The irony writes itself. Sony spent the PS4 era proudly telling the world how easy it was to share physical games, then turned around and announced that new physical PS5 discs would be discontinued by 2028. Now Blaze, the company behind the Evercade line of cartridge-based handhelds, has made sure nobody forgets that contradiction.
Blaze posted a short clip to its social channels titled "This is how you share a game on Evercade." The format will be immediately familiar to anyone who remembers the PS4 launch era. In it, Blaze's head of communications Sean Cleaver hands a physical copy of the Neo Geo collection directly to marketing manager Ben Grunbaum. That's the whole tutorial. That's the point.
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The original clip that started it all
Back in 2013, then-PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida and vice president Adam Boyes filmed a nearly identical video mocking Microsoft's plan to tie physical Xbox One games to an internet connection via DRM. The clip became one of gaming's most celebrated pieces of corporate shade, and PlayStation rode the goodwill from it for years. The message was simple: buy a disc, own it, share it, done.
Fast-forward to now, and Sony is doing the very thing it mocked. Physical PS5 game production ends in 2028, meaning the disc format that PlayStation once championed as a consumer right becomes a casualty of its own all-digital push.
Blaze's response lands harder because the company has spent six years building the opposite of that future. The Evercade ecosystem now spans over 500 game ports spread across multiple cartridge collections, each with physical casing and manuals. The hardware range runs from the affordable Super Pocket (which recently got a Banjo-Kazooie Rare Edition) to the Evercade VS-R home console and the Evercade Alpha bartop arcade cabinet. Every single device plays the same physical carts.
Why this particular dunk connects
Here's the thing: Blaze is not a major platform holder. The Evercade is a niche product aimed at retro gaming fans, and it does not compete with PlayStation in any meaningful commercial sense. That actually makes the callback more effective, not less. A small company built entirely around physical media calling out a console giant for abandoning it carries a different weight than a rival like Xbox or Nintendo throwing shade.
The clip is clearly playful. Nobody at Blaze is suggesting Evercade cartridges replace PS5 discs for mainstream audiences. What the video does is keep the conversation alive at a moment when the physical media debate has real stakes. Developers including those behind Baldur's Gate 3 have publicly called Sony's decision "heartbreaking," and Bethesda made a point of bragging about its physical Oblivion Remastered Switch 2 cartridge within hours of Sony's announcement.
The broader argument is one that goes beyond nostalgia. Physical games have always meant the ability to lend, resell, rent, and preserve. Those options disappear with an all-digital platform. For anyone who grew up borrowing games from friends or picking up second-hand copies to stretch a tight budget, the end of discs is not just an inconvenience. It's a closed door.
What Blaze actually offers as an alternative
Blaze's catalog already includes some genuine PS1-era classics, with the Tomb Raider Trilogy available on Evercade cartridge. The upcoming Evercade Nexus hardware promises beefier specs, which could open the door to more elaborate releases beyond the retro compilations the platform currently leans on. There are already collections from indie developers like Mega Cat Studios and Bitmap Bureau in the library.
The key here is that Blaze's model is the direct inverse of where Sony is heading. Every release is physical by default, every device is built around cartridges, and the library keeps growing. That is not a coincidence in the current climate.
For players who want physical games on PS5 while they still exist, check out our Hollowbody before you buy guide for one of the more interesting physical-compatible releases worth adding to a collection. If you want to explore what else is worth picking up before the disc era ends, our full gaming guides hub covers what is worth your time across platforms.
Blaze has positioned itself well to pick up players who value owning what they buy. Whether that translates into meaningful growth for the Evercade platform depends on how loudly the physical media debate continues to echo as 2028 gets closer. Given the reaction to Sony's announcement so far, that conversation is not going quiet anytime soon. Keep an eye on the game reviews section as more physical releases respond to the shifting platform politics.
