Sony's move away from discs could potentially destroy the multi-billion dollar market for used games, consoles, and accessories, according to analysts
Sony's decision to stop producing discs with new releases for PlayStation starting in 2028 poses a serious threat to the used games and gaming goods market, writes CNBC. So much so that there are risks of it collapsing.
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According to estimates by the analytics company Dataintelo, the global market volume in 2025 was $7.2 billion. Nearly half of this amount — 42.3% — came from the console segment, i.e., the consoles themselves, games for them, and various gaming accessories. In 2034, analysts expected to see a turnover of $13.8 billion, but now their forecast is unlikely to come true.
As a result, after Sony's discontinuation of discs, retailers will lose a significant part of their income. As CNBC reported, analyst Michael Pachter from Wedbush stated that historically, at least a third of physical game editions are resold, and the money earned this way is then spent by gamers on purchasing new games. Now this scheme will be disrupted.
“Traditional retail gaming is doomed,” Pachter declared.
Analyst Kazunori Ito from Morningstar agrees with Pachter and is convinced that due to Sony's actions, the used games market will gradually shrink until it collapses.
It is worth mentioning that Sony itself called its decision natural and explained it as an adaptation to consumer trends. According to their reports, PlayStation disc sales are increasingly declining each year, while the share of "digital" is growing, making it ultimately more profitable to abandon physical editions.