UPDATE: Disney have issued a statement saying movies will be evaluated on a case by case basis, which isn’t a flat out denial of the rumour but isn’t a confirmation either.
There are no plans to discontinue releases in a particular format. We evaluate each release on a case by case basis and pursue the best strategy to bring our content into consumer homes across platforms that meet a variety of demands.
Original story below…
Apart from the Xbox One X and One S, all the current consoles lack a 4K Blu-ray drive so if you wanted to watch a movie in super sharp definition you had to buy a separate 4K player or stick to streaming. Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have 4K Blu-ray drives and I for one was looking forward to getting back to buying movies on disc, streaming is fine but the quality is not as good as a disc.
Disney have thrown a spanner in works as it is reported they will no longer release certain films in 4K Ultra HD on disc, they will only be available streaming. They are not stopping entirely, animated films, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel will still get a disc version but all other new live action films, and any back catalogue titles, will not be available. This also includes anything from Fox, which Disney now own, so the upcoming Kingsman film will not get a 4K disc release.
Clearly this is to help Disney push their streaming service, but it does mean a lot of movies may never be available in 4K including classics such as Aliens. As Disney+ is family friendly, Aliens won’t be appearing on that either.
If you are planning to buy a PS5 then there should be plenty available, Sony have double the amount of PlayStation 5 consoles they intend to produce in the coming months and have also increased the number of DualSense controllers in production.
The had previously said they were aiming for 5-6 million consoles by March 2021, that has now increased to 10 million. However, there may still be shortages of the console as they are manufactured in China and delivered across the world via shipping containers which can take a very long time to reach their destination.
“Sony began PS5 mass production in June and, under the latest plan, expects to assemble 5 million units by the end of September and another 5 million between October and December,” report Bloomberg. “A large portion of the latter tranche would turn into stock for 2021 due to the logistical delay. Sony could try to use air cargo for faster delivery, as it did in 2013 around the launch of the PlayStation 4, though airlines are running vastly reduced schedules due to Covid-19 and Sony’s ability to reserve flights would be limited.”
Correction: The One S also has a UHD Blu-ray drive.
Source: TheDigitalBits
