Press Start may receive a commission when you buy from links on our site at no extra cost to you.
PlayStation announced that it would no longer product discs for games that launch beyond January 2028 presumably signaling that its next console (and its rumoured handheld) would play games digitally, meaning that games will only be able to be purchased for PlayStation from the PlayStation Store and as digital codes from retailers, signaling the end of the disc as we know it.
As sad as it is, it is hard to argue against this move on paper with over 85% of all games purchased on PlayStation being digital in the latest earnings report, and Capcom going as far as saying that 93% of its games purchased are digital, so it’s very, very clear that whilst this is a sad day, consumer habits reflect that if the PS6 is indeed launching late next year, that it does feel like the time for PlayStation to make this jump.
Whilst we don’t have any concrete data for Australia, I’d assume the digital split has been rising significantly, but probably isn’t at the level that it is in the US, and this is largely due to our strong and competitive retail market. I’ve been covering Aussie game prices more closely than probably anyone else over the last 15 years, and still to this day there can be a huge difference in pricing compared to RRP (and its digital counterpart which is always at the full RRP).
Looking at the last major PlayStation first-party release in Saros, it was $124.95 at the PlayStation Store which was the RRP, and EB Games aside (who always stick to RRP at launch), you could get it for $94 at Target which is a massive $31 saving, and no other retailer had it for above $109.95 meaning that you were saving AT LEAST ~$15 by buying it physically. Even if you were to buy it now, it’s still a $25 saving if you walk into Target and buy a disc copy over buying it on the PlayStation Store. 
On the third-party front, the same can be set for LEGO Batman which was $109.95 on the PlayStation Store, and $84 at Target, with no other retailer having it for over $99, so again, buying it physically meant that you were saving money regardless of whether you shopped.
Fact of the matter is that this isn’t the case for the US market, where outside of Black Friday sales and other larger sales such as Days of Play, you’re not saving ~$30 on a game at retailers at launch, who often stick to full retail price, which is why there’s been such a quicker shift to digital there, and why this hurts Aussie gamers so much.
We do know that games will still be sold in these stores, but it’s hard to imagine we will see the same discount. Even though we know that games are often sold below cost, just to get gamers into stores, it’s hard to imagine a coupon on a shelf having that same effect, so with customers locked to the likes of the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store and eShop in future, it’s very likely we will be paying full price which will hurt Aussies when taking into account how we shop for games today.
Naturally, the collector aspect of physical copies, and not being able to trade in those games also hurt, but this does seem to affect a vocal minority, as this seemingly hasn’t been an issue for that US market where 85% of all games sold on PlayStation are digital copies, but nonetheless, it will still be a change to what we know.
No matter how you look at it, whilst digital is more convenient and this could be a good thing for the ecosystem that PlayStation is trying to build with the PS6 andU its rumoured handheld counterpart, it’s a sad, sad day for gamers and particularly Aussie gamers who might see the purchase price of games raise $20-30 at launch and even more so in post-launch sales which will have a huge impact over time.
