Sony Heard Backlash Over Dropping PlayStation Discs, Plans to Press Ahead - PCMag

Sony has confirmed it will proceed with its plan to end physical PlayStation disc sales by January 2028, despite significant backlash from the gaming community. The company cites the global trend toward content digitalization as the primary driver for this decision.
Why it matters
This marks a major shift in the gaming industry, signaling the potential end of physical media ownership for console gamers.
<p>Despite the online backlash, Sony has no plans to reverse its decision to <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/sony-to-kill-sales-of-physical-playstation-disc-games-in-january" target="_self">end PlayStation disc sales</a> as of January 2028. It has seen the pushback from gamers since announcing the move on July 1, but will "cautiously move this forward."</p><p>After Sony's recent earnings call, an investor Q&A session saw analysts ask about its controversial decision to end disc production across all of its consoles. The company hadn't publicly commented since its announcement and had reduced activity on social accounts and other marketing channels.</p><p>Sony's chief financial officer, Lin Tao, broke that silence during the Q&A. "There are various reasons we made this decision," she said through an interpreter. "The biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing. That's the big factor. It's not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing.</p><div class="mb-0 rounded-md bg-gray-100 p-3 md:p-5" id="related-video">
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