Data says way more gamers are buying digital over physical, but that doesn’t justify the choice being taken away

Digital Dominance by the Numbers

New data from Circana’s Mat Piscatella has reignited the physical-vs-digital debate, and it’s not pretty for disc lovers. According to the numbers, only two PlayStation games sold more than 10,000 physical copies in the U.S. during the week ending July 11. Year-to-date, just seven titles have cracked 100,000 physical units.

That’s a slim slice of a very big pie.

The stats surfaced in response to the ongoing anger over Sony’s plans to ditch physical games entirely by 2028. For weeks, every PlayStation social media post has been met with backlash from fans who feel the choice is being taken away. The data, they argue, doesn't tell the whole story.

Why Gamers Are Fighting Back

Here’s the thing: the numbers say most people already buy digital. But forcing the remaining holdouts to switch feels different. Taking away a choice, even one that fewer people use, rubs a lot of folks the wrong way.

Piscatella followed up with a chart showing a 15-year decline in physical spending, with only a minor uptick early this year. That trend makes Sony’s decision look inevitable. But inevitable doesn’t mean fair.

“The overwhelming majority of volume is done digitally now,” Piscatella said on June 25.

He also noted that more than half of all Xbox Series consoles in the U.S. lack a disc drive, while over a quarter of PS5s are the same. The second-hand market, he added, “doesn’t really matter.”

The Bottom Line

Let’s not kid ourselves: this is about money. Digital sales let publishers set the price, control sales, and never have to worry about a used copy cutting into revenue. It’s a better model for them, obviously, but it comes at the cost of consumer choice.

Are physical games still profitable? Sure. But not as profitable as digital. And Sony, like every other platform holder, follows the money.

What’s frustrating is the silence. Sony has yet to acknowledge the backlash, and many worry the protests will fall on deaf ears. The data might justify the move to the boardroom, but it doesn’t make it feel any less unfair to those who still prefer a disc.

For now, the fight continues on social media and forum threads. Whether it changes anything is another story entirely.