It's no secret that the world is shifting towards a digital future each and every year. For people who aren't interested in buying physical media, digital media makes accessing movies, TV shows, music and video games way more convenient because you never have to fiddle with a disc or wonder if you broke it when it's not working.  But the dark side to digital media that many consumers need to be aware of is that you're buying a license to access media digitally, and that license won't last forever.

For enthusiasts in the know this isn't new,  on June 31st, 2026 PlayStation announced that nearly 500 movies would be removed from the digital libraries of consumers on September 1st, 2026 due to "changing licensing agreements" even though people had already bought it. With physical media, the company who sold it to you can't just come to your house and take it away from you because a licensing agreement ended, so why should that be the case for digital media.

The shift towards digital media and the increasing costs of physical formats is letting companies become cocky. Consumers are often locked into buying things from only one store, paying one flat price and sometimes having to be periodically online to ensure that you can even access your media. But years back even if you bought something like a DVD player, you had the choice to choose where you bought your media whether it'd be from a retail store, Mom And Pop shop, a garage sale or from a friend. Imagine if you bought a new Ford and 10 years down the line Ford busts your garage open and destroys the car in front of your eyes because they no longer have the right to put a specific set of volume knobs on their cars anymore, sounds insane right.

And an all-digital future is already on it's way, on July 1st, 2026 PlayStation announced that they would cease making physical games for PlayStation consoles in January 2028. Apart from this angering enthusiasts who have been with PlayStation, this will do immense damage to game preservation and ease of access to video games.  Games that originally didn't do well have been able to find new fans years after their release due to the spread of physical copies. It allows them to be resold to new people and have their fanbase widen. And while there are ways to lend games digitally like the Virtual Game Card system on Nintendo Switch, it isn't as easy and seamless as lending a physical copy.

Having other ways to purchase media also allows consumers to pay a fair price for media. Imagine If you could only get Super Mario Galaxy and Galaxy 2 from the Nintendo eShop and they charge $70 for 2 15+ year old games, when the most expensive modern games the same price. Something like that shouldn't be the norm. 

This might seem like it's just for video games, but I want the same amount of customer good will to be shown with movies,, TV and music too. By signing this petition, you'll play a part in urging the government to make laws that prevent companies from removing digital goods from customer's libraries, and to keep physical media alive. Let's own something, and be happy!