Nintendo will not follow Sony's example and abandon physical game copies - analyst
The company has its own strategy, which is not influenced by competitors' actions.
Sony's decision to completely stop producing physical game discs for PlayStation starting January 2028 continues to spark active discussions in the gaming industry. Despite the general trend towards digital distribution, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella believes that Nintendo will not repeat this step.
In a new interview, Piscatella stated that Sony's abandonment of physical media was only a matter of time. According to him, the market has long been moving towards digital sales, and player preferences and manufacturers' strategic decisions are only accelerating this process.
According to the analyst, after Sony's announcement, there is practically no doubt that the next-generation consoles – PlayStation 6 and Project Helix from Xbox – will be distributed exclusively in digital format.
At the same time, Piscatella is confident that Nintendo will continue to adhere to its own strategy and will not change its plans due to competitors' actions.
Nintendo will remain Nintendo. I see no reason why the company would change its plans just because Sony or Microsoft decided to do otherwise.
He believes that the Japanese company will most likely maintain support for physical editions at least until the end of the Nintendo Switch 2's lifecycle. One reason is the strong dependence of retail chains on Nintendo products, which in recent years has shown high sales of both consoles and games. The launch of Switch 2 was particularly successful.
However, Piscatella emphasized that a complete abandonment of boxed products does not mean the disappearance of games from store shelves. According to him, retailers will be able to sell boxes with digital codes, collector's editions, souvenir products, and other special sets. However, consumer spending on physical versions of games will continue to decline.
Speaking about the long-term consequences of Sony's decision, the analyst admitted that it is impossible to predict further developments yet. According to him, the industry is only beginning to adapt to such serious changes, so in the coming days and weeks, the situation may develop in the most unexpected ways.
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