Image credit: Eurogamer

The backlash against Sony's proposed all-digital future continues apace this week. The company, which recently announced plans to end all physical media within the PlayStation ecosystem, has faced massive pushback on its plans to kill off the manufacture and sale of discs by 2028, with fan petitions gaining traction and negative comments swamping practically every Sony post on social media.

The most recent move against the hardware giant comes from fans attempting to organise a 'blackout' on PlayStation hardware, with angry fans planning to unplug their consoles for the week running 23rd August through to 30th August (thanks, PushSquare).

The idea behind the action is to show Sony that even one of its most valuable metrics, active and engaged players, are smarting about the decision to bin off physical media. The organiser behind the idea, taking to Twitter/X under the moniker 'Does It Play?', posted a statement explaining the idea:

"For several years now, Sony Interactive Entertainment has continued to grow further apart from its fan base," the message reads. "Whether it's closing beloved studios like Bluepoint, pursuing a misguided live-service strategy, canceling fan events, leaving PSVR2 to die, or being completely out of touch with franchises players want to see return, PlayStation has never felt more disconnected from its community."

The statement goes on to suggest that "ending physical discs in 2028" is the straw that broke the camel's back, and represents a company that "mismanages the strong position it inherited from the PS4 era".

After making some other slightly more unconnected points about forgotten franchises (Twisted Metal, SOCOM, Sly Cooper, Resistance), the statement calls on users to participate in a week-long "economic and gameplay blackout" from Sunday, 23rd August 7pm in your local timezone through until Sunday, 30th August, and 7pm in your local time, in order to send Sony a message.

"We feel this period gives publishers and developers minimal impact while still giving players a voice," the statement reads. Whilst there's credit in mass action like this - and it'll no doubt raise eyebrows at PlayStation should enough people follow suit - the statement seems to be rallying fans for even more action, suggesting that "bringing back physical games would only be meeting players halfway".

There's a lot of emotive language used in the message, but I think this is quite indicative of how strongly parts of Sony's core audience feel about this issue (even if Sony is adamant this decision is in response to consumer trends). Whether or not this latest form of protest gains enough traction to be a viable strategy for players feeling disenfranchised by Sony's latest decision remains to be seen, but it feels like the frustration in the community is reaching fever pitch.

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