End of physical discs will give gaming companies a power-up over players

 

EXPERT COMMENT: End of physical discs will give gaming companies a power-up over players

	This week, Sony announced that were going to cease production of physical discs from January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles.   It's a decision that means less consumer power for those holding the controller, according to Dr Nick Webber, Professor of Game Studies at Birmingham City University (BCU) and co-lead of the Game Cultures research cluster at the university’s Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research(BCMCR).

	It's even easier for game companies to control, and remove, access to games. Credit: BCU

	“Sony's announcement of the end of physical media is unsurprising, given that the majority of video games are now bought digitally,” said Dr Webber.   “But, for both players and for people working in games preservation, the removal of discs from the PlayStation ecosystem, and likely also from XBOX, represents an important shift.   “These changes have to be understood alongside recent, unsuccessful attempts to place legal duties on game providers to support preservation processes and provide ongoing access to games.   “For example, in 2024 the US Copyright Office refused to grant a games preservation exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and just last month, the Stop Killing Games campaign was rebuffed by the European Commission.   “Unfortunately for players, the end of physical media represents a power shift which makes it even easier for game companies to control, and remove, access to games.   “For game preservation experts, this change will increase the difficulty of preserving games without the explicit permission of game developers and publishers, as the focus shifts away from challenges such as bit rot and media degradation, and onto the relationship between collecting organisations and IP owners instead.”