Buy, don’t own? Sony’s PlayStation licensing fight echoes a familiar crypto debate

Ken Kutaragi, the founder of PlayStation, has pushed back against fans’ anger over Sony’s plan to discontinue physical game discs in 2028, calling the backlash a “mentality issue,” as Sony separately argues in court that digital PlayStation Store purchases are revocable licenses rather than owned games.

At the Game Republic New Horizons event, Kutaragi said: “I understand that physical discs have become a metaphor for 'owning' games. I really understand that mentality,” before adding: “But nobody thinks [physical media] is necessary for a networked device like a smartphone, for example, because people feel that they will keep their content. So it's a mentality.” The backlash has drawn more than 385,000 signatures on a “Don't Kill the Disc” petition. Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden called Sony’s move a “heavily spreadsheeted decision” and said it damaged the company’s reputation.

Sony told a federal judge that no reasonable consumer believes they own the digital games they pay for on the PlayStation Store, according to an August 21 filing reviewed by Game File. The filing is Sony’s first substantive answer to a proposed class action brought in June in the Northern District of California by four California PlayStation customers. They allege that the store’s “Buy Now” and “Confirm Purchase” buttons imply ownership even though a transaction hands over only a revocable license.

Kutaragi retired from PlayStation in 2007 and is best known as the architect of the first three generations of the console; two more generations have been released since he left. He is currently serving as CEO of Japanese companies Ascent Robotics and Cyber AI Entertainment. “I really understand [why some people are upset],” he said, according to the Video Games Chronicle. “But I don’t think it’s economically reasonable. Maybe it’s a mentality issue.”

Robert Bowling, a former creative strategist for Infinity Ward who is now studio head for game studio //18.bravo, told Decrypt that publishers are the “only ones ever pushing” to cut physical game discs. He said the move can increase profit margins by reducing production costs and crush the game reseller market led by names such as GameStop. “It speaks to the divide that has formed in our industry between those who see games as just a software product,” Bowling said. “And those who see them as something more like art, entertainment, collectibles, and a lifestyle.”