In brief
- Sony’s plan to stop making physical game discs in 2028 will hit low-income gamers around the world hardest by killing off the cheap used-game market, experts say.
- In Nigeria, downloading GTA 6’s expected 212GB pre-load could cost $25 to $60 in data, a local said, and will take nearly 13 hours at median speeds.
- Many African gamers use foreign PlayStation Network accounts, because PSN doesn’t officially support most of Africa. This breaks Sony’s terms and risks gamers losing their entire digital library.
Gamers in low-income areas will be among the hardest hit by Sony’s decision to stop producing physical game discs from 2028, experts told Decrypt, while one African games industry expert arguing the continent stands to lose out badly.
The secondary market has long been a cheap way for gamers to get hold of games. The PlayStation Store does run sales, but buying digitally assumes a decent internet connection, which rural households are less likely to have.
“By abandoning physical discs, some players at the bottom of the economic spectrum lose access to physical distribution through retail and, more importantly,
