PlayStation 5 consoles are now shipping with a warning sticker informing players that physical game production will end, according to IGN. The move has drawn political attention in Mexico, where federal deputy Iraís Reyes and senator Luis Donaldo Colosio are backing a complaint filed against Sony with the country's National Antitrust Commission.
In a joint Instagram statement, Colosio and Reyes accused PlayStation of charging customers for ownership while only granting them rental-level rights. The pair focused on Sony's January 2028 deadline for ending physical game support, arguing that locking new games to the PlayStation Store after that point could create monopolistic conditions, giving Sony outsized control over pricing and access while eliminating the resale market and forcing consumers to accept whatever price is set.
The statement also argued that digital purchases don't equate to true ownership, pointing to the recent removal of hundreds of digitally owned movies from PlayStation accounts as an example. Colosio and Reyes further cited the pending shutdown of the PS3 and PlayStation Vita stores, which will end new purchases of digital games in those libraries, as additional evidence of the risks facing digital-only ownership.
Their statement concluded that customers 'pay the price of an owner' but are given 'the rights of a renter,' according to a translated version of the post.
Sony's decision to phase out physical games has already faced legal scrutiny elsewhere. Last month, a commissioner said the European Union cannot stop Sony from ending physical games, stating that companies are free to offer games and services in the manner they see fit.
Separately, PlayStation is set to receive most of Sony's estimated $508 million tariff refund. Despite this and ongoing lawsuits, there are currently no apparent plans for Sony to issue refunds related to previous PS5 price hikes.