Sony sang a very different tune about physical copies 13 years ago, and gamers have the receipts to prove it

Back when Microsoft wanted to go down the digital-only, always-online route with the Xbox One, Sony came in clutch and saved offline play and physical media by promising players they wouldn’t be ditching discs or asking you to be constantly connected to the internet. But now Sony is being the one to take physical media and offline play out the back of the shed that once was gaming, killing it not with a bang but with a whimper. As of January 2028, no new discs will be made for PlayStation, with the PS6 likely to completely eradicate physical media and focus on going forward with just ones and zeroes, because buying something and having it in your hands to do whatever is a relic of the past. Back in 2013, Sony sang a very, and I mean very, different tune to this, so much so that it was one of its selling points for the PS4 as Xbox and Microsoft were trying to do the same thing Sony is doing now. During E3 2013, Sony dedicated a part of its panel to expressing just how important physical media is. It highlighted how you can sell it, keep it forever, or do whatever you want with it. How the turntables. https://embeds.beehiiv.com/a8d62108-86ed-4039-bf49-44877ba62c15 The importance of physical dics explained by Sony themselves, 13 years ago. https://t.co/Bx5Tw8nRBW— NikTek (@NikTek) July 2, 2026 Gamers have been digging up “dirt” on Sony for the last two days, scouring the archives of the internet to prove how the company once valued physical media and discs in particular. Now, Sony is not only ditching discs but also recently started testing out DRM means where you’d have to connect to the internet every once in a while to reauthenticate your copy. In another clip, shared by Tom Henderson, Sony even made an entire dedicated video on used video game copies and explained how they’re supposed to work and be used. Nowadays I can go out and buy a second-hand copy of a game I want for much less than Sony’s own region-locked, dynamically priced store offers and play it as if I were the original owner. And so could the person I sold it to, and another, and so on and so forth. End of an era. https://t.co/EKT7yuAU5w— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) July 1, 2026 This ad hoc decision to kill physical media, while justified in various ways by Sony itself and its defenders, probably only came out of a single desire: more money. By locking people out of physical media, Sony is completely killing retailers (and thus the need to split revenue with them), the second-hand market that actively reduces its profits as one copy can circulate among several people, and gives itself exclusive rights to set prices, kill access, ban, enable, and do whatever it wants with games on its platform. It’s sinister to the core, and Microsoft seems keen on following suit. But the least we can do is vote with our hard-earned bucks and tell these companies that no, they cannot monopolize video games, no matter how much they’d love to. 0 The post Sony sang a very different tune about physical copies 13 years ago, and gamers have the receipts to prove it appeared first on Destructoid.

Jul 3, 2026 - 07:19

Sony sang a very different tune about physical copies 13 years ago, and gamers have the receipts to prove it

Back when Microsoft wanted to go down the digital-only, always-online route with the Xbox One, Sony came in clutch and saved offline play and physical media by promising players they wouldn’t be ditching discs or asking you to be constantly connected to the internet.

But now Sony is being the one to take physical media and offline play out the back of the shed that once was gaming, killing it not with a bang but with a whimper. As of January 2028, no new discs will be made for PlayStation, with the PS6 likely to completely eradicate physical media and focus on going forward with just ones and zeroes, because buying something and having it in your hands to do whatever is a relic of the past.

Back in 2013, Sony sang a very, and I mean very, different tune to this, so much so that it was one of its selling points for the PS4 as Xbox and Microsoft were trying to do the same thing Sony is doing now. During E3 2013, Sony dedicated a part of its panel to expressing just how important physical media is. It highlighted how you can sell it, keep it forever, or do whatever you want with it. How the turntables.

https://embeds.beehiiv.com/a8d62108-86ed-4039-bf49-44877ba62c15 The importance of physical dics explained by Sony themselves, 13 years ago. https://t.co/Bx5Tw8nRBW

— NikTek (@NikTek) July 2, 2026 Gamers have been digging up “dirt” on Sony for the last two days, scouring the archives of the internet to prove how the company once valued physical media and discs in particular. Now, Sony is not only ditching discs but also recently started testing out DRM means where you’d have to connect to the internet every once in a while to reauthenticate your copy.

In another clip, shared by Tom Henderson, Sony even made an entire dedicated video on used video game copies and explained how they’re supposed to work and be used. Nowadays I can go out and buy a second-hand copy of a game I want for much less than Sony’s own region-locked, dynamically priced store offers and play it as if I were the original owner. And so could the person I sold it to, and another, and so on and so forth.

End of an era. https://t.co/EKT7yuAU5w

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) July 1, 2026 This ad hoc decision to kill physical media, while justified in various ways by Sony itself and its defenders, probably only came out of a single desire: more money. By locking people out of physical media, Sony is completely killing retailers (and thus the need to split revenue with them), the second-hand market that actively reduces its profits as one copy can circulate among several people, and gives itself exclusive rights to set prices, kill access, ban, enable, and do whatever it wants with games on its platform.

It’s sinister to the core, and Microsoft seems keen on following suit.

But the least we can do is vote with our hard-earned bucks and tell these companies that no, they cannot monopolize video games, no matter how much they’d love to.

0 The post Sony sang a very different tune about physical copies 13 years ago, and gamers have the receipts to prove it appeared first on Destructoid.

Tags:

Star Trek Online's Undiscovered content update debuts on July 7, features remade...

What's Your Reaction?

Dislike

Love

Funny

Angry

Sad

Wow

XINKER - Business and Income Tips Explore XINKER, the ultimate platform for mastering business strategies, discovering passive income opportunities, and learning success principles. Join a community of thinkers dedicated to achieving financial freedom and entrepreneurial excellence.