Embattled US Retailer Trolls Customers for Picking Digital During PSN Outage on PS5, PS4

Image: Push Square

US retailer GameStop – whose entire flagging business model is built around customers buying physical games – took a swipe at customers during the PSN outage this weekend, as it mocked players for overwhelmingly purchasing digital games.

“Bet y’all want physical games now,” it said in response to the downtime, which lasted for almost an entire day. The message, posted on X (or Twitter), went viral with over 55k likes.

Of course, contrary to common misconception, digitally downloaded games can be played on the PS5 and PS4 even when your consoles are completely offline.

However, those purchases can sometimes get locked out if you’re not playing on your primary account, as the system is not able to identify you own them. It’s a flaw that admittedly doesn’t exist with physical games.

While physical games remain an option on PS5 – and are expected to be available for the PS6 as well – there’s no question that consumers have dramatically transitioned to purchasing digital downloads, with approximately 70% of Sony’s software sales coming through the PS Store.