PS5 "Blackout" Protest May Have Backfired Against PlayStation Fans Fighting for Physical Games
A week-long “no disc, no buy” protest barely changed active users or engagement, Circana’s Mat Piscatella said.
- Recent data from Circana indicates that a digital boycott targeting PlayStation failed to impact player engagement, with no significant change in active users or participation rates.
- Unhappy with Sony's exclusive focus on digital media, some PlayStation users organized a boycott with the motto "no disc, no buy." Participants pledged to avoid digital games and services for one week.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment Mat Piscatella shared engagement stats on Bluesky, asking "Did you guys notice any change that could be attributed to the PS Blackout?" with no significant change detected in tracking.
- The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta ran during the boycott period, providing high engagement that likely sustained player numbers despite organized protest efforts.
- Sony remains committed to its all-digital outlook despite vocal fan opposition. The company faces a lawsuit alleging a digital game monopoly, yet the current fanbase lacks sufficient numbers to force strategy change.
36 Articles
36 Articles
PS5 "Blackout" Protest May Have Backfired Against PlayStation Fans Fighting for Physical Games
Ever since Sony announced it would discontinue physical media for PlayStation 5, fans have been vocal about their frustrations. While modern gaming has been moving more and more toward digital, players have always had the option to choose between physical and digital. PlayStation fans organized a blackout protest against Sony in light of this decision, in which players would turn off their PlayStation 5 consoles and not play from August 23rd to …
PS5 users, since Sony's announcement of the abandonment of physical disks, have not properly slept peacefully. The general discontent, it is important to emphasize, remains particularly high despite the days gone by. People who are fond of Sony or at least most have taken the news badly, so much so that they are pushed to [...] L'articolo The PS5 user strike has not brought results: the abandonment to physical disk does not falter comes from Met…
Movement that asked players to turn off PS5 did not alter users or engagement, according to Circana
Gamers wanted to teach Sony a lesson. However, the PlayStation "Blackout" proved almost invisible.
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