A leading industry analyst forecasts Sony's potential abandonment of physical game releases by the PlayStation 7 launch. While the PlayStation 5 currently offers both digital and disc-based versions, market trends suggest a stronger push towards a fully digital future for subsequent consoles.
The decline of physical game releases is already evident. High-profile titles like Alan Wake 2 and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 skipped physical editions at launch. The PC gaming market is entirely digital, and Xbox's trajectory appears similarly headed, with the release of the disc-less Xbox Series S and the upcoming all-digital Xbox Series X. This has sparked speculation about PlayStation's future commitment to physical media.
Despite PlayStation's continued production of physical first-party games, digital game sales significantly outpace physical sales year-over-year. Renowned analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana recently tweeted that PlayStation might maintain physical releases for only one more generation, implying a fully digital PlayStation 7. He also projected Nintendo's continued support for physical games for two more generations, and advised Xbox users to embrace a digital-only future.
Piscatella's insights carry weight, given his role as executive director at the NPD Group, a key tracker of console, game, and accessory sales in the US market. While physical sales still contribute substantially to PlayStation's revenue, the digital share is steadily increasing, aligning with Xbox's apparent long-term strategy.
Digital game sales offer significantly higher profit margins for publishers compared to physical releases, due to reduced production, packaging, shipping, and retail costs. Therefore, despite Sony's current engagement with physical media, its promotional efforts, such as Days of Play and PlayStation Stars, subtly encourage digital spending. The eventual disappearance of disc drives from consoles is a possibility, although whether the PlayStation 7 will mark the definitive shift to a digital-only model remains uncertain.
