🌸 you will own nothing, you will be happy (not really). 🌸

A few days ago, I noticed that Sony are going to cease production of physical media as of January 2028. This means that all games for the PlayStation will no longer be tangible; instead you will purchase a game and then download it to your console only. When Grand Theft Auto 6 is released, there will be a box but no game inside. Instead, there is a download code. A goddamn download code.

As an avid gamer since the mid to late 2000's, this news saddens me yet I am not surprised as we are now in the middle of a digital age - one where subscription services and convenience is normalised. I guess it is understandable from a business perspective as to why this is happening; Sony (like most companies) want to appeal to the majority by making their games easily accessible and in their words: "the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs."

Now when it comes to games, I purchase physical copies or emulate. There were 4 rare instances where I purchased digital games for my PlayStation consoles but otherwise, physical or emulation is the way to go for me and I will continue on this path.

The big issue with digital media in general is the fact that you don't own it. Once you purchase something, you have a license - one which can be revoked at any given time. To make matters worse, if said license gets revoked in most cases or for whatever reason you don't like the content, there is no option for a refund. Or if a server shutdown occurs, you won't be able to redownload the games in your library.

What I miss with gaming in general is the excitement of being able to take a physical copy home. You got a box or a case with cool cover art, a disc and a manual which told you everything about the game itself. Look at fighting games such as Tekken for example. When playing, I would enjoy unlocking extra characters and hidden features; I remember spending hours on Tekken 3 as a child with my dad, working together to unlock absolutely everything! The suspense kept me interested as I never knew what reward I got after beating arcade mode. With newer Tekken games, I don't bother purchasing much features. I have a physical copy of Tekken 7 but only purchased one character (Anna) and nothing else - I always revisit older games as I felt there was more love and effort put into them. Then backwards compatibility. I can still play PlayStation 1 games on a PlayStation 2 or even 3! That won't even exist anymore as the PlayStation 6 will not even have a disc drive.

In general, it is clear that times are changing. Rather than say purchasing a CD or a DVD, you now have to pay for a subscription via streaming services such as Netflix or Spotify for example. With Netflix, you have 3 plans to choose from (the basic one containing ads so the equivalent of live TV) and the more people that want to watch, the more you pay. With Spotify, you have to pay to get rid of ads and access premium features like the ability to play music in the order of your choice. When paying for subscriptions, you may think that the prices are reasonable but they add up over time. A Netflix Premium subscription for £18.99 per month adds up to £227.88 a year. Point is, you waste more money than you think. There are certain cases where a subscription may not be avoidable (for example I use a Canva subscription for creating material, primarily for YouTube) but in general I try to avoid having so many subscription services - I only keep what is needed (until I find a modded version with premium features, then I cancel haha). Given cost of living issues, I doubt people want to purchase a download code for a game let alone an overpriced console.

In other news, the PlayStation Store on both the PlayStation 3 and Vita consoles will soon shutdown as of this year. This means no more purchasing new games. You can't even gift a game or share games anymore; as for physical game stores, I assume they will probably go out of business eventually due to the sudden shift. GAME for example no longer exists (and where I live, it is a small section in Sports Direct with toys and also Funko Pops which creep me out, ew). Also, movies owned by PlayStation users will be deleted in this year due to a licensing issue with Studio Canal. In layman's terms, you can't have your movies anymore!

Unfortunately, I doubt much will change as Sony won't rethink their decision. It is a good thing I didn't go through with purchasing a PlayStation 5 because to be honest, I am happier with my existing consoles and my physical + emulated library. That and when newer consoles are released I don't get excited anymore. I will simply keep my older consoles until they die and when they do, find another.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short blog and my thoughts on this topic. What do you think? Are you someone who prefers physical over digital media? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, sayonara for now.