UK Trade Body Condemns PlayStation Disc End as Consumer Choice Override
The ERA's criticism gives institutional weight to consumer backlash, but 99.1% of UK game buyers already purchase online, indicating the physical market is a shrinking minority.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
The UK's Entertainment Retail Association (ERA) has publicly criticized Sony Interactive Entertainment's plan to end disc production for new PlayStation games starting January 2028. CEO Kim Bayley stated that corporate convenience overrode consumer choice, citing a £300 million disc market in the UK in 2025 and 25% of under-25s using discs. Protests and a petition with over 300,000 signatures continue, though an analyst suggests the impact on Sony is limited.
The ERA represents UK retailers including Amazon and HMV, giving its criticism of Sony's disc phase-out institutional weight. CEO Kim Bayley said the decision "overrode consumer choice" and pointed to a 2025 disc market exceeding £300 million, with 25% of under-25s still playing on disc. However, the same data shows 99.1% of buyers purchasing online and physical retail stores declining by over 2,000 since 2021. Protests under #NoDiscNoBuy and a petition exceeding 300,000 signatures have not shifted the outlook; Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto said the impact on Sony is likely limited and a policy reversal is unlikely. The ERA's stance is that digital and physical should coexist, but the market is already moving in one direction.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.