Sony surprised many recently with the announcement that the company would be stopping the production of physical game discs in January 2028. While that is almost a year and a half away, many are already peering into the dark future of gaming. Shortly after the announcement, a petition on Change.org was created. This petition has since gathered major attention, with over 285,000 supporters. Unfortunately, this is where things turn dark once more, as the EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, has shared a grim outlook for the future of gaming and doesn’t think that there is anything the EU can do to stop it.
There Isn’t Much The EU Can Do
As reported by the Irish Mirror, EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, stated, “Companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit.” In other words, there is nothing that the EU Commissioner can do. He went on to explain, “It does come down to commercial and contractual freedoms.”
This isn’t the first blow that has been dealt to gamers in the aftermath of Sony’s announcement, as the European Commission decided that it would not proceed with the request to propose regulations made by the Stop Killing Games movement. The EU is not likely to put up any roadblocks to prevent Sony from moving forward with its no-disc policy, as European copyright and intellectual property laws prevent legislators from introducing regulations to stop it. The law states that there can be no regulations that directly force publishers to present, sell, or support their products in a specific manner. The EU stated it would conduct “exchanges” to “improve the management of videogames’ end-of-life.”
McGrath isn’t the first to share disappointing news about the shift to an all-digital future, as Dr. Serken Toto also shared their thoughts earlier in the month. Toto stated that Sony’s customer base is so large that if thousands of people stopped purchasing games or canceled subscriptions, the company would survive the impact.
It appears the only true way to change Sony’s mind would be if enough people cut ties with the company. So far, the petition to put an end to the digital future has over 285,000 signatures, and it is still climbing. It is unclear how many people it would take to change Sony’s mind.
