maze, let's go again to Tweet Town. Okay. PlayStation India. They say the situation was messed up worse. At one time, okay, uh at the at the time of the announcement, PlayStation India office was in negotiating with local distributors and retailers set up exclusive PlayStation brick and mortar stores, targeting around a hundred locations, Mr. Macy, in 2028. So basically, it'd be like a PlayStation GameStop, Mr. Macy.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. So then this that would make no sense. This will make no sense now.
SPEAKER_01And physical games, physical game sales would have been the central of their plan.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, this makes no sense. This is why I think it's all a knee-jerk reaction to something. I really think it is. And I you know you disagree with me on this one. I I still think it's what they saw.
SPEAKER_01Then it was then it's poor management on their part. And it's a shame on Sony. I agree. Shame on Sony. Because they're lucky in their this position because Microsoft fumbled the ball.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and Nintendo, you know, is still in its early stages, so Nintendo's doing Nintendo stuff.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But it's pressure. The biggest computer is Microsoft. But in Japan, Nintendo whipping the ass.
SPEAKER_05Oh, I bet they are. I bet they are. It's more affordable, too.
SPEAKER_01Whipping ass. So, you know what I'm saying? It's a tragedy that this is happening. Um, but like I said, when I heard it, I was like, damn.
SPEAKER_05Caught me off guard, too.
SPEAKER_01I was like, damn, already? I know.
SPEAKER_05Because 2020 is we're less less than two years. We're
Sony Communication Breakdown Claims
SPEAKER_05a year and a little bit of a year and a half away.
SPEAKER_01Because you're gonna end it, and it's my thing is like you're just gonna stop productions or you're gonna slow it down.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yes, you're right. Because what if a game is being worked that's supposed to come out in 2028? Because think about it. A 2028 game is being worked on right now. So is this game like, uh, do we do a digital copy? Do we do a physical copy?
SPEAKER_01No, they're not doing no physical copy. What are we doing? They're working it now, let's not do no physical copy. I don't know. If it's gonna come out 2027, yes, most likely. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_05For example, I think the closest game that might come out 2028, that and the their biggest game is an uncharted. I think that window would probably be 2028.
SPEAKER_01There's no uncharted game that's displayed right now.
SPEAKER_05We don't know that. There's been rumors, we've we've wrote rumors where they're in where in what was it? Somewhere. Working on the uncharted, possibly. Rumorous game that's you're right. But let's say this rumored game that that they've been talking about was supposed to come out in 2028. What is it like about 28? No, I'm just saying, I'm not. I'm using 2028 because of the uh you're saying rumor. Um yeah, but you got let me let me guys listen though. I'm just saying, let's say this uncharted game that's supposed to go to 2028 is gonna be an all-digital game. Do you think you want to see uh uh uh uncharted game all digital? The next uncharted game would just be a digital game. Would you do you want that?
SPEAKER_01No, do I want it because like I said, I had all the uncharted games. Does people have all the Grand Theft Auto games, especially the ones that came on Xbox?
SPEAKER_05But the Grand Theft Auto, they're still offering the this thing in the store crap.
SPEAKER_01We'll talk about that later.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but so you still get a physical copy. Ain't no physical copy, shit the hell up. I mean, a sense of physical copy.
SPEAKER_01Shit the hell up. I hit you in. We'll talk about that later. Freaking freaking crazy with that nonsense. Stupid, that's stupid nonsense. What the button? What the button at people?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, you still get a physical copy. Hey, it's it's better than nothing. It's better than nothing. Kind of like the Nintendo keycard. Same thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay, Mr. Mason. So anything else you want to say about this, Mr. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, let me go. Hold on, hold on. Let me let me go to well, back to your question. How would this impact GameStop? Well, they're gone.
SPEAKER_05What is GameStop gonna sell outside the console hardware? There's only so much hard copies of console you can sell. So much Nintendo you can sell. Yeah, it's only so much you can sell. I mean, unless GameStop does like a man.
SPEAKER_01They got Pokemon.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01Pokemon doesn't relate to everybody, though. But they do sell. They do sell.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, no, but it doesn't relate to everybody. I'm not a Pokemon guy. I know there's guys in the little younger than me. A big Pokemon heads. Shout out to them, but Pokemon does sell. And um, but you're not selling Pokemon all year round. GameStop's number one seller, Mike. Let's keep it real, is games. That's their number one seller.
SPEAKER_01Not Funko Pops?
SPEAKER_05When you buy a game, you pick one up. I don't know, but it ain't it ain't Funko Pops.
SPEAKER_01I think Pokemon is putting a good uh challenge for uh games there.
SPEAKER_05They they do I don't deny that. I don't deny that. But it's not that's not if they were just selling uh Pokemon stuff, games ought to be closed down already, Mike. Games, used games, and I guess, you know, I guess throwbacking is that you wanted to get.
SPEAKER_01There's T-shirts still t-shirts, they showed it. Yeah, they sell everything, a little bit of everything, but that's not enough to sustain them. I wasn't insane, though. Also Gamefly.
SPEAKER_05Gamefly Gamefly's still around?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes, Gamefly's still around.
SPEAKER_05Hey, GameFly's still around.
SPEAKER_01Gamefly's still around.
SPEAKER_05They're definitely gone. Bye-bye, Gamefly for what? I mean, normal, I shouldn't say that, because if they continue to sell the old system hard copies, I guess that'll help them.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let's like let's say place. I don't know you watch Retro Rick. Nah. So he has a he has a gives a game store, I forgot, and I think, well, somewhere in the Midwest. We'll say Mem West. He sells mostly retro stuff. So people like that safe for now. Yeah. Ten years from now, I don't know. Yeah, but what?
SPEAKER_05This is this is it's so funny because what remember a couple years ago? Maybe not maybe like two or three years ago, where we you and I, I feel like every other show, we're talking about a game that outsold that that's just so for thousands and thousands of dollars or hundreds of dollars.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05You remember that? So are are do we now have classics in our hands that we don't even know about, Mike? Should I buy my game? Don't even open it? Should I buy the new, the new uh, what's it called? Fu Fluffy, Fluffy, the new uh God of War guest coming out. Should I buy it and just keep it in its case? Like I and get a digital one? Is is this the new thousand dollar game I'm gonna have? Like I it makes me wonder now. Is it it it does? But to go back to what you're saying, and we don't have to because hey, just because uh Plitzers get rid of it doesn't mean those stars have to go up, but it does hurt it. It does hurt the because I'm putting a game for like oh if. Yeah, but it'll there'll be around because people love retro, and retro's ain't going nowhere anytime soon. And I think because this is gonna no longer be a hard copy, I think you're gonna have those people that are gonna like, you know what? I'm gonna just go play my retro games, I'm gonna just do that. And it doesn't without that that we'll do that because there's enough retro games to last the rest of your lifetime if you if you're that kind of a fan. So I you know, I think they'll be alright with it. But I still stick to my guns. This is only 2026, and I think the Sony is smart. I think they're gonna listen, and I personally think they're going to change course on this. We'll find out. We still got some shit. We got a year and a half and so to go.
SPEAKER_01I just look at it like this. Just listen to options for consumers. There's no, like I said, competition where you got a physical, you have options to get it for Amazon, Best Buy, different outlets. When you only have Sony dominating the market place to get that particular game, they can set the price for $70 or for the five years. Yeah. Go to Amazon and go try to pick up Demon's Souls, the new one. Demon's Souls is $60 on the PlayStation store. And we go to Amazon, $30. Yeah. So it's not a good thing. At all. Not a good thing at all. Alright, Mr. Mason. But um it's yo, you're messing up gaming.
SPEAKER_05I agree. I agree. That's why I'm gonna believe in Sony to change course. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_05I'm optimistic.
SPEAKER_01If you're right, you're right. Hopefully I am. You know what I'm gonna say? Oh, so we'll see, man. I I think they will change course. I don't think they'll change course, Mr. Amazon. Let's go, let's
Price Control And Consumer Options
SPEAKER_01kill the PlayStation in that course. Playstation 5 sales have absolutely suck in April. I mean, sorry, in May, Mr. Amazon. This is horrible. Uh it is terrible, horrible. And you know, with the price increased to happen early April, our North Sony expect to happen. They expect to get more customers. Hell no, Mr. Amazon. In April 2026, America consumers bought fewer PlayStation consoles in May since the year 2000. Mm-hmm. That's the few months for the PlayStation 2 launch, Mr. Amazon. This is ridiculous. Yes, PlayStation 5 unit sales fell 58% year over year.
SPEAKER_05Over year, that's right.
SPEAKER_01Dollars spent dropped 43%. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_05Hmm.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, so worse May for PlayStation since what? Quarter century, man. Quarter century, nope. One year of price, a quarter century. 26 years, Mr. May.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, more than a quarter century. A little a little over. Be technical. But yeah, this is embarrassing. This is embarrassing because a 58% drop.
SPEAKER_01Forgot Xbox posted weakest sales in May, too.
SPEAKER_05They did, but they were actually a little bit better than Sony year over year, though. Year over year, they actually did more 7% better than Sony, actually. Shockingly. I I was surprised when I read that too.
SPEAKER_01We have to see the numbers and see how.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, no, I it was. I think IGM posted it too, actually. They were like seven percent year over year. Their numbers were worse than I think Sony, but year over year, they were actually better than Sony.
SPEAKER_01They sold Mr. Mazer over 30,000, 30 million consoles. I don't know.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but year over year from last year to now, for this year, they actually did better than Sony that time frame.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, they sold they sold extra uh extra 10,000 consoles.
SPEAKER_05So who who cares? But hold on, let's go, let's get back. Let's get back to this. Get back to it, Mr. Maze. So the PS5 sells plummeted, keep it real. That's what exactly what happened. Oh, no, no, they suck. Yeah, they plummeted, they suck, exactly. But why? They're falling off. But why? What's the reason, Mike? What's the number one reason that the price is? Okay, what's the number one reason?
SPEAKER_01Mr.
SPEAKER_05Mason, normal reason. The price. Exactly. So we saw a standard console is now going for $650. I think we do a $50 jump, right? Yes, Mr. Mason. A digital console going for $600. And the biggest one of all is a PS5 Pro going for $900.
SPEAKER_01And if you want to just drive, we'll we're taxed $1,000.
SPEAKER_05So that alone tells you everything. This is the first time, I guess in both of our lifetime, we saw uh a console in this latter half of his generation go up. That's never. Ever in my gaming lifetime have I seen this. And I've been around for decades. This has never, ever happened before. Usually a console does in this time frame of his lifespan, the price is either steady at the price it originally was or it decreased because there's a newer version of that cops, like a PS5 Pro or something like that, where the the original is. I mean, a pro, a pro of whatever.
SPEAKER_01But they're just saying they make adjustments at the hardware. Yes, I'm saying that because it increases because of that. The components are a lot cheaper. Yeah. So yeah, so the prices decrease. And this is the time where people, I a lot of people understand when these cops come out, let's say the PlayStation, a PlayStation 4, whatever. Mm-hmm. And you want, you have to upgrade. This is the time you want to upgrade. Yeah, yeah, you not upgrade, but the fifth year, fourth year had it, the Xbox Lord. There's some games you want to play at. So you'll buy Xbox to play those games. Yeah, yeah. That's what I'm saying. You'll find it making jump. Yeah, you can't afford it. So you can't afford to buy the some people have two systems because of the prices will get lower. You bought PS5 when it first came out, and now you'll buy Xbox later on to play the Xbox games.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But that that no longer is.
SPEAKER_05Cheaper over the course of a generation, not more expensive. So to see that our systems are hard and getting more expensive before our own eyes is just crazy to me. Because by now, you know, you you know me. I I never get the two hottest systems over the years. I'll get one and later I'll be like, you might you sell you sell that system while you while you go get the pro or whatever, I'll do that. I can't even do that to you no more. Now I accept the fact that yo, it looks like I'm only getting one system this this generation, but it is what it is, and unfortunately, this is a hurt for the gaming system. But a lot, what who do we blame for this too, besides the price hike? I'm I we have to blame the RAM shortage and AI because all the RAM and um and high margin hardware for AIs are going to the data centers. So that's why we have this biggest RAM shortage. It's not just consoles, we see it with our computers, your iPads, your cell phones. It's all being affected and with price hikes. So I don't know when it's gonna end. I don't think we'll ever see a uh a console lower than 600, maybe moving forward. I think this is it. And then before they were blaming tariffs and whatnot. Tariff ended, companies got to sue the government for their money back. We we didn't get we we didn't we didn't get compensated anyway for that. Prices didn't lower. Matter of fact, prices went higher after the tariffs ended, and these most of these companies got compensated for their loss. So that tells you greed, and we ain't seen, and this ain't changing anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. Yeah, I see, I see what you're saying. Um, but I have nothing else to say, Mr. Maze, regardless. Gaming crash is coming, baby. Oh, a game. You said gaming crash? Yep, Vaming Crash is coming.
SPEAKER_05Oh hey, uh Game Recession is already in play. So boy, I think it is. Game recession's in play.
SPEAKER_01Let's go to our trailer
PS5 Sales Drop And Rising Costs
SPEAKER_01week. Our trailer week is Shrek 5.
unknownWhat do you got?
SPEAKER_01Do you got a Shrek 5 trailer?
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_01I don't know.
SPEAKER_05Physical trailer you can see?
SPEAKER_01No, yeah. Why didn't you say that?
SPEAKER_05I'm a big Shrek guy.
SPEAKER_01I got tired of Shrek, sorry.
SPEAKER_05I saw all of them. Did you see all of them?
SPEAKER_01I ain't seen the last one.
SPEAKER_05Oh, alright, I saw all of them.
SPEAKER_02Maybe come back. Any kind of food, Cussie. There was something and everything about you.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, Strike 5. What's I'm so excited? Coming out 2027. Yes, it is. Why? Why? Because it's a good movie, makes people laugh, and you have an all-star cast, man. You watched it. What's he doing? They're going to another great adventure to do what?
SPEAKER_05I don't remember. I saw long ago. I saw Shrek McMahon. I don't remember. Why? Why?
SPEAKER_01I'm okay with it.
SPEAKER_05Hey.
SPEAKER_01No more.
SPEAKER_05Hey, people still love Toy Store. They still they keep making it, right? You ain't complaining about that. What do you think about Shrek?
SPEAKER_01Never see a whole store. Toy Story is good.
SPEAKER_05I didn't see the last one that just came out recently. Never. I seen all of them though.
SPEAKER_01I see piece, bits, and pieces of it.
SPEAKER_05No, no, Toy Story is good. And this one has a good message too. The message on this one, from what I heard, I don't know how accurate it is, is like trying to get kids off of iPads and stuff to make kids go outside. That's why you said an iPad lasering that they're fighting it and stuff. It's like a message kids to go outside, go touch some grass. So that has a good message to it. But Toy Stories is not bad, though. It's a favorite of mine. I mean, I saw Toy Story from the 90s till now, man. So yeah, I'm all I'm all in. Especially with Shrek. Shrek is a good movie. I mean, we get to see Eddie Murphy where back in his role where he makes his millions and millions of dollars. You know, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz. It's all star-studded.
SPEAKER_01What is the premise of this movie? I still don't know the premise of the movie. I know the sons are big as hell.
SPEAKER_05They are now, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because the bigger, I don't know. Where's the dragon, donkey's wife, whatever? I don't know. I don't really care. Do you agree like this trailer? Y'all like the trailer.
SPEAKER_05It's not like you're nasty, whoa, movie you want to go see the teddy. What do you say again? Um, yeah. I'd rather see this a million times before I go see a hungry hippo movie.
SPEAKER_01Look, look.
SPEAKER_05I agree like this 100%. Good toy, some movie for kids. Not just kids, adults, everyone.
SPEAKER_01I I I I yell like this. It's times sometimes stuff needs to end. But like you come from a guy who watched horror movies. So screen seven. I was right about to say that.
SPEAKER_05You don't think the emperor you you are screen seven right now. So what can I say? I mean, I Friday the 13th were there. I mean, yo, they rebooted, it reboots. Yeah, exactly. Mike by the report, you ran out of ideas to send Jason to space. Come on, man.
SPEAKER_01Come on. All right, Mr. Mason. I yell at it. I agree. If you're into Strack, we'll buy the head continue to you give anyone Michael Meyer comedy's money. Exactly. Oh, look at that. New act.
SPEAKER_05So we go some young acting there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay, Mr. Mason. It's a great actress. Okay, Mr. Mason. All right, Mr. Mason.
Trailer Week: Shrek 5 Debate
SPEAKER_01Let's go to our should we care topic. Our should we care topic is the Grand Theft Auto. Pricing for the game, Mr. Mason. It's 80 bucks for the standard and 99 for the deluxe edition, Mr. Mason. He told what the deluxe edition.
SPEAKER_05You put me on. What does it come with? What does the deluxe edition come with? I'm pretty sure it's gonna be some kind of gun and some kind of skin. I mean, I'm sure that's what it is. It's not like back in the days when you when you got more in at a game stop.
SPEAKER_01The deluxe edition will be a great experience for you, Mr. Amazon. You get a collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel. Damn it, the hottest threads, you're gonna be the coolest dude on the planet. You get access of different parts of the neighborhood, Mr. Mason, that you'd be denied.
SPEAKER_05If you had the regular well.
SPEAKER_01I mean, honestly, you you just like society. Yeah, it is.
SPEAKER_05You got the money, you won't get in. Exactly. Honestly, yo, be keeping a bug with you. I'll pay the extra $20. Yeah, I would I would pay the $20 for it. I mean, it's $20.
SPEAKER_01I'm already spending a lot of money on this thing, so if they don't get you, they're gonna see Bob is oh, it's $80, but they're gonna get you to spend the extra $20.
SPEAKER_05To get the additional stuff. Because think about all your friends are in there. Yo, you didn't you didn't get to that part? What part? Oh, you didn't pay the $20. Might as well get the $20 one if you can afford it.
SPEAKER_01I mean, my thing is this is a dangerous thing, Miss Mason. Should we care a lot, a little about this?
SPEAKER_05It is dangerous, I agree with you, but you and I were on should you we both agree there's gonna be a high price.
SPEAKER_01It wasn't gonna be a standard $69 for a game. We both said that. Let's cut the BS. It's like a $100 game. No, we said and we said that. It's a hundred dollar game. Oh, it's no, I can't get a certain part of a certain thing. It's a hundred dollar game.
SPEAKER_05Of course it is. That's what it is. It's a hundred, it's a hundred dollars starting off.
SPEAKER_01So we'll see.
SPEAKER_05We know we all we all know that. That $100 start is a starting off price point.
SPEAKER_01We'll see, because remember the guy most likely gonna have grand um suit. The online play and all that stuff, too.
SPEAKER_05Come on, man. This is $100 starting off. Keep it a buck.
SPEAKER_01So should we keep it, so we are we keep are we caring a lot, a little all, Mr. Maze? That's the question. Because of this considered president for other games?
SPEAKER_05The thing I I would generally have said we should care a lot, but in my head, I already knew that was the price because of the nature of what this this game was. In my head, I was like, if Mario was 80 bucks, this game's gonna be 80 bucks and more. So I'm not surprised. But uh, to answer the question, yeah, we should care because what next high profile games are gonna come out is gonna do the same thing too. Before you know it, the standard for games is gonna be 100 bucks, 80 bucks. Which, well, 80 is what the standard they're trying to make it, but I think 100 is gonna be the 100 is what they're pushing for now. Especially when when consoles are expensive already to begin with. So my answer is yeah, you should care.
SPEAKER_01Alright, we'll go from there. What's yours? Yeah, we should care because it's ridiculous. It's a hundred dollar game. Let's say they get a hundred dollars. Just say the game's a hundred dollars, get over with. Alright. That's it. What was an $80 game? Stop it. It's a hundred dollar game. Stop it. Alright, so we both care a lot, Mr. Mason. Absolutely. Damn it. Alright, let's go to our gangster
GTA Pricing And The New Standard
SPEAKER_01wangster week, Mr. Mason. Yes. The Steam Deck was announced a couple of weeks ago. Game of Traffic didn't get a get to get a chance to put the spin on it. Mr. Mason, what do you think about the prices for the Steam Deck? Yeah, Steam Steam. Is this a gangster move? They just said freak it. We're not gonna absorb any. We're getting all the money. Because, you know, prices ram memories up. And they just said we they just gangsters say, hey, this is what the price is, and you're gonna buy them.
SPEAKER_05Okay. Steam Deck is tricky because Steam Deck, from what I'm noticing and reading, is that they don't want to be known as that fourth player console. Like they don't want to be known as a console. Like, like you know, with Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo. No, they don't want to be that fourth player, they want to be known as like an entry-level PC that you could put in your living room. That's what they're trying to be known. So if I look depending on how you look at it, you perceived it or that's what they're saying. That's what that's that's how I'm perceiving them. Because that that's that's how they're bringing this off out. Because they're like, we're not a console, we're more of a PC thing. That's that's that's the energy that they're bringing out. So if I look at it from their view, their their point of view. Are you saying this their point of view or just for your view? This is I I this is this is what I'm getting from, though. This is what I'm getting from. Okay. I don't I don't I don't think they're they want to be that a console. I don't think they would. They want to be a console. So they are a console. But they read a lot of the articles, you'll see why I'm saying that. They keep saying entry-level, a lot of archers keep saying uh it's more entry-level PC.
SPEAKER_01That's what they keep saying. It's a yo, yes, but recently start saying that. That's yeah, that's what I'm keeping.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I've been saying ever since I announced that price, I've been seeing a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01And if you freak out of here.
SPEAKER_05But to make my point real quick, if you're looking at it at that point of view, then the price is, I guess, justified. Because you know, you all know how much PC get uh a billion PC could be. But if you're looking at it at a console point of view, this price is ridiculous to me. It's just crazy ridiculous. Mr.
SPEAKER_01Mason, the way console price is this is not ridiculous.
SPEAKER_05It's not because this is where they're going, but as a console, it is. Because it it's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01If you think of the constitutional way, yes.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it is, because what they offer. Firstly, let's give it you. You want me to break it up? What's being offered with with the price bundle, or you want to do it?
SPEAKER_01Go to the price bundle. I know we'll we'll go with the first one. Okay. Uh the half a terabyte, we'll say half a terabyte. Yeah, 512 gigabytes, a thousand dollars, a thousand dollars.
SPEAKER_051,049.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_05And that's just a console alone, nothing nothing else. But if you want the same half a terabyte, 512 gigabytes, the base bundle with a controller, you're paying $1,128. So then if you're gonna move up to a two-terabyte console, just a console alone, $1,349, and that same two terabyte bundle with a steam controller, then the steam controller is $1,420, I think it is. Basically almost $1,500. $1,500. Yeah, that's what I was about to say, too. So it depends how you look at this thing. But I want to be like, yo, I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But you had told me that Valve sold out, right? Did you tell me Valve sold out?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for the pre-orders.
SPEAKER_05For the pre-orders, yeah. So then it's like No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01I did No, they didn't I tried, no, the Steam Deck sold out when it came back.
SPEAKER_05You talk about the regulars, the Steam Machine. Or not the Steam Machine.
SPEAKER_01No, they had they had a little uh auction, raffle off, see who we get who gets it.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay. Okay, I see what you're saying. But uh that said, I think they're gonna try to play it off as an entry-level PC in your living room versus a fourth-player console. And with that said, I think that price they might look at as justifia justifiable.
SPEAKER_01So this is so this is a gangster wangster move. Because they're not gonna subsidize it any way and fashion.
SPEAKER_05I think it's wangster because you never made your mind, you can't make up your mind what you are. And I think it's also wangster because you are throwing it off to people. Like it might be an $800 system.
SPEAKER_01That's before.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but that's before the Rams. But I don't think a rant the RAM shortage and stuff can justify this kind of price. That's a big jump, Mike. That's a big jump.
SPEAKER_01Don't got the same production as the Xbox Sony. Exactly. Subsidize a console. Oh, sorry, entry-level PC.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, exactly. So this is why I'm gonna I'm gonna go with Wangster of the Week.
SPEAKER_01That's what you got. Let's say the yo vow Steam Deck, you know, Wangster of the Week. I agree with that actually.
SPEAKER_05Because I I you guys came out talking about controller, no controller. What system could you think about the system that came out with no controller? Like that's why they were still on the controller, this could be. Exactly. I thought they were this controller's just like, okay, it's an add-on, you can get the cool controller. I thought it was gonna be like the uh like with the edge. Oh, they were there was like that.
SPEAKER_01That's why they want you to buy the controller first, so you can you get the regular Steam Deck. The regular is the first the one with no controller. Yeah, the regular, the cheapest one. Yeah, like, oh, you get that. You know, you ain't boying it already. You might as well get the good Steam Deck. Exactly.
SPEAKER_05Exactly.
SPEAKER_01So it is what it is, but they're still a wangster, Mr. Amazon. I Mr. Mason.
Steam Deck Prices: Gangster Or Not
SPEAKER_01Do you have a shout out the week, Mr. Mason? Shout out the week? Ah, you know what?
SPEAKER_05Because I've been so engaged. Other than your Knicks. No, no, no, no, no, Knicks. But it's sports really, I've been so engaged in the World Cup. Shout out to all those teams that made it. No, I went down to the USA lost everybody, though. USA lost. They did. But shout out to the soccer teams, man. You know, even there's a lot of controversy. I'm not getting to that. Shout out to all those teams that made it, man. You guys deserve it. And represent your country on that level is dope. So shout out to all those teams that made it. Uh, you know, and go from there.
SPEAKER_01That's very good, Miss Benson. All right, I have no shout out of the week. We'll go for that for now. But everybody, this is the Game of Traffic Show. Support, we out. Later. Later, you're not gonna do it.