Sony's radical decision to cease physical disc production for the PlayStation starting January 2028 will not significantly impact the video game industry. This assertion comes from Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, who defended the digital transition during the company's first-quarter fiscal year 2027 financial results conference. The executive downplayed the fears of analysts and collectors, arguing that the shift will bring benefits to hardware pricing and market expansion.
The CEO's stance came in direct response to analyst Frédérick Duguet from brokerage firm TD Cowen. Duguet warned about the end of the used game market, a global ecosystem valued at approximately US$7 billion that allows players to resell old titles to subsidize the purchase of new releases. In the analyst's view, the loss of this option creates a financial barrier for consumers and could dampen demand for new titles.
Guillemot countered this argument by citing the evolution of PCs in recent years. The executive recalled that the complete migration to digital storefronts on PC did not shrink the industry but rather caused the sector to grow dramatically after the strengthening of platforms like Steam. Furthermore, the CEO highlighted that digital-only consoles reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating the disc drive, which will help curb the rise in console prices caused by the increasing cost of components like memory.
The gaming community's reaction to the statements was immediate and severe on social media. Gamers point out a crucial flaw in Guillemot's comparison: the PC market benefits from direct competition among various stores, such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, which vie for customers with aggressive promotions and pricing. On Sony's consoles, however, digital distribution operates as a monopoly, relying exclusively on the PlayStation Store for price setting.
Critics and users also pointed out a conflict of interest in the stance of major distributors. Digital sales deliver a much larger slice of revenue directly to game publishers, eliminating intermediaries, logistics costs, pressing, and the profit margins of physical stores.