UK Trade Group Calls Death Of Discs A Blow To Consumer Choice
The UK's Entertainment Retailer’s Association is criticizing Sony's plan to phase out physical PlayStation discs by 2028. The group argues that digital-only distribution undermines consumer choice, ownership, and the ability to trade or share games.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing tension between corporate digital-first strategies and consumer demand for physical media ownership in the gaming industry.
The news that Sony plans to retire PlayStation game discs at the beginning of 2028 continues to make lots of people very angry , including the stores whose business currently relies on gaming retaining a physical component. A trade organization called Entertainment Retailer’s Association in the UK recently fired back at the PS5 email with a statement that might not alter the platform’s current trajectory but made some good points nonetheless.
“PlayStation’s announcement that major games will no longer be available on disc is a triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice,” wrote ERA CEO Kim Bayley, as reported by The Game Business . “Every year, millions of gamers still choose to buy physical copies because they value true ownership. A disc can be shared with family, traded in, collected, preserved and, crucially, still played years from now. A download license often offers none of those freedoms.”
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in