{"id":15762,"date":"2026-07-02T12:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/sonys-decision-to-withdraw-physical-playstation-discs-sparked-a-wave-of-industry-reactions-from-humor-to-deep-disappointment\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:18:09","slug":"sonys-decision-to-withdraw-physical-playstation-discs-sparked-a-wave-of-industry-reactions-from-humor-to-deep-disappointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/sonys-decision-to-withdraw-physical-playstation-discs-sparked-a-wave-of-industry-reactions-from-humor-to-deep-disappointment\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony&#8217;s decision to withdraw physical PlayStation discs sparked a wave of industry reactions &#8211; from humor to deep disappointment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-61241b1d-f4c2-4c7d-a8b7-d3e9ae4828cb\">Sony made the controversial decision to ax production of virtual PlayStation games beyond 2028, which sparked huge debates about game preservation and whether or not piracy is the only way to preserve it.<\/p>\n<p>The decision was met with universal vitriol from gamers, mocking the company for what they felt was Sony ultimately shooting itself in the foot while making funny jokes about it on social media.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more see-more--clipped\" id=\"elk-2072292703891857688\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet hawk-ignore\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sony &#038; Microsoft every week \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude02 pic.twitter.com\/bf4oW6HZ7H<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2072292703891857688\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2072292703891857688\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\">July 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-c25b1748-2c3a-424c-acea-5a9dd06e1b68-0\">Even some of us here at Windows Central are frustrated with Sony&#8217;s decision, asking, &#8220;What&#8217;s the point of a console without discs?&#8221; as PC games offer many ways to store games and allow players to have games they purchase without DRM restrictions with <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/tag\/gog\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/tag\/gog\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/tag\/gog\">GOG, for example.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;RPUqFy3K&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;htDlTybq&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_htDlTybq_RPUqFy3K_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;htDlTybq&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_htDlTybq_RPUqFy3K_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;E6aJDdVBhQOK9yUjR2XHDAjmCkFhHLh1aRCd14ObqmgK6fel&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:false,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos Appearing<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/iatpipp4xi1780309501.svg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/iatpipp4xi1780309501.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/iatpipp4xi1780309501.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-88617738-ef9f-4a2b-bf03-476980d00f22\">In fact, it&#8217;s gotten so much attention that major companies inside and outside the gaming industry have started making various responses to Sony on social media, mocking the company while supporting gamers who prefer virtual media.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-969b516c-9a73-4f99-8dcc-34d19b7634d7\">First, we have Domino&#8217;s Pizza, of all things, making this hilarious response to Sony&#8217;s decision to X, saying that they will <em>&#8220;stopping the production of physical pizzas and switching to the production of digital pizzas only&#8221;<\/em> and he said that <em>&#8220;Consumers will be able to download our full range of delicious pizza codes, and using the power of imagination, enjoy them in a literal sense.&#8221; <\/em><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            You might like it<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p id=\"elk-a2cb3c7c-38d4-450f-b896-3e0e72ef9f6a\">One of Domino&#8217;s Pizza&#8217;s biggest competitors, KFC, also made a similar response on its Spanish X account, saying in translation, <em>&#8220;BREAKING NEWS: KFC will stop offering its physical format from today. Its products can only be consumed through its app in fake PNG format.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The VPN company, ProtonVPN, responded with a humorous announcement to X that it will make its services completely physical from April 1, 2027.<\/p>\n<p>It will send intelligent staff to your current location to help you with FAQs and technical support, as well as encrypted e-mail correspondence, among other humorous services designed to poke fun at Sony&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8f6377e5-5eb7-44a0-9697-96011d1ec16e\">Not all answers are funny, though. Online rental retailer GameFly has taken to X to express its disappointment with Sony&#8217;s decision to pirate virtual PlayStation games.<\/p>\n<p>It believes in the power of physical entertainment media and will continue to support gamers and collectors who choose physical media by announcing, <em>&#8220;We are committed to renting physical media, be it games or movies until they take the discs out of our soft, wet hands&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><\/p>\n<p>            What you can read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Collectible and vinyl game retailer, iam8bit, expressed similar disappointment to Sony regarding this decision on the X. iam8bit says physical games are an important part of game preservation, ownership, and consumer choice, values \u200b\u200bthe retailer has believed in for a decade and will continue to do so while proudly shouting &#8220;Long live physical media&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-cb41ce85-7bce-43ad-b2bc-b030fd7b5424\">No doubt many other companies will answer to Sony about this industry-changing, ridiculous and serious decision in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>But will these responses, along with massive player backlash, cause Sony to reverse this decision and reverse its equally controversial decision to close digital stores for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita?<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned to find out as we continue to develop about whether more companies are making similar responses to Sony&#8217;s decision and what Sony plans to do next.<\/p>\n<hr id=\"elk-c365d8a3-b947-4243-8d03-b04475f35d22\"\/>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure pull-left inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1672px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:29.96%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-1200-80.png.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-1024-80.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-970-80.png.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-650-80.png.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-480-80.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-320-80.png.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj.png\" alt=\"Click to join us on r\/WindowsCentral\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-1200-80.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-1024-80.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-970-80.png 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-650-80.png 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-480-80.png 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj-320-80.png 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/rX94E5y9uUKpUAhcKF7Ruj.png\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] pull-leftinline\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-17fbb34d-fd4f-429a-bc10-13f33ea3b4b7\"><em>Join us <\/em><em>Reddit at r\/WindowsCentral <\/em><em>to share your information and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr id=\"elk-a051dd5d-d35b-4f20-b282-d13207fb39e7\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sony made the controversial decision to ax production of virtual PlayStation games beyond 2028, which sparked huge debates about game preservation and whether or not piracy is the only way to preserve it. The decision was met with universal vitriol from gamers, mocking the company for what they felt was Sony ultimately shooting itself in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-how-to-tips"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15764,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15762\/revisions\/15764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}