PlayStation announcing it is sunsetting production of game discs in 2028 while keeping partners in the dark will go down in history as one of the most controversial decisions ever made by the Japanese giant. Following the initial disbelief, gamers are staging as many protests as they can, signing petitions and canceling PS Plus subscriptions and game pre-orders for titles such as Marvel's Wolverine, but these protests are not going to make the company backtrack, according to Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese game industry consultancy firm Kantan Games.
However, Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki selling a significant number of shares suggests that the company, at the very least, expects a massive backlash, which could put an even bigger pressure if the protests continue.
"Waiting For The Storm To Pass"
"I sympathize with physical media fans, but Sony will not reverse this decision," Toto told IGN. "They of course knew what the online reaction would look like, and they now wait for this storm to pass."
Serkan Toto also highlighted how canceling PlayStation Plus subscriptions won't move the needle much. "Sony has over 120 million active PlayStation users. Around 50 million people subscribe to PlayStation Plus. As a thought experiment, let's say 500,000 cancel in protest, that would be just 1% of that business gone — of course not enough to Sony to start rethinking. Digital is just too lucrative."
Serkan Toto isn't the only analyst thinking these protests will be ineffective. "It's really interesting seeing everyone discover (for the first time apparently) certain things that are standard. Select accounts typically get offered deals when cancelling. The 3 year account thing has been there for years," said Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners on X. "This isn't a statement on the physical disc thing by any means, but a lot of people are going "see it's working" or "they just did this now" for stuff that's just always been the case. I do think Sony will respond in some capacity given the backlash (and tbh they shouldn't have announced this until they were ready to disclose how discs would work on PS6), but i'd be surprised if they do a full reversal at this point."
PlayStation CEO Selling Stocks Suggests That Protests Could Put More Pressure On The Company
While what Serkan Toto and Daniel Ahmad said make sense, the recent actions of Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki suggest that the protest could achieve something in the long term. As reported by Tech4Gamers, a new SEC filing indicates that Totoki-san sold 56.5% of his company shares a few days after the infamous announcement. While the timing could be just a coincidence, it's still very much possible how a predicted major backlash may be one of the reasons behind this, although as Tech4Gamers noted, Jim Ryan did sell a good number of his Sony stocks before leaving the company, so this could be a similar situation.
Still, as protests continue and gamers keep reminding PlayStation how unpopular its decision is, no matter how justified, the company will eventually have to address the elephant in the room. While backtracking seems unlikely, there are definitely still ways to show how that "For the Players" isn't just a sterile marketing slogan.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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