Sony Officially Wins Australian Shonky Award For Killing Discs

Published Nov 4, 2026, 9:16 AM EST James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com Sony has spent a good chunk of 2026 digging a deeper and deeper hole. First, it announced that over 500 movies and TV shows would be revoked from PlayStation libraries without compensation. Then, it was announced that the PS3 and Vita storefronts were closing, and that game disc production would cease from 2028 onwards. Welcome to the all-digital future, where you own nothing and executives ridicule you for thinking you ever did. It's not just gamers who are mad, either. Sony just won a Shonky Award, placing it in Choice's Hall of Shame—basically, the Razzies for companies, where Australia's leading consumer advocacy organization (founded in 1959) calls out "some of the worst products and services" of the year. Shonky is Australian slang for poor quality and integrity: a mix of shoddy and wonky. "The Shonky Award for asking us to pay to play, but not own," Choice announced. "In this age of instant gratification, it doesn't get much more convenient than being able to easily download a movie or video game to your collection to start enjoying immediately. But will you be enjoying them for years to come? That's less certain. Because, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment, you don't actually own the movies and games that you buy as a digital download instead of a disc. Instead, you're buying a license to access the content via Sony's various digital storefronts, such as the PlayStation Store." "Sony Brought The Hammer Down On Gamers" As Choice puts it, you're not purchasing a copy of a game, but an expensive long-term rental. Begrudged PlayStation users have countered the award by pointing out that purchasing games on other digital platforms, including Steam, is the same, but there's a very good reason that Sony entered Choice's Hall of Shame this year, and not Nintendo. "A recent double-whammy reminder of its right to remove has placed Sony squarely under the Shonky spotlight," Choice explained. "In June 2026, Sony announced its licensing agreement with film producer/distributor Studio Canal was coming to an end in the UK and Europe. Customers were told that 500 Studio Canal movies would no longer be available to buy, rent and watch. That included any previously purchased movies stored in customers’ digital libraries. Content that people thought they had bought and would own forever was set to be removed. Then, a few days after that announcement and fresh off the back of many customers discovering that the whole 'purchase versus license' situation was very real, Sony brought the hammer down on gamers." No more discs, PS3 and Vita storefronts closing, and movies vanishing into the digital aether: Choice has taken aim at every single rake that Sony has stepped on this year. "While the EULA lays out the licensing rules, the PlayStation Store’s payment process does not," it explained. "The checkout process so frequently and consistently uses the term 'purchase' that customers could reasonably interpret it as ownership, rather than licensing." It highlights that if the PlayStation Network ever goes down in this all-digital future—which it did in 2011 for almost an entire month—you would be completely unable to download the games you paid for. Or, worse yet, if your account is compromised and permanently suspended, your entire library will be lost with it. "You can’t protect your licensed media based on the current EULA, and there won’t be any alternatives once the discs go away. You’ll own nothing," Choice concludes. Brand Sony Original Release Date November 12, 2020 Original MSRP (USD) $499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) / $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital), Operating System Orbis OS Processor Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 @ 3.5 GHz Resolution 720p - 8K