Sony has confirmed it will stop pressing PlayStation discs from January 2028, and one question followed fast: will Nintendo do the same? Circana analyst Mat Piscatella doesn’t think so. His verdict was blunt: “Nintendo is going to be Nintendo.”
That line fits decades of company history. It also matches how Nintendo usually treats hardware, formats, and its own audience.
Why Nintendo won’t copy Sony
Nintendo has spent thirty years taking a different route from Sony on media formats. In 1994, Sony launched the original PlayStation on CD-ROM. That move helped make disc-based gaming the industry standard. Nintendo stuck with cartridges anyway, and that choice shaped a full console generation. Piscatella’s comment points to a pattern that still matters.
For PlayStation owners, the 2028 cutoff marks a real shift. Retail shelves will not go empty. New games will still appear in boxes on launch day. After that point, though, those boxes will hold a download code instead of a disc. Sony says the change reflects where buying habits have gone, with digital sales overtaking physical ones.
The timing tracks with a wider industry move toward digital games. Sony’s announcement arrived shortly after Rockstar confirmed Grand Theft Auto 6 will ship without a disc. If you want the fuller picture of how GTA 6 compares with its predecessor beyond the disc question, our breakdown of GTA 6 versus GTA 5 covers the story, map, and graphics changes worth knowing about.
Players are pushing back
The community reaction has been loud, and much of it has been angry. A petition asking Sony to reverse course has reportedly crossed 48,000 signatures. Social media and forum threads include comments like “PS5 will be my last console.” Some players now say they may leave PlayStation hardware behind entirely.
Some of that frustration had already been building. A June 2026 PS5 firmware update delivered only a stability fix. Players who expected new features felt let down, especially after earlier updates added read receipts and new reaction emojis. Those are small additions, but the reaction fed a bigger feeling that Sony is not listening.
The larger concern is ownership. Without a disc, can players resell a game, lend it to a friend, or keep access if a storefront closes later? Those questions echo the concerns raised in our look at what digital versus physical PlayStation purchases actually mean for players. They will not fade just because Sony says the market has moved on.
Many players accept that digital distribution keeps gaining ground. That does not mean they like it. Sony now has to measure the gap between acceptance and enthusiasm.
Will PlayStation stop selling physical games entirely? Not immediately. Retail boxes will still exist after January 2028, but they will contain download codes instead of discs.
Is Nintendo expected to drop physical cartridges too? Analysts do not expect that. Nintendo has often avoided following Sony’s lead on media formats.
Why is this happening now? Sony points to a long-term shift toward digital purchases. Rockstar’s disc-free plan for GTA 6 reflects the same trend.
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