Sony Acknowledges ‘Strong Views’ On Its Decision To Stop Game Disc Production, But Won’t Change Its Mind
Lin Tao, Chief Financial Officer for Sony Interactive Entertainment, has revealed during an investor Q&A following the company’s latest financial results that it won’t be reversing its decision to stop production of game discs in January 2028, but has acknowledge the “strong views” shared by its community on the matter.
This is the first instance that the hardware manufacturer has addressed the topic since its announcement on July 1. The move prompted widespread backlash online, including a petition that quickly reached over 300,000 signatures, as well as responses from a number of industry folk including Shawn Layden (ex-PlayStation Chairman), Sohei Niikawa (Disgaea Creator), and Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid creator).
We announced that January 2028 onwards we will no longer be manufacturing game discs. So, one-and-a-half years ahead. So we made this announcement at this time.There are various reasons we made this decision. The biggest being that the digitalization of contents overall has been progressing. That’s the big factor. It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of contents, digitalization is progressing.
And so when we think about the future — and we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward. And to this decision, we have received various opinions and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forth those views to us. Games are loved by many people. It’s a form of entertainment that’s loved by people, and it’s connected to people’s fond memories in many cases.
And so we understand those emotions. We want to consider that. And in the future digital ecosystem, how do we engage the gamers is something that we would like to continue to explore.
Recently, Final Fantasy VII Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that he’s hoping the game will receive a physical release, although noted nothing is set in stone yet. That’s despite the fact the game is out in Spring 2027, months before Sony’s cutoff date for physical game discs; the format holder clarified that titles released before January 2028 will still be able to come out on disc.
Earlier this month, Circana’s Mat Piscatella revealed that only seven PlayStation games released year-to-date managed to sell over 100,000 units in the US, showcasing the rapid decline in physical game sales.
[Source – IGN]
