"What's the point of a console without discs?" — I'm beginning to wonder why anyone would buy a console over a PC, and I'm not alone

Macro shot of the circular Xbox logo power button on the corner of the console, under a purple metallic sheen.

I imagine that Sony knew its recent announcement that it's ending physical disc production in 2028 would cause backlash, but not likely to this extent. Indeed, the amount of pushback from gamers and game historians is astounding, and the debate is spilling out into adjacent communities.

Browsing the r/pcmasterrace subreddit last night, I came across one thread basically asking "what the point of a console is becoming" now that Sony is going digital-only and Xbox might not be far behind.