'A real betrayal': Local business owners and customers react to Sony's digital-only shift

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WKBW) — The days of owning physical copies of the media you love may soon be coming to an end, and local business owners and consumers say they're not happy about it.

Last week, Sony announced that beginning in January 2028, it will no longer produce physical discs for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles. New games will be available digitally only through the PlayStation Store or at retailers in digital formats.

"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," the company said in its announcement.

But for businesses that rely on selling physical media, the news has raised serious concerns.

Ernest Laemmerhirt, owner of Gamerz Haven in Jamestown, said his business has been selling physical video games, movies and tabletop games for nearly 20 years. He said the move limits consumer choice and could drive up prices.

"From what I'm seeing, they're showing that they're raising the prices of the digital market games, while at the same time not producing a physical copy, which gives people less options," Laemmerhirt said.

WATCH: 'A real betrayal': Local business owners and customers react to Sony's digital-only shift

Lee Skwarek, products and promotions manager at PNP Games in Winnipeg, Canada, said the announcement hit particularly hard. His company started a Change.org petition that had garnered more than 200,000 signatures as of Wednesday.

"Physical media is core to my business, core to my livelihood," Skwarek said. "It's truly about owning what you pay for. It's about having that choice, and about keeping something forever that isn't reliant on a corporation's servers or literally their whim."

Skwarek said the petition's goal is to keep physical discs as an option for those who want them, not to eliminate digital entirely.

Adam Beam

"The demand is there," Skwarek said. "Setting a date to take something away that people are still so passionate about collecting and spending money on is just outright wrong."

The announcement comes as Sony also notified PlayStation users that hundreds of previously purchased movies and TV shows from Studio Canal will be removed from their digital libraries starting Sept. 1 due to expiring content licensing agreements. Titles include Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut, The Evil Dead, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and This Is Spinal Tap. No refunds have been announced.

The Federal Trade Commission has previously warned consumers about the limitations of digital purchases. In an April 2024 consumer alert, the agency noted that when you click "buy" on a digital product, what you're often getting is merely a license to access the content. That fact is often explained only in fine print in the terms of service, terms that the seller can usually change at will. If the seller itself has licensing issues with the content you bought, then your own license can become worthless.

"When you buy a physical item, you've got it. It's yours," the FTC wrote. "But when you click the 'buy' button on a digital product, it really depends."

Adam Beam

Dylan Murphy, an employee at Gamerz Haven, said the situation feels like a betrayal from a company that once mocked competitors for pushing digital-only models. "Back when Xbox One came out, Sony clowned Microsoft for the fact that they were going all digital," Murphy said. "Here we are 10 years later, they're doing the same thing that Microsoft was trying to do. It's a little bit shocking, kind of angering."

Murphy said he's concerned about the broader implications. "If buying isn't owning, then how is piracy stealing?" Murphy said.

Fellow employee and gamer Joshua Mayes echoed that sentiment, warning that higher console prices could further drive players away. "Everything going digital, everything is going to be $70 to $80 games," Mayes said. "If you don't want to spend $1,000 on a console coming up in the next couple of years, buy retro."

Skwarek noted that the shift raises broader questions about digital ownership across all forms of media.

"For the past 15 years, Sony built up this good reputation with keeping it forever," Skwarek said. "They're the leader in the clubhouse and they're the ones deciding that you shouldn't have this anymore. I think that's a real betrayal."

Laemmerhirt said he believes physical media will survive despite the push toward digital.

"I feel the digital market is going to have a deep impact on the overall media market, but I don't think the physical media market will ever go away because a lot of people still enjoy the older stuff that they can't get on the newer digital services," Laemmerhirt said.

Sony's transition will not affect games released prior to January 2028, according to the company.