One of the biggest retail organizations in the UK, the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, has criticized PlayStations recent decision to move away from physical discs, calls it a step backwards. The association, better known as ERA, represents some of the UK's biggest video game retailers, including Game and Amazon, which are among the most popular retailers for PlayStation users in the country looking to buy physical games.
In their official statement, the ERA made it clear that physical discs are still a significant part of the UK video games industry. “The total disc-based gaming market was valued at over £300 million by 2025,” said the association's chief executive, Kim Bayley. Bayley also said that, according to ERA data, around 25% of UK players under the age of 25 use physical discs for games.
Removing records does not represent progress, says ERA CEO
In a statement released on July 2, a day after Sony announced it would phase out PlayStation discs in 2028, ERA CEO Kim Bayley said: “Consumers deserve the freedom to choose how they buy their entertainment. Eliminating discs does not represent progress. It simply removes choice. It's bad for gamers, bad for retailers and ultimately bad for our long-term gaming industry health.” Bayley added that physical records can be “shared with family, traded in, collected, preserved and, most importantly, still played years from now.” However, digital games offer none of these freedoms.
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One of the first to draw attention to the ERA's statement was Christopher Dring, who discussed Bayley's stance on the July 13 episode of his The Game Business podcast. But alongside Bayley's comments, Dring also shared other insights that paint a clearer picture of the physical gaming market and how it may be affected by PlayStation's no-disc policy. According to The Game Business host, “45% of all physical console games sold in the UK last year were PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 titles.” He also said, “Physical games generated $1.6 billion in the US in the 12 months ending May 2026.”
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Image via Sony -
Image via Sony -
Image via Sony
ERA has argued that the demand for game discs has not disappeared. “Dealers see this demand every day,” the CEO said. Many have also pointed out that PlayStation discs are often cheaper than their digital counterparts, suggesting that it may become much more challenging for budget-conscious gamers to purchase games in an all-digital world. Addressing corporate push towards digital media, ERA said, “Digital distribution has changed the game and is hugely popular, but it should complement physical formats, not replace them.”
Christopher Dring also echoed ERA's opinion, saying that one of “PlayStation's iconic marketing slogans is 'For the Players', but with this decision it's more 'For the Profit Margin'.” However, he also admitted that it is difficult to be too critical of the Japanese company. With the gaming industry in a state of crisis due to issues such as ongoing RAM shortages, Dring said companies like Sony, Xbox and Nintendo have limited options to cut costs while keeping gaming an affordable form of entertainment.
He also said, “Sony will feel, rightly so, that players will only buy digital. And that they will accept that, however grudgingly. But the company will certainly want to consider ways to strengthen its digital proportions, and find ways to make up for some of the things that players lose by abandoning disc.”
