Photos of games in trash bag The Xavierite
Sony has announced it will be ending physical disk production for all new PlayStation games starting in January 2028.
Sony feels that physical games have become unnecessary as they gain most of their profit from people buying digital games.
This decision has caused an uproar, with many fans being angry and confused at Sony’s decision.
Many believe with the discontinuation of discs that gamers won’t be allowed to own their games.
Sony has the ability to take away digital games at any time, because customers do not technically own them; Sony only licenses them for use.
In some cases, such as “Deadpool: The Game,” gamers can only play a game on disc because it’s been taken off of the digital store.
Going forward, if PlayStation ever decides to take something off of their stores, then that would mean there would be no way to get the game without buying it digitally beforehand.
The decision to phase out physical games has been a slow burn for the last couple of years. When the PS5 originally came out, people had to pay extra for a version with a disc drive.
Starting in January 2028, that extra price people paid for a disc drive will be completely useless.
Stores like Gamestop have even started selling more merchandise than physical games. If you go to one today you’ll see rows of Funko Pops, mugs, plushies and other video game related merchandise.
They still sell video games, but it is a lot less than they had just a few years ago. It’s not GameStop’s fault though—they have to adapt.
Less and less people buy physical games, to the point where it now feels like physical gaming is dying.
I remember how excited I was when I got to buy something at Gamestop when I was a kid, but now each time you enter you see less and less people there.
Now with Sony completely getting rid of physical games in the near future, the already small shelf of games that Gamestop and other stores have will only get smaller.
This could lead to these stores only selling game merchandise or, in a worst case scenario, going out of business completely.
Gamers used to wait outside GameStop and camp out for hours waiting for the newest game to release. That’s how excited people were for a game to come out.
Even game companies are now deciding to release games without physical versions.
“Grand Theft Auto VI” is a popular up and coming game, and they have opted to not have a physical version and to instead go fully digital.
This is the most hyped game for the entire year. In fact, it’s probably the most hyped game for this entire century, but people won’t be camping out at GameStop to get the physical version because there won’t be one.
Yes, people who pre-ordered it will get the game at midnight digitally. It’s just that without a physical version, there is little to no sense of nostalgia and excitement about getting a new game.
I think I speak for everyone when I say it is just sad to watch something that brought a whole community together die out like this.
The death of physical gaming leads to the death of a big part of the gaming community as a whole. Gamestop and stores like it were where gamers could meet up with other gamers and build community.
Furthermore, having a large collection of physical games is a big source of pride for gamers. Every gamer loves showing off their collection, as it shows how serious you are about gaming but most importantly how much you love it.
Xbox has not officially announced that they are getting rid of physical games, but they are strongly shifting toward digital. On the bright side, their next-gen console will include a disk drive that lets you play older Xbox games.
Nintendo has not said anything about getting rid of their physical games. It’s unlikely that they will as physical games still account for 38.5% of their sales according to IGN.
We can only hope with the fan backlash that Sony will change their decision in the near future as physical gaming holds great value in all of our hearts.
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