Sony announced today that it will stop producing physical PlayStation discs, along with closing digital stores for PS3 and PS Vita. From a consumer perspective, this decision seems like a real nightmare, but what does it mean for historians specializing in video games and preservation experts?
According to experts, the impact is less than some might expect, as game preservation efforts have been preparing for this scenario for years. The real problem lies in the fact that the gaming industry still refuses to adopt any clear legislation that would make digital game preservation fully legal.
Frank Cifaldi, the director of the Video Game History Foundation, stated in a social media post:
“This is unfortunate news for anyone who prefers to buy games in physical disc form, and it is certainly a blow to consumer rights and the resale market, and to developers who rely on physical sales. But from the perspective of preservation experts, the impact isn't as significant as some may think.”
Cifaldi points out that many players confuse game preservation with keeping them available for continuous play across generations, which is what initiatives like Stop Killing Games aim for. But in reality, this aspect represents just a small part of the entire concept of "game preservation."
As he explains, most retail games throughout the history of the industry have already been preserved informally through piracy, which is certainly an imperfect solution, but it has led museums and archives not to consider there is an imminent threat to games like the original version of Super Mario Bros.
“The truth is that the vast majority of games over the past two decades were not originally designed to be console-exclusive, and even when released on discs, first-day digital updates have become almost a certainty, meaning the disc doesn't always reflect the version that the audience actually played. Therefore, museums and archives have long been preparing for this future, where reliance on discs is no longer sufficient for preserving modern games.”
This highlights how broad the concept of video game history itself is. While most players are only concerned with keeping their favorite games playable in the future, the field is much broader than that.
Who documents the history of browser games that formed an important part of the industry's evolution? What about mobile games that constantly disappear from iOS and Android stores? Who cares about documenting the development of the visual novels scene on platforms like Steam?
These games have been entirely digital from the outset, and if they are pulled from the stores, they disappear without any legal means of access. This fate may soon extend to massive releases like GTA 6 in the future.
But historians and museums face a greater obstacle: they need legal legitimacy for their work. They have spent years attempting to secure an exemption from the DMCA that would allow them to preserve digital games, yet this proposal, opposed by industry lobbying groups, was rejected by the U.S. copyright office in 2024.
“What continues to perplex us is what the industry expects us to do about this. If platform owners are moving to eliminate physical media and old stores, we need real solutions from entities like the ESA to facilitate digital game preservation and make it available for research.”
“Everyone agrees this is a serious issue, but these entities continue to oppose cultural institutions' efforts to amend digital protection laws. The industry needs to sit down at the table seriously because asking museums to download a copy of GTA 6 and rely on it still working in 50 years is not a preservation plan at all.”
I have loved video games since the days of the NES, and I prefer adventure games like Tomb Raider and Assassins Creed (before the shift to RPGs), I have no bias towards any console, for me, the best is the one that offers the most exceptional games. What matters to me are the experiences with compelling storytelling since the story is the essence of enjoyment more than gameplay.
Sony cannot escape.. the anger of players haunts it across all its platforms!