Sony Faces Antitrust Complaint in Mexico Over Discontinuing PlayStation Physical Media
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Sony is facing a formal antitrust complaint in Mexico filed by political figures acting as private citizens, challenging the company's decision to phase out physical PlayStation media by 2028 over concerns of monopolistic control, digital lock-in, and the elimination of the secondhand market.
The fallout from Sony deciding to end PlayStation disc manufacturing by January 2028 is moving far beyond angry social media replies and community backlash. As originally reported by Levelup, Mexican politicians Irasema Reyes and Luis Donaldo Colosio are preparing a formal complaint with the nation's National Antitrust Commission. While both serve in Mexico's Movimiento Ciudadano party, they are filing the action as private citizens to target what they view as deeply anti-competitive and anti-consumer business practices.
The core of the complaint focuses on market control and consumer choice. If physical media disappears, players lose the ability to shop around for competitive prices at traditional retailers, and the thriving secondhand and game trading markets vanish entirely. Reyes and Colosio argue that Sony would effectively become the sole distributor and absolute controller of its ecosystem, potentially violating Mexico's Federal Economic Competition Law by eliminating retail competition and locking players into a single digital storefront.
The lawmakers also highlighted broader digital ownership concerns, pointing to Sony's controversial removal of hundreds of movies and TV shows from user accounts without refunds as a worrying precedent for games. Furthermore, the mandatory shift to all-digital ignores infrastructure realities, leaving players in regions with unstable or slow broadband behind. As Sony maintains silence and community pressure mounts, this regulatory challenge could set a massive precedent for how digital-only console futures are contested globally.
Tags: Sony, PlayStation, Antitrust, Digital Ownership, Gaming Industry
Original article: Eurogamer