During Sony's recent State of Play presentation for Phantom Blade Zero, the decision to keep the live chat active resulted in a significant protest from players advocating for physical game discs. The influx of "no disc no buy" comments drowned out discussions about the upcoming action-RPG.
The controversy stems from the revelation that Phantom Blade Zero, developed by China-based S-Game, has pre-orders available solely in digital format, with no physical disc version announced. This has fueled speculation that the game may launch entirely digital, potentially aligning with Sony's longer-term plans to phase out physical media entirely by 2028. The live chat was inundated with comments critical of this digital-only approach, a sentiment frequently seen across PlayStation-related social media.
A video snippet shared on X by TheGamersJoint illustrated the scale of the protest, showcasing the overwhelming number of critical comments appearing alongside the livestream. While Sony disabled the "Top chat replay" option for the archived version of the video, commenters have continued to express their dissent in the post-stream comments. One popular comment humorously referred to the game as "Phantom Disc Zero," with many others echoing similar sentiments and barely addressing the game itself.
This protest highlights a broader conflict between players who champion physical media and the industry's shift towards digital distribution. While Sony has not indicated any change in its strategy, the persistent negative feedback creates an unfavorable public perception, particularly when comments overwhelmingly focus on one specific issue rather than the product being promoted. "It's tempting to write off these respondents, given the reality that now only 15 percent of PlayStation games are ever bought on disc," the report notes, but this statistic primarily reflects the U.S. market.
Data from other regions indicates a strong preference for physical media. In Germany, 58 percent of games are still purchased on disc, while France reports 55 percent. Even in Japan, a significant 51 percent of physical game sales were recorded for Resident Evil Requiem. Similarly, the UK sees 40 to 45 percent of games sold on physical discs. The move away from discs could disproportionately affect players in these regions, making their voices particularly relevant.
Sony's continued push towards digital-only releases, exemplified by the potential for a digital-only PS6, offers considerable advantages to the company. Digital games are cheaper to distribute, and this model removes purchasers' rights to resell games, a market from which publishers currently receive no revenue. The "no disc no buy" movement appears determined to make this transition as contentious as possible for the company.