Hideki Kamiya Says Game Preservation Matters More Than Physical Media

Hideki Kamiya says the games industry should focus less on the divide between physical and digital releases and more on ensuring that older titles remain playable. The Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and Okami director argues that intellectual-property holders must take responsibility for keeping their games available to future generations.

Speaking with Video Games Chronicle, Kamiya said all of his current game purchases are digital, so the industry’s move away from discs does not substantially change his own buying habits. His concern is what happens later, when aging hardware, closed storefronts or unavailable rereleases make games difficult or impossible to play.

For Kamiya, the format is secondary as long as access survives. He said companies should make their back catalogs available not only so people can play them, but also to preserve the culture and history surrounding games.

Kamiya pointed to Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives releases as a practical example. Although he owns more than 200 original arcade boards, he still uses modern Arcade Archives versions when he wants a more convenient way to play older titles without setting up the original hardware.

Clovers co-founder Kento Koyama, who joined Kamiya for the interview, emphasized a different value of physical releases. Koyama said he increasingly buys games digitally but still purchases physical copies of titles he considers special, keeping them alongside older consoles in a dedicated game room. Kamiya also recalled preserving signed Nintendo Entertainment System games from the late Satoru Iwata as part of his own collection.

The discussion comes as physical distribution faces renewed scrutiny, including questions about PlayStation’s reported 2028 disc plans and what digital purchases provide to customers.

Kamiya’s position does not frame physical media as irrelevant. Instead, it separates collecting and ownership preferences from the preservation question: whichever distribution model the industry adopts, games need a reliable path to remain accessible after their original hardware and storefronts are gone.