In a class action over the word "purchase" on the PlayStation Store, Sony filed on 21 August that no reasonable consumer would believe they had acquired ownership of a game. Japanese threads treated it as a company putting into writing what buyers had suspected. On the same day, a horror game lost its Japanese PS5 release after failing to obtain a CERO rating, and the two stories were read together.
About a week after Sony announced it would end physical disc production for PlayStation, a petition drive to reverse the decision heated up on social media. Japanese netizens split between a pragmatic 'downloads are already 80%, give it up' and a defense of ownership, resale, and game preservation.
As Sony moves to halt production of physical PlayStation discs from January 2028, French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon declared games 'cultural heritage' that players have a right to own, drawing 63,000 likes and calls for legislation. Japanese netizens split hard between cultural-preservation arguments and 'digital shift is inevitable' pragmatism.
Sony will end physical-disc production for new PlayStation games from 2028, going fully digital. Overseas gamers launched PS Plus cancellation protests over ownership, while Japan's forums split between calling it an inevitable trend and worrying about losing resale and preservation.