One of the UK's biggest retail trade bodies, the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, has been criticized. PlayStationThe recent decision to move away from physical discs, is said to be a step back. The association, known as ERA, represents some of the UK's biggest video game retailers, including Games and Amazon, which are among the go-to retailers for PlayStation users in the country looking to buy physical games.
In its official statement, the ERA made it clear that physical discs remain an important part of the UK video game industry. “The total disc-based games market was worth more than £300m in 2025,” said the association's CEO, Kim Bailey. Bailey also said that, according to ERA data, around 25% of UK gamers under the age of 25 use physical discs for gaming.
ERA CEO says disc removal doesn't represent progress
In a statement published on July 2, a day after Sony announced it would phase out PlayStation Discs in 2028, ERA CEO Kim Bailey said, “Consumers deserve the freedom to choose how they buy their entertainment. Eliminating discs doesn't represent progress. It just removes choice. That's bad for gamers, bad for retailers and bad for the long-term health of our games.” Bailey added that physical discs “can be shared with family, traded, collected, preserved and, importantly, still played for years.” In contrast, digital games offer none of those freedoms.
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One of the first to draw attention to the ERA's statement was Christopher Dring, who discussed Bailey's stance on the July 13 episode of his The Game Business podcast. However, alongside Bailey's comments, Dring also shared other insights that paint a clearer picture of the physical game market and how it could be impacted by PlayStation's no-disc policies. 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 sports generated $1.6 billion in the U.S. in the 12 months ending May 2026.”
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Image via Sony -
Image via Sony -
Image via Sony
ERA claims that demand for game discs has not disappeared. “Retailers see this demand every day,” the CEO said. Many people have also pointed out that PlayStation discs are often cheaper than their digital counterparts, suggesting that buying games in an all-digital world can be more challenging for budget-conscious gamers. Addressing the push from big companies towards digital media, ERA said, “Digital distribution has transformed gaming and is very 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 gamers,' but with this decision, it's more 'for profit margins.'” However, he also admitted that it's hard to criticize the Japanese company too much. With the gaming industry in a state of crisis due to issues such as running out of RAM, 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 rightly realize that players will buy digital. And they will accept it, albeit begrudgingly. But the company will certainly want to consider ways to strengthen its digital ratio, and find ways to offset some of what players will lose by ditching disc.”
