Sony finally discusses PS5 physical disc backlash and it’s not good news

The end of an era (Sony Interactive Entertainment) Sony has addressed the backlash to ditching physical PS5 game discs, saying it plans to ‘cautiously’ move forward with its plans. PlayStation’s decision to stop producing game discs after 2027 has sparked angry petitions and organised online protests, but Sony has stayed quiet on the matter… until now. Sony’s chief financial officer, Lin Tao, addressed the topic during a Q&A session with investors following its Q1 2026 earnings report. In response, Sony said the main reason it made the announcement so early was due to the progression of the ‘digitalisation of contents’ across all mediums – whatever that’s supposed to mean. ‘We announced that from January 2028 onwards we will no longer be manufacturing game discs, so one and a half years ahead,’ Tao said (via a Sony interpreter). ‘There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalisation of contents overall has been progressing, that’s the big factor. It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalisation is progressing. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. ‘And so, when we think about the future, we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward.’ Sony responds to the backlash over ending PlayStation discs. "We put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we're going to cautiously move this forward…" pic.twitter.com/qRKkEX6TN3— AmericanTruckSongs9 (@ethangach) July 31, 2026 Sony isn’t budging on the decision but it did acknowledge the backlash, which Tao diplomatically described as ‘various opinions’. ‘To this decision, we have received various opinions and people have strong views,’ she added. ‘We understand the community has put forth those views to us. Games are loved by many people, it’s a form of entertainment loved by people and it’s connected to many people’s fond memories in many cases. So we understand those emotions. ‘We want to consider that, and in the future digital ecosystem, ‘how do we engage the gamers?’ is something that we would like to continue to explore.’ The response is the equivalent of being patted on the head while Sony reaches for your back pocket, but we perhaps shouldn’t expect anything better during an investors call. Sony isn’t wrong that ‘digitalisation’ is progressing across all mediums, although that doesn’t stop it from selling things like record players, which got caught up in the whole furore earlier this week. Presumably their intent was to get people used to a digital-only games industry before the release of the PlayStation 6, which no doubt will not have a disc drive, although why they couldn’t just make it an optional extra and let the physical market dwindle away naturally is a mystery. Well, it’s not really a mystery, it’s just greed, but the big question now is whether fan anger will continue to snowball and affect sales of the new console – which might be the only scenario where Sony would consider shifting its view on the matter. Elsewhere in the call, Tao was asked how ditching discs will impact Sony’s relationship with retailers, and how it will differentiate the PlayStation 5 and upcoming hardware from PCs if they are both all-digital systems. In response, Tao said publishers will still be able to release physical games with download codes inside instead of discs. Additionally, on the PC front, she claimed PlayStation hardware is ‘more affordable’ in comparison. ‘We don’t feel that the disc is the factor to differentiate [PlayStation] from the PC,’ she added. ‘There’s a certain way to play with the PC as a user. It’s a long tail. The curated content is one of our strengths, and the game environment being stable, that’s another strength. ‘And compared to the high-end gaming PC, our product is more affordable. So we don’t feel that the disc itself is a strong factor for differentiation. Going forward, we can coexist peacefully with PC games.’ It’s unclear if the ‘affordable’ factor applies to Sony’s PlayStation 6 console, which is expected to cost close to £1,000 based on leaks. The PlayStation 5 has seen several price increases over recent years, with the last being in March this year. The future looks expensive (Metro) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: Will you play the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake or GTA 6 first? 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