YouTuber urges gamers to preserve physical media

In the wake of Sony announcing it will stop releasing PlayStation games on discs, a YouTuber is urging people to take extra care in preserving their physical media.

Peter Leigh, from Norwich, is known as Nostalgia Nerd on the social media platform. He said video gamers would miss the connection of owning a disc but that the format would eventually make a comeback.

Sony announced that newly released games would only be available via digital download from January 2028.

"People think physical media is going to last forever, but it doesn't," Leigh said. "Discs tend to rot after a while if you don't store them properly. It's going to start to decay... or else you might as well get something digital instead."

Leigh talks about software and technology, games, toys and magazines from the 1970s, 80s and 90s on his YouTube channel, which has had over 100million views.

He said it is important for people to look after any type of physical media to keep it in good condition.

Disc rot is the degradation of the reflective layer of a CD which can lead to data loss or corruption over time. In severe cases, the disc can become completely unreadable.

On protecting discs, Leigh said: "Keep it in the original case because they are designed to protect it.

"Don't stack them on top of each other where it can bend the discs. Don't touch the disc because that can leave acid that erodes the disc frontage.

"Be careful when you're cleaning, clean it in circles and keep them in a good environment... they'll last a lot longer than if you put them in the attic."

Sony said the move away from discs comes "as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs".

However, Leigh does not think it will "go down well".

"People are going to miss it," he said. "When you just download games it's not the same connection. Even if they remove physical discs, I think they'll make a comeback at some point.

"I think things come in cycles and people are always excited to have something physical. They've announced this change but I don't think it's going to last."

He said there is still an appeal to retro technology and software, whereas modern technology is "too clinical".

He said: "My kids are obsessed with physical media. They are obsessed with the fact you can go and buy media on a disc or a cassette and play it and it stops the overwhelm they have with online experiences and endless music and tracks and games to download.

"I think it keeps them grounded."

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.