HilliTech's Newsletter: Happy birthday (to me)

Another year, another cookie cake

Yes, it's time for me to turn 35 on July 5th. It's a nice round number, but I'm not sure how I feel about this whole aging thing.

I took the week off from posting here daily, but I'll be back at it next week.

Here are some stories I'd like to share this week:

The death of physical media

Something like 80% of all media purchases are digital in 2026. That metric alone should tell us everything we need to know about how things are changing.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but Sony isn't the driving force here. It is the current easiest company to pick on because of its latest announcements, but it isn't the source of this change.

Yes, Sony did have a video in 2013 showing how important it is that people could exchange physical media through borrowing or sales. That was 13 years ago.

Time doesn't stop. I was 22 and in the Navy when that video came out. I am now 35 and writing for a website that publishes news and rumors about Apple. I too couldn't have believed who I would be today if you had told me.

I remember when the PSP Go came out, there was a similar uproar. Famously, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core was never available on the device because the creators believed the digital version would be easier to pirate.

Today, that game in its remastered form is on the PlayStation Network. Times change. Really, that's all I'm saying here.

I loved physical media. Growing up, I collected tapes, CDs, VHS, notebooks, pens, and anything I could get my hands on really. Gadgets, objects, toys – these physical items in our life – they were everything to someone who otherwise didn't feel like their life had any real permanence to it.

When I was in the Navy I discovered very quickly that physical media wasn't easily transportable. Even moving from one dorm to another in Nuclear Power School was a daunting task when you had a bunch of discs.

By the time I started going on what were called "underways," little excursions that lasted a month or so at sea, I knew physical media wasn't the ideal. By 2013, I had started collecting digital music, movies, and video games that could go with me on deployment.

At the time, I had a PS3. The PS4 debuted while I was on deployment, funny enough. I had to be careful in port to buy the right physical blu-ray movie because it could be region locked and not work on my PS3. The physical games that came with my PS4 purchased in Bahrain couldn't be sold in the US because they were from a different region. (thankfully the console wasn't region locked, a novelty at the time)

When I returned from deployment in 2014 I had a new appreciation for digital media. It was around that time that I got totally into Apple and started purchasing movies on iTunes.

I remember thinking at the time: "I have over 100 Blu-Ray movies, how will I ever replace them all on digital?"

Well, many of the movies I had came with digital copies that could be added to VUDU or iTunes. After that, sales got me the rest of the way rather quickly. In fact, the universality of digital media meant that programs like Movies Anywhere helped me along here. Not something that could be done with physical media.

I also focused on buying only digital games from that point on. Other than those first two games for PS4 on disc, every other title was purchased digitally. That entire game collection now exists on an HDD I can connect to my PS5.

Needless to say, my PS5 Pro is digital only too. My iTunes, now Apple TV, collection has grown to have more than 1,200 titles. Those $5 movies and bundles help you grow your collection quick, and we're talking about 12 years of persistent collecting. My TV shows also number in the hundreds of seasons.

Apple Music entered the scene in 2015 and changed the way I collect and think about music forever as well.

The only thing that hasn't been impacted by the digital age is my love of a physical book. While I do like to read most books on my iPad mini, I also like buying the physical copy of some books to collect on a shelf. My habit is also reflected in how consumers generally buy books.

I think physical books would be smart to start including digital copies for Apple Books as well (if they don't already).

So, yes, Sony is no longer producing physical game discs in 2028. The Blu-ray will become a thing of the past within the decade. I mourn that as much as anyone.

However, I want to say that in my 12+ years of collecting digital media from my selected storefronts, I've never had an issue. Well, actually just one, Anchorman was briefly removed from my library during some dispute Apple had with a license holder.

Yes, I'm aware Sony recently pulled over 500 movies from its digital storefront. It is also closing the PS3 and PS Vita stores. Like with anything, there is good and bad.

Physical has similar problems too. I can't reliably go to a store and purchase a PS2 game unless some collector in my area has it. If something disappears from a digital storefront, I guarantee you it is findable. In fact, most of the physical media that can't be found any longer can be found online.

Let's all take a collective breath. This was inevitable. Now, let's work on a solution that ensures our digital media libraries can remain intact even when licenses disappear. There also needs to be a method for historical preservation – an issue physical media also faces.

Everything will be fine even as we mourn the death of a medium.

Thanks for reading

That's it for me this week. I'll be back with the regular schedule on Monday.

If you enjoy what I write here or just want to leave me a little birthday present, then feel free to send a little tip to my Buy Me A Coffee link. Thanks!

A cat hiding in a box that is covered by another smaller box — The only physical media Harvie cares about is cardboard