Sony’s move to drop PS5 discs by 2028 echoes a 2009 Nintendo prediction

Sony’s reported plan to stop producing physical PlayStation 5 game discs starting in 2028 has revived a prediction late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made during a 2009 investor meeting about the pace of the video game industry’s shift to digital distribution.

Iwata told investors at the time that while digital downloads would eventually become the dominant way people bought games, the transition would take far longer than some expected. “Most radical people even dare to say that retailers will be replaced by digital distribution in no time,” he said. “But personally, I think it will still require a significant amount of time… in 20 years or so, I might say it will have probably changed.”

The comments have resurfaced on Reddit after being shared in an earlier Kotaku report, as discussions about the future of physical games gain momentum following recent announcements. Rockstar Games said in 2026 that Grand Theft Auto VI will be digital-only, with no physical copies planned.

Physical formats remain available elsewhere in the market: Xbox has not announced plans to discontinue discs, and Nintendo has introduced Game-Key Cards, resellable physical cartridges that function as licence keys rather than storing full games. Iwata served as Nintendo’s president from 2002 until his death in 2015.