So, Sony wants to kill off physical game media, heh?
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| And it should stay that way... |
I'm not shocked at this bad decision. They've been leaning in this direction for a while now. This bad move also allows them complete control over the PlayStation ecosystem and ensures that they control the prices and get all the profits... what few of them are likely to be had after this ultimate dick move. This is like the gaming equivalent of being forced to go to a dealership for a new car. WTF?! I think Sony may have just seriously endangered their brand. And I have some thoughts on this issue...
1.) The players have already made themselves abundantly clear that they don't like this move at all...
The protest/petition against this move on Change.org has garnered (as of 14 July 2026) 308,722 signatures so far. That may be a small percentage of the people that patronize Sony, but it still shows that this move is really unpopular. Most people don't sign petitions.
And if that doesn't get Sony's attention, all of the cancellations for PlayStation Plus just might. I can't find any definitive numbers for how many there have been, but I'm lead to believe it's a large amount. Both players actively cancelling the account and some just letting the subscription expire. It seems to be most prevalent here in the United States, which accounts for roughly 37% of the PS Plus subscriptions worldwide. That should have Sony worried. Worried enough for them to offer discounts to lure customers back. Which they actually did... I think they know they messed up here.
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| Starting to understand why physical media is so important? |
2.) The industry hasn't responded well, either...
Since most developers are also gamers, they tend to share the same concerns as the rest of us.
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| He knows this is a bad idea... |
The end of physical media has sparked a backlash that has also hurt a lot of developers with upcoming releases, even if those games are still going to have a physical release. Did Sony not care about these people at all?
Also, I thought it was rather interesting that Sony's current president sold 56% of his stock in the company only a few days after this bonehead move was announced. Some speculate that he's trying to build up personal wealth before he retires soon. I don't know either way. However, this move is really suspicious to me. It doesn't make me confident in Sony's future here. Makes him look like a rat trying to escape from a sinking ship.
Finally, this decision has prompted a lot of lawsuits. Including one in The Netherlands for the equivalent of $457,000,000 U.S. Dollars. That's not a large amount to a multi-billion Dollar multinational corporation, but it's a start. I suspect there will be a lot more lawsuits over this issue. Including anti-trust lawsuits from government agencies across the Free world...
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| Good question... |
3.) Trying to seize control will alienate existing and potential customers, including many of their most hardcore fans.
For many of us gamers, actually owning what we paid for is rather important. Especially since a digital product can get removed from the online store at any time. That recently happened with over 500 movies on PlayStation Plus. The licenses expired and Sony pulled them all from people's accounts. They've done this before with a few TV shows too. No word on if any refunds will be issued. Why would I pay good money for something that can be taken away at any time without any warning or recourse?
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| The NPC's trying to defend Sony on this issue are really annoying little corporate shills... There's no point in sucking corporate cock, NPC. They'll never love you. |
There's also a practical side to buying the physical disc for games. Some people still don't have reliable high speed internet in their area. A physical disc would be essential for them to enjoy the product.
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| No Physical Media = NO SALE. |
Many of us also like having shelves filled with the games we've purchased over time. I sure do. I have an entire room in my house dedicated to my hobby as both a gamer and a collector. I want to continue adding to that collection. And no, that doesn't mean that I'm willing to accept a box with a game key card in it or some piece of paper with a download code. The box itself is not important. It's the contents of that box that matters to me. Some of the shelves in that room only have loose cartridges on them simply because the game is what's important. That, and getting CIB copies of old Atari & Nintendo cartridges can be incredibly expensive...
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| GTA6 is going to be digital only... Good thing I wasn't planning to buy it anyway... |
It's also been pointed out that Sony killing off the discs gives them the ability to force people to pay full price for the game on the digital store front. There are whole websites dedicated to comparing prices between the digital and physical copy of the game. The fact that those sites even exist tells me that Sony has apparently never heard of periodically having a sale like Steam does for PC games. Even Nintendo has a few sales on the eShop sometimes. WTF, Sony?
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| This NEVER happens on any online service, unless there's a sale. That is annoying and one of the reasons why I don't like buying digital. |
4.) So, what are you going to do about it, LP?
Pretty much the same things I've been doing about Sony's bad choices for the last 15+ years: Buy everything used and ignore the new stuff. (A few PS3 games and controllers being the exception. That console was still on the market when I got one in 2013.)
Or, as the case is these days, keep buying used stuff for the old Sony systems that I have and ignore anything else they make from this point forward. So, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP & PS Vita games could be added to my collection once in a while. PS4, PS5, PS6, et al. will not. However, I might grab a few used ones from pawn shops for resale on Ebay. I suspect that physical game media is about to become worth its weight in gold pretty soon.
Or, as the case is these days, keep buying used stuff for the old Sony systems that I have and ignore anything else they make from this point forward. So, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP & PS Vita games could be added to my collection once in a while. PS4, PS5, PS6, et al. will not. However, I might grab a few used ones from pawn shops for resale on Ebay. I suspect that physical game media is about to become worth its weight in gold pretty soon.
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| I'm gonna make some serious bank just from selling my extra copies of various old games... |
And for those who are wondering...
- I decided to ignore PS4 because of the cost and the fact that its games (to me at least) seemed like just a graphical improvement on the PS3 with little else to offer.
- I decided to ignore PS5 for the same reasons. Also, the costs (and cost increases) for that console are outrageous. I have bills to pay, Sony. How do you expect me to get into the PS5 ecosystem when you keep raising the barrier to entry?
- Even if Sony wasn't killing off physical discs, I'd probably still be ignoring PS6 for the same reasons. And if the rumors that the console is going to be $1,000 or more are true, then PlayStation may as well just die. At that price point, you can get an entry-level PC and start playing many of the same 3rd party games as all the consoles. The only difference is that you'll have a choice in the kind of control scheme you want to use. (Keyboards, mice, controllers, etc.) For the last generation or two, many game controllers (and 3rd party joysticks) made for consoles also work with a PC. So, if you like your PlayStation or XBOX controller, you can probably keep using it on the PC.
- I decided to ignore PS5 for the same reasons. Also, the costs (and cost increases) for that console are outrageous. I have bills to pay, Sony. How do you expect me to get into the PS5 ecosystem when you keep raising the barrier to entry?
- Even if Sony wasn't killing off physical discs, I'd probably still be ignoring PS6 for the same reasons. And if the rumors that the console is going to be $1,000 or more are true, then PlayStation may as well just die. At that price point, you can get an entry-level PC and start playing many of the same 3rd party games as all the consoles. The only difference is that you'll have a choice in the kind of control scheme you want to use. (Keyboards, mice, controllers, etc.) For the last generation or two, many game controllers (and 3rd party joysticks) made for consoles also work with a PC. So, if you like your PlayStation or XBOX controller, you can probably keep using it on the PC.
If the console is going to cost 4 figures and be all digital anyway, there's no point in owning said console. I'll just play on PC instead. Sony's 1st party games are not good enough to justify the cost of a $1,000 console, even with physical media.
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| Yep... |
XBOX's first party titles usually release on PC at the same time anyway so, Microsoft is in the same boat here with their consoles. Why pay insane amounts of money for their console when you can get the games through Steam or XBOX Game Pass?
Right now, the only modern console maker worth patronizing is Nintendo. Their 1st party games actually are worth the cost of a console, especially since their machine is typically cheaper than the competition. (Although, not lately with the Switch 2. That's why I haven't bought one yet. Too busy wiping out debts.)
5.) As for what else I'm gonna do in the game/collecting hobby from now on...
A.) Focus on Nintendo for their 1st party exclusives and both Nintendo and Steam for the rest.
B.) Continue supporting those smaller companies that are specifically targeting physical media collectors like me. (Atari, Evercade, et al.)
C.) Enjoy my MASSIVE back catalog in my game room.
D.) Encourage SEGA to actually produce this new system they are rumored to be working on right now because I need more SEGA in my life. The SEGA Genesis is one of my favorite consoles of all time.
E.) Save LOTS of money by not wasting time on Sony & Microsoft... which I've already been doing for a long time anyway...
F.) Use the money saved to wipe out debts, buy another arcade machine... Or my next car... I dunno.
G.) Laugh at Sony & Microsoft as they destroy their brands... And encourage Valve, Nintendo, et al. to buy the rights to their IP so I can eventually add the stuff that I missed to my back catalog.
H.) Patronize & enjoy the 2 different arcades that I have here in my town, especially for their pinball tables.
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| As much as possible... |
6.) FINAL THOUGHTS
Sony knows that there's still a lot of demand for physical game media. They're just doing this crap out of pure greed. Physical DVDs and Blu-Ray discs still sell for movies and TV shows. People still buy music on a number of different forms of physical media. In fact, music lovers actually brought some forms of physical media back from the dead...
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| 2023 |
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| 2023 |
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| Unless you're an audiophile and collector like me, this sales milestone probably surprised you... |
Seriously though, most people never thought that they'd see vinyl records becoming so popular again.
I, however, am more surprised about cassettes becoming popular again with a certain niche. (Folks with 80s Nostalgia, Punk bands, et al.) Either way, that's great news for me. That means working cassette decks will be made again and I can start enjoying my old tapes once more. Yay!
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| What's old eventually becomes new again... |
So, why am I mentioning physical media for music? Because it establishes the precedent for how this will go. Regardless of what Sony decides to do, the physical format for games will still continue to exist in some form. Sony will probably get some royalties since they created several formats like CDs and Blu-Ray discs. Also, Sony does own a recording company or two. However, did they stop making records and CDs? To my knowledge, No. Even if they do, someone else will make those albums for the consumers that want them. They'll just license the product from Sony (or whoever the rights holders are at that time) and start pressing away.
Games, like music, are part of popular culture now. They're an artform that means a lot to a great many people. Come Hell AND Highwater, the games will be preserved for posterity to enjoy. The old Atari arcade classics never went away, no matter how many times Atari went bankrupt. Even the rarest cuts and worst-selling albums from popular musicians are still quite easy to find online or in local record shops. No matter what, the art survives.
So, feel free to wreck your business, Sony. I don't care. All that means is that my hobby continues with my patronage going to someone else. Thanks for the good memories with the systems that I did buy from you, especially the PS2. Hopefully someday, you'll get your head out of your ass and we can do business again.
- Lord Publius
