The debate over the future of physical game media resurfaced this week after comments from Too Kyo Games CEO Kazutaka Kodaka during a developer roundtable at the SKY31 Convention in Seoul.
Kodaka — best known for creating the Danganronpa series — spoke alongside industry veterans including Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada, Cyberpunk associate director Pawel Sasko, and former Sony Interactive Entertainment president Shuhei Yoshida.
The session, reported by Inven Global and covered by other outlets, highlighted why physical releases remain a commercial and logistical priority for some studios, especially in Japan.
Kodaka told the panel that physical copies still account for a substantial share of Too Kyo Games’ sales in Japan, and the studio continues to prioritize boxed editions and collector’s releases.
He described a production reality familiar to many publishers: manufacturing physical discs or cartridges requires an early “gold” master, which forces teams to lock content well before the final polish typical of digital timelines.
That constraint, he said, often leaves studios submitting builds that are intentionally incomplete, with the expectation that remaining issues will be addressed by post-launch patches.
In journalistic terms, Kodaka explained that the company frequently treats the submitted master as a working baseline intended to be completed via day-one and subsequent patches.
He noted that assembling collector’s editions for Western markets — which can include figures, books, and other physical extras — pushes submission deadlines even earlier.
As a result, studios sometimes hand in builds they believe are not ideal, relying on platform certification margins and the ability to deliver online updates.
Yoshida echoed the practical trade-off, observing that in many modern launches teams effectively release early hoping the majority of players will immediately download day-one updates.
Kodaka closed the topic with a lighthearted aside, acknowledging the awkwardness of airing such a candid development confession in a public forum.
Nintendo’s hardware and distribution strategies remain central to this discussion: the Nintendo Switch has a long-established retail presence with physical cartridges and boxed releases, and Nintendo continues to support physical editions alongside its digital storefront, the Nintendo eShop.
For developers and collectors alike, the logistical demands of manufacturing and certification mean physical editions are still a meaningful part of the market — even as studios increasingly rely on patches and online delivery to finalize the player experience.
Kodaka — best known for creating the Danganronpa series — spoke alongside industry veterans including Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada, Cyberpunk associate director Pawel Sasko, and former Sony Interactive Entertainment president Shuhei Yoshida.
The session, reported by Inven Global and covered by other outlets, highlighted why physical releases remain a commercial and logistical priority for some studios, especially in Japan.
Kodaka told the panel that physical copies still account for a substantial share of Too Kyo Games’ sales in Japan, and the studio continues to prioritize boxed editions and collector’s releases.
He described a production reality familiar to many publishers: manufacturing physical discs or cartridges requires an early “gold” master, which forces teams to lock content well before the final polish typical of digital timelines.
That constraint, he said, often leaves studios submitting builds that are intentionally incomplete, with the expectation that remaining issues will be addressed by post-launch patches.
In journalistic terms, Kodaka explained that the company frequently treats the submitted master as a working baseline intended to be completed via day-one and subsequent patches.
He noted that assembling collector’s editions for Western markets — which can include figures, books, and other physical extras — pushes submission deadlines even earlier.
As a result, studios sometimes hand in builds they believe are not ideal, relying on platform certification margins and the ability to deliver online updates.
Yoshida echoed the practical trade-off, observing that in many modern launches teams effectively release early hoping the majority of players will immediately download day-one updates.
Kodaka closed the topic with a lighthearted aside, acknowledging the awkwardness of airing such a candid development confession in a public forum.
Nintendo’s hardware and distribution strategies remain central to this discussion: the Nintendo Switch has a long-established retail presence with physical cartridges and boxed releases, and Nintendo continues to support physical editions alongside its digital storefront, the Nintendo eShop.
For developers and collectors alike, the logistical demands of manufacturing and certification mean physical editions are still a meaningful part of the market — even as studios increasingly rely on patches and online delivery to finalize the player experience.
