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Sanders says Platner should drop out of Maine's US Senate race
Sen. Bernie Sanders says Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner should step aside after a sexual assault allegation.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says Graham Platner should drop out of the race after sexual assault allegation
Sanders, Platner's longtime backer, joined the chorus Tuesday saying that he spoke with Platner and that "in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”
Georgia AD: No immediate plans for entertainment district, leaving door open
Univ. of Georgia AD Josh Brooks said that there are no immediate plans for an entertainment district, following in the footsteps of other SEC schools, but remains open to possibilities.
Democrats begin pulling Platner endorsements after Maine Senate candidate faces sexual assault allegation
Graham Platner denied the allegation on Monday, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
New York City health officials warn of Legionnaires' disease outbreak
NYC health officials warn residents of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak with 23 confirmed cases. Dr. Stephanie Widmer explains the bacterial pneumonia, its symptoms like cough and fever, and its curability.
NYC health officials warn of Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Central Park area
New York City health officials report a surge of 23 Legionnaires' disease cases on the Upper East Side. Dr. Stephanie Widmer joins 'Fox & Friends' to detail critical outbreak warning signs and discuss biohacker Bryan Johnson's autoimmune diagnosis.
A toxicologist's guide to reducing your exposure to everyday chemicals
There’s no such thing as a "chemical-free" life, but some simple steps can help you minimize exposures to daily chemicals.
Ghosts in Your Home? Scientists Reveal Why the Evidence Is Real - Futura-Sciences
When Science Faces the Paranormal Around the world, there are countless tales of haunted houses—manor houses in the French countryside, centuries-old British castles, and even stately homes in North America. If you’ve ever stepped into a room and suddenly felt uneasy, as if someone invisible was there with you, you’re...
Here's How the iPhone 18 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 18 Pro
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September. The devices will have a lot in common, but the latest leak suggests that the Pro Max model will take an even bigger step forward in regards to battery life. According to new filings in a Chinese regulatory database, it appears that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a 5,567mAh battery in the U.S., while the iPhone 18 Pro will seemingly have a 4,288mAh battery.
Portland ballot measure for more public say in city budget clears hurdle
Portlanders rallying to infuse the city’s budget process with more public input are a step closer to getting their proposal on the November ballot.
These Robot Legs Helped Me Hike 12,000 Steps in the Grand Canyon, Without My Cane
I wore this robot exoskeleton in the Grand Canyon to see if it could help me manage my spinal stenosis and keep pace with my athlete daughter.
Starmer faces likely row at Nato summit after US rebuke on defence spending
US ambassador to Nato has called for all allies who are ‘lagging behind’ to step up immediately
Better Than Cheddar: Step Up Grilled Cheese The Right Way With These Two Slices
For a grilled cheese sandwich that's bursting with flavor and has great texture, try using a combination of gouda and Havarti cheese together.
Projecting 4 more breakout candidates for 2026
Who could step up to boost the Cowboys this year.
Claude Fable 5 Helped Port A Native Version Of Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour To iPhone & iPad, Complete With Touch Controls And More
A step-by-step guide reveals how Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour was natively ported to iPhone and iPad, with the help of Claude Fable 5
Burcum: Minnesota's most important health care deal in years needed a referee. Ellison volunteered.
The challenging work of brokering a new 10-year deal between a feuding U and Fairview wasn't really in Keith Ellison's job description. But he stepped up anyway, columnist Jill Burcum writes.
Yankees news: Fried takes next step with live batting practice
Fried to throw batting practice today; four Yankees named All-Stars; Domínguez has biggest shot yet; June Swoon hits as Boone takes some heat; Caballero answers questions on career.
Secure the Future of Children's Health Care Coverage
Nearly half of America's children rely on Medicaid and CHIP for their health coverage. This fact sheet lays out the steps Congress must take to secure children's health care coverage for the future.
Universal Health Services (UHS) Stock May Trade At A Discount On Medicare Payment News
Universal Health Services stock has rebounded in the short term but is still down sharply year to date, which sits alongside valuation checks that currently paint the shares as looking cheap rather than stretched. After falling 28% year to date, Universal Health Services now raises the question of whether the recent bounce is simply a recovery from depressed levels or a sign that value investors are stepping back in. Expectations for solid earnings and ongoing support from Medicare payments...
George Stephanopoulos says Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding was 'so intimate,' vows were 'everything you would hope for'
George Stephanopoulos shared some details about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's 'intimate' July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden.
The 'Black Mirror' Experience made me sick to my stomach
Naturally, stepping into the world of "Black Mirror" is upsetting.
Klopp confirms Germany coach talks after Nagelsmann exit
Following Germany's shock World Cup exit on Monday, the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed on Friday that Julian Nagelsmann had stepped down as head coach, while also revealing talks with Jü...
Long Reads for the Long Weekend
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July weekend! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the last year, like I did in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2025. Let’s dive right in! Subscribe “Different Prices for the Same Ride: How Uber and Lyft Use AI to Get More Money Out of You“ by Derek Kravitz in Consumer Reports I don’t think surveillance pricing, like the kind described in this brilliant Consumer Reports article, is long for the world—it’s toxically unpopular—but we’ll see if either party takes on this issue. If I ran a political party focused on affordability, I would focus on a few pro-consumer and pro-market policies: Banning non-compete agreements. Ending surveillance pricing Eliminating junk fees (read more here...) Ensuring “right to repair” for consumer (and military!) products Capping excessive app store fees Stopping digital/algorithmic price-fixing tools. Preventing automatic subscription price increases. And more. If you want to fight inflation, there are a lot of great ways to do it quickly. Speaking of higher prices... “Secret Documents Show Pepsi and Walmart Colluded to Raise Food Prices Across the Economy“ by Matt Stoller in BIG Again, I think a political party should focus on lowering prices for consumers. And deals like this—Walmart making a deal/forcing Pepsi to offer the lowest prices at its stores and nowhere else—hypothetically lower prices at Walmart...but raise them everywhere else. “15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road“ by Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler in CalMatters CalMatters does terrific reporting in California, something the Golden State desperately needs more of, and this article is a great example of that. “PugLips: The next insanely popular thing you’ve never heard of…” by Simon Carless in Game Discover Co I thought that this parody article (and yes, it’s a parody, but I was definitely unsure at first) was hilarious and totally nailed how much tech/business journalism feels these days. Actually, three of my favorite articles this year were on hype in the video game industry, including Georg Zoller’s “The Video Game Industries Very Dark Night”—which I linked to recently and wrote a follow-up here—and Owen Mahoney’s “Derek Zoolander, Videogame Exec”. In particular, I like Mahoney’s focus on user experience as a guide to what trends will actually grab hold of customers. “The Matrix Lies“ by Evan Shapiro in Media War & Peace Evan Shapiro’s first person account of his experience with AI was hilarious. I think LLMs capabilities have significantly grown from last summer, and yet...my editor/researcher just had an abysmal experience using an LLM to do a quite basic task (which our LLM normally does each week) and the LLM made a mistake on every single data entry...along with seven different mistakes affecting twelve of the twenty or so entries, including mistakes that are explicitly spelled out in the prompt. That’s a brutal failure rate. Again, if you use AI/LLM for data collection, you need to take a lot of extra steps to verify and check the data. “Ghosts in the Balcony: A Cross-Country Trip to 58 Theaters Fighting to Survive“ by Matthew Frank in The Ankler I thought Matthew Frank’s pitch to head across America to visit theaters sounded insane aggressive at the time—at least it felt that way to someone a decade older than him; man, to be in your twenties again, am I right?—but I knew the result would be great. And it was, a terrific feature by a great young writer. Also, I loved Matthew’s recent article on who’s getting the precious few entry level jobs in Hollywood. (Hint: nepotism.) “Disney erased FiveThirtyEight“ and “Did Las Vegas get too greedy?” by Nate Silver in Silver Bulletin I love media history and analysis, and there’s no one better to get the history of FiveThirtyEight than from Nate Silver, who wrote about his personal experience in one of my favorite pieces from this year. I also loved Nate’s breakdown of what’s causing Vegas’ woes, but I’ll offer one criticism, summarized as “Might I suggest antitrust?” Many centrists/center-right/libertarian thinkers (Nate is self-described as the latter) often don’t consider consolidation or antitrust as factors in policy issues like housing, America’s military readiness, or, in this case, Las Vegas. Even if libertarians want to debunk antitrust/consolidation concerns, I’d love to read that debunking. In this case, Vegas is incredibly consolidated (though it also has been for a long time) and I’d have loved to read Nate at least contending with this factor, since he addresses almost every other potential factor for Vegas’ decline. “Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal“ by Robinson Meyer in Heatmap News I’m a big supporter of carbon removal efforts, but this nascent industry faces a lot of headwinds, including this big move most recently. I think it’s clear that solar panels and batteries should be able to get the world to its carbon footprint goals, but effective carbon renewal remains necessary to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. “AI is killing the cheap smartphone“ by David Oks LLMs and AI will impact the world in ways we’re not ready for, and already, third world countries are seeing the prices of cheap cellphones skyrocket due to the cost of chips skyrocketing. This article by David Oks is a terrific breakdown. “100 Days of Madness: Netflix, Paramount, Warner and the Future of Hollywood“ by Wade Major at Hollywood Heretic Wade Major dove deep into Hollywood/streaming’s financials in this must read piece. Not that I agree with everything in this article (read my take on Warner Bros./Paramount here) but the analysis is top notch. I think many people discount how quality thinking, regardless of the argument/conclusion, will make you a better thinker. “Erased by the UFC: Frank Shamrock, The MMA GOAT of the 20th Century“ by Nate Wilcox in The MMA Draw Newsletter Growing up playing the UFC fighting game on the Dreamcast, Frank Shamrock was my favorite MMA fighter, and this history/tribute to him was great. Other Fun Reads “The Hardest Part Of History To Tell Is How It Felt“ by Craig Fehrman at Defector “Unmasking the Sea Star Killer“ by Craig Welch at bioGraphic “What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn“ by Richard Rushfield in The Ankler Alex Rollins Berg in Underexposed on movie bumpers, pillow shots, Disney trash cinema, cult films, and Casablanca. David H. Montgomery in YouGov’s The Surveyor on punctuation marks, condiments, dinosaurs, and comic strips and kids media. “How Medium finally pivoted its way to profitability“ and “Why the best journalists on YouTube are all former Vox employees“ by Simon Owens in Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter “It’s Not Just You, Netflix Shows Have Gotten Slightly Shorter: Here’s What the Data Says“ by Kasey Moore at What’s on Netflix “Numlock Awards: How Diane Warren became the biggest loser in Oscar history“ by Nathaniel Rakich and “Numlock Awards: The Oscar Bait era is over. The Oscar Chum era is here.” by Walt Hickey & Michael Domanico at Numlock Awards
House Dems dodge questions on SCOTUS trans athlete ruling, shift blame to 'culture wars'
House Democrats mostly sidestepped questions on the Supreme Court transgender athletes ruling, pivoting to the economy and Washington dysfunction.
Dave Roberts Discusses Rōki Sasaki's Recent Struggles and Upcoming Review
Dave Roberts revealed the next steps about struggling Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki.
'Ferris Bueller' star Mia Sara stepped away from Hollywood — but still lives in L.A. for this reason
'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' star Mia Sara stepped away from acting in Hollywood, but still lives in Los Angeles to ride horses.
Inside Madonna's steamy, cheeky Grindr London album party
Step inside Madonna's "Confessions II" album launch. Yes, this is the door.
Local health providers urge caution against burns and smoke with home fireworks
UVA Health advises being wary of potential burns, and the American Lung Association advises against breathing the smoke.
Zeeland Street owner says fresh food aided recovery: ‘I had to kick Mr. Cancer to the curb.’
Zeeland Street owner Stephanie Phares shares her journey of battling Stage 3 lung cancer while continuing to run her beloved Baton Rouge restaurant. "It kept me with a routine. There was no time to feel fearful or scared," she said.
BREAKING: Julian Nagelsmann steps down as Germany head coach
According to BILD, Julian Nagelsmann has stepped down as Germany head coach after three years in charge, following the national team’s disappointing Round of 32 exit at this summer’s World Cup, wh...
Health forum gives East Texans steps to prevent heart disease death
Nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. died of heart disease in 2023, but experts say many cardiovascular problems are preventable.
'Milestone': Scientists claim to build synthetic cell, raising concerns in step toward artificial life
University of Minnesota researchers say "SpudCell" is the most life-like synthetic cell yet, able to grow, divide and pass traits to offspring.
Rich Eisen belives he’s done doing play-by-play
Rich Eisen built a second career on NFL Network almost by accident, stepping into the play-by-play chair years after he’d already made his name as a host. It appears that part of his career is now over, as he told Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina that he no longer expects to call games. “No, it is…
Timeline Emerges For LeBron James' Free Agency Decision
Even at the age of 41, LeBron James still has basketball fans around the world anxious to find out where he's heading next. Despite taking a step back at times during the 2025-26 season, James flexed his muscles during the postseason. He powered the Los Angeles Lakers to the second round, averaging ...
Oregon’s top public health official resigns
Oregon’s top public health official is stepping down from her role after two and a half years. Dr. Sejal Hathi, who joined the Oregon Health Authority in January 2024, will leave Aug. 1 to focus on family and personal priorities, the governor’s office announced Thursday. Hathi, who earns $265,488 per year, joined the Oregon Health […]
Step Into the Modern Era in EA SPORTS College Football 27 with EA Play
It's time to take the gridiron in EA SPORTS College Football 27. Get game-day ready with an EA Play 10-hour early access trial.
US service member arrested at Capitol after calling for Trump’s impeachment
A US Air Force major was arrested on the steps of the US Capitol on Wednesday after delivering a speech calling for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Oregon Health Authority Director is Stepping Down
Dr. Sejal Hathi will leave after less than three years on the job.
Oregon Health Authority director resigns after turbulent tenure at agency
Fariborz Pakseresht, former director of the state's human services agency, will step in as interim director beginning July 6.
SCOTUS just gave the rich even more political power
Those with the means can now flood the airwaves with their support of a candidate, even if their interests are out of step with the American people.
Press Release: Dangerous Fourth of July Heat Wave
Rowan County Public Health Urges Residents to Take Precautions During a Dangerous Fourth of July Heat WaveImmediate ReleaseSalisbury, NC-Rowan County Public Health is urging residents to take steps to
EMA steps up efforts on medicines for women’s health
Initiatives to map gaps, challenges and prioritise further actions
Lithium mining: a dilemma with no exit?
The quest for clean energy metals like lithium is giving rise to a bitter irony, as Stephen Williams discovers in this important book.
Is Titans' Cam Ward poised to take a step forward in 2026?
CBS Sports ranks Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward as a promising prospect despite his uneven rookie season performance.
The new presidential fitness test is a positive step, not the solution, experts say
Physical activity needs to be fun to keep kids engaged. And the test risks embarrassing them, instead.
As Aspen Acres Fire continues to burn out of control, Colorado businesses step up to help evacuees
For The First Time, Scientists Say They've Built a Synthetic Cell From Scratch
A step closer to artificial life?
Stephen A. Smith slams President Trump calling his behavior gluttonous after he made $2 billion while in office
Where is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' sign? What we know
Stephen Colbert may have said goodbye to the Ed Sullivan Theater, but has "The Late Show" left the building?
Wilton Manors business group steps up support for LGBTQ community
As Pride Month came to a close, many community leaders pointed to corporations, saying a growing number have pulled their sponsorships from Pride events amid the current political climate.
Applications Opened July 1 for Wyoming's Rural Health Transformation Funding
CHEYENNE, WY – Today, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) announced the opening of Requests for Applications (RFAs) for Wyoming’s Rural Health Transformation Program, a major initiative designed to strengthen healthcare access, improve health outcomes, and support innovative solutions for rural communities across the state. The funding opportunity represents an important step in implementing […]
British Business Bank bolsters board with four new directors
The British Business Bank has appointed four new non-executive directors across its boards, effective July 1, as chair Stephen Welton CBE is confirmed for a second three-year term
Boleslaw Wyslouch steps down as director of Laboratory for Nuclear Science
After more than 10 years at the helm of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS), Boleslaw “Bolek” Wyslouch will step down to continue research in nuclear physics as director of the Bates Research and Engineering Center, a subgroup of LNS. “LNS scientists, including Bolek himself, are world leaders in particle and nuclear physics,” says Nergis […]
Godot bans "autonomous AI agent use or vibe coded" contributions
Godot has updated its contribution policy and "take[n] steps" to reduce "demoralizing" AI contributions.
Alabama target, top cornerback reportedly makes commitment decision
Top cornerback prospect Hayden Stepp has reportedly announced a commitment between Alabama, California, and Oregon.
After Supreme Court ruling, Republicans propose banning pregnant foreigners
The proposals follow Tuesday's Supreme Court decision to uphold birthright citizenship
Sudden danger: the science and stakes of flash flood forecasting
Flash floods pose a major threat to lives and property. When it comes to researching them, understanding the rain as it falls is only half the battle. The next step is knowing how the water will move once it hits the ground.
Healthy Returns: Walmart, CVS step in to help seniors navigate Medicare coverage of obesity drugs
Medicare has started covering obesity drugs for the first time – and companies like Walmart and CVS Health are playing an important role for patients.
Boleslaw Wyslouch steps down as director of Laboratory for Nuclear Science
Boleslaw Wyslouch steps down as director of MIT's Laboratory for Nuclear Science after 10 years as its director.
A Wildlife Regulator’s Family Business Had a Permit to Renew. She Stepped In.
Jenifer Chatfield, a top official at the Interior Department, faces scrutiny from ethics experts for actions that could help her family’s business.
You won’t be able to buy new PlayStation games on discs starting in 2028
It's is a massive step toward the dissolution of physical media in games, since PlayStation holds the biggest share of the console market.
Meta names Denise Moreno as its new CMO
Denise Moreno, a marketing vet, is stepping into the role as Alex Schultz becomes Meta's first chief data officer.
VA’s top healthcare official is stepping down
As VA's undersecretary for health, John Bartrum played a leading role in the resumed rollout of its new Electronic Health Record…
‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA
Tiny, quivering spheres designed to feed and multiply raise prospect of artificial organisms to make drugs, food and fuel
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
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