Sony's decision to ditch discs was practically inevitable, data shows
Summary
Sony will stop selling physical game discs in 2028 due to a long decline in physical game sales. Data shows that physical game sales in the US peaked in 2009 and have dropped sharply since then, with digital downloads becoming more popular.Key Facts
- Physical game sales in the US peaked at 297 million units in the year ending June 2009.
- Sales declined steadily to only 37 million physical units sold in the past 12 months.
- In 2008, 100 PlayStation games sold over 100,000 physical copies each; in 2026, only seven games have reached that mark.
- The highest selling physical PlayStation game in 2026 sold about 275,000 units.
- Total spending on physical games fell from $11.5 billion in 2009 to $1.6 billion recently, despite a small 4% rise due to Nintendo’s Switch 2.
- Digital game downloads grew as early as the late 2000s with services like Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and WiiWare.
- Sony required downloadable options for physical game cartridges starting with the PlayStation Vita in 2012.
- Some recent games skip physical releases or offer downloadable versions sold with physical packaging.
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