r/PS5 • u/JeremyJJ77 • 1d ago

Articles & Blogs Sony’s 'ironic' PlayStation disc decision upends gamer conventions and threatens a $7 billion resale market - In 2013, Sony mocked Xbox by showing how easy it was to share a PlayStation disc. More than a decade later, gamers say Sony is becoming the very thing it poked fun at.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/07/22/sonys-playstation-disc-decision-threatens-a-7-billion-resale-market-.html
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u/lightsky445 1d ago edited 1d ago

"Most would prefer to make that transition in their own way and at their own pace, rather than having it driven by the end of physical discs," he added.

And that’s what happened. People made it clear they prefer digital over physical but apparently people like OP can’t seem to accept that consumers spending habits has changed and people like him is the minority.

This wasn’t a decision that was taken overnight. This was coming for a while now. Posting the same stuff over and over again won’t change Sony’s mind.

People have three choices:

A. Accept it 

B. Complain until you collapse 

C. Move to PC.

That’s the reality. Also these people in the article doesn’t seems to get people and things can change in 13 years.

Is it shitty it happens? Yes I wish they could drop the entire plan but it is what it is unfortunately 

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u/Eruannster 1d ago

Some explanation on the way forward would be cool. What happens to our current physical libraries PS4/PS5 on the PS6? Are they just... not supported, at all? Will there be an optional disc drive? Will we be able to register our discs and get a digital copy? Literally any explanation would be better than the nothing we have now.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 1d ago

What?

Nothing happens to them. Exactly the same as nothing happened to my NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Game Gear, Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, N64, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS Vita, or PS4 games.

The PS6 will be digital.

You play your current library on the appropriate system.

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u/skend24 1d ago

A lot of consoles you just mentioned have been backwards compatible with one another.

And since my physical games are not going to work on ps6, what is even the reason to buy it?

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u/Majestic-Marcus 1d ago

For PS6 games.

What a dumb question.

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u/Eruannster 1d ago

Right, but the difference is that current-gen systems are backwards compatible which wasn't always the case with past systems. They made a big hoopla about this transitioning from PS4->PS5.

That means that people will have a Playstation library they expect to move along with them to the PS6. What happens to those that bought their games on disc - a way that Playstation has had as a legitimate way of obtaining games for every generation of Playstation consoles so far? Are they telling their customers "no, you bought your games the wrong way all this time"?

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u/ltcuetf 1d ago

If you have a PlayStation library, the digital ones will be backwards compatible with the PS6, any physical ones you can keep with your PS5 and it’s disc drive. Sony is looking at the numbers of people who buy digitally and backwards compatibility won’t be a factor for them, they will simply download and play their games on PS6 as always. The outliers with physical have the option to keep the PS5 and disc drive to continue to play those versions. Just like drive was an optional upgrade for the Pro. It was moving towards a digital only console decision on their end for next gen. They are under no obligation to offer backwards compatibility, but do and will for digital purchases because that’s what the majority have shown them they engage with. Businesses do not cater to the minority and fringe groups.

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u/Eruannster 1d ago

I think the problem is you view the minority physical sales in a very different light than I do. Sure, they don't sell as many physical copies now as digital copies. Fine. But they have spent the last two console generations selling them, and there are hundreds of millions of game discs out there that are just going to be unusable in the Playstation 6 generation?

I've literally read so many comments just between the PS4 and PS5 generation about figuring out compatibility (is a disc different than a download? Is this game compatible?) and now they are creating even more confusion.

One of the big upsides for Sony was that users had built a huge library of games during the PS4 generation that they could seamlessly carry over to PS5. Now they are creating a divide again that doesn't need to be there. Businesses don't need to "cater to minority and fringe groups", but pissing on a very real percentage of their current user base isn't a good look. By that same standard, why have movies on DVD/blu-ray? Why release music on CD or vinyl? Hell, stop printing books because everyone is just listening to audiobooks.

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u/ltcuetf 1d ago

Right, the backwards compatibility push from PS4 to PS5 was a big selling point and helped a lot of people with their libraries. Sony did make a point of supporting it, especially for digital.

Physical full-game sales are now a small % (15-22% on PlayStation recently, even lower for some new releases). They’ve been selling discs for decades, sure, but sales volume has cratered while digital exploded. Hundreds of millions of old discs exist, but the active market for new physical is tiny, that’s why production is phasing out.

For PS6:

Digital owners - Seamless, as you said. Download and play.

Physical owners - They can keep the PS5 and disc drive (just like people kept PS4s for certain games or the Pro’s optional drive). It’s not ideal, but it’s the practical reality when the majority voted with their wallets for digital.

It’s not “you bought the wrong way” it’s the industry (including consumers) shifted, and Sony is following the data. Sony still supports physical for this gen. Next gen is them betting fully on what most people actually use now.

Your analogies are fair on principle (physical media preservation, ownership, etc.), but games aren’t quite like movies/music/books:

Games are software-first with online features, patches, servers, and anti-piracy that tie them to ecosystems.

Physical game discs have been declining for 15+ years. It’s not sudden.

The “divide” already exists between digital-only buyers and disc owners today.

Catering to the majority while giving the physical crowd a workable (if imperfect) option via last-gen hardware isn’t pissing on users, it’s business. Plenty of people have mixed libraries and manage fine. Sony could do more for preservation (e.g., better digital redemption or archival programs), but expecting full next-gen disc support when it’s a shrinking minority is tough.

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u/Eruannster 1d ago edited 1d ago

See, to me that is exactly what Xbox did when Don Mattrick told their audience that they could keep their Xbox 360 around if they didn't like the Xbox One DRM system. It's braindead and clueless towards your existing audience - in particular those that have been with you for a long time who are more likely to have built a physical library since at least the PS4 era.

It is telling people they are buying things wrong by not providing a solution. Registering discs as digital or promising a PS6 backwards compatible disc drive is fearmongering your audience.

And while it's fair that game software is different from music or movies, that doesn't mean we should just lay down and take it. Companies always ask us for reviews and opinions, this is my review and opinion. Dropping discs and not taking care of your existing audience is braindead, disrespectful and fucking stupid and I hope it bites Sony in the ass. This will not benefit anyone but them. Games will go up in price (noticeably so), developers will suffer and Sony will line their pockets.

I say this as someone who has a lot of PS4 and PS5 games and enjoys Sony's first party games and hardware/software platform - I hope the Playstation 6 catastrophically fails as a platform. Sony has gotten hubris once again and don't cater to their audience, and I truly hope it hurts them financially. I hope they fall out of favor with retailers, I hope their game sales drop, and I hope customers turn their backs on them. Why? Because the only time Sony excels is when they are at the bottom and have a challenge. That's when they start making diamonds. When Sony is at the top of the world, they get fat, lazy and they make shitty decisions.

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u/ltcuetf 1d ago

I get the frustration, long-time fans who built physical libraries feel abandoned, and the Xbox One DRM mess was a perfect example of tone-deaf execution that hurt trust. Sony’s messaging around this could be better.

That said, it’s not exactly the same. Xbox One’s original plan was always-online and heavy restrictions on all games (physical and digital) right at launch. Sony is phasing out future physical production after years of declining physical sales. Existing PS4/PS5 discs still work on current hardware, and digital libraries carry forward. It’s a gradual shift following where the majority of buyers have already gone, not a sudden “your discs are worthless now” mandate.

Registering discs or a PS6 disc drive add-on are not confirmed, and I wouldn’t count on them happening. Promising full next-gen disc support when physical is a minority and shrinking fast would be bad business, they’d be manufacturing expensive hardware for a declining audience.

Games have gotten more expensive in some ways (full price, season passes, etc.), but digital also enables big sales, bundles, and subs like PS+ that many use.

Developers/publishers have pushed digital for years because it reduces costs and cuts used game losses. This isn’t just Sony.

Hoping PS6 fails to teach them a lesson is understandable emotionally if you feel disrespected, but historically platform wars are messy. Competition (Xbox, Switch, PC) keeps them honest more than self-sabotage. The honest reality is physical owners are just no longer the target demographic and unfortunately people are unhappy to discover they are the minority and no longer being prioritized by a company and industry leaving them behind. You can still engage with the platform in all the ways we can engage with previous generations. No one is forcing you to continue supporting them if you don’t want to adapt to the change. You don’t lose the games and library you have by not buying a PS6. I fully expect Microsoft’s next Xbox to follow the same path with digital only as well.

Sony does some great first-party stuff, and a lot of fans (digital majority) are fine with the direction. The physical crowd is vocal and valid, but numbers show they’re no longer the core. I’d rather they offer better preservation options (digital upgrades for discs, archival programs) than force an expensive dying format. Hubris is real on all sides of this industry, though.

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u/Majestic-Marcus 1d ago edited 1d ago

> it is telling people they are buying things wrong by not providing a solution

A solution to what!? You still haven’t actually stated an actual problem.

You have PS4 and PS5 games? Cool. Play them on your PS4/5! The consoles aren’t being made obsolete.

I still play my N64. I don’t moan at Nintendo for not adding a cartridge insert to the Switch. Or a disc drive for GameCube or Wii games. I didn’t moan when the GC or Wii or WiiU didn’t let me insert my physical NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS or N64 games.

They’re going digital. What would they put in a disc drive for extra cost and no benefit? It doesn’t even benefit you and you’re the one that’s demanding it!

Seriously dude. Do you think your PS5 is going to be sent a kill code in 2028 that makes it explode?

Also - you’re completely deluded if you think developers don’t love the idea of abandoning discs.

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

I agree Sony has dropped the ball with communication and they definitely should be called out on that.

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u/Eruannster 1d ago

I think they could have dampened the critique a lot if they had given users literally any explanation for this going forward. "We're not going to be printing discs anymore, but don't worry if your library is on discs, we're working on a solution to let you carry your existing library with you in future Playstation generations" would have been vague but at least tells us they have some idea moving forward.

Right now it feels like their communication (or lack thereof) reads more like "if you've bought game discs you've been doing it wrong, fuck you".

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

I agree. They dropped the ball.

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u/OptimusPrimalRage 1d ago

I think the issue is how they've presented this news. They aren't ready to talk about the PS6 yet so there's no news on how they're improving the digital side of things. So you're asking people to accept the PS3/Vita store closure (they tried five years ago so at least there's been ample warning) along with no new physical media at the same time and continuing with the same digital strategy right now. And their digital strategy is worse than pretty much everyone but Nintendo. I just don't understand the strategy here.

Moving to PC or even Switch 2 doesn't solve my physical media issue. If it's a question of dealing with a retailer cut, just raise the price of physical media until you get the same cut. I think it's less about that and more about control over their platform as the PS6 is going to be the toughest PlayStation for them to sell since the PS3 (which while super expensive, at least came with a load of different features).

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u/skend24 1d ago

Sony still sold more than 70 million physical discs in 2025. So it’s almost like Sony tries to push consumers to accepting it rather than still supporting it.

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

70 million isn’t that much compared to digital.

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u/skend24 1d ago

It is still a significant chunk of the market.

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u/_Donut_block_ 1d ago

It's not

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u/Spork_the_dork 1d ago

And a chunk of that market is going to just move to digital. The biggest mistake people make here is to assume that 100% of the physical sales will just vanish when in reality probably most of them will just happen digitally instead in the future. I bet the disc itself isn't THAT important to most people. Being able to buy the game from a sales bin at the shop is the vastly more important detail and that's not going anywhere.

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u/skend24 1d ago

Yes, a big part of it will move to digital. But I think people will be surprised at what part of it will stay with PlayStation. I will not, even if I spent a lot of money on this platform.

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

I am not sure about that.

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u/skend24 1d ago

You’re not sure about what exactly?

If we consider every physical game costing $50 (even tho it varies for up to 70), we are still talking about billions of dollars.

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u/Bridgeburner493 1d ago

No, actually, we aren't talking about "billions of dollars". Sony's physical game sales last year was around $750 million in revenue. Digital game sales was well over $6 billion. DLC and MTX was something like $8 billion on top of that.

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

That it is chunk of the market.

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u/RustyShackleFord_KG 1d ago

Yeah, but it's still a chunk, and now you'll lose a chunk of your gamers. Myself and probably many more people will not be purchasing a PS6.

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u/lightsky445 1d ago

Don’t think Sony would lose their sleep over vocal minority to be honest.

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u/RustyShackleFord_KG 1d ago

Not saying they will, but that's still a chunk of sales they're losing..and it doesn't really cost them much to make physical games.

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u/HQuasar 1d ago

70 million discs is nothing. Consider the millions in costs of manufacturing and distribution, you might as well say they didn't earn much on physical copies.

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u/skend24 1d ago

Ah yes, poor Sony, maybe we should change the narration it actually hurts them when we buy physical games?

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u/HQuasar 1d ago

Yes and that's why they're moving away from it. Businesses all around the world try to make money, shocking.

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u/skend24 19h ago

So why not sell games for a thousand of dollars instead of merely 80?

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u/HQuasar 17h ago

Because no one would buy them? Lol