While speaking on its latest earnings call, Sony finally addressed the elephant in the room regarding their decision to end physical copies of games. Though, it’s likely not what fans wanted to hear.
CFO, Lin Tao, had the following to say (via interpreter):
“There are various reasons we made this decision, 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.”
Tao said further they are “going to cautiously move this forward” after having “put in a lot of thought and time” about the decision to end physical disc manufacturing.
PlayStation and Sony have faced an intense amount of backlash since announcing the decision to end physical disc manufacturing at the start of 2028. While many regions are mostly digital, it’s to varying degrees, and some markets are still predominantly physical in sales. Additionally, fans have raised their concerns about game ownership, the ability to play existing games on future PlayStation consoles, and of course, the second-hand market.
Regardless, with today’s announcement, it’s clear that Sony and PlayStation are not changing course. If you’re a PlayStation fan, we’d love to hear what you think below!