Sony’s PlayStation Puts a Nail in Physical Media’s Coffin

索尼 PlayStation 给实体媒介钉上了棺材板

Bad news for fans of physical media: Sony has announced that it is abandoning game discs. 对于实体媒介的粉丝来说，这是一个坏消息：索尼宣布将放弃游戏光盘。

In a blog post published Wednesday, Sid Shuman, senior director of global content communications at PlayStation, wrote that from January 2028, “physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued.” Shuman added that the decision is down to “consumer preferences” and the broader entertainment industry shifting away from physical discs to digital, and that he feels “this is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs.” 在周三发布的一篇博客文章中，PlayStation 全球内容传播高级总监 Sid Shuman 写道，从 2028 年 1 月起，“PlayStation 主机上所有新发布游戏的实体光盘生产将停止。”Shuman 补充说，这一决定是基于“消费者偏好”以及整个娱乐行业从实体光盘向数字化的转变。他认为，“这是索尼互动娱乐公司适应消费者趋势的自然方向，因为大众对数字媒体的偏好已显著超过了实体光盘。”

The blog is a mere three paragraphs but raises several questions about Sony’s decision and its impact across the console gaming industry going forward. The main one that many gamers are likely leaping to, though, is “What is Sony thinking?” 这篇博客虽然只有短短三段，但引发了关于索尼这一决定及其对未来主机游戏行业影响的诸多质疑。许多玩家脑海中浮现出的第一个问题恐怕就是：“索尼到底在想什么？”

Sizing Errors

尺寸的困境

Sony’s decision does have some merit. The vast majority of video game sales—across the entire industry, not just PlayStation—are digital downloads. There’s a convenience to being able to buy, install, and play from your couch that even online shopping for a physical copy cannot match. A digital-first approach also expands the market for smaller developers and publishers, who can deliver their games to players without worrying about the added cost and stress of production or distribution. 索尼的决定确实有其合理之处。整个行业（不仅仅是 PlayStation）绝大多数的电子游戏销售额都来自数字下载。那种坐在沙发上就能购买、安装并游玩的便利性，是网购实体版游戏所无法比拟的。以数字版为主的策略也为小型开发商和发行商扩大了市场，他们无需担心生产或分销带来的额外成本和压力，就能将游戏交付给玩家。

At the other end of the industry, many “triple-A” games are now bigger, in file size, than can fit onto a physical disc in the first place. A triple-layer 4K Blu-ray can hold 100 GB of data; for games already exceeding this limit, the “on disc” release is usually a bearer token or installation pack for the digital edition. There’s no viable successor disc format, and even if there were, speed matters too—a solid-state drive can load and run a game much faster than data read from an optical disc. Maintaining disc releases when they no longer meet the needs of gaming as a medium is a bit of a fool’s errand, especially as Valve’s Steam Machine is about to make an all-digital claim to players’ living room gaming time. 在行业的另一端，许多“3A”大作的文件大小已经超过了实体光盘的容量上限。一张三层 4K 蓝光光盘只能容纳 100GB 数据；对于已经超过此限制的游戏，“光盘版”通常只是一个数字版的激活码或安装包。目前并没有可行的后续光盘格式，即便有，速度也是关键——固态硬盘加载和运行游戏的速度远快于从光盘读取数据。当光盘不再满足游戏媒介的需求时，继续维持光盘发行有点像是在做无用功，尤其是考虑到 Valve 的 Steam Machine 即将以全数字化的方式抢占玩家的客厅游戏时间。

However, there is also backlash against an all-digital future for the medium. The much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI has made waves over the past week after developer Rockstar Games confirmed it would only arrive as a digital release, and “physical” copies would contain only a download code. While Rockstar’s decision is probably down to all those issues with getting a massive game onto discs in 2026, the furor shows there is still demand for physical releases. 然而，对于全数字化的未来，业界也存在抵制声音。备受期待的《侠盗猎车手 6》（GTA VI）在过去一周引发了轩然大波，因为开发商 Rockstar Games 确认该作将仅以数字版形式发布，所谓的“实体版”仅包含一个下载码。虽然 Rockstar 的决定很可能是出于将庞大的游戏塞进 2026 年的光盘中存在诸多困难，但这种愤怒表明，市场对实体版游戏仍有需求。

Who Owns Your Games?

谁拥有你的游戏？

At the moment, the move has a whiff of Microsoft’s disastrous reveal of the Xbox One in 2013. Back then, it planned to effectively neuter the secondary market by locking discs to specific consoles. Under the earliest iterations of the plans, once you’d installed the game you’d bought, the disc itself became a glorified coaster—trading it in, reselling it, or even returning it would have been so laborious and bureaucratic that it became unfeasible. The move was hugely unpopular, and Microsoft was forced to backtrack. Sony canning discs entirely risks making the same mistake. 目前，这一举动让人想起了微软 2013 年发布 Xbox One 时的灾难性决策。当时，微软计划通过将光盘锁定在特定主机上来彻底扼杀二手市场。根据最初的计划，一旦你安装了购买的游戏，光盘本身就变成了一个昂贵的杯垫——想要以旧换新、转售甚至退货，其流程之繁琐和官僚，使得这些操作变得不可行。这一举措极不受欢迎，微软最终被迫撤回。索尼彻底取消光盘的做法，冒着重蹈覆辙的风险。

It also raises questions over content ownership without a hard copy. We’re already seeing problems with digital purchases through PlayStation’s storefronts. PlayStation recently announced it plans to remove more than 550 Studio Canal titles from the digital libraries of British consumers starting September 1, due to content licensing agreements. It is at least the second time such a removal has happened. 这也引发了关于在没有实体副本的情况下，内容所有权归属的问题。我们已经看到了通过 PlayStation 商店进行数字购买所带来的问题。PlayStation 最近宣布，由于内容许可协议，计划从 9 月 1 日起从英国消费者的数字库中移除超过 550 部 Studio Canal 的影片。这至少是此类移除事件第二次发生。

At the time of writing, there is no indication that consumers will receive any compensation or refund for their Studio Canal purchases, with Sony bluntly stating that “you will no longer be able to access your previously purchased content from Studio Canal, and it will be removed from your video library.” 截至撰稿时，没有任何迹象表明消费者会因购买 Studio Canal 的内容而获得任何补偿或退款。索尼直言不讳地表示：“您将无法再访问之前购买的 Studio Canal 内容，它将从您的视频库中移除。”

With games about to crest over the $100 price—GTA VI, again, for its Ultimate Edition—the thought that someone could similarly entirely negate and wipe a purchase at an undefined point in the future is terrifying. WIRED reached out to Sony for comment but did not immediately receive a response before publication. 随着游戏价格即将突破 100 美元大关（以《GTA VI》终极版为例），想到未来某天有人可能会以同样的方式彻底否定并抹除你的购买记录，这令人感到恐惧。《连线》（WIRED）杂志已联系索尼寻求置评，但在截稿前未立即收到回复。

The cost of games through digital storefronts is also under scrutiny of late. Less than two months ago, Sony reached a $7.85 million settlement in a class action lawsuit claiming it forced players to buy through its own PlayStation Store, so cutting out the physical disc market will require careful handling to avoid even a hint of monopolization. 数字商店的游戏价格最近也受到了审查。不到两个月前，索尼在一项集体诉讼中达成了 785 万美元的和解，该诉讼指控其强迫玩家通过自家的 PlayStation Store 进行购买。因此，砍掉实体光盘市场需要谨慎处理，以避免出现任何垄断的嫌疑。

There’s some good news on this front at least. Shuman’s post says Sony will “continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games,” which indicates some degree of competition in pricing and availability between retailers when the change comes into force in 2028. 至少在这方面还有一些好消息。Shuman 的文章称，索尼将“继续优先配置资源，推动玩家获取游戏方式的创新，并为玩家提供购买新游戏渠道的选择”，这表明当 2028 年这一变革生效时，零售商之间在定价和供货方面仍将存在一定程度的竞争。

Retro Apocalypse?

复古游戏的末日？

A retreat from physical media could have wide-reaching consequences for future backward-compatibility support. In a companion blog post, also published Wednesday, Shuman announced that Sony will discontinue the digital PlayStation Store for the legacy consoles PlayStation 3 and the handheld PlayStation Vita. 放弃实体媒介可能会对未来的向下兼容支持产生深远影响。在周三发布的另一篇配套博客中，Shuman 宣布索尼将关闭针对老旧主机 PlayStation 3 和掌机 PlayStation Vita 的数字 PlayStation Store。

Again, somewhat understandable: The PS3 is 20 years old this year, and the Vita turns 15 in December. However, it’s a grim portent for collectors or retro gamers. While many of those platforms’ games were released physically, giving players something to hunt down, what happens when the PS5 is considered a retro console and its storefront is switched off? Will its library disappear? 同样，这在某种程度上是可以理解的：PS3 今年已经 20 岁了，Vita 在 12 月也将满 15 岁。然而，这对收藏家或复古游戏玩家来说是一个不祥的预兆。虽然这些平台上的许多游戏都发行过实体版，让玩家有迹可循，但当 PS5 被视为复古主机且其商店被关闭时会发生什么？它的游戏库会消失吗？

Sony’s decision has an impact beyond games, too. Sales of 4K Blu-rays in the US actually grew in 2025, bucking the all-digital trend as consumers showed a growing preference for owning their movies and TV. Currently, a PS5 or Xbox Series X is the best and easiest way to own a disc player. 索尼的决定影响的不仅仅是游戏。2025 年美国 4K 蓝光光盘的销量实际上有所增长，逆转了全数字化的趋势，因为消费者表现出对拥有电影和电视节目所有权的日益增长的偏好。目前，PS5 或 Xbox Series X 是拥有光盘播放器最好且最简单的方式。