‘You are killing ownership’: PlayStation goes digital-only as disc-loving gamers rage

Sony PlayStation dropped devastating news to gamers to start July, and the blowback has been nothing short of monumental.

Gaming companies are already seeing the level of disdain typically reserved for politicians and journalists due to subscription costs, micro-transactions, and the ever-increasing price of games.

‘This is what happens when you buy digital.’

Now, Sony has given gamers another reason to rage; it is following the, “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy,” World Economic Forum position from 2016.

That phrase has become a meme for a reason, but PlayStation dove headfirst into the theme on Wednesday morning and announced it is ending the production of its physical game discs and will completely cease by January 2028.

“As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued,” senior director Sid Shuman wrote.

Shuman, who used “he/him” pronouns on the post, said the move was a “natural direction for Sony” in order to adapt to “consumer trends.”

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Shuman claimed “digital media significantly outpaces physical discs” and therefore the company will be able to “align more closely” with how most of its community prefers to play games.

Withering criticism of the Sony announcement was immediate.

“You will own nothing,” said popular tech page Pirat Nation.

“You are killing ownership. … You are killing publishers,” replied popular hardware page Does It Play.

“Guys, this is a really bad decision. Wtf,” Spawn Poiint commented, a popular gaming YouTuber with over one million subscribers.

One reader responded by showing the awful truth of what it means to be digital only:

“This is what happens when you buy digital,” the user wrote, along with a photo of a PlayStation Store alert that said “licensing arrangements” meant the user would no longer be able to watch the content he already had in his library.

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The reality of truly not owning the product one has paid for clearly does not sit will with many people. Publishers have wanted this reality of cheaper production for some time, while it has also been a reality that access to certain games or videos has a shelf life, and that depends on licensing agreements.

Issues have popped up over the years that have prevented game owners from playing their own property, and more predominantly, those who have purchased digital media have got the short end of the stick when hoping to watch some of their favorite shows, only to find they had been deleted due to expired publishing agreements.

Also on Wednesday, PlayStation announced it would no longer support its online store for PlayStation 3, which was released in 2006, and the PS Vita, which launched in 2011.

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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