Shuji Utsumi, president of Sega, has publicly backed physical media at a time when Sony's plan to end disc manufacturing and sales by 2028 is drawing fire from across the industry.
Utsumi's comments came in an interview with Japanese publication Famitsu, and they strike a notably balanced tone. He isn't dismissing digital distribution. Far from it. He calls a digital shift "crucial" for full console and PC titles, pointing to the growing number of players on PC as a key driver. His argument is that digital reach opens markets where consoles simply aren't available.
Here's the thing, though: Utsumi doesn't stop at praising digital. He goes further and explicitly defends the culture around physical games. "We were originally a platform provider, and of course, we still value the culture of physical media," he said. "Rather than completely abandoning that, we are currently challenging ourselves to shift so that we can think about and act on the important aspects of digital media in parallel."
That word "parallel" matters. Utsumi isn't framing this as digital versus physical. He's pushing for both to coexist, which is a direct contrast to where Sony appears to be heading.
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Sega's hardware past shapes its current stance
Sega's position here isn't arbitrary. The company spent years competing in the hardware space, from the Mega Drive through to the Dreamcast, before exiting that market entirely. That history clearly shapes how Utsumi thinks about platform dependency and consumer access.
After stepping away from hardware, Sega rebuilt itself as a publisher and has found real success in that role. Utsumi seems to draw a direct line between those hard lessons and his current belief that abandoning physical media entirely carries risk, not just for consumers, but for the broader health of the market.
A growing chorus pushing back on Sony
Utsumi is far from alone. Sohei Niikawa, creator of the RPG series Disgaea, went further, arguing that if PlayStation kills physical media, Sony should "get rid of the hardware" too. The sentiment captures a frustration shared by a vocal part of the gaming community: that selling a console without disc support feels like a half-measure at best.
Petitions against Sony's decision have been circulating, and consumer rights advocates have raised concerns about what a fully digital PlayStation ecosystem means for ownership, resale, and long-term access to games. Sony, for its part, appears unmoved.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has taken a softer line, suggesting the shift won't "disturb" the industry much. That puts the major publishers in two distinct camps, with Sega clearly on the side that thinks the physical format still has cultural and commercial value.
What this means for gamers who still buy discs
For players who collect physical games, or who live in regions where internet infrastructure makes large digital downloads impractical, Sega's stance offers some reassurance. At minimum, it signals that not every major publisher is ready to follow Sony's lead.
The practical reality is that Sega's position won't stop Sony's timeline. But it does add weight to the argument that the industry isn't uniformly behind an all-digital future. If enough publishers push back, or if consumer pressure builds, there's at least a conversation to be had about what happens after 2028.
For PlayStation fans getting ready for upcoming PS5 titles in the meantime, you can check the Saros file size and pre-load date to make sure your storage is ready, disc or no disc.
The debate over physical media isn't going away before Sony's 2028 deadline. With publishers like Sega drawing a line, and creators like Niikawa making pointed arguments about hardware legitimacy, the pressure on Sony to at least address consumer concerns will keep building. If you want to stay across all the latest gaming news and analysis as this story develops, the games.gg guides hub has you covered across the biggest releases and industry shifts.
