A Blackout Protest Over Sony Ditching Disks Is Brewing

from the revolt dept

Sony’s decision to stop producing PlayStation discs starting in 2028 was met with a ton of initial backlash, especially in the wake of Sony reminding its customers yet again that a digital purchase of content isn’t actually a purchase of content at all and what you’ve bought can be ripped away from you with the barest of notice. But for some, including this writer, there was an assumption that the initial backlash is where this would all end. After all, the anti-consumer nonsense around digital products has been happening for over a decade now and little if anything has been done about it. Some others assumed that feckless gamers would end up just accepting the fate that Sony has planned for them.

And maybe they still will, but it seems that some folks are at least attempting to put up a fight first. Some activists have organized what they are calling the PSBlackout, attempting to get PlayStation owners to not make a purchase or even log into their consoles for a full calendar week in August, all in protest of Sony going disc-less.

As spotted by Push Square (via Eurogamer), the “PSBlackout” protest was announced by the game preservation and consumer rights group DoesItPlay last night on July 26, and it’s already starting to pick up some steam on social media. 

DoesItPlay has scheduled the protest to run from August 23 to August 30, and asks that those who take part refrain from logging into, playing, or purchasing any content on PlayStation-related platforms during the week-long blackout. 

“Whether it’s closing beloved studios like Bluepoint, pursuing a misguided live-service strategy, cancelling fan events, leaving PS VRS2 to die, or being completely out of touch with the franchises players want to see return, PlayStation has never felt more disconnected from its community,” reads DoesItPlay’s statement on X. “Ending physical discs in 2028 feels like the last straw.”

Now, Sony’s strategy for dealing with online and customer backlash in the past has been to simply wait it out. The company has also very clearly decided to employ that strategy in this case as well. Given enough time, Sony believes the anger will wane and be replaced by complacency, ultimately allowing the company to have its way.

A week long non-participation protest by PlayStation gamers, even if gets wide participation, is not going to cripple Sony. It’s not going to cripple any of its first-party or secondary studio partners. But it will make a statement at the very least, which might just be enough to make Sony’s ostrich routine no longer tenable.

And it’s not as though PSBlackout is the only form of backlash brewing over all of this.

Plus, provided news of the planned protest reaches enough ears, there’s certainly a sizable enough contingent of pissed-off fans out there ready to mobilize. The “Don’t Kill The Disc” Petition has continued to gain momentum over the last few weeks, having shot up from roughly 120,000 signatures on July 6 to just over 345,000 signatures on July 27.

Physical media shouldn’t go away. Not entirely, at least. The current consumer rules around digital purchases aren’t good enough to protect customers. There’s too much risk in non-preservation of gaming culture if everything is digital, thanks largely to copyright laws. And there’s still a sizable percentage of customers that want their shiny discs.

Now we’ll see if this protest gains momentum, or if the feckless gamer cliche is true.

Filed Under: ownership, physical media, playstation, protest, psblackout, video games

Companies: sony