Sony’s controversial decision to discontinue PlayStation discs is not having any impact on its business now, and it doesn’t see any negative impact in the future, either.
Speaking during an investor-focused Q&A following its first quarter financial results, Sony CFO Lin Tao answered multiple questions about the company’s decision to kill discs, which has sparked a backlash online.
Tao was asked if Sony saw any impact now or in the future, which will see PlayStation disc production come to an end in 2028.
“We are not seeing any impact on our business as of now,” Tao said. “Going forward, about the content sales, large part is already digitized. Therefore as a result of the discontinuation of a disc, we don’t see that there will be any negative impact on our business.
“However, as I already said, the users, the players, have attachments, and we have to think about how to respond to those feedbacks.”
Earlier in the Q&A, Tao said Sony wouldn’t change its mind, while acknowledging “strong views” from the video game community.
The online backlash has seen gamers continue to call on Sony to U-turn on its decision, signing online petitions and swarming over PlayStation social media posts to express concern about video game preservation and ownership — even overshadowing the release of new games that have nothing to do with what’s going on at Sony. Meanwhile, backers of physical media have called on gamers to boycott PlayStation for a week in August to send a message to Sony that its decision to kill discs from 2028 is unacceptable.
Complaints have also come from other groups. The UK’s Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), for example, called Sony’s decision “a triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice.”
When Sony announced its decision it said it was simply following consumer trends. “In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” Sid Shuman, Senior Director, Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications, said in a post on PlayStation Blog.
Sony’s latest financials show an 82% digital download ratio for full game software across PS4 and PS5. Reinforcing this trend, Mat Piscatella, Senior Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana, recently said that just seven PlayStation video games had sold more than 100,000 physical units so far this year in the U.S.. Only two PlayStation video games sold more than 10,000 physical units in the U.S. during the week ending July 11.
There are of course instances of companies reversing controversial decisions amid a backlash, but, as analysts have told IGN, it remains unlikely that Sony will U-turn on this. For Sony, going all-digital for new game releases will earn it more money from every sale at a time when console sales are expected to plummet due to their rising cost. For a first-party PlayStation game such as The Last of Us, Sony will only keep around 65% of the money from a physical copy, with around 30% going to the retailer and roughly another 5% on manufacturing costs. Meanwhile, for a physical copy of a third-party game such as the Activision-published Call of Duty, Sony will get a licensing fee, likely around 15%.
For downloads, however, the margins are much higher. For a first-party game sold via Sony’s own PlayStation Store, the company obviously keeps 100% of the revenue. For third-party games such as Call of Duty, meanwhile, Sony keeps a 30% cut (so, roughly $21 for a $70 game).
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
