{"id":6410,"date":"2026-09-01T16:44:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6410"},"modified":"2026-09-01T16:44:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:44:51","slug":"once-a-champion-for-physical-media-sony-is-now-telling-playstation-customers-they-dont-actually-own-the-digital-video-games-they-paid-70-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6410","title":{"rendered":"Once a champion for physical media, Sony is now telling PlayStation customers they don\u2019t actually own the digital video games they paid $70 for"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The Japan-based electronics, movie and gaming giant is facing a class action lawsuit filed in California\u2019s Northern District Court in June, in which four customers allege that the technology giant did not properly disclose that paying for a downloadable game does not grant permanent ownership or access to it. The lawsuit claims Sony\u2019s disclosures violate a 2024 California law AB 2426 that requires a warning that \u2018states in plain language that \u2018buying\u2019 or \u2018purchasing\u2019 the digital good is a license.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6408\">Cuba\u2019s schools reopen with no fuel, no uniforms and a 27% teacher shortage, as 1.4 million students head to the classroom<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Two of the plaintiffs bought Resident Evil Requiem, per the motion to dismiss. Sony argued that because two of them purchased the same game just 11 days apart, that means no reasonable consumer can assume they owned exclusive rights to a digital copy, given how anyone could buy the same \u201ccopy\u201d at any given time.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s filing states it\u2019s simply \u201cnot plausible\u201d that customers believed they owned the games outright.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the motion to dismiss, Sony argued it made it clear in its terms of service and end user license agreement that its digital games are purchased, not owned.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA reasonable user would have seen the terms of service above or directly below the action button, the user unambiguously manifested assent to the terms of service, including the arbitration provision, and the terms and arbitration provision were valid and binding,\u201d the motion said.<\/p>\n<p>Sony isn\u2019t the only video game seller responding to AB 2426. In January, GameStop customer Jake Weber sued the gaming store for allegedly violating the California law. The complaint includes a screenshot of a store page for <em>Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Arceus, <\/em>noting that the page does not include information about customers purchasing a license for the game, and not the actual game. The lawsuit is ongoing. Online PC game marketplace Steam, on the other hand, began including a warning on its shopping cart page telling customers they are buying a license to a particular game that could be revoked in the future.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sony did not immediately respond to <em>Fortune<\/em>\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to truly own the product one is paying for has increasingly become a point of contention for video game fans, and part of a growing trend of subscription fatigue that has consumers second guessing monthly fees for digital products while instead flocking to \u201canalog islands\u201d of physical media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tech companies like Sony were once champions of physical media. PlayStation uploaded a viral YouTube video in 2013, in which former PlayStation executives Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes passed a game box from one to the other.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is how you share your games on PS4,\u201d Yoshida said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The clip was lauded by video game fans. It was in stark contrast to Microsoft\u2019s rollout of digital game ownership on the Xbox One that year, restricting the trading on pre-owned games and requiring internet access to play the console\u2019s new titles, a move Microsoft quickly reversed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6406\">A new bill would tax AI tokens to fund jobs if the technology causes mass unemployment<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now, Sony has continued to lean into digital product models, announcing in a blog post in July it would cease physical disc production in January 2028 for all new PlayStation games, which can run at about $70. Rockstar Games similarly confirmed in June that its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 would only be available for digital download.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,\u201d Sid Shuman, Sony Interactive Entertainment\u2019s senior director of content communications, said in the post. \u201cThis transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite Sony\u2019s observation that more video game fans are going digital first, a growing number of young people are turning to physical media for the express purpose of being able to own entertainment that they purchase. The Recording Industry Association of America found that revenues from vinyl record sales , making 18 years of consecutive growth. A  in Great Britain from potato chip brand Pringles found that 24% own a vintage gaming console, such as a Game Boy, which was first released in 1989.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the appeal of owning media is that you can be sure you own it, according to Atlanta, Georgia-based Rudy Ramirez, a 38-year-old medical IT worker. Others might agree. According to a survey by Civic Science conducted between December 2025 and January, 37% of Gen Z said they cancelled subscriptions to at least one streaming service because of subscription fatigue. Another 87% said they felt a form of fatigue from the digital subscription economy.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnything that\u2019s digital is never yours,\u201d Ramirez told <em>Fortune<\/em>. \u201cAmazon\u2019s not going to come into your house and take your DVD movies. They\u2019re yours forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But these analog islands may not be spreading to the broader population. Despite physical copies remaining the preferred medium for console gamers, the promised convenience of digital games may just be too appealing. In 2024,  came from physical games, according to Sony.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=6404\">Apple\u2019s new CEO John Ternus once told Gen Z to \u2018never assume\u2019 they know as much as others\u2014he says it\u2019s the mindset hack that will push you forward<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A class action lawsuit alleges the PlayStation maker did not properly disclose that paying for a downloadable game is different than owning it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Once a champion for physical media, Sony is now telling PlayStation customers they don\u2019t actually own the digital video games they paid $70 for - 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