The “PlayStation Blackout” has officially begun, as gamers are refusing to use their PlayStation consoles for any purpose for a full week. This is to send a message to Sony that they’ll be losing a lot of players if they move forward with ceasing physical disc production for video games.
The time of the blackout started on Aug. 23, and it’s set to go on through Aug. 30. It’s a movement that was announced a few weeks ago and continuously promoted on social media with the hashtag #PSBlackout. The idea is for players to log out and not use their PlayStation consoles at all during the whole time period, meaning no gameplay and especially no digital purchases. It’s a global effort, branching out in Japan, Australia, and other regions in addition to North America.
The #PSBlackout Boycott Has Started
At this time, it’s impossible to tell just how many gamers will take part in the boycott, and how much of an impact this will ultimately have on Sony’s plans. It follows the Change.org petition that was launched to try to convince Sony to continue on with physical releases. That petition has garnered over 371K signatures since launching shortly after the announcement was made. The petition’s organizers are also pleading with players to participate in the #PSBlackout movement.
“If physical media has a future, independent and specialty retailers are where it survives first. This fight is about making sure those stores are still standing,” an update posted to the petition reads. “This week also happens to be Gamescom, the biggest gaming industry event of the year, running in Cologne through August 30. Every major publisher and platform holder will be there, and press coverage will be nonstop. Let’s make sure this stays part of that conversation all week, loud enough that it’s impossible to miss.”
It continues, “That’s exactly what #PSBlackout is standing up for. Organized by the game preservation community DoesItPlay and now backed by creators across the industry, the protest runs from tonight, August 23 at 7 PM local time, through August 30 at 7 PM local time. Players worldwide are logging off, not playing, not spending a dollar on PlayStation. We’re standing behind them.”
Per Sony, physical disc production is slated to end entirely starting Jan. 2028. This applies to both Sony’s first-party games along with all third-party games released for PlayStation consoles. There may still be new games sold through physical retailers, but these versions will include digital download codes rather than an actual disc inside the case. The company has attributed the decision to how digital orders now make up the majority of video game purchases, though detractors insist there are still enough physical media collectors to justify keeping disc production going.
The petition to rescue physical discs on PlayStation can be found at Change.org.
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