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Backlash over Sony’s decision to desert physical media for its game releases starting in 2028 is growing, with a brand new petition already garnering nearly 250,000 signatures. Sony has been on the forefront of physical disc media support for a long time, but has recently announced that it should change within the not-too-distant future. While it has since said that it could support smaller studios’ efforts to proceed releasing their very own older titles, details are scarce there since specs for the PlayStation 6 have yet to be revealed, so it’s not known if it’ll have an optical drive or if an external one shall be made available. Sony’s own statement clearly indicated it should not offer physical versions of its games, but has since (via Game File) added that it should offer a way for older third-party titles to proceed to be printed. That is as some publishers claim they were blindsided by Sony’s original statement and had not been given any advance notice of the change coming in 2028.
Meanwhile, consumers are making their voices heard either by attempting to cancel their Sony PlayStation Plus subscriptions or by signing a brand new petition to avoid wasting physical game releases. The Save Physical Games petition began right after Sony’s initial announcement was made and has since had almost 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 signatures given.
“The irony is difficult to miss. At E3 2013, Sony won over a generation of players by promising that if you buy a PlayStation game, you’ll be able to trade it in, sell it, lend it to a friend, or “keep it eternally,” and famously mocked the competition for attempting to restrict exactly that. Thirteen years later, Sony is the one taking it away.”
– Save Physical Games, Change.org
Possibly by pure coincidence, perhaps not, it seems that some PlayStation Plus users attempting to cancel their service in protest have been given the chance to maintain it with a significant 50% off discount. The discount only lasts for 3 months, but is being offered at a peculiar time. One user posted their notification from Sony on Reddit (via VideoCardz).
The controversy surrounding Sony’s decision appears to be growing, and while it’s doubtful it should reverse course, it looks as if it should offer options for older titles, nevertheless it’s not only publishing partners who’re feeling the hurt because consumers are also making their voices heard as well, and it is that they ultimately who provide income to Sony.