The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is "the leading nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation," has reacted to Sony's decision to end physical game sales in 2028.
In a blog post published on its website, not only does the digital rights group call it an "attack on our diminishing rights," but a worrying sign of what's to come.
"PlayStation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with culture digitally. Rent-seeking corporations and negligent lawmakers share the blame – and they can do better," says Rory Mir – director of open access and tech community engagement at EFF.
Mir singles out the "same playbook" used in the film, TV, and music industries that "draw in customers with the convenience of a digital download, then limit physical access and move the goalpost on what it actually means to 'own' a piece of media."
They add, "The end goal is to turn the customer into a renter, stuck making regular subscription payments for access. Gamers are right to sound the alarm, and we must take this moment to fight for digital ownership before it's too late."
The EFF notes that access to high-speed internet is required to access digital games in a reasonable time, which will affect those without access to good internet – which EFF says is still "abysmal" in terms of access in the US.
"Limiting customers to digital copies also pushes gamers further into rent-only copyright culture," Mir adds, noting that physical media comes with the "right of first sale," allowing you to resell anything you have purchased, something that obviously can't happen in a digital-first marketplace.
They also warn, "The inevitable conclusion of the move to digital-only purchases is to lock gamers into subscription models, making their access totally dependent on the distributor – or, several distributors, as we’ve seen with major TV and movie streamers."
Despite a massive outpouring of negative reaction to Sony's decision to kill off physical releases, the company has shown no signs of rethinking its approach. Nor has Rockstar Games after it announced GTA 6 will be a digital-only release.
While emulation efforts are currently underway to ensure the sort of preservation that digital doesn't - RPCS3 devs promise “75% of all PlayStation 3 games are now playable on PC” - some analysts suggest it's something people will have to get used to in time, much like "Apple removing the CD Drive from its laptops." As things stand, though, I don't see that happening just yet.
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