So the retailers get nothing from selling the code in a box versions in their stores anymore...?

They typically get less of a cut, but it also remains to be seen if players will even buy them at all. It’s primarily the hardcore crowd that buys physical games, and currently, they’re the loudest on this issue.

Personally, I’ll be shocked if code in a box “physical” games last more than a couple of years. Once you activate the code, the physical copy becomes a coaster.

They typically get less of a cut, but it also remains to be seen if players will even buy them at all. It’s primarily the hardcore crowd that buys physical games, and currently, they’re the loudest on this issue.

Personally, I’ll be shocked if code in a box “physical” games last more than a couple of years. Once you activate the code, the physical copy becomes a coaster.

You……completely missed the point lol. It had 0 to do with the percentage drop itself and everything to do with how much money is actually being spent on physical games. That’s where the ultimate truth lies.

Physical games now cost upwards of $70 physically. Back in the day it was upwards of $60. For the entirety of 2025, only $1.5 billion was spent on physical games in the US. That figure is across all 3 console makers COMBINED! That’s not good regardless of how anyone tries to spin it. The $11.6 billion figure spent on physical games from 2008 is most likely a lot higher when adjusted for inflation.

I get the argument of percentages being skewed, but let’s not be willfully ignorant on the actual financials. It’s the same trajectory in every major gaming market outside of Japan.

Ultimately, Sony could’ve still done several different things to keep physical games going. From charging an extra $20 premium to just drastically scaling down production, but they chose to do nothing.

Those same shareholders will be the first to leave in a blink if the ship starts to flood, tho, all they care is the biggest short term profits possibly, regardless of what happens with the company or even the industry long term, and appeasing to them against your customer base interest is shooting your own foot hard, but we'll see, Sony clearly thinks it can do whatever and not even bother to address the feedback, so they are either about to be proven right or oh boy, that foot is going to have a hole much bigger than any curative than cover.

Pretty sure any company in the world you ask "would do like to do a $700M extra a year in the US alone?" (I would not divide that 1.5B in a perfect 3 way as Xbox is likely a much lower contributor).

Every single one would answer "yes, obviously" and the fact Sony is going for a "no" 100% means its not about the physical games at all, it's about the fact that if they succeed on getting rid of it while still keeping the vast majority of customers they expect to make a whole lot more than they'll lose with it and the people leaving.

And that's just the US, it surely makes so much more worldwide. Europe must have a decently better ratio for physical too for example.

Wasn't spending in 2025 down in general though?

Remember that the Switch 2 only launched halfway through the year, so not a lot of games yet to spend on and Switch 1 was on its way out. And the Xbox Series wasn't lighting up the charts either with software, so that leaves only the PS5. Whereas in 2008, you had the Wii, X360 and PS3 all tearing it up with software in addition to the DS and the PSP, all selling physical games almost entirely. So it's only natural that there would be a huge difference between those two specific years when you do also factor in that digital is much higher now on top of that.

It would be interesting to see the gradual decline of physical and rise of digital every year from 2008 to 2025 to get a better idea of how spending was distributed over the years.

They make around $750M worldwide, if I am not wrong. If we assume $700M in the US alone ( and I know you're just guessing no worries), that means physical would be essentially dead everywhere else.

But no, I don't think the answer would be "yes, obviously" because this only accounts for revenue. It's not profit. I don't believe we have any numbers whatsoever on the profit margins of physical sales. It also doesn't account for future trends where that number is only going to continue dropping (with or without Sony's announcement). 

And physical sales revenue only accounts for 11% when compared against digital sales revenue. If you added digital add on content, physical falls to under 5% based on my calculations.

Considering that $750M is accurate and for a year, it is only considering their 30% cut for third party, right? The $1.5B is for the US is for 100% of it, so not the same to compare it and say it's dead everywhere else, as it clearly isn't.

The trend was actually up for FY 2025 for physical games in total value, Q1 to Q3 had all made more money on physical games than FY 2024 in a row. Where is the future trend of it to continue dropping, as per Sony on finalcials reports?

Considering that $750M is accurate and for a year, it is only considering their 30% cut for third party, right? The $1.5B is for the US is for 100% of it, so not the same to compare it and say it's dead everywhere else, as it clearly isn't.

The trend was actually up for FY 2025 for physical games in total value, Q1 to Q3 had all made more money on physical games than FY 2024 in a row. Where is the future trend of it to continue dropping, as per Sony on finalcials reports?

According to this:

https://www.eurogamer.net/as-playstation-physical-game-sales-drop-its-no-wonder-sony-is-pushing-digital-only-consoles

They made about $953 million from physical in the fiscal year ending March 2025. If physical revenue only takes into account their cut (which is 15%, not 30%), this means people actually paid around $6.3 billion for physical, which is virtually tied with digital (not counting mtx, dlc, subscription etc).