Sony repurposes its last PlayStation disc factory as physical gaming fades
▼ Summary
– Sony’s Thalgau factory, its last remaining disc production plant, is being repurposed to create microlenses for power management and light control in devices.
– The 300 employees will keep their jobs and be retrained for microlens production, as physical disc orders have dropped to 10 percent of normal levels.
– The factory previously produced 600,000 discs per year, but production will decrease significantly as Sony exits physical game manufacturing.
– Sony invested €30 million into microlens technology, which will become a “new business area” for the company.
– With this repurposing, no PlayStation discs will be produced anywhere globally, marking the end of physical gaming on PlayStation.
Just days after Sony confirmed it would halt physical game production, the company has already begun repurposing its last remaining disc manufacturing facility. The Thalgau plant in Austria, the sole factory where Sony produces PlayStation discs, is being transformed to produce optical microlenses instead , a clear signal that the era of physical gaming is drawing to a close.
According to OLF Salsburg, a national Austrian outlet, all 300 employees at the Thalgau site will retain their jobs. That is the good news. The bittersweet reality is that they will be retrained to manufacture microlenses rather than game discs. These lenses are crucial components for managing power consumption and bandwidth bottlenecks, commonly used in headsets and other devices requiring precise light control. For an electronics giant like Sony, the shift makes strategic sense.
The factory currently produces 600,000 discs annually, but that number is expected to plummet as Sony exits physical media. Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of Sony DADC, the subsidiary responsible for disc production, told the outlet that upcoming orders have dropped to just 10 percent of normal volume. The decision to retrain workers, he indicated, was a straightforward one.
Sony has been preparing for this transition for some time. Markus Streibl, head of Sony DADC, confirmed that the company invested €30 million into new microlens technology, which he described as a “new business area.” As The Verge notes, this Thalgau facility appears to be Sony’s last disc production plant worldwide. Its previous U. S. plant in New Jersey was shut down in 2011.
With this factory being repurposed, no Sony PlayStation discs will be produced anywhere on the planet. And because Sony is the sole manufacturer of these discs, no other company can step in to fill the void. The coffin is being built while the body is still warm.
This news lands as part of a grim week for PlayStation fans. Sony also announced the end of support for its PS3 and PS Vita digital stores, delivering a double blow to those who still cherish physical media and legacy hardware.
(Source: Eurogamer.net)
