Sony is the first company to bid farewell to CD, DVD, and Blu-ray production. As per reports, Sony will abandon the production of these physical formats. This commercial strategy by the company will be gradual, leaving aside optical storage media, that is, CD, DVD, and Blu-ray.
Digital formats continue to prove they are the future of consumption and seem to be dealing a heavy blow to physical formats. This is because it was announced that Sony will no longer invest in the manufacturing of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. This news has left many saddened on social media.
Sony has conducted a round of layoffs at its recordable media manufacturing plant located in northern Japan. Reportedly, Sony’s media manufacturing division in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, will cut 250 positions, with some affected employees being offered early retirement plans. The affected department handles the development of all physical media formats. This layoff is part of Sony’s strategy to slow down in the physical media sector, with plans to eventually cease production of physical media, including Blu-ray discs. Sony will eliminate 250 positions from the writable media division as it eradicates CD, DVD, and Blu-ray production.
Currently, Sony’s Tagajo factory employs a total of 670 staff members. It’s uncertain if the remaining employees will be “safe,” as industry reports suggest Sony will “gradually cease production of optical disc storage media products, including Blu-ray discs.”
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However, it’s noted that the production of pressed optical discs (ROM discs) at Sony will not be affected by these layoffs. Only the production of recordable discs like CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, and BD-Rs will see reductions. Consumers of physical media should not overly worry about the impact of Sony’s optical storage production cuts, as these discs are primarily manufactured for the music, video, and gaming markets. The president of Sony’s physical media division has reportedly assured communities that the layoffs at optical media production facilities will not affect pressed disc production. Clearly, as optical discs gradually fade from the view of personal computer users, Sony’s gradual phase-out of recordable/rewritable disc production seems inevitable.
Despite the rise of streaming affecting storage media and digital content becoming the new choice for users, Sony and Microsoft still release gaming consoles that support discs. Some enthusiasts continue to insist on collecting and storing music, video, and game content on physical media (discs). However, manufacturers must acknowledge a concern: physical media storage remains popular among users because properly stored discs do not face issues like those associated with purchased digital content becoming unusable or inaccessible. Nevertheless, as physical media sales decline, users are being pushed online. Fans of physical media argue that this method offers better audiovisual fidelity compared to streaming.
