Sony says goodbye to the disc
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Bianca Swanepoel
On July 1, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that, from 2028 onward, it would no longer produce physical discs for PlayStation games and would go completely digital. Sony explains this decision to go fully digital by noting that its fans have transitioned away from buying physical discs, and that it would make more financial sense to follow where the money is leading them. Although this sounds promising in theory, it has generated widespread backlash from Sony’s fanbase and raised concerns about the company’s long-term commitment to physical media.
Sony Interactive Entertainment released the PlayStation 1 in 1994 to combat the Nintendo Game Boy cartridge and popularize the DVD. From that moment, Sony pioneered the physical media scene. PlayStation 1 was a cheap DVD player; PlayStation 2 played music CDs, as well as video games. PlayStation 3 helped to popularize the Blu-ray disc, and PlayStation 4 improved the modern game console. Throughout, Sony always stood with physical media. To further elaborate, in 2013, when Xbox was digitizing its video games, PlayStation's CEO released a video showing how easy it was to share their video games, with him handing a physical disc to a colleague. Given Sony's 30-year history with physical media, it makes one question why they suddenly want to go fully digital.
Well, the reason is probably obvious: money. Over 80% of PlayStation games are bought through the online store. Sony is also preparing for the release of its PlayStation 6, and with its aim to go completely disc-less, the new console would be cheaper to produce. Something very important in our current era since AI has caused computer memory storage to skyrocket in price.
Now the switch to purely digital media offers very little benefit to the consumer. When you buy something digitally, you do not own the copy of the game you bought. The game company can at any time suspend your account, lock you out of the game, or remove it from your hard drive completely. This isn't just fearmongering, as we have already experienced this from Sony. Earlier this year, Sony removed 550 movies from its library of available movies to buy. Meaning that if you bought one of those movies from them, you wouldn’t have access to it anymore. There is also a 7-billion-dollar industry for secondhand games. Many avid fans and collectors rely on physical discs for their collections and buy them secondhand. Sony's decision to go purely digital ignores all their diehard fans, who have supported them for years to keep their bottom line up.
What is the reaction to Sony's message? Well, as expected, the fans are not happy, with massive backlash on TikTok, Twitter, and on any other social media platforms. Many in Gen Z have stepped away from digital media and embraced physical media, and Sony's decision feels very tone-deaf in light of that. Many fans have called for a week-long boycott in August. The boycott will consist of no one logging in to any Sony-owned service, not playing or buying any of their games, and generally letting them know that the fans are not happy. A petition was also created to let Sony know how disgruntled their fans are, with over 250,000 signatures, and the number is growing.
Sony Interactive Entertainment's decision to discontinue physical video game discs feels like it disregards the video game community's love for PlayStation and its history of physical media. It also seems that Sony knew their decision would cause backlash, as Alanah Pearce, one of the people who worked on God of War, says Sony has strengthened its social media policies. Making one think: if Sony knew there would be backlash, why would they continue? The fanbase can only wait as petitions keep getting signed and the boycott still yet to happen, if Sony changes their mind.
Article edited by: Munei Zoe Mbedzi
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