- Video game retailers have voiced concern over Sony’s move to axe physical PlayStation game copies in 2028
- Game has stated that it ‘won’t sit idly by’ and fully supports physical game ownership
- The move from Sony puts multiple video game retailers at risk of closure
Sony has dropped an absolute bombshell on the gaming industry, with the announcement that PlayStation will no longer produce discs for physical game copies starting in 2028, and that hasn’t sat well with consumers or retailers.
Multiple video game retailers have reacted to Sony’s PlayStation disc elimination, condemning the move in support of consumers and physical game ownership. Notably, the video game retailer, Game, released a statement on X (translated from Spanish), highlighting its frustration with the case.
“Regarding the latest news: our silence is over. Video game lovers, it is time to defend what matters to us,” a relevant statement from Game, that comes amid the movement, Stop Killing Games, that coincides with the issue surrounding game ownership once multiplayer games go offline.
“The latest decisions we are seeing in the industry deeply worry us, because they affect everyone who understands video games as something more than a downloadable file. We are not going to sit idly by. Digital and physical [games] can coexist; in fact, they have been doing so for years.”
Another video game retailer, Loot Box Gaming, has taken to X, stating: “Shall we start with PS+ cancellations for today? It’s just voting with your wallet. These companies will feel the pressure if their finances drop.”
It doesn’t stop there, however, as yet another independent video game retailer, VGP Video Game Plus, said: “Oh f**k! To be continued”, which sums up a lot of people’s frustrations.
Sony’s decision to end physical copies doesn’t just impact consumers and the ability to own a hard copy of a video game, but it also severely impacts businesses such as Game, CeX (both primarily in the UK), and Gamestop.
It’s just PlayStation for now, but the likelihood of Microsoft following suit is very high, especially with the rumors suggesting the next Xbox console will effectively be a gaming PC. This is a very dire situation for retailers and consumers, and if Sony doesn’t reverse its decision, it could drastically change gaming forever.
Without access to physical game copies, consumers leave their ability to access their games at the discretion of PlayStation. This is problematic as Sony can revoke user access to media (in this case, games) at any time and has recently done so when it removed movies from user libraries.
This move also reduces consumer options – with physical games you could shop around, even buy a game second-hand. Now, it’s likely that it will only be Sony that you can buy digital games from, which allows the company to set prices without competition.
What’s worse is that in some cases (i.e game sharing), if you lose access to the internet, you can no longer play the games you’ve purchased, something that can be solved with a physical copy — and if that privilege is gone for good, any sense of video game copy ownership could be a thing of the past.
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