In an age of convenience, owning physical media seems like a thing of the past. Taking up shelf space and collecting clutter are meant to be yesterday’s problems when everything is available digitally on streaming. Buying a movie nowadays is as simple as clicking a button on your controller and downloading it to your PlayStation 5 or device of choice. It’s sad to see then, that if you don’t own a physical copy of your favorite movie/music/game, you might lose access to it at any moment.
Such is the case for any owners of Studio Canal movies on the PlayStation platform. Just under 600 movies are about to become unavailable for European customers. Any who purchased movies distributed by Studio Canal will no longer have access to that movie after September 1, 2026. Movies such as Terminator 2, Cliffhanger, Rambo, Hot Fuzz, The Evil Dead 1 & 2, Paddington, Robocop, Logan Lucky and Mr. Nobody to name just a few.
The announcement came as a shock to PlayStation users as there is no offer of a refund or alternative options offered by Sony. Simply, the movie you paid to have in your digital library will no longer exist after September 1, 2026. This only adds fuel to the fire for the argument that physical copies of media are the only true way to have ownership of your content. And with Grand Theft Auto VI launching with no physical disc, just a code in the box, there’s never been a more worrying time for digital content owners.
Gamers are probably more used than most to the uncertainty of digital media though. After all, we’re used to our favorite online games shutting down their servers and leaving us with just a hole in our pockets rather than content we can experience forever. Some games last longer than others (looking at you Concord) but the feeling is the same. Having the things we’ve bought taken away from us really sucks, and perhaps physical media is truly the only way to own anything forever.
With the PlayStation Store announcement coming as a shock to most, it’s a real eye-opener that digital content is temporary, and we’re really only paying for acces rather than outright owning the item. The tag line ‘Play Has No Limits’ feels a little bit egregious in this instance! And while PlayStation can be great at dropping free games to play, now knowing that there’s a time limit on everything makes it feel a little tarnished.
Content rights and licensing can be complicated and, with the digital world constantly evolving, it’s clear that ownership of anything indefinitely is a real problem. The only way nowadays to truly hold onto anything forever, is to buy and collect a physical copy of it. For example, my Grand Theft Auto: Vice City disc, when popped into my PlayStation 2, looks a lot different than anything I can buy online today. From the visuals to the soundtrack, the original version of the game now only exists in physical form, which is a little disheartening.
With pre-orders currently live for Grand Theft Auto VI and everyone hoping to play it on or before November 19, it might actually be worth holding off purchase. After all, waiting for physical copies to release will ensure you own it forever. So, give your blu-ray version of The Dark Knight trilogy box-set a kiss tonight and consider the consequences of buying digital versus physical the next time you want to play or consume some quality media content on your PlayStation 5. Play has no limits… it just isn’t true anymore!
- Brand
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Sony
- Original Release Date
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November 19, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$399.99 (Digital Only), $499.99 (Disc Drive)
- Weight
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Digital Edition now weighs 3.4 kg & base version weighs 3.9 kg