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Ken Kutaragi, who led development of the original PlayStation, PS2 and PS3, told VGC at a conference in Middlesbrough that he understands fan anger but doesn't see keeping physical discs as economically viable. He argued that attachment to discs is largely a 'mentality issue,' comparing modern consoles to smartphones where users trust their content persists online without physical media.
A YouTube video claiming to be authentic 360p footage from a CompUSA retail store in New York City in November 2000 has surfaced, showing aisles packed with CRT monitors, PCs and peripherals. The footage highlights a trio of Sony VAIO laptops, including what appears to be a VAIO C1 'PictureBook' subnotebook, alongside Compaq Presario desktops with iMac-inspired translucent faceplates.
Sony is ending production of its last affordable 4K Blu-ray player, according to a report. The move follows the company's earlier decision to stop manufacturing game discs, further narrowing its physical media hardware offerings.
Sony is selling refurbished PS5 consoles at $100 off, with digital and disc editions priced at $499 and $549 respectively, each carrying a one-year warranty. Buyers can add a refurbished DualSense controller for $40 off its normal price, bringing a white controller's added cost to $18 and pricier colors like sterling silver to $23. The refurbished consoles also come with a 1TB SSD, more storage than the 825GB built into new digital edition consoles sold at retail.
Sony Japan has marked its UBP-X700/K player as "Discontinued," removing the company's last standalone Blu-ray player from sale, according to FlatpanelsHD. Sony had already stopped shipping the units in February, selling only remaining stock since then. The PlayStation 5 remains the sole Sony device that plays Blu-ray discs, though Sony has said it will halt physical game disc production by January 2028.
Japanese retailer blog Kunkoku reports Sony has discontinued the UBP-X700/K, its final standalone UHD Blu-ray player, which now shows as out of stock with no restock date on Sony's site. This leaves the PlayStation 5 as Sony's only remaining device capable of playing UHD Blu-ray discs. The move follows Sony halting Blu-ray recorder sales globally in February and its summer announcement that it will stop producing physical PlayStation games starting in 2028.
Industry analysis suggests that surging demand for memory chips, driven largely by AI companies, is raising component costs for Microsoft and Sony as they develop next-generation gaming consoles. Current Xbox and PlayStation hardware has already seen price increases tied to these chip shortages, and the report warns future console prices could rise far more sharply.
Sony announced that its PlayStation Pulse wireless headset will ship November 19 across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and other markets, priced at $100 and available in white or midnight black. Pre-orders begin October 29, with additional country availability to be detailed later.
A South Korean developer known as Gezine posted a video on X showing access to the PS5's restricted debug menu, claiming to have broken through security protections in firmware version 14.10. That firmware had been released by Sony specifically to patch the earlier 'Relapse' exploit, which allowed decrypting and running PS5 games on jailbroken consoles. Gezine noted that the old method of dumping game data no longer works, suggesting a different hypervisor-based exploit would be needed to fully jailbreak an updated console.
Sony has introduced three new Walkman digital music players running Android 16: the NW-WM1ZM3, NW-WM1AM3 and NW-ZX900, priced from $1,900 to $5,900. The top model, a gold-plated unit with 256GB storage, supports formats like FLAC, DSD and Apple Lossless, and includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and roughly 30 hours of battery life.
Amazon is selling Sony's WH-CH520 wireless headphones at a 46% discount, cutting $31 off the regular price. The budget model offers up to 50 hours of battery life and customizable EQ settings through a companion app.
Sony has discounted its ULT Tower 7 party speaker to $548, a $102 reduction from its regular price, in what the deal listing describes as its lowest price yet. Other models in the ULT line, including the Tower 6 and Field 7, are also discounted as part of the same sale.