Sony Is Killing Physical Games and I Think It's a Kick in the Face to Every PlayStation Fan
Less Consumer Choice, Less Ownership, and a Very Worrying Precedent for the Future of Gaming
EDITIORIALS
Caljb03
7/1/20265 min read
If you’ve not kept up with the news. Sony has just announced an absolute bombshell, with the news that all physical copies for PlayStation games will cease production as of January 2028.
What exactly does this mean? Because I, too, was a little confused at the start. Sony will no longer be producing physical discs for PlayStation console games after the aforementioned timeframe. So Spider-Man 3? No Disc. The Last of Us Part 3? No more physical copy. That’s not all, though.
Twitter user @Genki_JPN added a little more clarity. Stating, “You have to go through Sony to get your game printed on a disc... Once PlayStation decides it's not making discs anymore, it's all over for physical media on their platform.” Basically, no more physical games for any game releasing on PlayStation. Whether you’re Ubisoft, EA or an Indie supporter like Limited Run Games. The PlayStation platforms will no longer get discs.
My history with Physical Games
I feel rather lucky in having grown up just before digital gaming really took over. I have super fond memories of trips to the local game store with my dad, taking a look at what they had and spotting something I knew I’d love. Reading the manual on the drive home, and then finally booting the game up. There was something special about it. I remember having to save up my pocket money to be able to pick up the newest LEGO title, or if I really wanted to play it, I would trade in the games I didn’t play anymore.
Hell, I remember being younger and going to a midnight opening for Disney Infinity. Well, the midnight opening was for Splinter Cell Blacklist. But I picked up my copy of Infinity there and got to get the experience of a midnight launch. Something I dearly wish I had the chance to experience more, and something I’m sad that most kids nowadays will never have.
Those days are all over now, for some. I still adore heading into my local CEX and checking over their stock, seeing if I can spot a hidden gem or something I’ve been considering playing at a good price. I love finding out they had a game I’ve desperately wanted to play and finally getting my hands on it. This isn’t something a lot of the younger generation has been able to do (I say this knowing I’m only 23).
The benefit of consumer choice
I fully understand that not everyone uses physical games. The ability to pre-order a game and have it installed the second it unlocks, being able to grab a game from the comfort of your home and not have to go into town or wait for a delivery, even having a library you can switch between without having to swap discs. There are absolutely reasons to play digitally that I understand.
My issue is that removing physical means you’re removing more and more consumer choice. We now have fewer options for how we buy our games. Sure, you can get an easy install, but you can go to a second-hand store (like CEX) and get it much cheaper. You can buy the game from your home, but with a physical copy, you can lend copies to your friends or a colleague.
There are reasons to engage in each way to buy a game, and I have absolutely no understanding why any gamer would not be, at the very least, annoyed that they are given less choice in how they buy their games. Even if you don’t buy discs, having them as an option is a great thing for gamers as a whole.
This also comes right after the announcement that Sony is shutting down the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts. A decision which, granted, was a long time coming. But essentially makes it so the only way to play games on those platforms is to buy physical games, unless you already owned digital copies before the shutdown. Sure, it’ll take a while for the PS6 storefront to get closed, but when they do, this decision essentially turns it into a glorified paperweight and removes any reason to pick one up if you weren’t in the ecosystem before it closed.
Trusting corporations with your library
One of the concerns I see plenty of people raise is trusting these major corporations with your entire library. This news comes just weeks after Sony removed over 500 movies and TV shows from users' libraries. Not just delisted, removed them entirely. You cannot access things you purchased as a consumer.
The concern is that, if they’ll do that for films, what’s stopping them from doing it for your games too? People will tell you, “Obviously, they won’t ever do that, that’s insane”, but people said the same thing about their film libraries. The best way to know that you own your games is to buy physical. Especially physical games that have the whole game right there on the disc.
Looking forward…
As is obvious, I’m hugely against all of this. I think taking these options away from your paying customers is a flat kick in the face to all of them. If the PS6 doesn’t even include a disc drive, then I think I can safely call the PS5 my last generation of consoles.
I do really hope that we get some changes in the future. I hope Sony goes back on this. But as we’ve seen time and time again, if they do go back on it. How long until they reintroduce it? We can only wait and see.
