If you have been keeping an eye on the gaming industry lately, you know that Sony’s decision to get rid of discs for the PlayStation by 2028 has been making waves with fans. Carter, a content creator known as Carterpcs on TikTok, recently shared his thoughts on the matter in a post that has racked up nearly 1 million views. He is convinced that the move away from physical discs is a massive trap for consumers.
In his video, Carter was reacting to a comment from user echop1ayz, who argued, “It’s doesn’t matter anyway. 90% of video game sales are digital. Who cares if they get rid of physical disc.” Carter sees it differently. “First they get rid of the disc, then they raise prices on the PlayStation Store, cause where else are you gonna buy games? Then once they raise prices and every game is $100, we’ll say that’s too expensive.”
That he alleged, will lead to the introduction of a subscription, “rent it from us.” Then Carter claimed, “And then once we’re all renters, they’ll do what everyone does to renters. Screw them over and take all of their money by all means necessary. Oh, you want the new game? Sorry, that’s only the higher subscription tier. You want one 120 FPS. Sorry, that’s only premium. Oh, hey guys, uh, subscription prices were raised. Sorry about that. It’ll be like Netflix.”
He claimed that “this is exactly how Netflix happened”
Some users in the comments echoed his concerns, with one saying, “Ps5 is definitely my last console if things go like this, rather move to pc.” Another user added, “Games are about to pause automatically for ads unless you pay an extra 15.99 a month.” However, others are skeptical of the alarmism.
One commenter noted, “You do realise if you have a disc, and put it in the console, it then downloads updates so you can actually play it? What are you gaining by having a plastic disc as step one?” Another user pointed out, “Everyone always goes super worst case scenario when talking about gaming.”
This issue has already gone from social media arguments to the courts. According to Forbes, Sony is facing a $457 million lawsuit filed by the Dutch consumer group Stichting Massaschade & Consument on behalf of 1.7 million users as of a few days ago. The lawsuit argues that without physical competition, Sony’s 30% commission on the PlayStation Store will inevitably inflate prices.
Per the report, however, the choice to kill discs is destroying Sony’s own prior strategy. Andrew Ching, the marketing chair at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, explained to Forbes that Sony has historically used the existence of physical retailers and the resale market to defend itself against antitrust claims. Ching noted, “However, by phasing out physical discs, Sony essentially destroys its own defense.”
Forbes wrote that without physical options, price-sensitive consumers have nowhere to go but the PlayStation Store, where Sony holds all the cards. Additionally, considering that prior PlayStation models have been on the best-selling lists, this is a massive market. The economic reality is that physical games are often cheaper because retailers reportedly pay a lower, flat royalty to Sony, whereas digital sales are subject to that 30% “Sony tax.”
Furthermore, the resale market has always been a way for players to recoup some of their costs. Especially when you consider the rising costs of consoles, which made prior sales valuable. As Ching told Forbes, a player who trades in a $60 game for $20 is effectively paying $40 for the experience. Once that option is gone, the “willingness to pay is going to decrease,” which might lead some gamers to switch platforms or just buy fewer games.
Sony, however, has argued that they are merely following customer trends and states that 85% of game sales are already digital. Thus, Rhys Elliott, a games analyst at Alinea Analytics, told GameSpot that killing the resale market is a strategic win for the platform holder.
“Every resale and rental is value flowing to players and retailers instead of to the platform,” Elliott said. “Without discs, that converts into a fresh full-price digital sale or it doesn’t happen at all, and both outcomes obviously suit Sony better than a thriving second-hand market.”
While many thought this would be a golden opportunity for Xbox to swoop in and win over frustrated PlayStation fans, Forbes noted that Microsoft is dealing with its own massive restructuring. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently announced 3,200 layoffs and the spinoff of four studios, citing that the company had “simply spread ourselves too thin.”
Also, Xbox hardware revenue is reportedly dropping 33%, and operating margins are struggling. So it is unclear if they can actually capitalize on Sony’s current public relations crisis.
Published: Jul 14, 2026 12:24 am