Sony's decision caused outrage and controversy
Sony has just suddenly sent a notice to its PlayStation customers in the UK that it will remove 551 movies from StudioCanal from their accounts, starting September 1.
If a user has purchased any of the movies on the list of 551 movies that will be removed, they will no longer be able to access and view the content. Prominent among the movies that will be deleted include "Terminator 2", "Apocalypse Now", "From Dusk Till Dawn" (From Dusk Till Dawn)...
Notably, Sony will not refund those who have purchased movies, and does not have any solution to download purchased movies to users' devices or transfer to external devices.
Sony said the copyright licensing agreements between the company and StudioCanal (France) were the reason behind this sudden decision to remove. However, Sony only made a superficial announcement, with a list of movies that would be removed, without any apology to customers, making many users feel angry because they were not taken seriously.
Sony began selling movies and video games on the PlayStation Store online store in 2008.
On the PlayStation 3, users could copy purchased content and movies to other devices for viewing; however, this feature was later removed on the PlayStation 4 and 5.
Many market analysts believe that Sony's decision is a bad precedent for users, as they do not actually own the digital content they have purchased. Instead, users are only licensed to view the content until the distributor wants to stop providing it.
Sony stopped releasing physical game discs
Another move related to the Japanese technology company, Sony said it will stop producing physical discs for all new games released on the PlayStation system, starting from January 2028. This move marks a complete transition of game publishing and game sales to online platforms.
According to Sony, online game downloads account for about 80% of the company's game revenue in fiscal 2025, showing that users tend to buy games on online platforms rather than buying physical game discs like before.
However, releasing games online will force users to buy game consoles with larger hard drives, instead of being able to play games directly on discs like before.
"Removing physical game discs will help Sony improve profits, but will require larger storage capacity on game consoles, which will make game consoles increasingly expensive," commented Joost van Dreunen, Professor at Stern School of Business (New York University, USA).
In addition, Sony also said it will begin closing the PlayStation Store online store on older PlayStation 3 and PS Vita devices, starting in some markets this year before expanding globally in 2027.
This means that PlayStation 3 and PS Vita will no longer have the opportunity to download and play newly released games because Sony no longer releases physical discs.
This is considered the "end" for Sony's older gaming consoles.
The cessation of releasing physical game discs makes many gamers feel regretful, as buying game discs has long been considered a collecting hobby for many people. In addition, buying physical game discs can help players share purchased games with friends, instead of just being able to download the game and play it on one device.