UK Retail Body Criticizes PlayStation's Disc Production End, Citing Consumer Choice
The UK's Entertainment Retail Association (ERA) has criticized Sony Interactive Entertainment's plan to end disc production for new PlayStation games starting January 2028. ERA CEO Kim Bayley said the decision means "corporate convenience has trumped consumer choice," arguing that physical discs offer ownership, sharing, and resale value that digital downloads do not. The association, whose members include Amazon and HMV, cited its own data showing the UK disc market exceeded £300 million in 2025 and that about 25% of people under 25 still play games on disc. According to NielsenIQ/GfK data, 45% of physical copies sold in the UK in 2025 were for PS5 and PS4, accounting for 47% of physical market revenue. However, the number of stores handling packaged games has dropped by over 2,000 since 2021, with 99.1% of buyers purchasing online. Protests using the hashtag #NoDiscNoBuy and a Change.org petition have gathered over 300,000 signatures. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told IGN that even 500,000 protesters would have limited impact on SIE and are unlikely to change the policy.