Well, it’s heating up at Sony in this row about hard media being phased out in 2028. It’s to be replaced with digital downloads. The announcement given some weeks ago has sparked outrage amongst PlayStation owners.
Sony has threatened to stop customer support and pursue legal action over harassment. The backlash to PlayStation’s removal of physical discs mounts up, with Sony not backing down under pressure despite lawsuits pending.
The behaviour of disgruntled customers is putting Sony in a position to shut down its customer service. Sony said it must protect the safety and dignity of its staff.
Sony went on to say that if customers’ behaviour and harassment continue, they threaten to suspend customer services if it continues.
Some of the behaviours noted were unreasonable demands for compensation, abuse, abusive language, threats, slander and requests unrelated to services or products and demands against individual staff members.
But Sony has only itself to blame. The backlash was caused by Sony’s decision to end DVD media production at the end of 2027. Gamers have been outraged since.
They argue that without ownership of the physical disc, you don’t own the software and that digital media is a rental totally controlled by a company.
When you buy a game now and finish it, you can sell it. You sell the disc, and it’s like proof of ownership. With digital, you personally own the license, which is tied to your PS network account and cannot be transferred or sold.
This, in turn, allows total control from Sony and more money to be made by Sony and the software developers.
Let’s be honest, abuse of any kind is not acceptable these days. People and gamers are miffed about this, but if you want to hurt Sony, hit them in their pocket; don’t abuse their staff. Buy fewer games, take the cheapest PlayStation Network subscription.
Currently, there is a petition on change.org to stop killing the disc. It’s currently up to 370 thousand signatures and growing daily.
We think Sony is in for a rough time till 2028. People have the right to complain, and this all seems like a corporate money-making scam.
