Industry analyst Michael Pachter has warned that Sony's decision to abandon physical PlayStation games could be the end of the second-hand games market. The move, which sees Sony stop producing physical games from January 2028, has sparked backlash from gamers and creators, including Hideo Kojima, who called it 'scary' and 'frightening'.
A petition asking Sony not to 'kill the disc' has gained over 330,000 signatures.
The decision could have a devastating impact on second-hand retailers, including the UK's largest second-hand gaming retailer, CEX. The market, worth $7.2 billion globally in 2025, could be in trouble, with over 38 percent of all video game transactions in the US last year involving a pre-owned game.
According to a report by industry analysts Dataintelo, the move will 'doom' brick and mortar retail stores, with some predicting that at least one-third of games have been sold historically as used. The games that were sold provided currency to the gamer who traded them in as cash to pay for new games.
Michael Pachter, managing director of strategic planning at Wedbush Securities, said 'Brick and mortar game retail is doomed.' The report also highlights the growing cost of new titles and a retro revival as fueling the second-hand games market.