Nintendo's Cartridge Share Stands at 38.5% While Sony Abandons Discs — Here's Why

The digital ratio rose 2.2 percentage points from 59.3% in the prior-year period, continuing a gradual but steady migration . The Switch 2 sold 3.82 million hardware units in the quarter, and total software sales across Switch and Switch 2 reached 33.81 million units .

Sony's Opposite Bet: No New PlayStation Discs After January 2028

On July 1, 2026, Sony announced it will stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028 . After that date, new releases will be available only as digital downloads through the PlayStation Store or as boxed products containing a download code rather than a disc . Games released before the cutoff will continue to be sold on disc .

Sony cited "shifting trends in consumer preference" and a broader industry move away from physical media . The decision threatens a roughly $7 billion used-game resale market and has drawn significant backlash from collectors and retail partners . Industry analysts widely expect Sony's decision to have little to no influence on Nintendo's strategy, given their fundamentally different customer bases and retail relationships .

Six Factors Behind Nintendo's Stubborn 38.5% Physical Share

1. Bundled software accounting inflates the digital figure

Nintendo's "digital sales" category includes full-game downloads, add-on content, DLC, and microtransactions . The 61.5% digital share is a revenue-based metric that includes low-margin DLC and add-ons alongside full-game downloads — not a pure ratio of cartridge vs. download at retail. The actual proportion of full games sold on cartridge at retail checkout is likely higher than 38.5% .

2. Family- and kid-oriented demographic

Nintendo's audience skews younger and more family-oriented than PlayStation's core . Parents buying games for children still strongly favor physical cartridges because they can be gifted, resold, shared among siblings, and don't require setting up a child's account with a payment method. Nintendo continues to see healthy physical movement in markets where families are the primary purchasers.

3. Cartridge format has structural advantages over discs

Unlike PlayStation's Blu-ray discs, Nintendo uses solid-state cartridges that are more durable, portable, and instantly playable without installs. This format is naturally better suited to the handheld/hybrid play style of the Switch 2 — users can swap cartridges on the go in ways that disc-swapping on a living-room console never matched.

4. Limited digital pricing incentives

Nintendo rarely offers deep or frequent digital discounts compared to PlayStation. First-party Nintendo titles (Mario, Zelda, etc.) hold their value at retail for years, reducing the urgency to buy digital for pricing reasons. Physical cartridges can often be found cheaper at retail or second-hand. Notably, Nintendo recently began diverging prices in the US: the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book will cost $59.99 digitally and $69.99 physically, a move that could further incentivize digital adoption .

5. Gift and collector culture

Physical Nintendo games remain popular as gifts, collectibles, and trade-in assets. Nintendo's IP-driven, evergreen lineup (Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Zelda) lends itself to gifting cycles and shelf-display value in a way that Sony's cinematic single-player titles often do not.

6. Retail partnerships and shelf presence

Nintendo has historically maintained closer ties with mass-market and toy retailers (Target, Walmart, GameStop) than Sony. These retailers continue to dedicate significant floor space to Nintendo cartridges, and analysts note the US physical market actually saw slight growth for Nintendo in the last 12 months — even if that trend "won't last" long-term . Nintendo has also set up in-store kiosks to help encourage sales of its new system and software .

Two Different Businesses, Two Different Futures

Sony is moving to an all-digital PlayStation ecosystem by 2028, forcing consumers into its own storefront. Nintendo, by contrast, has signaled no intention of abandoning cartridges — at least not while 38.5% of software revenue still comes from physical media . Nintendo's digital share is rising, but slowly: just 2.2 percentage points year-over-year .

For now, the two giants are traveling in opposite directions — and Nintendo's numbers suggest its physical-cartridge business isn't going anywhere anytime soon.