physical

PlayStation caused a tsunami killing games in physical format. If you wait for a reverse, the final enemy is mathematics

by

It’s been just over a week since Sony, PlayStation, will announce the death of the physical format for its consoles. Starting in January 2028, no physical games will be released for PlayStation consoles. This is a hard blow for the video game as an art, for preservation and for the consumer, since there are few more anti-consumer measures that make us players depend on a physical format that does not belong to us. The reaction of these players has not been good and there are those who point to a possible retreat on the part of PlayStation. There is a problem: there is no nail to hold on to other than that of hope. It makes… sense. From the company’s point of view, the move to 100% digital format is perfect. If you have ever wondered these days what drives them to anger so many players and turn part of their own community against it, it is because, although it may not seem like it, commercially it makes a lot of sense. Yes, the digital market is enormous and bigger than the physical one, but when statistics are published and it is said that only 20% (approximately) of the market is physical, it is because the digital part includes digital games, games that do not have a physical version, DLC and microtransactions. The ‘FIFA’ envelopes, for example, come into play in those statistics. That is the argument, but when you seek to eliminate the physical, you seek to control all the gains. You don’t have to make records, you don’t have to transport records, you don’t have to pay stores to sell those records. That margin that you didn’t earn before, with the digital game you start to control. You also get rid of second-hand and lending games, something that companies have been pursuing for years. Math. And, facing a new generation of consoles that everything indicates will be more expensive than the current one (for example, the price increases for both PS5 as of Xbox Series Xbut also machines like Steam Deck and the more than 1,000 euros from Steam Machine), there Sony may fear that there are users who do not want, or cannot, pay 1,000 euros for a new console. If there are fewer players who buy hardware, there will also be fewer who buy software, but what they are looking for is to maximize profits per user. As? Controlling prices. An example: on PS5 I buy all the games published by Sony in physical form and for 80 euros. Of those 80 euros, remove 30 that go to those expenses associated with the physical format and the stores themselves. Sony sees 50 euros. With PS6I would buy the same games digitally for 80 euros and Sony would not have any of the expenses associated with either the physical format or payments to stores. Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier addresses this very well in this video and I was making up the numbers in the previous example, but he points out that, for a $70 first party game, Sony sees about $45. For a $70 first party digital game, Sony sees $70. If we talk about a third party game (Electronic Arts, Ubisoft or whoever publishes for Sony) that is physical, of the 70 dollars, whoever makes the game takes about 35, the store that sells it about 20-25 and Sony takes about 10-15. If that third party game is digital, whoever makes the game gets about 49 and Sony gets about 21. It’s a win-win for both. Maximize profits. Hideaki Nishino himself, CEO of PlayStation, has made it clear that the company must prioritize performance per client compared to the gross sales volume. They want more average income per user, in short, a model less dependent on selling hardware and more focused on extracting more value from each user. This is where the games themselves come into play, but also microtransactions and subscriptions. Leave the forum. After days without publishing anything on networks like Bluesky, although they have continued to make announcements on their official blog, Sony remembered the password and announced what no one was expecting: an arcade stick for fighting games. It makes sense because they have a fighting game right around the corner, the ‘Marvel Tokon‘, but the players took that announcement even more harshly. As a follower of all the fuss, it is almost better that they announced a command in their first communication. The reason? Had they taught the game they would have taught, the amount of negative comments that game would have received would be to study it and, for example, if the first thing is a video of the game of ‘wolverine‘, all the rage these days at PlayStation’s inaction would have been poured out on the game and on a developer studio that does not deserve that treatment. ¿Kicked back? There is, as I said at the beginning, the hope of some users that so much negativity will affect the company’s decision and they will back down. Obviously, no one outside of Sony can know what will happen, but I am not so sure that the company will back down from this decision. The main reason is that something like this is not taken lightly and reports are already appearing indicating that it is something very studied and they knew perfectly well how part of the community was going to do it. What’s more, there are already reports that indicate that the company’s main Blu-Ray factory, located in Austria, is already beginning the training of some employees who will go on to dedicate themselves to another type of production. bitter hope. If there is one thing to hold on to, it is that, at the same time that PlayStation announced the death of physical games for its consoles, it also set a date for the closure of the PS3 and PS Vita digital stores (wow timinghuh?), and it wasn’t the first time. In March 2021 we already broke … Read more

After taking the plunge into games in physical format, Sony’s large disc factory is preparing for another future: optical microlenses

by

On July 1, PlayStation gave the death blow to physical games. Starting in January 2028, there will be no new games in this format for PlayStation consoles, marking the most aggressive initiative against this format that we have seen since Xbox’s moves in 2013 and Nintendo’s Game Key Card with Nintendo Switch 2. Let the physical format die It is an anti-consumer measure whose announcement comes just when Sony itself demonstrated, removing more than 500 films of your digital store, that users we do not own the digital products that we buy We only buy permission from companies to be able to use it for an indefinite period of time that ends when these companies decide that this is how it should be. These days in networks there was a big question: faced with such a drastic measure, Would Sony back down? Well, everything indicates that it is not because in Austria there is the only Sony disc factory, the one from which the majority of games come out in physical format for PlayStation and one in which its employees would already be receiving training to dedicate themselves to other things. And those things are optical microlenses. The great PlayStation game factory is recycled The proof that PlayStation’s decision does not only affect PlayStation’s own games is in the game box. If you look at almost any PS3, PS4, or PS5 game cover, will specify “made in Austria”. This is because in Austria, specifically in Thalgauis located (now the only one after the conversions and closures of American and Japanese plants) main Sony record factory. Sony’s own games come out of it, but also those of the rest of the companies that manufacture for PlayStation. It is estimated that Thalgau produces 600,000 discs every day, half of them for PlayStation, but as things are about to change, employees are already preparing. According to the Austrian media ORF Salzburgthe 300 employees of the plant found out about the decision on the same July 1 in which Sony announced the end of physical games for PlayStation, but contrary to what we might think, there will be no layoffs but a restructuring. They point out that Sony has invested 30 million euros in equipment to convert the factory into an optical microlens factory and employees are already receiving training for this. According to the report, the idea is that Sony will begin mass production of these microlenses next year. Your application? There are several, and in the age of AI, they can be used as equipment to connect racks, but from the department Sony Micro Optics they point out that an application of microoptics can be for the automotive sector. “Micro-optics is the miniaturization of optical systems and elements that serve to focus and direct light in the smallest possible space. For example, a car turn signal that is projected onto the asphalt.” And this is important because, as we say, since last Wednesday there have been voices that suggest that, with a year and a half left until 2028, Sony may rethink things and turn back. The problem with that thinking is that This is not a decision to be made lightly.and this immediate restructuring of their large record factory shows that the Japanese have been thinking about change for some time. No matter how many signature platforms are in place, it seems that the decision is irrevocable. And also a sample of what happens when you have no competition, since Xbox is neither here nor expected in this area of ​​living room consoles after the failure of their last two machines. And more now with the internal situation they have. Image | sony In Xataka | There are more and more physical video games that are paperweights. It is a tremendous problem for video games as art.

Sony has told you why it stops selling games in physical format. The real reason, of course, is the same as always: money

by

Sony has announced that in January 2028 will stop manufacturing physical discs for PlayStation. Among the brief reasons given for making this decision is adapting to the player’s preferences, and following the trends that rule the industry: digital games sell more than physical ones, therefore, this is the choice of the players, which must be adhered to. However, what you have to look at there to find Sony’s true motives is “best sellers.” And specifically, we have to ask ourselves what economic benefit Sony extracts from these sales. The clear accounts. You just have to take note of the profit percentages that Sony makes with each game sold to understand the operation. According to the analysis of consultant Serkan Toto, Kantan GamesSony receives around 54% more for each digital copy of its own game than for the same physical copy. At a price of 70 dollars, a digital game leaves you the full 70 dollars, because there is no external store that takes commission (of course, from there you have to extract development, marketing and corporate costs, if the game is from an external studio). The same title on disc, after deducting the distributor’s margin (about 30%) and the manufacturing cost (about 5%), is left with a profit of about $45.50. Although the calculation is approximate and countless external actors must be taken into account (especially third parties), the comparison makes clear the maxim that is guiding these decisions: the fewer intermediaries, the greater the profit margin per unit. Less physical. Added to this is that the physical aspect already weighs little in the company’s overall income statement. According to a corporate report of the company itselfphysical software represented only 3% of its revenue in 2024. All these decisions must also be contextualized: at a time when Your Playstation 6 can cost a thousand euros sales price and that the current component crisis promises not only to continue, but directly double next yearcutting that 3% can save millions. Kill the second hand. There is another figure that should be taken into account: resale. Every second-hand record that changes ownership is a sale from which Sony does not see a euro. An Alinea Analytics analyst said that “what this is all about is profitability and control for PlayStation”, two very juicy terms in this new situation because a digital code, apart from all the savings in intermediaries that we said above, is linked to a personal account that cannot be resold or lent. Every second-hand product that Sony was unable to sell now becomes a new purchase at full price, or is not produced at all. This second-hand market is not exactly marginal, and is now being seen to disappear. GameStop saw a 14% drop in its quarterly revenue last March, and explicitly attributed to the shift towards digital. The analysis firm Circana estimates that spending on new physical games in the United States has fallen to 1.6 billion dollars in the last year, compared to a maximum of 11.5 billion in 2009. In other words, we have had an almost uninterrupted decline for seventeen years. It’s the market, friend. Sony has taken the most aggressive step, but the direction had already been set from different parts of the sector for some time. A week before Sony’s announcement, Rockstar confirmed that The physical edition of ‘GTA VI’ will not have a disc version. Both Xbox and Playstation have sold versions of their latest consoles without a disc reader. It is an inescapable trend, which began on PC and in stores that have ended up becoming massive options, such as Steam, and which reveals that a corporation will always prefer, rather than a one-time sale, that we are subscribed (literally or figuratively) to a constant purchase, to a service that never ends. Therefore, saying that the player has chosen digital for convenience is, at the very least, a liquid truth. As he told newsletter ‘Friday in Kiribati’we must not get carried away by that discourse: we have not chosen the preeminence of the digital, it has been imposed on us: “it seems that during the last decade no one has designed consoles without a reader, exclusive discounts for digital versions, subscription catalogs, stores integrated (and hyperpresent) in the designs of the systems, games that, despite having the disc, need to connect to the internet (…) nor have they invested obscene amounts of money in convincing us that getting up from the couch to change a disc was a thing. of the past.” Image | Photo of Alexey Savchenko in Unsplash

Sony won the most important generation by humiliating Xbox with physical games. 13 years later he killed them

by

Sony has just taken a stab at video games in physical format. Those discs that allowed PlayStation to build its empire with CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray on consoles like PS1, PS2 and PS3now they have a death date. Starting January 2028, there will be no more physical games for PlayStation consoles. The reactions have not been long in coming, with all industry players pointing out the impact of this decision. We will not own games because they are licenses, worry from small publishers, death to second hand and abandoning games and all because of a decision that makes industrial sense: absolute control by Sony in the distribution of games, their price and the margin they leave in their store. But since the newspaper archive is very bloody, it didn’t take long for those who, like myself yesterday, to remember a certain moment from E3 2013 to appear: the same moment in which PlayStation 4 won the competition Xbox One with three very simple decisions, but they disrupted Microsoft’s plans. Because it was at that same moment that PlayStation won the generation. And as the Xbox boss confessed some time later, they lost the worst generation that could be lost in the field of consoles. The battlefield? Physical games, the same ones that today have an expiration date. When you lose the worst generation you can lose June 2013, E3 plenary session. The great video game fair was preparing for a generational event. Both Sono and Microsoft had teased some features of the PS4 and Xbox One respectively in advance, but on June 10, the Xbox One would show off games and pricing, and on the same day but a few hours later, Sony would do the same for the PS4. What no one expected was what was about to happen. Xbox One already had controversies behind it due to the fact that the machine had been presented more as an entertainment system (with an emphasis on watching television on it) than as a console. Besides, in a gross communication failureit was also noted that the discs needed online verification every few hours for Microsoft to verify that the game was yours. This meant that if you didn’t have Internet, you might not be able to play your games, and the division’s boss himself sent out the message. “If you don’t have Internet access, we have a product for you. It’s called Xbox 360”. When you present your new machine, it is not elegant to say that if someone doesn’t want it, they have the old one because the easiest thing that can happen is that they end up looking at the competition. And the competition… tightened. After the mess with the verification of physical copies on Xbox One, Sony attacked. During his conference, starting at the hour and 57 minute mark, Jack Tretton, who was COO of Sony Computer Entertainment, spent a few minutes stating that they believed in the physical format, in sharing and reselling your games on disc and in doing whatever you wanted with them. Of course, there would be no ‘online check’ to verify the discs either. He won a lot of applause with the speech that you can see here: That moment, added to the fact that PS4 was going to cost 100 euros less than the confusing Xbox One, marked the generation, but there was more blood. On the same day of the presentation, PlayStation recorded a video in which two of its heavyweights did a complete tutorial of what the process of leaving games between PS4 users was going to be like. It is one of the most iconic moments of these fairs and one of the last moments I remember in which one company went so hard against another in this console thing: The previous generation, the PS3 and Xbox 360, ended with the two machines selling a very similar number of units, but the PS4 and Xbox One began with the Sony machine sweeping sales. Xbox retracted its policiesbut it was late and when Phil Spencer took the reins of the division and started making moves (lower the price, remove mandatory Kinect, etc.), it was… well, that’s it: late. Xbox One sold so little that Microsoft made the decision to stop providing data on consoles sold. When that happens, things go wrong because everyone likes to stick out their chests when the wind is in their favor, and a few years later, Spencer himself commented that they lost the generation they shouldn’t lose. “We lost the worst generation you could lose, the one where everyone built their digital games library” – Phil Spencer Among their arguments, one made all the sense in the world: the PS4 and Xbox One was the generation of change, of the change from physical to digital, of the change from a model of consoles that were a blank canvas to one in which people wanted to continue playing their games from past generations. And, above all, the generation in which it was more important than ever to provide continuity to that digital ecosystem. Spencer summarized with the phrase “we lost the worst generation that could be lost, the one in which everyone built their library of digital games.” As I say, it makes perfect sense because if you went from an Xbox 360 to a new console, it didn’t matter to you because there was no backward compatibility (it was added later in the case of Xbox). You had to start from scratch, and the same if you went from PS3 to PS4. Therefore, Xbox 360 users who were not happy with the new policies were able to switch to PS4 without fear of losing anything because there was nothing to lose. However, as On PS4 and Xbox One the digital ecosystem began to developusers began to buy more and more games in that format. If you had a PS4 with an account in which you had invested money in dozens of games, it was … Read more

traditional physical stores

by

Because here we are not big on getting crazy, but the truth is that we have had a month of dramatic movements in the industry whose real scope, frankly, is impossible to gauge for now. The news of ‘GTA VI‘ about its price and format, the unflattering business movements of Xbox and, now, an unexpected announcement from Sony. Well, we lied. There is a consequence of all this that is easy to gauge: it is going to be difficult for traditional video game stores to get out of this crisis, if they manage to do so. What Sony has announced. The production of physical Blu-Ray discs of all the new games that come out on their consoles will be discontinued from January 2028. Sony speaks of a “natural direction” to adapt to consumer trends, and that “the overall preference for digital media significantly exceeds physical discs” adding that this decision “will allow us to align more closely with the way in which the majority of our community prefers to access and play games today.” There are analysts who read the announcement as a guarantee that PS6 It will not arrive before 2028, and when it does, Its base version will do without a disk reader. In any case, it is obvious that Sony has crunched the numbers and made the most beneficial decision for its accounts, but… is it beneficial for the industry as a whole? And for businesses that make a living from software? What Rockstar tells. A GameStop employee summarized the ‘GTA VI’ pre-order day on Reddit with a single figure: they had gotten five reservations. And they expected five hundred. Because Sony’s announcement comes just a few days after Rockstar confirmed that the physical edition of ‘GTA VI’ will not include a disc, It will only consist of a box with a download code. Not even the title that is going to sell the most units (figuratively) in years has a physical disc: a perfect prologue for what Sony has announced, which we can define without fear of exaggeration as the death of the physical format in video games. It was seen coming. Capcom and PlayStation have been advancing this Sony decision with their financial balances for five years. 93% of Capcom’s video game sales during its last fiscal year they were digitalcompared to 90% the previous year and 75% in 2022. PlayStation went from 19% of digital sales in fiscal year 2015 to 78% on average in 2025, with a quarterly record of 85%. In Spain, the physical market closed 2024 with a turnover 18.11% lower than the previous year, while digital games rose 19.75%. They are not the only ones. In its financial report at the end of fiscal year 2026, Nintendo spoke of digital sales of games on its platforms adding 25% more than the previous yearreaching 54.6% of total software sales. In the case of Xbox, there is also data: 66% of Xbox Series X|S sold in the United States during 2025 were units without a disc reader The problem with physical stores. GameStop closed 590 stores in the United States during fiscal year 2024 and has added more than 400 additional closures by early 2026. In Spain and other European countries, GAME gradually dismantled its business of exchanging and selling second-hand consoles already in 2024, while GameStop reinforced the sale of collectibles and merchandising. In fact, in its annual report for fiscal year 2025, Gamestop said that software revenue had fallen 27.5% and hardware and accessories by 12.3%, while the sale of collectibles had grown by 47.7%. That is to say, the store no longer lives by selling and reselling games, but rather by everything it has found as best it could to replace them. Video game stores are going to become (those that last) stores of objects related to video games… with the exception of the games themselves. Goodbye to second hand. Record production to end in January 2028 strikes down the second handa secondary market that indirectly benefited console manufacturers and whose real scope is impossible to gauge at the moment (the question is: will consoles sell as much if we cannot pay more affordable prices for used games?) We went, in any case, with digital, to paying for a renewable license, not for a game. The true validity of what we possess is more in doubt than ever: ask the users of ‘The Crew‘ when Ubisoft closed its servers, and more recently (just a couple of days ago, with Sony again as the protagonist!) to StudioCanal content buyers who PlayStation Store will withdraw from its users’ libraries starting in September. In Xataka | SSD prices are so crazy that a 2TB drive for the PS5 costs more than the PS5 itself

Sony has just set a date for the end of video games in physical format. At the same time it announces the closure of digital stores

by

The main players in the video game industry have been looking for years to find out how to migrate from physical Blu-Ray to digital format and they already have the answer: Sony has just set the date for the death of the physical format in video games. In a brief releasethe Japanese company has announced that January 2028 will be the turning point and that all the games that come out later for its consoles will arrive only in digital format. Curiously, at the same time that they dropped that bomb, the Japanese they threw another: the closure of the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita. Definitely not the best news to start July if you are a video game lover (and you like to own what you pay for). We go in parts because it has chicha. The end of physical games on PlayStation consoles “As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift from physical to digital discs, production of physical game discs for all new games released on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued beginning in January 2028. After this date, new games will be available on the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.” Thus begins the statement from a company that continues to claim that this is a “natural direction” to adapt to consumer trends. They argue that “the overall preference for digital media significantly outweighs physical discs” and comment that they are doing gamers a favor because this decision will “allow us to align more closely with how the majority of our community prefers to access and play games today.” This news comes just a few days after we learned that a generational game like ‘GTA VI’ will not have a physical edition (at least at launch) and follows the trend of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo that, in recent years, have invested heavily in the move to digital. There are consoles without a reader, a PS5 Pro whose reader was sold separately or a Nintendo that has launched Game Key Cards. It is undeniable that the convenience of the digital format was winning the battle. Recent estimates have put this on the table in major markets such as the United States, but the physical format has something that the digital format cannot offer: belonging. Because digital games (except those from stores like GOG) do not belong to whoever pays for them. They are user licenses, which means that today we can pay 80 euros for one, but if tomorrow whoever decides that that license is no longer valid, they can delete it. Even if you had it installed on the machine (tell that to ‘The Crew’ users). Some physical games were also paperweights that required an additional download, but the only way to own a video game was to buy a physical version that came complete on disk. With this movement, Sony gives an important blow to the possession of the product for which you have paid, but it completely destroys the second hand that is so important to access that cultural product called a video game. Sony won the PS4 generation with, among other things, that argument: the loan of video games and the free circulation of discs. And not that long ago. Because Sony announcing that it will stop “printing” discs is just that, a brutal blow to video games in physical format. Sony, along with Panasonic, was the main manufacturer of Blu-Ray discs, the one with the production chain and to which the rest of the companies have to send their games to capture them on the disc. And in the statement the company does not say: “we are going to stop manufacturing discs of our games”, but rather the “production of physical discs that will end in January 2028 for new games released on PlayStation consoles”, in general. In development…

The physical edition of ‘GTA VI’ will be discless and will come with a code. The sad thing is that it has stopped surprising

by

‘GTA VI‘is warming up. After the second trailer shown in the middle of last year, Rockstar has remained almost stony silent. After a new delay that brought the launch to November 19 of this year, the messages have not arrived even with a dropper, but Reservations open this June 25 and they are going to put the marketing machine at full power. This is allowing us to learn about news such as new (and impressive) screenshots, the price of ‘GTA VI’ and, above all, the fear for many users: The physical version of ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ will not include the disc. It is something that is no longer surprising. The physical ‘GTA VI’ Schrödinger Although we are still waiting for the launch of the third trailer for the game, which is estimated to arrive to accompany the opening of the reservation period, Rockstar did not want to be begged and has been advancing some details. To begin with, an avalanche of screenshots that reconfirm that the game is one of the most ambitious of this generation of consoles. Because ‘GTA VI’ is a game that the company has been cooking for years, it is its first title for the current generation of consoles and it is noticeable that the ‘Red Dead Redemption 2‘ for PS5 and Xbox Series X They have allowed them to learn about the machines to get all the juice possible. Visually, ‘GTA VI’ is going to be crazy The more ambitious you are with the visual and technical section and the size of the game itself, the more complicated it is to condense the product on a disc, and with ‘GTA VI’ it is confirmed that will not have a real physical edition. Before we start evaluating, here is what Rockstar has announced: “Players who pre-order the digital versions of Grand Theft Auto VI will be able to begin pre-loading on November 12, to ensure they can play at launch on November 19. The physical version of Grand Theft Auto VI will include a download code inside the box and will be available starting November 12 to allow pre-loading.” That physical games are not physical games is something that, unfortunately, is no longer an exception. The Game Key Card of nintendo switch 2 They go straight: they are not a game in physical format. Games that are a ‘Code in a box’ are not either, even if that code comes in a box, and ‘GTA VI’ will belong to that second group. This, which has been like this for decades in the PC world, was not so widespread in console games (aside from Nintendo Switch, where a few have already appeared), and it seems that ‘GTA VI’ will be so big, or will have so little sense in its physical version 1.0, that it is not worth it to start “printing” discs. And, as a player who loves the physical format because it is not a simple license to use that the companies they can remove you from your account When they consider that you should no longer have what you paid for, the decision that there is no ‘GTA VI’ in physical format is as sad as it is… curious. Curious because reserving makes no sense beyond whether you want that box with the cover, since You won’t be left without a game on launch day because, in essence, this physical version is a digital version. As digital as what you can buy in the Xbox and PlayStation online store. The twist of ending with the second hand In fact, even if ‘GTA VI’ fits on one Blu Ray (or two, there’s no harm in putting it in two, ‘Final Fantasy VII Rebirth‘, ‘Cyberpunk 2077‘ or Rockstar’s own ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ come on two discs), for the company it makes perfect sense that the game is a code and not a Blu-Ray. If everything comes true, and if it turns out as Rockstar hopes, ‘GTA VI’ will be the generational game in the same way they were ‘San Andreas‘ either ‘GTA V‘. It is that game that sells an obscene amount of units and, by ensuring that there is no physical ‘GTA VI’, Rockstar ensures that everyone who wants it has to buy it from them. If I buy the game, I pass it on and leave it to a friend, there are two of us who have played it, but Rockstar has only seen one sale. The same if I sell it to a second-hand store where, to make matters worse, it is the store that takes the profit. If there is no disc, both my friend and I will have to buy the game, and there Rockstar sees two sales. Oh yes, the price of ‘GTA VI’: 80 euros for the normal version, 100 for the ‘Ultimate’. The current evil of games in physical format One of the problems that the current video game industry has is that many releases in physical format are not, really, a physical format. They come in a box, they come with a Blu-Ray, but that 100 GB Blu-Ray only has a few few megabytes of information. What that disk has inside is the code, the key that communicates with the store and that gives you access to download the game. It’s not tied to your account (if you resell it, that other person can download the game again), but you have to play with the disc inserted no matter what and, in x years, when stores or servers close, you will only have a nice paperweight. In short: if I turn on my PS1, my PS2 or my PS3 today, I can play my copy of ‘Final Fantasy VII’ in physical format. When I turn on my PS5 in 20 years, like Microsoft has retired it, the licenses have expired or whatever, I won’t be able to play to ‘Doom The Dark Ages‘ on disk. That is why initiatives such as that of Stop … Read more

There is a physical limit to what a cell phone camera can do. OPPO is pushing that limit further than anyone else

by

Standing out in the mobile showcase is a war that is fought on many fronts at the same time and mobile photography is the most decisive, especially when we enter the super high range with mobile phones that easily exceed 1,000 euros. Until recently, the fight was between the iPhone, the Pixel and the current Galaxy, but things have changed a lot and Chinese companies have advanced to the right. One of those companies is OPPO with its OPPO Find X9 Ultraone of those who is undoubtedly a candidate for the throne of mobile photography. We were in China for the launch of its new flagship, where we were able to visit its new campus in Shenzhen and speak with Jie Liu, Senior Imaging Product Manager at OPPO, who told us more details about the camera. Taking good photos is no longer enough, we want versatility We are at a point where any mobile phone in this price range takes excellent photos. Quality is presupposed, that’s why the battle has shifted to versatility: offer from an ultra wide angle to a superzoom, maintaining uniform quality throughout the range. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra has a 200 megapixel main sensor that allows us, through cropping, to simulate a 2x zoom. It is accompanied by a telephoto lens of another 200 megapixels that is equivalent to a 3x zoom and, again, by cropping it allows us to simulate a 6x. And the big news: a third 50 megapixel sensor equivalent to a 10x optical zoom or 230 millimeters. Of course you can’t miss the ultra wide angle (0.6x), which also in this generation increases the size of the sensor to improve quality. Left: 1x main sensor. Right: 10x telephoto One of the things that caught our attention is how they have integrated a telephoto with that focal length into the body of a mobile phone since, although the camera module protrudes quite a bit from the chassis, it is still not enough for such a long zoom. Jie told us that “to make the module small enough we used a telescope structure, with a new technology called quintuple reflection. This configuration reduces the physical length of the system while maintaining the focal length.” This is the structure of the 10x telephoto. Image: OPPO It is a structure of different prisms that reflects light five times until it reaches the sensor. The problem with this is that the light must travel a longer distance, which results in images with more noise and lower luminosity (the aperture is equivalent to f/3.5). “We have used technologies to reduce the noise caused by these multiple reflections, such as a layer of air between the prisms that reduces noise and loss.” The Teleconverter Claim OPPO has already started the path of teleconverters with the OPPO Find X9 Pro and raise the bar with the Ultra model. This is a photography kit that is sold separately and includes a 300 millimeter objective which attaches to the mobile phone thanks to a special case that also has a handle. It is a strategy copied from the one that Vivo has followed, first with the Vivo X300 Pro and then with him Vivo X300 Ultra (both companies belong to the same parent company, BBK Electronics). When we attach the teleconverter, we can take spectacular photos from very far away, with stunning bokeh that we can only achieve with a lens of these characteristics. This lens is attached to the 200 megapixel telephoto lens, so we can do the cropping “trick” again to achieve a 30x zoom, equivalent to 690 millimeters. The results speak for themselves: Photo with the teleconverter at 690mm or 30x At the moment, OPPO has launched two teleconverters, 200 millimeters in the Pro model and 300 millimeters in the Ultra, two fixed focals. The problem is that they only work with the model with which they were launched, meaning that we cannot use the 200 millimeter teleconverter of the Pro in the Ultra. During the meeting, we asked Jie Liu if the brand has considered launching more lenses in order to expand the range of available focal lengths, and even if there is the possibility of launching a lens with a variable focal length, for example a 200-400 millimeters: “It is a good suggestion and it is our direction of evolution, but this entails many technical obstacles. The solution we have now is temporary to ensure image quality, adding new focal lengths is a consideration for the future.” Teleconverter 300 mm or 13x OPPO wants to replicate in a mobile phone the focal versatility that any camera user takes for granted. The problem is that, although they have managed to integrate a 10x telephoto, the chassis of a phone has physical limits and there comes a point where no more optics can fit inside; andThe natural step is to complement with accessories. While its competition continues to depend exclusively on the integrated sensor, OPPO is already building that ecosystem, although still quite timidly. The photographic kit works more as an attraction, a “look what we know how to do”, and not so much as an accessory for the general public. The OPPO Find look what we know how to doand not so much as an accessory for the general public. The soul of photography Until recently, many Chinese phones suffered from overly aggressive and artificial image processing, but that is changing. One of the things I liked most about the OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera is the image processing, quite natural and realistic in general. Of course, there is AI processing, but Jie told us that it is applied in a controlled manner “always seeking coherent aesthetic results. It is applied to correct unfavorable lighting conditions, reducing artifacts and noise, improving exposure and dynamic range in complex situations.” AI is also used to improve the results of the 10x zoom “to optimize detail and stability.” Portraits are incredible, even at night (taken with 200MP telephoto, 6x). … Read more

The question is not whether the eSIM will replace physical SIM cards. The question is when

by

We have been telling you for years how technology eSIM It is gaining ground little by little, so much so that today it is normal for smartphones to include these chips as a complement to physical SIM cards. It is a technology with its advantages and disadvantages, But it is increasingly clear that the idea is not that both technologies coexist, but that the eSIM ends up making physical cards disappear. At least that is the direction in which the industry seems to be heading if we look at the steps of recent years. This makes the question no longer whether it will happen, but when will it start to happen. There are no dates or calendars set for this technological change, but there are data and projections that seem to point to the next decade. The slow but sure adoption of the eSIM Evolution of SIM cards. Source: Thalesgroup Since their creation in 1991, SIM cards have become smaller and smaller. SIMs began to become MiniSIM, and then they became MicroSIM, and then the NanoSIM that the vast majority of mobile phones currently use. The next evolutionary step was eSIMan internal chip of the mobile phone where the data that has always been on the SIM cards can be downloaded and installed. This opens the door for you to have on your mobile not only the data of your operator, but also that of other third-party services specialized in cheap eSIM such as Saily of NordVPN and the like. Saily eSIM in +200 destinations, prepaid and with an extra level of security The price could vary. We earn commission from these links eSIM chips were created in the last decade, and over the years they have also been miniaturized to take up less and less space. But one thing is the existence of technology and another its implementation on commercial deviceswhich has been slow. First they began to arrive at smart watches like the Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G of 2016, being a solution to give them connectivity without having to spend space in a physical card slot. And in 2017 the first compatible smartphones began to arrive, such as the Pixel 2 from Google (although it was only compatible with Google Fi) and since then they have been reaching more and more mobile phones. Until recently, the eSIM has been implemented as a complementary alternative to the SIM. Almost all users continue to use the SIM, but if you went abroad and needed a data card it was easier to contract an eSIM. There were also the most curious users starting to test this technology. Since then, the eSIM has begun to reach other devices such as home automation products, and even laptops. Some manufacturers like Apple have taken risks to promote the eSIM. First it was in 2022 with the iPhone 14which would be sold without a SIM card slot in the United States, and in 2025 launched the iPhone Aironly with eSIM in the United States, although in Spain it still has a physical slot. But currently this remains a rarity in Europe. The eSIM in Spain It already has the support of almost all operators. Besides, There is research that points Because in 2024, 70% of new mobile phones had support for this technology, and 10 to 15% did not have a physical SIM slot, numbers that will gradually grow. What are the benefits of the eSIM The main benefit of the eSIM is that you no longer have to request cards when contracting a service. And if you port, you won’t have to wait for a card to be sent to you either, although this will always depend on the method the operator uses to synchronize the eSIM, since sometimes you will need to receive documentation. Of course, you should know that activating an eSIM can take hours, or even a couple of days, until they send you the necessary keys. Furthermore, in all ports you will be asked for your identification by law, and depending on the operator you may even need to physically go to a store, something that is to avoid fraud. You won’t need to order duplicate SIMs either. if you want to use your data or phone number on multiple devices. In addition, there will be more facilities for using more than one data or calling rate on a single mobile phone, since there is support for storing the profiles of different operators and changing them as needed. There are also other advantages such as greater security. No one will be able to remove your SIM and steal it, because it is integrated and cannot be accessed. Besides, manufacturers save space physically inside their phones as they do not have this slot, something they can take advantage of, for example, to give their batteries more capacity. However, eSIMs also have some disadvantages. The main thing is to change your mobile phone can be somewhat more cumbersome, since it requires an extra process to migrate the data from the digital card. If you change to another mobile phone with the same operating system it is relatively easy, but changing from Android to iPhone or vice versa can be complicated. The eSIM will coexist quite a bit with the SIM No, the physical SIM is not going to disappear overnight. It’s going to be quite a long process. It will probably take more than a decade.although this is something that can always change depending on how manufacturers push in that direction. According to CCS Insight forecasts in 2025 collected by the BBCat the end of 2024 there were 1.3 billion smartphones with eSIM in use, and the figure is expected to reach 3.1 billion in 2030. Therefore, we are going to have sustained growth in mobile phones with eSIM. But this does not mean that traditional SIMs are going to stop being used at the same rate, but rather that most mobile phones will continue to use both technologies for … Read more

What is this app, add your DNIe, as valid as the physical DNI and what you can do or not do

by

Starting April 2, 2026 Your DNIe in the MiDNI app is as valid as the physical one. This means that if they ask you for your ID from the Police to a hotel, they are obliged to accept if you show it to them through the app. That makes something that has always been in the background now become important, and that is why we are going to tell you everything you need to know about it. Let’s start with the concepts, telling you what the DNIe and the application MyDNI. We will also tell you how to link your DNI to your mobile with this application, how to change the DNI PIN if you do not remember it when registering it, and we will even remind you of our table on What you can do with MiDNI and what not. What is the digital DNI or DNIe The DNI is the National Identity Document, a card issued by the Spanish Police that serves to prove the identity of Spanish citizens. Our photo and our personal data appear on it. Over time, the DNI has evolved. In 2006, a chip was added, and this version was called Electronic DNI or DNIe, also known as digital DNI. Then, in 2015 came the DNI 3.0, which is the DNIe with NFC technology. Later came the current DNI 4.0, which has the particularity of being able to link the ID to the mobile with the app MyDNI. The DNIe is the name of the most modern versions of the DNIthose versions that already have an integrated chip. Currently, the DNIe is also the one that we can link to the mobile phone with the official application that we have mentioned, created by the Police for this. The DNIe chip allows you to carry out procedures online with a special reader capable of reading the chip. These procedures can range from the Income Tax return to Social Security applications, procedures with the city council or signing documents. It is an online identification method. The chip contains two certificates: Authentication certificate to identify you on websites and services Signature certificate to sign documents with legal validity What is MiDNI MyDNI is the name of the official application to carry your ID on your mobile. Its concept is the same as that of the app myDGTyou can carry an app that not only carries your ID identification, but also serves to carry out various procedures through it. This application allows you to identify yourself with the same validity as the physical document. Come on, it is an official substitute for the physical DNI, and it will help you in those cases where you can forget it. Because let’s be honest, nowadays it’s easier to forget your wallet at home than your cell phone. The app has been created by the Spanish National Policeand it is the only one that has legal validity as a substitute for the DNI. It works by linking the electronic DNI to it, so that you can carry it and show it to identify yourself wherever you want. When you use this application you will connect to the National Police servers to verify the data. With this, you can generate a QR code with which to identify yourself, and which will become invalid after a few minutes so that no one can use it for you. By scanning it, the Police will be able to verify that it is you. Of course, it is not perfect either, and will require you to have an internet connection to be able to function. Therefore, do not blindly trust it and try to also carry your physical ID with you. It is as valid as the physical ID Starting April 2, 2026, The MiDNI app is as valid as presenting the physical DNI. At least to do most of the procedures. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you leave your wallet at home, if someone asks you for your ID to do a face-to-face transaction, you can show it through this application. However, you must remember that The DNI on your mobile is only equally valid if you use this app. If you show a photo of the document that you have on your cell phone or any other application other than that of the Police, it will not be valid. So be careful, because there are apps with similar names. What you can do with MiDNI What can you do with MiDNI? With this application you can prove your identity in person when you have an Internet connection to use it. It is exactly like identifying yourself with your ID, and not only if the Police ask you to, but also for other things. Here is a table with everything you can do and what you can’t do: What is the ID used for on the mobile? why the ID is not useful on the mobile Prove our identity in person when there is an internet connection. Prove identity in person when there is no internet connection. Establish any type of legal relationship in person. Prove our identity through the internet. Sign deeds before a notary in person. Use it for border crossing as an electronic travel document. Prove our identity in face-to-face procedures in the public administration. Prove our identity in other countries, with or without an internet connection. Carry out in-person administrative procedures in public or private Universities and Teaching Centers. Carry out telematic procedures that require authentication and/or electronic signature. Prove our majority in person. Exercise our right to vote. Open a bank account in person. Formalize insurance of any type in person. Check into a hotel in person. Rent a vehicle in person. Buy tickets or nominative tickets in person that require identification. In-person commercial transactions in which they ask us for a valid DNI or to prove our identity. Carry out access control to buildings in person. Access entertainment venues such as cinemas, theaters or concerts. Parcel collection. Withdrawal … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.