Sony Interactive Entertainment (henceforth referred to as “SIE”) announced shift away from physical game production for its consoles by January 2028. This was supposedly being done “to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs.”
Needless to say, this announcement did not go over well with video game enthusiasts. SIE has been facing a lot of backlash over the decision, but they have yet to announce any sort of reversal of the roadmap leading to further frustration from the fans.
Fans have also been keeping a close eye on Microsoft and Nintendo for similar announcements for the Xbox Series and Switch 2. For the most part, the two have remained silent on the subject, but a representative from Nintendo recently spoke on the matter.
As highlighted by Kotaku, Vice President and General Manager for Nintendo in Latin America Bill van Zyll talked with Coelho when he was specifically asked about physical games.
“Historically, we haven’t had a preference for a specific format. We take consumer preferences very much into consideration,” said van Zyll on the matter.
“We also have a platform that was just launched. We’ve been around for a little over a year with the Nintendo Switch 2, and it offers both digital and physical games.
“Therefore, we have no plans to abandon physical media. We know how much fans enjoy it.”
Of course, it’s also worth pointing out that Nintendo has started charging an extra $10 for physical cartridges of games over their digital counterparts. So why wouldn’t they continue selling physical copies?
Nintendo has previously cited that this price increase is to help combat the rising costs of production of cartridge and microchips. To be fair, this does appear to check out.
“The pricing is set based on a lot of factors,” said van Zyll when speaking on that as well.
One of those factors is said to be the “cost that went into making the game.”
