The former president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division has claimed that the successors to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are unlikely to support any form of physical media.
Speaking during an interview with Geekwire, Robbie Bach said the need for physical media is quickly diminishing in regards to video game consoles. As such, he said it is "likely" that next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft will not support discs.
“Does it have a physical media? Probably not, so how does that look? Is it just a game box or is it more? What’s the balance between what an Apple TV is and what an Xbox or a PlayStation 4 is? These are really interesting questions, and the teams going to have to wrestle with those. That next generation will be a whole new game," said Bach.
Of course, with PS4 and Xbox One not having been out for two years yet, it’ll be a while before we hear anything about their successors. In the days of the original PlayStation, consoles typically lasted for around 4-5 years, although that changed during the PS3-era, which lasted seven years before PS4 was unveiled.
You can be sure that PS4 and Xbox One will be knocking around for quite a while before we start hearing even the slightest of murmurs about next-gen.
PS4 has shipped over 25 million units since its launch in November 2013.