A new stat is spreading fast across gaming media this week: only seven PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the US so far this year, according to Circana, the industry's data tracker, and analyst Mat Piscatella.

It's been shared everywhere in the past few days. What's missing from almost every repost is the obvious next question: is that actually a low number, or does it just sound like one?

It has no comparison point. Neither Circana nor anyone else has published what this same number looked like in 2025, 2024, or any other recent year. A stat with zero historical baseline isn't proof of a decline. It's just a number that sounds small in isolation. Before "only 7" gets treated as case closed, the obvious question is: only 7 compared to what?

The timing of the measurement matters too. This covers only January through June, before a single major Q4 release has shipped, the window that's historically the strongest for the industry. December alone accounts for roughly 11% of all US video game spending in a given year, well above what you'd expect from an average month. Measuring physical health using the six months before the year's biggest sales window and skipping that window entirely isn't a fair read of the format.

It also hides more than it shows. Neither Circana nor Sony has said how far past 100K any of these titles actually got. Resident Evil Requiem sold out at launch this year and didn't see a restock for a month, not because buyers weren't there, it sold millions of copies globally, but because far fewer discs were printed than the game could have sold. "Only 7 crossed the line" sounds a lot more dire when you don't know if that means barely over the threshold or several times past it, and when supply constraints may also be part of the story.

And it's US-only. This says nothing about Canada, the UK, Japan, or anywhere else physical retail still plays a real role.

And we don't have to guess what that looks like. As a retailer and distributor based right here in Canada, our physical game sales are up by double digits in 2026 compared to last year. That's not a coincidence, and it's not nostalgia. People are still buying physical games, in real numbers, in the middle of the exact narrative claiming they aren't.

One more thing worth asking: is the shift away from physical actually making the industry healthier? 
Xbox just went through one of the largest single layoffs in gaming history, five studios facing closure, thousands of jobs cut, tied by multiple reports directly to how Game Pass accounting handles revenue: studios hitting real player milestones were still counted as underperforming. Microsoft spent $20 billion on gaming over five years while running a margin near 3%, against an industry standard reported closer to 17-22%, and their own internal memo acknowledged the returns weren't there.

We're not suggesting digital distribution caused every challenge Xbox is facing. But it's reasonable to question whether a future built around subscriptions and digital-only distribution has delivered the healthier industry many promised. Xbox pursued that strategy more aggressively than anyone else, and it's also endured repeated rounds of layoffs, studio closures, and cancelled projects.

Sony, take a hard look at where that road leads. Killing physical isn't a step toward a safer future for PlayStation. It's a step toward becoming Xbox.

This isn't just about whether the numbers add up. Consumer choice isn't determined solely by majority preference. The value of an option isn't measured only by how many people use it, but by what people lose when that option disappears.

To be clear about what we're actually asking for: nobody is asking Sony to kill digital. Millions of people prefer it, and that's fine. We're asking for physical to remain a real option for the large number of people who still want it, the same option Sony has offered and supported for the entire PlayStation era until now.

If you haven't signed yet, now's exactly the moment.