Sony’s Shift Away from Discs: A Misstep for Gamers
The landscape of video game preservation just faced a significant setback. Sony revealed that starting January 2028, it will cease production of physical PlayStation discs, meaning that new PS5 games will only be available digitally. Alongside this, the company announced plans to gradually shut down the digital stores for both the PS3 and PS Vita, highlighting a critical concern about a digital-only gaming future: once the stores close, the games vanish. This is a serious blow to the preservation of gaming history.
Both announcements felt somewhat inevitable. It’s evident that many players have shifted towards digital purchases, with around 80 percent of PS5 games sold being digital, according to Sony’s latest financial results. Just last week, Rockstar Games revealed that when Grand Theft Auto VI hits retail in November, it will come as a code in a box rather than a physical disc.
Digital games offer convenience, allowing players to pre-download titles, maintain a large library on a single console, and take advantage of frequent sales. However, there are significant downsides, such as the inability to sell used games or share copies with friends. From a publisher’s standpoint, digital sales are more profitable, eliminating the costs associated with disc production.
Yet, a less obvious consequence of this digital shift is the challenge of preserving video games. The intricate nature of consoles and ever-evolving formats makes preservation a daunting task. In 2023, the Video Game History Foundation reported that 87 percent of classic games—those released before 2010—are “critically endangered.” The 2010 cutoff marks the rise of digital storefronts, foreshadowing even greater issues ahead. The report noted, “Our experiences gathering data for this study suggest that these problems will intensify over time due to a low diversity of reissue sources and the long-term volatility of digital game storefronts.”
The closure of digital stores isn’t a new phenomenon; just two years ago, Nintendo shut down the storefronts for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. While you can still download games you’ve purchased for now, these closures render titles exclusive to those stores essentially inaccessible. For instance, if you buy a 3DS today, you won’t be able to play the classic puzzle game BoxBoy.
Previously, this issue may have seemed minor, as the number of digital-exclusive titles on platforms like the Wii U and PS Vita was relatively small. However, with the industry increasingly leaning towards digital, including major releases like GTA VI, the problem becomes more pronounced. Starting in 2028, every PlayStation game will have an expiration date; once the PS5’s digital store shuts down, a vast array of games will simply be lost, affecting not just indie titles but also major blockbusters.
Some measures have been taken to address these concerns. Modern consoles allow players to carry their digital libraries across devices—Xbox has made significant strides in this area—and PC storefronts like GOG focus on keeping older games playable on current hardware. While these initiatives are commendable, they aren’t sufficient on their own. Many games still fall through the cracks; mobile games, for example, are hugely popular but often lack preservation efforts outside of fan initiatives. Moreover, these solutions depend on the goodwill of platform holders. Once a store is closed or support for cross-generation play ceases, those games become nearly impossible to access legally. This issue extends beyond gaming; the shift to streaming is similarly impacting film preservation.
Physical media isn’t a flawless answer to these challenges. Discs and cartridges can degrade over time and often require specific hardware to use. However, they provide players and preservationists with more control over how they collect, share, and maintain these experiences, free from the unpredictable decisions of console manufacturers like Sony. The struggle to keep old games alive is already daunting, and by 2028, it’s poised to become even more challenging.
