Use code TRYHARD33 at checkout to redeem this offer before code expires again.
Get 33% Off GAMES+ Subscription
First discs, now this
First, Sony announced it would end physical disc production for new PlayStation games by 2028. Now, less than a year later, a PS5 system update has quietly dropped a "Live TV on PS5" app into the media tab on US consoles. The app works like a free, ad-supported cable service, pulling together movies, TV shows, anime, and sports broadcasts into a single channel-surfing interface. Specific shows available at launch include Naruto, Sailor Moon, Community, and The Walking Dead, among others.
Here's the thing: none of that is inherently bad. Free TV on a console you already own is a reasonable value-add. But the timing and direction of these decisions, stacked on top of each other, is what has gamers reaching for their history books.
The Xbox One parallel that nobody wanted
Cast your mind back to May 2013. Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One to the world, and instead of leading with games, the company spent the bulk of its reveal talking about TV integration, cable box compatibility, and a vision of the console as an all-in-one home entertainment hub. Executive Don Mattrick fronted a presentation that felt more like a pitch to cable providers than to the millions of players who had grown up with Xbox.
The backlash was immediate and brutal. Then came the always-online DRM controversy, and Sony was more than happy to pile on, famously releasing a tongue-in-cheek video showing how to share PS4 games (by handing the disc to a friend). The message was clear: PlayStation was for gamers, Xbox was for your living room.
Microsoft eventually reversed course on both the DRM and the TV ambitions, but the damage was done. Xbox has spent the better part of a decade trying to rebuild trust with its core audience.
Why the community reaction hit differently this time
The trailer Sony released for the Live TV feature filled up with comments referencing the Xbox One reveal almost immediately. "They've gone full Xbox One" and "hey Don Mattrick, is that really you?" were among the responses circulating widely. That kind of reaction does not appear in a vacuum.
The key here is context. If Sony had launched this app two years ago, it probably would have landed as a quiet, harmless feature update. Instead, it arrives just months after the disc discontinuation announcement, which itself triggered a wave of community frustration that has yet to fully subside. Players who were already feeling uneasy about PlayStation's direction now have another data point to stack against the brand.
For a deeper look at how PS5 hardware features are still delivering for players in the meantime, the GTA 6 PS5 exclusive features guide breaks down exactly what the DualSense and PS5 Pro bring to the table that no other platform can match.
The bigger picture for PlayStation's brand
To be fair, the world in 2026 looks nothing like 2013. Streaming services live on consoles by default. The PS5 already had Plex, Disney+, and a dozen other apps before this update. Digital game sales have outpaced physical for years across the industry. Sony is not wrong that consumer habits have shifted.
But brand perception does not run on logic alone. PlayStation built its dominance in the PS4 era on a very specific promise: this is a console made for people who love games, full stop. Every move that dilutes that message, even a practical or financially sensible one, chips away at the identity that won over 117 million PS4 owners.
The disc situation is a real strategic shift with long-term implications for game preservation and consumer ownership. The Live TV app is, by itself, a minor feature. Together, they paint a picture that gamers are pattern-matching against one of the most infamous brand pivots in console history.
Microsoft learned the hard way that reversing a bad public narrative takes years, not months. Sony would do well to get ahead of this one before the Xbox One comparisons stop being jokes and start being the default frame for how players talk about the brand. For players optimizing their current PS5 or Xbox setup in the meantime, our gaming guides hub has performance settings and tips across all major platforms, including the Battlefield REDSEC PS5 and Xbox settings guide for anyone who wants to make the most of their hardware right now.
