If games starting from 2028 for PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 6 are only available digitally, each user would need a PSN account. This would lead to exclusion in 121 countries.
What is the problem? Currently, 121 countries are said to have no access to the PlayStation Network. That’s around 62% of all countries worldwide. This means players in those regions cannot create their own PSN account for their country. Affected countries include, for example, Estonia, Jamaica, and Vietnam.
This can be due to several factors:
- In some regions, Sony previously decided that the market was too small to build the infrastructure for its own digital store.
- There are regional laws such as youth protection laws or certain data protection regulations that would entail significant bureaucratic effort. This might have been too much effort for Sony.
- In countries like Tunisia, it is legally forbidden to pay with foreign currencies like euros or dollars. However, Sony does not offer the store in Tunisian dinars – which is why it would lead to a violation of the law.
If Sony indeed stops the production of physical games by 2028, over half of the countries in the world would no longer have access to PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 6.
Debacle reminiscent of Helldivers 2
A similar debacle occurred with Helldivers 2: In 2024, Sony established the guideline that Steam accounts must be linked with the PlayStation Network in order to play the shooter on PC.
Back then, over 100 countries were excluded. Steam had to stop sales in these countries. The problem: Although the PSN requirement was later removed, the sales ban on Steam remains in place to this day in those regions.
Therefore, players who purchased the game before the PSN requirement can still play. However, new purchases are not possible in the affected countries.
Is there a solution to the problem? Should Sony proceed with the transition to a purely digital console, they would need to expand their PSN network globally beforehand. Only then would countries currently lacking PSN access have a chance to play new games.
What do you think of the dilemma? Do you know anyone affected from these countries or are you affected yourself? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Sony is currently making blunders one after another. Just recently, the company announced that it still intends to focus on service games. This particularly annoys MeinMMO editor Niko: Sony has failed with Concord and Destiny 2, yet still wants to continue focusing on service games, and I can’t take it anymore
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