Sony is pulling even further back from physical media, ending shipments of its last standalone Blu-ray disc player in Japan. It’s a decision that might be hard to argue with economically, but it’s one that’s likely to rub some consumers the wrong way, as the question of media ownership becomes even murkier.
Sony Japan has discontinued its last dedicated Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, and has made no announcements about a successor. While the US versions of the UBP-X700 are still available at retail, Sony notably often makes first moves in Japan before rolling them out to other markets.
Sony did not reply to a request for comment about the fate of standalone Blu-ray players in the US.
The company is, however, in the midst of a significant pullback from physical media. Earlier this year, it announced plans to stop producing physical game discs for all new PlayStation titles starting in January 2028. While just 15% of the PlayStation games sold in the fourth quarter of last year were physical copies, the move still caused something of a firestorm among PlayStation owners, who resented having the option taken away from them.
The protests grew louder in September, when Sony said in an unrelated legal filing that digitally purchased games are not owned by the players. Instead, it argued, players purchase a license, which can be revoked at any time. That’s an argument that’s likely to resurface if Blu-ray players go away.
If Sony is, in fact, pulling out of the Blu-ray hardware space altogether, that will leave Panasonic as the only major electronics brand still actively making the device. Samsung exited the market in 2019. LG stopped manufacturing them in 2024.
The dwindling number of players doesn’t mean Blu-ray discs are going away anytime soon, however. While the popularity of physical discs has been declining for some time, sales of Blu-ray films and television shows were up 12% in 2025 compared with 2024, according to the Digital Entertainment Group. And in the first half of 2026, aggregate spending on Blu-ray discs was up 5.5%.
Culling products
Standalone Blu-ray players appeal to cinephiles in a way that embedded players in other systems (like the PlayStation 5) do not. They support technologies like Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos and often offer a higher resolution picture.
But consumers are opting for convenience over detail these days, which has trimmed the market. Sony, meanwhile, is in the midst of a campaign to exit several businesses where it was once a leader. The company has sold most of its TV operations to TCL. And earlier this month, it announced plans to exit the car audio business.
The changes to its electronics unit are so considerable that Sony has said it will not attend 2027’s CES, which is the leading tech showcase of the year.
Blu-ray, like DVDs and VHS tapes before it, was never destined to be a forever product. But it remains the best format for high-quality video, some 20 years after its introduction. 4K streaming is offered by several services, but can be highly dependent on the user’s Internet connection.
Sony, meanwhile, has long been a champion of physical media. Just a few years ago, it famously taunted Microsoft for launching a digital-only gaming system. So retreating from Blu-ray in addition to physical games is a move that was bound to cause controversy. – Inc./Tribune News Service
