PlayStation Execs Recreate Iconic 2013 Game-Sharing Jab—But This Time There Are No Discs

Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes, former PlayStation executives, reunited at Tokyo Game Show 2026 to recreate their legendary 2013 “Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video”—a 20-second viral spot that mocked Xbox One’s anti-consumer policies and racked up 21.3 million YouTube views over 13 years. This time, the callback stung differently. The two appeared in photos with empty hands, a pointed reference to Sony’s decision to kill physical game discs.

The reunion carries weight because of what Sony has already announced. In July 2025, the company declared it would cease physical disc production for new PlayStation games starting January 2028. That means the philosophy behind the original 2013 video—promoting player ownership and game sharing—will become obsolete on PlayStation.

**Why It Matters to Players**

The contrast hasn’t gone unnoticed. On social media, fans and physical-game advocates read the reunion as unintentional irony: Sony once positioned itself as the pro-consumer alternative to Microsoft, but is now moving toward a fully digital future that removes player choice. The account @DoesItPlay1 called the photo “seemingly mocking current anti-consumer PlayStation for killing the philosophy behind their once famous pro-consumer mockery of Xbox.”

Sony’s reasoning is financial. According to the company, new games will release “on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only” to follow “shifting trends in consumer preference.” However, the economics tell a clearer story: Sony keeps roughly 65 percent of physical first-party game revenue after retailer cuts and manufacturing costs, but claims the vast majority of digital sales. For third-party titles like Call of Duty, Sony takes only a licensing fee—around 15 percent on physical copies versus a larger cut on digital.

**The Broader Shift**

The move remains unpopular. Despite soft physical game sales, fans have kept the controversy alive. Sony has insisted the decision won’t harm its business, and analysts told IGN a reversal is unlikely. The company expects rising console costs to depress hardware sales, making software margin optimization critical.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is moving in the opposite direction: the company recently introduced a feature allowing Xbox players to digitize physical games they own. The contrast underscores how the industry’s approach to ownership and sharing has fractured—and how PlayStation’s 2013 moral high ground has eroded in just over a decade.