Just a few days after Sony’s announcement that it would stop producing physical PS5 discs starting in 2028, the industry’s attention has turned to the competition. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, Nintendo could remain the last major console manufacturer to still rely on physical games—at least for the remainder of the Switch 2’s lifespan.
Sony’s Disc Phase-Out Puts the Industry on the Spot
As Notebookcheck reports, Piscatella commented on Sony’s decision in an interview with the British website VGC. He points to a long-standing trend: Sales of new physical video games have declined every year since the late 2000s. Although the U.S. market for physical games has recently seen a slight uptick thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2, that won’t last.
Particularly noteworthy: Piscatella considers it all but certain that both the upcoming PlayStation 6 and Microsoft’s Project Helix will be purely digital devices. While this won’t cause discs to disappear completely from store shelves, publishers are likely to continue offering download codes in physical packaging or special editions with merchandise as long as it remains economically viable.
“Nintendo is Nintendo”—no change of course in sight
When asked whether Sony’s move might also prompt Nintendo to reconsider its strategy, the analyst is skeptical: “My gut feeling tells me that Nintendo does what Nintendo wants to do, and I don’t see the company changing its plans based on what Sony or Microsoft do or say.” Furthermore, the retail sector has increasingly focused on Nintendo in recent years, a trend that is likely to intensify even further. To put this in context: Since the launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo has maintained a very high market share for physical software and hardware, a fact also reflected in the current sales charts compared to the PS5.
Nevertheless, the industry-wide shift is unlikely to have no consequences for Nintendo at all. Piscatella expects a continued decline in retail sales of physical Nintendo games, even if cartridges remain on store shelves.
A Psychological Turning Point for the Industry
According to Piscatella, Sony’s decision marks less of a genuine market shift—which took place long ago—and more of a psychological turning point: “It’s a sad day for the world of video games.” At the same time, he points out that 2026 has already brought a few surprises and that nothing is set in stone.
Conclusion
According to Piscatella, Sony’s withdrawal from the disc business is likely to be more of a symbol than a sudden break, as physical game sales have been declining for a long time. For collectors and fans of physical media, the Nintendo Switch 2—with its strong software library —will therefore in all likelihood remain the last relevant console platform on which new games are still regularly released on physical cartridges—at least as long as Nintendo itself doesn’t change course.
