Sony’s decision to retire physical PlayStation discs sparked a wave of industry reactions — from jokes to outright disappointment

Sony has made the controversial decision to axe production of physical PlayStation games going forward in 2028, sparking massive debates regarding game preservation and whether or not piracy is the only way to preserve them.

This decision has been met with universal vitriol from gamers, mocking the company for what they feel is ultimately Sony shooting themselves in the foot while making funny jokes about it on social media.

Even some of us here at Windows Central are baffled by Sony's decision, asking, "What's the point of a console without discs?" as PC gaming offers more ways to preserve games and allow players to own games they buy without DRM restrictions via GOG, for example.

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In fact, it's garnered so much attention that big-brand companies in and outside of the gaming industry have started making various responses to Sony on social media, making fun of the company while supporting gamers who prefer physical media.

First off, we have Domino's Pizza, of all things, making this humorous response mocking Sony's decision on X, stating that they'll be "ceasing production of physical pizzas and shift to production of digital pizzas only" and saying that "Consumers will be able to download our full range of delicious pizza codes, and using the power of imagination, enjoy them in an entirely virtual sense."

One of Domino Pizza's biggest rivals, KFC, also made a similar response on its Spanish X account, saying via translation, "BREAKING NEWS: KFC will stop offering its physical format starting today. Its products can only be consumed through its app in fake PNG format."

The VPN company, ProtonVPN, also responded with a rather hilarious joke announcement on X by saying that it will make its services entirely physical starting April 1st, 2027.

It will send smart employees to your current location to help with FAQs and tech support, and mail encrypted letters, among other funny services meant to mock Sony's decision.

Not all responses are entirely satirical, however. The online rental retailer, GameFly, took to X to announce its disappointment in Sony's decision to axe physical PlayStation games.

It believes in the power of physical entertainment media and will continue to support gamers and collectors who prefer physical media by proclaiming, "We are committed to renting physical media, be it games or movies until they pry the discs from our soft, moisturized hands".

The gaming collectible and vinyl retailer, iam8bit, expressed similar disappointment in Sony regarding this decision on X. iam8bit states that physical games are a vital part of game preservation, ownership, and consumer choices, values which the retailer has believed in for a decade and will continue to do so while proudly shouting "Long live physical media".

There's no doubt that many more companies will respond to Sony regarding this industry-changing decision, both satirical and serious in the weeks to come.

But will these responses, as well as massive gamer backlash, cause Sony to reverse this decision as well as backpedal on its equally controversial decision to close the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita digital stores?

Stay tuned to find out as we keep on further developments regarding whether more companies make similar responses to Sony's decision and what Sony plans to do next.

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