Edmonton gamers say Sony's 2028 physical media ban will hurt resale and community

Sony's announcement that it will stop releasing physical copies of PlayStation games starting in 2028 has disappointed Edmonton gamers who say the shift threatens ownership and community trading.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," said gamer Jules Brubaker. "People have been trading DVDs and disks and cassettes and vinyls for the longest time, and that's how we share media. That's how we share things we love with each other."

The move has felt acutely at local video game stores like Nexwave Video Games in Edmonton, where decades of gaming history — from early cartridges to modern disks — line the shelves. "Companies have been trying to get rid off physical media for years now, and it seems like they're really making that push now," says Courtney Cain, Nexwave's sales manager.

Cain noted that while she prefers physical copies continue, the shift to digital could make physical disks more valuable in the resale market. Some games preserved at Nexwave over the years are already worth hundreds of dollars. "They can't take away what we already have," she said. "Lots of people are in the retro community, more join every day, so thankfully we have that to go back to."

Gamer Matthew Charuk worries that digital ownership isn't guaranteed long-term. "If you own a game digitally, you don't really own that game, and they can take the rights away from you at any moment, but they can't really do that if you have a physical copy," he said.

Sony reported in May that nearly 80 per cent of all its games sold last year were digital copies.