Multiple Companies Push Back on Sony’s Decision to End PlayStation Disc Support

Sony decided to throw the video game world into chaos when it revealed that it would no longer release physical PlayStation games starting in 2028. While that is still a little ways off, it’s one of the biggest steps yet towards a mostly digital future regarding video game releases, which has been a popular topic for several years. The reaction has been swift and loud from fans, but other companies have also been quite vocal about PlayStation’s decision, and not just in the video game world either.

Several companies and organizations have responded to the news of Sony’s halt on physical games, including the Video Game History Foundation, which seeks to preserve video game history. Gamefly also released a lengthy statement about their commitment to physical media, with some lightheartedness to it, but GameStop went one further with a hilarious tongue-in-cheek response, and yes, even Domino’s Pizza chimed in as well, so let’s break down some of the statements that stand out most.

Companies Aren’t Happy About Sony’s Physical Media Plans For PlayStation

The Video Game History Foundation released a statement from director Frank Cifaldi, who not only addressed Sony’s decision to end physical releases in 2028 but also the shutdown of the PS3 and PSP storefronts. Cifaldi breaks down that the pulling away from physical media has been happening for some time now, and even when there is a physical copy, day one patches and additional updates mean that the copy of the game isn’t even preserved in its complete form until you hook it up to the internet.

Cifaldi also points out how the ESA has opposed efforts of cultural heritage insinuations to reform digital copy protection laws to make the work easier, and mentions that the industry needs to come to the table on the issue in a meaningful way, because “asking museums to download a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI and hope it’s run in 50 years is not a preservation solution.”

Gamefly released a statement expressing that they were disappointed by the PlayStation news and emphasized their belief in physical products and how they still matter. They add that it’s why they are committed to renting physical media, and said they will remain committed to that “until they pry the discs from our soft, moisturized hands.” They also added a deal to restart your service and added “Last Renters Standing” to their signature.

GameStop had some fun with their response, sharing a side-by-side picture of a customer in Ohio trading in his old Xbox 360 collection. You can see him with a bevy of games on the counter to ride in, but then the tweet says that he got over $1000 in store credit and left with new PS5 games, and the photo shows him walking out with a long receipt.

One of the most unlikely companies chiming in on this is Domino’s Pizza UK, who shared Sony’s tweet and added the caption, “makes about as much sense as us changing to digital pizzas.” Domino’s wasn’t done though, as they then tweeted the priceless response of “they took Blockbuster from us, now the gaming aisle.”

Domino’s kept going, too, as they responded to several comments. That included GameVerse’s “Pizza with code in the box”, to which Domino’s responded, “the box is digital too.” Then Road to Leonida wrote, “Imagine a pizza coming in a box with a code…. ”, to which Domino’s responded, “Hologram and pineapple.”

These reactions are far from the last we will hear of this in the lead-up to Sony’s shift, which will begin in January of 2028. PlayStation has already had a digital-only version of its PS5 console, and plenty of people have switched over to the digital-only version over the course of the console’s lifecycle.

It is ironic though, as Somy was happy to take a shot at Microsoft when the Xbox One first launched with a complicated always-online protocol, having fun with giving a physical copy of a game to the other person to show how easy it was. As of 2028, that will no longer be so easy.

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