PlayStation may be on the verge of changing the gaming industry forever. Earlier this month, the Japanese company announced that it will stop producing physical games beginning in January 2028, a decision that will affect both first-party releases and third-party titles. The move has drawn attention from governments around the world, including Mexico
Lawmakers Want Sony Investigated Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices
According to an official statement, Federal Representative Iraís Reyes and Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio will file a complaint before Mexico’s National Antitrust Commission, asking the agency to investigate Sony Interactive Entertainment—the company behind PlayStation—for alleged anti-competitive practices related to video game sales
Reyes, who earned the nickname “the gamer representative” after be<a href="https://comicvibe.com/banana-fish-is-coming-to-netflix-with-human-voices-this-time/” title=”Banana Fish is Coming to Netflix With Human Voices This Time”>coming one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed 8% tax on digital platforms introduced by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration in 2025, argued that eliminating physical games would leave the PlayStation Store as the only place where PlayStation users can purchase new games
“If discs disappear, anyone who owns a PlayStation will no longer be able to choose where to buy their games and will be forced to purchase them exclusively through Sony’s store,” Reyes said
The complaint asks regulators to determine whether Sony is using its market position to become the sole distributor of games on its platform, potentially harming both consumers and competing businesses
The filing, which the two Movimiento Ciudadano lawmakers are submitting in their capacity as private citizens and video game consumers, also argues that eliminating physical games would eliminate price competition by forcing consumers to purchase titles through a single marketplace
“Retailers such as Liverpool, Sanborns, and GamePlanet would no longer compete to sell new video games, and the second-hand and game-trading markets—which are massive—would also disappear,” Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio explained
The senator also expressed concerns about digital ownership
“Consumers would stop truly owning their video games. With digital distribution, you’re no longer buying a game in the traditional sense—you’re purchasing a license, which means access to the content depends entirely on the conditions established by the company,” he said
Lawmakers Warn About the Risks of an All-Digital Future
The statement cites two examples that lawmakers believe illustrate the risks associated with digital ownership
First, it references Sony’s removal of purchased content for European users in 2022. It also points to the company’s more recent announcement that licenses for more than 500 movies and TV shows would be revoked
According to the complaint, Sony’s strategy could create an excessive concentration of power by allowing the company to simultaneously control the console hardware, the digital storefront, game distribution, and pricing
“Sony would become both the referee and the player within its own ecosystem, and we know what can happen when a single company controls every part of the market,” Reyes stated
Colosio added that the transition to an all-digital ecosystem also ignores infrastructure disparities across the country
“By forcing everything to become digital, the assumption is that everyone has access to reliable high-speed internet, when we know that isn’t the reality throughout Mexico,” he said
The lawmakers, who are seeking support from Mexico’s gaming community, argue that Sony’s decision could create two major forms of harm
First, eliminating physical games would effectively destroy the markets for resale, lending, and collecting physical copies. As a result, Sony would become the sole price setter for games sold on PlayStation
Second, the complaint argues that game developers would also be placed at a disadvantage. Without a physical retail channel, publishers and studios would become entirely dependent on PlayStation’s digital infrastructure, subject to platform commissions and any commercial terms Sony chooses to impose in order to reach players
According to the lawmakers, this conduct could constitute a relative monopolistic practice under Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Law by increasing costs, restricting competition, denying access to an essential market infrastructure, and reducing developers’ profit margins
What do you think about this initiative proposed by Mexican lawmakers? Do you believe it’s necessary, or do you think Sony’s decision is justified? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
About the author
Ulises Contreras
Editor and writer since 2020. I love fighting games and FPS titles, even though i’m terrible at both. In my free time, i enjoy drawing, watching movies or spending hours in Mortal Kombat’s training mode
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