Sony stops selling digital game codes at physical retailers

PlayStation 4 owners who like to buy downloadable game codes directly from physical stores will soon run out of luck. Indeed, Sony has confirmed to The Verge that it will stop selling such downloadable codes from physical retailers as of April 1st.

The report confirms a Wario64 tweet from last week, which quoted a GameStop memo, "that full digital Sony game downloads will only be available for sale on the PlayStation market" as of April 1st. Past days and Mortal Kombat 11 According to the memo, these are the only exceptions to this policy regarding full games. However, downloadable media cards and season tickets will still be available for direct purchase. It is currently unclear whether web-based retailers like Amazon will be affected by this decision.

Retail availability of digital game codes was particularly useful for players who did not use or could not use a credit card in the PlayStation Network storefront. The purchase of digital codes from a retailer also allows customers to use used physical games recovery credit and take advantage of other retailers' promotions without requiring the purchase of 39, a physical disk.

Although individual game codes are no longer available, physical customers will still be able to purchase prepaid PSN cards denominated in a new series of denominations: $ 10, $ 20, $ 50, $ 75 and $ 100. This will seem a little sterile for customers who want to buy someone a downloadable PSN game as a gift, but this will serve the same purpose for most other users.

A spokesman for PlayStation told The Verge that the decision "was made to continue to align key activities around the world," no matter what that meant. Nintendo, Microsoft, and many PC game makers continue to sell digital game codes for specific games directly at retail.

Sony's move comes at a difficult time for video game retailers. Sales and physical profits are down across the entire market, and Gamestop's share price surged 27% in January after the company failed to find a buyer for its thousands storefronts around the world. And Toys R Us, one of the country's largest physical gaming retailers, has closed down after declaring bankruptcy last year.