Sony angered many when they announced that they would stop printing physical game discs come 2028, claiming that a majority of consumers have moved on primarily towards digital downloads. While this is in many ways the case, countries outside of the US still appear to have a strong physical presence – if Resident Evil Requiem sales are anything to go by.
As reported by industry analyst Christopher Dring, Resident Evil Requiem (which has sold a total of 8 million copies so far) achieved a good chunk of its success thanks to physical game sales.
While the US saw a heavy preference away from digital media (accounting for just 22% of sales), other regions were far more split; with the likes of France landing at 55% physical; Japan at 51%; Australia hitting 43% and UK seeing 40% of all RE: Requiem sales purchased in disc form.
Of course, this is just one game, with Capcom themselves admitting that most of their sales are digital nowadays. Still, this shows that there remains a strong group of consumers who prefer owning their games physically.
It will be interesting to see how the ratio shifts as we get closer to the 2028 deadline imposed by PlayStation.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the disc / digital split? Are you trying to purchase more games physically while you still can? Is the US skewing the general perception? Let us know down below.
