Sony to Stop Producing PS Physical Game Discs from 2028, Players Complain

(Central News Agency, Paris, July 1st, Combined News Service) Japanese entertainment and electronics giant Sony announced today that in response to changing customer preferences, new PlayStation games will cease to be produced in physical disc format starting in 2028. Players have complained that the absence of physical discs will eliminate the used game market.

According to Agence France-Presse, Sony stated on the official PlayStation blog: "From this date, new games will only be available in digital versions on the PlayStation Store and from retailers."

In practice, players will need to download games directly from Sony's PlayStation Store or purchase game download codes from retailers in the future.

This announcement comes as the upcoming "Grand Theft Auto VI" has also announced it will only be available in a digital version, leaving some players quite dismayed. This game was previously predicted to become the best-selling cultural entertainment product in history.

Many netizens have complained on social media that the absence of physical discs will eliminate the used game market.

Sony stated that this adjustment "will not affect any games already released or that will be released in physical disc format before January 2028."

Piers Harding-Rolls, a games industry analyst at Ampere Analysis, said, "Consumer trends among players are very clear." When the PlayStation 4 was launched in 2013, digital game sales accounted for only 13%, but last year it had climbed to nearly 80%.

Harding-Rolls added, "This announcement is bound to raise concerns for PlayStation on multiple levels, including choice, the ability to read older physical games on new consoles, the possibility of collecting physical games, and game preservation."

He also said that this digital transition will negatively impact certain game retailers and will also affect the used market.

The announcement has also reignited speculation about the next-generation PlayStation 6 (PS6) console.

Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at video game market research firm Niko Partners, said Sony's announcement "almost confirms that the PS6 will be a purely digital console."

Harding-Rolls agreed, stating that this likely means the PS6 might be delayed, with current predictions placing its launch at the end of 2028. (Intern Editor: Hsieh Min-an / Editor: Chang Ming-hsuan) 20230702)

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