Jersey gaming retailers have warned that Sony’s decision to stop producing physical copies of its own PlayStation games from 2028 will hit both local stores and the Island’s gaming community.
The technology giant said the move reflected what it described as “shifting trends in consumer preference” and means new first-party PlayStation titles released from January 2028 will be available only as digital downloads.
Existing physical games, and titles released before then, will continue to be available.
Christian Le Cornu, managing director of local gaming store Chaos, told the JEP that the announcement would remove one of the retailer’s most reliable product lines, which drives both revenue and footfall.
But it would also mean that gaming fans have to pay more.
Mr Le Cornu explained that he has always tried to keep prices down for the local gaming community, and always offered physical copies for cheaper than the physical downloads.
“We’re always cheaper for brand new games here rather than doing it as a digital download. So, using GTA 6 as an example, if you do it on the store as a digital download, it’s £69.99. If you buy it from us, it’s £59.99. So it’s a 10 pound difference there.
“Even if Sony rolled back their decision and say, you know what, we changed our minds, we’re going to continue to do discs, I’m not going to reverse my decision.”
Mr Le Cornu also noted the long-term trend from physical to digital media, dating back to when Apple introduced iTunes – but, he cautioned that the digital download codes which the company will be moving towards are not a true replacement for physical games.
One of the issues is that the codes are for one-time use, meaning that games cannot be passed around and shared, which is something popular within gaming communities.
Paul Pearson, owner of The Gaming Hub, which brings together gaming enthusiasts of all kinds, noted this.
He also cautioned that digital downloads could mean that purchasers lose access to their games at any moment.
“You don’t ever actually ‘own’ it. You’re basically buying the right to use it for your lifetime – but they can take it away from you at any point in time, even if you pay for it.
“The problem is that, because you are using a digital code that’s issued by them, if they decide, for whatever reason, they don’t want to support the game anymore, they just turn it off. You only ever own the code to access the game,” he explained.
The use of codes reducing the opportunity to borrow, share and regift games will disproportionately affect those from lower-income backgrounds, he noted.
Looking to the future, he said he would be keenly watching whether other producers follow suit. In particular, he noted that Microsoft had “always designed their consoles around the disc drive”.
He added that he believes there is “going to be a big pushback” from gamers around the world.
Stockists including Chaos on Halkett Street will continue to stock physical games until January 2028.
