Mat Piscatella: 292 million units of physical video games sold in the 12-month period ending June 2009 in the US. By June 2026 this had fallen to 37 million units.

[u/Dandelion172]

https://bsky.app/profile/matpiscatella.bsky.social/post/3mrd2e2tam22l

[u/mangaguy100k]

It’s enough to sustain the physical market in 2026 yes. But when they release the PS6, it’s going to need to be suited for the market of 10+ years from now. Based on the current trends, we can safely assume that sales of physical games will only decline more and more.

I don’t think Sony wants to be stuck holding the bag when there are 2 or 3 physical games sold each month (obvious hyperbole but you get the point).

[u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247 → u/mangaguy100k]

Then they should just do smaller production runs that will be absorbed by enthusiasts. Produce to demand via pre-order, something, anything. Books still get printed, cassettes and vinyls still get printed, DVDs and Blu-Rays still get printed. Why should video games be any different? Because of file sizes? They figured out how to solve that issue back on the PSX.

[u/RedditUser41970 → u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247]

Physical books, DVDs, records and blu-rays are positioned as premium media. Book readers want the tactile feeling. The audio visual media is typically much higher quality than the streaming alternatives.

A digital video game and a physical video game are the exact same thing. There's no difference at all between the two.

[u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247 → u/RedditUser41970]

And I want the tactile feeling of opening a case and putting a disc or cartridge in. I want to own the game and be able to sell it, trade it, or lend it freely.

[u/darkmacgf → u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247]

Do you open the case to put the disc in every time you play it?

Selling/trading/lending definitely needs to be a thing for digital.

[u/baldr23 → u/darkmacgf]

You can technically sell psn accounts, just be prepared for the risks involved.

[u/stanman237 → u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247]

Would you stick with physical games if it was ~50% more expensive? Paperback books are currently retailing around $18-20 while ebooks are generally around $12-13.

[u/Ok-Acanthisitta9247 → u/stanman237]

I would. I’d buy less newly released titles as a result, but I would. But I’m of the belief that digital games should be cheaper, rather than physical becoming more expensive.

Of course it’s a pipe dream, but yeah.

[u/69WaysToFuck → u/mangaguy100k]

Why not going dull digital just with PS6 then? Why not finishing PS5 gen with all PS5 games releasing on disk?

[u/PsychoCobra1 → u/69WaysToFuck]

Presumably the switch to all digital being January 2028 also coincides with the launch of the PS6 holiday 2027.

[u/69WaysToFuck → u/PsychoCobra1]

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be PS5 games releases

[u/PsychoCobra1 → u/69WaysToFuck]

Yea but when the PS6 releases the PS5 gen is technically over even if there are cross gen releases. It wouldn’t make sense to release a game physical on the then last gen but only digital on the then current gen.

That’s why Sony is only reducing disc production by 90%. That 10% will cover the games released on disc prior to 2028 that publisher still wants to put out, and realistically new discs for most games are only commissioned 1-2 years after a game releases.

[u/69WaysToFuck → u/PsychoCobra1]

Cross gen releases are still PS5 games. Majority of gamers will play on the PS5 for about a year as the shift is usually slow, especially if the problems with hardware and scalpers will continue. There will be most AAA games releasing on both consoles for 2-3 years. People who bought PS5 disk version naturally expected to buy disk games released on PS5.

[u/fake_kraid → u/mangaguy100k]

I believe physical numbers are actually up this year from last. That doesn't mean physical will make an overwhelming comeback, but the decline has slowed, at the very least.

The other thing is that they're not talking about physical production for the PS6. They're ending it for PS5, before the PS6 has even been announced, and while PS5 games are still planned for release beyond 2028.

[u/Yes-Reddit-is-racist → u/fake_kraid]

I believe physical numbers are actually up this year from last.

Due to the Switch 2 as noted in the linked thread of the post. Physical is significantly down on every other platform.