In case you somehow missed it, last week shoved a huge knife into the future of physical video games as they confirmed their intention to stop allowing new PlayStation games to be printed from January 1, 2028. This gives 18 months left for new releases to see the light of day in a physical form, and from that date new games on the platform will be digital only – there is a small caveat that Sony will allow previously released titles to be printed following that date, however there may be a high premium to publishers for the privilege.
The news has been met with some incredibly fierce criticism across social and games media for being anti-consumer as they look to take complete control of PlayStation game sales. The backlash has been seen from publishers and retailers too, with many online speaking out in objection to the decision to go digital only. Now, one Canadian retailer, PNP Games have launched a petition for Sony to reverse their decision.
Outlining the ‘issue’ on the Change.org webpage, PNP pull no punches in a damning statement:
“At E3 2013, Sony won over a generation of players by promising that when you buy a PlayStation game, you can trade it in, sell it, lend it to a friend, or “keep it forever,” and famously mocked the competition for trying to restrict exactly that. Thirteen years later, Sony is the one taking it away.
A disc is a real game you own. You can lend it, trade it, resell it, gift it, collect it, or pass it down to your kids. A box with only a download code is not the same thing. It is a digital license in plastic packaging. You do not own it. You are renting access that can be revoked, and people have already had purchased movies deleted from their libraries and games pulled from sale weeks after launch.”
If you feel strongly about the topic, you can read the full statement and sign the petition yourself here. The signature has over 125,000 signatures at the time of writing.
The reality is that this decision is entirely irreversible. Sony will have been working to secure a supply chain of components for future hardware – i.e. an unannounced PlayStation 6 – for some time, with disc reading components clearly not included. The writing has been on the wall for a discless next generation for some time as the PS5 Pro is digital only, with an add-on disc tray required to play physical games. And more recently, the biggest game release of all time was confirmed to be discless as GTA VI’s ‘physical’ version is a code in a box.
With Switch 2 only releasing last year and a healthy contingent of Nintendo gamers preferring physical, I’d be confident in betting that Nintendo’s hardware will be the only console supporting physical, even if many releases are divisive Game-Key Cards. With XBOX leaning heavily into Cloud and Play Anywhere support, it would seem their intention is to move digital only with their next hardware, Project Helix though that is unclear.
Will you be staying with PlayStation following the decision to walk away from physical games? Were you digital only anyway? Let us know in the comments below or join the friendly and active Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about all your favourite games.
