62 Percent Of Countries Won't Have Access To The PlayStation Store On Digital-Exclusive PS6
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Physical discs aren’t just more convenient in some parts of the world, where the average internet connection is substantially worse, they’re a requirement.
121 countries are unable to make PSN accounts, which means that they are unable to use the PlayStation Store. In a digital-exclusive future—which looks likely for the PS6 after Sony announced plans to cease production of game discs in 2028—that means everyone in those countries will be locked out from purchasing titles on the platform.
This was brought to the community’s attention by one Reddit user, who warned that there’s “no PlayStation store in Georgia, which will make Georgians unable to buy video games after 2028.” But the reality is far more alarming than one country being left out of next-gen gaming: 62 percent of countries won’t be able to use the PlayStation 6.
Only 38 Percent Of The World's Countries Will Have Access To PlayStation 6 Store
Commenters suggested workarounds like creating a PSN account for a neighboring country, and setting up a PayPal based in that region, but these are unofficial solutions that could easily be clamped down on in the future. And while Sony is still reportedly planning to launch ‘physical editions’, these will follow GTA 6’s example with a redeemable code in a box, which still requires a PSN account to use.
The reality is, unless Sony rolls out PSN in more of these 121 countries, the majority of the globe will be unable to buy games for the PS6. If you want to know who is excluded, Insider Gaming wrote an extensive list of every country without access to PSN back in 2024 at the height of the Helldivers 2 scandal. Unfortunately, in the two years since the article went live, the list has not changed.
Excluded countries include Estonia, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.
It’s no wonder that Sony is under intense scrutiny, with a $450 million lawsuit from a Dutch non-profit, and Mexican lawmakers planning to file their own antitrust complaint against the company. No discs ultimately means a digital monopoly, as the only place to buy games will be on the PlayStation Store, but that same platform will only be available to 38 percent of countries in the world.
The EU has claimed that it cannot stop Sony and other developers from scrapping physical discs, but the ramifications of a digital-exclusive future in a closed ecosystem like PlayStation are startling.
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