Gamers launch week-long boycott of PlayStation – protesting refusal to play games on discs

The video game preservation community DoesItPlay called for a week-long boycott of PlayStation, asking players to turn off their consoles and log out of the PlayStation Network from August 23 to 30. There is a message on the Bluesky platform inviting everyone to join the #PSBlackout event starting tomorrow.

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“No login required, no games required, and no purchases required on any Sony platform.”says DoesItPlay.

Unfortunately, experts say these actions will not have a significant impact. This is because the last week of August is “normal,” meaning there are no major PlayStation-related events or releases scheduled during this time. On top of that, Gamescom is happening this week and the most loyal fans want to attend, which is why they’ll be absent anyway.

In the comments below the DoesItPlay post, some gamers suggested more drastic measures, including mass cancellations of PSN subscriptions for three months and even mass refunds of pre-ordered digital services. The authors of such comments believe that the actions proposed by DoesItPlay do not make much sense, since Sony will just wait this time and not react in any way to the community’s reaction.

Other users have been more aggressive in voicing their dissatisfaction with the digital-only version. One such example is hacker Cyberleek, who released gameplay footage and a full map of Leonidas’ location a week before releasing the GTA VI trailer on Netflix. Take-Two is taking steps to determine the source of the leak, but only after it became clear that the hacker apparently had a complete version of GTA VI.

The gaming industry is gradually shifting from physical media to fully digital distribution, especially with the growing popularity of Steam and the Epic Games store. However, many people don’t realize that “purchasing” a game on most of these services does not constitute ownership, a fact that Steam will have to clarify on its checkout page as early as 2024. The only major publisher currently offering full ownership remains GOG.