It's all a misunderstanding, Sony continues to produce Blu-ray discs

On January 24, Sony Japan unexpectedly announced that it would stop producing or selling blank Blu-ray discs in its domestic market. However, some stores misinterpreted the company's press release and thought that the Blu-ray format had been discontinued—no, Blu-ray is still alive and kicking.

In a press release published in the "Recording Media" section of the company's support website, Sony Japan explained that it will discontinue production of "Blu-ray Disc media", along with "MiniDiscs for recording" and "MD Data Discs for recording" as of February 2025.

It should be clarified that Sony's press release is intended for a Japanese audience. And in Japan, optical discs are still a fairly common medium for recording or storing media. Based on the context and the mention of older formats like MiniDisc, we can assume that Sony is talking about blank Blu-ray Discs. Sony Japan itself has issued a statement clarifying this:

"In Japan, we have a culture of recording television programs on Blu-ray discs, and we only sell blank storage Blu-ray discs for this purpose in Japan. The products subject to the above notice are such discs. No other products (recorded Blu-Ray containing our television programs/movies sold by Sony Pictures or Blu-ray players sold by Sony Corporation, etc.) are covered by this notice."

It's all a misunderstanding, Sony continues to produce Blu-ray discs Picture 1

So, according to a representative of Sony Japan, this announcement of the end of production only applies to blank optical discs. Sony will continue to produce Blu-ray movies and video games, meaning we have not reached the "end of physical storage media" stage, as many experts have commented in the past.

In fact, Sony has never really marketed Blu-ray as a video recording solution in the United States or Europe. This is due to a number of factors, including the relative unpopularity of DVD recorders in Western markets, the slow adoption of HDTV in the United States, and the rise of competing hard drive formats such as DVRs.

It's also worth noting that the MiniDisc format in Sony's press release has been a complete failure in most major markets around the world, but has been around for 30 years and is popular in Japan (and briefly in Europe). Sony's decision to stop selling blank Blu-ray and MiniDisc discs in Japan is a big story, as it represents a shift in Japanese media consumption. But it doesn't really affect consumers outside of the Land of the Rising Sun at all.

Kareem Winters

Update 26 January 2025