Mexico Takes On Sony Over Plan to Kill Physical Games
Mexico's lawmakers are challenging Sony's plan to end physical game production.
Sony's pivot toward an all-digital future is sparking legal pushback across the globe—and now Mexico is joining the fight. Federal Representative Iraís Reyes and Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio are preparing to file an anti-trust complaint against the gaming giant with Mexico's National Antitrust Commission, challenging the company's decision to stop producing physical games by 2028.
The lawmakers argue that eliminating physical media could pave the way for monopolistic practices that would ultimately harm consumers and destabilize the gaming market. It's a concern that echoes complaints already surfacing elsewhere. In the Netherlands, consumer organization Stichting Massaschade & Consument has already filed its own lawsuit against Sony, citing concerns over pricing. Meanwhile, the EU has indicated it lacks the authority to intervene in Sony's business decision to go digital-only.
What makes Mexico's move noteworthy is the explicit focus on competition law rather than consumer protection alone. By framing the issue as an anti-trust matter, the lawmakers are essentially arguing that removing physical media could give Sony—and potentially other publishers—unchecked control over pricing and distribution in the digital space, where they'd face fewer competitive pressures.
Sony has positioned the shift as inevitable, part of the industry's broader move toward digital distribution. But the backlash suggests that governments and consumer advocates aren't convinced the transition should happen without scrutiny. The company's decision to set a firm deadline of 2028 for ending physical production appears to have crystallized concerns that might otherwise have remained theoretical.
Whether Mexico's anti-trust commission will ultimately take action remains unclear, but the complaint signals that Sony's digital-only strategy is becoming a flashpoint for regulators worldwide. For consumers who prefer owning physical copies—or who simply distrust the permanence of digital libraries—the legal challenges represent a rare moment when their concerns are being heard at the policy level.
Source: IGN
