Bottom line: Sony has reportedly discontinued its last standalone UHD Blu-ray player in its home country, meaning the PlayStation 5 is now the company's only device capable of playing the format. Of course, for anyone that's been closely following Sony or physical media as of late, this isn't a surprisingly outcome.
Back in February, Sony halted sales of Blu-ray recorders worldwide – but the move didn't impact sales of standard Blu-ray players. Over the summer, the company dropped the bombshell that it would stop making physical PlayStation games starting in 2028. At that point, the writing was pretty much on the wall.
Now, Japanese blog Kunkoku – a Sony retailer – is reporting the company has discontinued its UBP-X700/K UHD Blu-ray player, the outfit's last standalone player. Indeed, a quick check of the machine on Sony's website shows it as out of stock with no return date mentioned.
As FlatpanelsHD highlights, the PS5 is first and foremost a game console which makes it an expensive option if you just want it for Blu-ray watching (and recent price hikes don't help matters). It also doesn't support Dolby Vision, so there is that. And looking ahead, it is unlikely that Sony's next-gen game console, tentatively named the PS6, will have an optical drive at all.
That said, if you're a fan of Blu-ray or want to ensure you have a way to keep watching your existing disc collection, now might be a good time to come up with some sort of hardware-based plan for the future. Depending on what you already have, that could involve buying a backup machine to unbox when your current solution eventually fails or picking up a PS5 now while they are still around.
Of course, Sony isn't the only player in the space. A handful of other reputable brands are still making Blu-ray players, but when a major industry influencer like Sony pulls out of the market, it's usually a sign that others aren't going to be far behind.
Sony discontinues its last standalone Blu-ray player, leaving the PS5 as the sole remaining option
