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As PlayStation declares nobody wants physical discs anymore, Gen Z is helping fuel a 16% surge in US music CD sales
While it seems likely that the next-generation of video game consoles will eschew physical discs entirely judging by PlayStation's recent announcement about physical media, other industries are watching the pendulum swing the other way. A new report suggests that physical music CDs are surging in popularity, thanks in part to a new generation of fans.
"In a much-discussed physical-media pivot, CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units in the first half of 2026, vastly outpacing vinyl's modest 2.4% growth," according to a new report from Luminate. "Driven by collection building, price accessibility, massive albums such as BTS’ ARIRANG and a strong K-pop release schedule, this revival belies an unexpected development: Approximately half of Gen Z and Millennial CD buyers do not actually own a CD player."
These stats specifically reflect the US market, so take them as you will for the broader industry, but it does all suggest people are once again seeing the value in physical media – particularly as we all grow increasingly understanding of the limitations of digital ownership. blablasex.es
The surge in CD sales is driven by some major K-pop releases, but with that genre stripped out the growth would still be a notable 6.7%. Luminate suggests that these stats indicate "that the CD has been recontextualized from a functional audio format into an affordable collectible. This behavior underscores that for younger generations, the act of buying physical music is as much about aesthetic ownership and direct financial support for the artist as it is listening to the music on the product itself."
Admittedly, the music market and the game industry are very different. While buying a CD is a way of more directly supporting your favorite artist than simply streaming their music, most digital game sales generate just as much revenue as their physical counterparts – and that revenue isn't being cut down with retail overhead.
But the other benefits of physical media, like its collectable nature, the connection of holding an actual object, and the fact that it can't be taken away from you on a publisher's whim, all hold true across both industries. The vast majority of modern game sales are digital, but the physical games market actually had some minor growth recently. Whether that growth would be enough to turn the tide back towards physical media is a question it'd probably take years to answer, but Sony certainly isn't waiting around to find out.
Long before the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake leaks, ex-Nintendo marketing leads were "scared straight" to keep the company's secrets, feared they would "ruin the company"
Nintendo is famously protective over its IP, but even some of its most closely held secrets, like the recently revealed Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, have been leaked ahead of their official announcements. That's despite the fact that, according to two of the company's former marketing leads, you were almost sure to lose your job if you were found to have mishandled confidential information.
Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, the ex-Nintendo marketing heads behind the popular Kit & Krysta podcast, speak at length about what it's like being responsible with Nintendo's secrets in a new episode of the show. Apparently, it's pretty stressful. Unsurprisingly, information about unannounced projects was handed out on a strictly need-to-know basis, and if you let it slip to anyone who wasn't approved to know, your career at Nintendo was at risk.
"There were some very clear lines for the people who were traveling with product," says Ellis. "It was like, yeah, lose the product, you lose your job. ... if you're responsible for the information getting out there in a reckless way you're probably gone."
Yang adds that being privy to "pieces of information was the most valuable commodity" working at Nintendo, because it meant the company trusted you with its secrets. But with great power, of course, comes great responsibility, and both Ellis and Yang admit they were "scared straight" of accidentally leaking something.
According to Yang, it was "hard to keep a secret because sometimes you struggle with like, 'ah I wish I could just tell that one other person because that would make my job a little easier, but I can't so I gotta be real cagey about the way I communicate with this person."
Regardless, Yang reiterates, "If the information got out and it was pinned to you as the reckless person that accidentally did that, it was very clear that that was going to be the end of your career at Nintendo."
Ellis and Yang previously said Nintendo's long-awaited reveal of the Ocarina of Time remake fell flat because of reputable rumors from noteworthy industry leaker Nate the Hate. You can argue that it also fell short of expectations because hardly anything was shown beyond a sleeping HD Link, but Ellis and Yang reckoned Nintendo was "looking to kill" following the leaks.
The Open 2026: Wie die Fans Tommy Fleetwood zurück ins Titelrennen tragen
Mit einer starken zweiten Runde kämpfte sich Fleetwood zurück ins Titelrennen der 154. Open Championship, getragen vom Jubel der fans
Es ist der Sound, der diese Woche für Tommy Fleetwood trägt. Bei seinem Heim-Open in Southport, wo einst seine Golfträume begannen, wird der Engländer von den Massen förmlich nach vorne geschoben – und am Freitagabend zahlte sich das aus: Mit einer starken zweiten Runde kämpfte sich Fleetwood zurück ins Titelrennen der 154. Open Championship.
„Sie sind unglaublich, das sind sie wirklich. Es war eine absolute Freude, die letzten beiden Tage vor ihnen zu spielen", schwärmte Fleetwood in der Mixed Zone von den Fans. „Sie machen einen riesigen Unterschied für mich. Ich glaube, sie haben mir gestern so sehr geholfen, als ich gekämpft habe." Auf die Frage, ob er – abgesehen vom Ryder Cup – jemals ein Fan-Umfeld erlebt habe, das derart für ihn mitfieberte, wurde er nachdenklich: „Es ist so eine einzigartige Sache. Nicht viele Menschen bekommen zu erleben, was ich diese Woche erlebe. Egal, ob ich gut oder schlecht spiele – ich darf mir das nicht entgehen lassen. Ich muss es aufsaugen und genießen, weil es etwas ganz Besonderes ist."
Den Druck der hohen Erwartungen sieht Fleetwood ausdrücklich nicht als Last: „Natürlich gibt es Druck. Meine eigenen Erwartungen sind riesig, und meine Träume haben hier begonnen. Aber es ist nur etwas Gutes. Es wäre töricht, daraus etwas Negatives zu machen." Das 15. Grün am Freitag sei „unglaublich" gewesen, „einfach überragend".
Aufholjagd nach nervösem Auftakt
Sportlich lief es am zweiten Tag deutlich runder als beim wackeligen Beginn. „Ich habe besser gespielt. Ich habe viel mehr gute Schläge getroffen und mich viel mehr unter Kontrolle gefühlt", berichtete er. Vor allem das Finish habe ihm gutgetan: „Als ich bei den Löchern 17 und 18 ankam, lief es richtig gut. Das war ein wirklich schönes Gefühl – spät am Abend, mit dieser großartigen Atmosphäre."
Nach seinem starken zweiten Umlauf liegt Fleetwood vier Schläge hinter der Führung – und damit in Lauerstellung für das Wochenende. „Ich habe mich in eine Position gebracht, in der ich nur vier Schläge zurückliege. Wenn ich gut spiele, weiß ich, dass ich näher herankomme", so der Engländer. „Natürlich liegt es in der Hand des Führenden, aber ich kann einfach mein Spiel spielen, und ich bin nicht weit weg. Das ist ein richtig schönes Gefühl."
Dass das Leaderboard eng beieinander liegt, sei typisch für ein Major: „Es ist wirklich eng, oder? 4 unter Par war den ganzen Tag in den Top fünf bis acht. Aber wenn du eine gute erste Neun spielst, bist du direkt wieder ganz oben dabei. So sind Majors nun mal. Wenn du im Spiel bleibst, durchhältst und es ins Wochenende schaffst, bist du eine heiße Phase davon entfernt, wieder ganz nah dran zu sein."
Feinschliff mit Butch Harmon
Für die Wende sorgte auch ein Gespräch mit seinem Coach Butch Harmon. Am Vortag hatte Fleetwood mit dem Rhythmus seines Schwungs gehadert: „Ich habe gestern zu schnell geschwungen, war aus dem Takt und habe mich schwergetan, die Schläge zu treffen, die ich treffen wollte. Wir haben über meinen Takeaway und meinen Rhythmus gesprochen – die Dinge, über die wir immer reden, besonders wenn man in einer nervlich angespannten Situation ist."
Das Ergebnis: ein klarer Plan und ein besseres Gefühl. „Es sind wie immer nur kleine Anpassungen. Ich habe großartig gespielt, es ist also nie weit weg. Man muss sich nur zurück an diesen Ort bringen."
Rückendeckung von Tiger Woods
Zuspruch bekam Fleetwood am Freitag auch aus prominenter Richtung. Während er sich zurück ins Turnier kämpfte, meldete sich Tiger Woods per Social Media: „Lookin' good out there @TommyFleetwood1" – „Siehst gut aus da draußen", schrieb die 15-malige Major-Siegerlegende auf X. Fleetwood selbst hatte die Nachricht bis zum Interview noch gar nicht gelesen und antwortete schmunzelnd: „Die hebe ich mir noch auf." Passend dazu trug der Engländer ein Shirt aus Woods' Modemarke Sun Day Red: „Es ist ein schönes Shirt, schöne Farbe. Ja, gut."
Lookin' good out there @TommyFleetwood1
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) July 17, 2026
Mit dem Rückenwind der Fans, dem Feinschliff seines Trainers – und den warmen Worten von Tiger Woods im Postfach – geht Tommy Fleetwood am Wochenende auf Angriff. Der Traum vom ersten Major-Titel, ausgerechnet vor der eigenen Haustür, lebt.
The post The Open 2026: Wie die Fans Tommy Fleetwood zurück ins Titelrennen tragen appeared first on Golf Post.
"Don't fall for it": Union says Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news shouldn't distract you from huge Bethesda layoffs as Xbox CEO praises the series' "remarkable" achievements
Bethesda just announced a whole lot of news about the future of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and if you find the timing of it all a bit suspicious, you're not alone. United Videogame Workers-CWA says the announcement is an "intentional" distraction from the layoffs happening at Bethesda.
"The timing of this kind of press is intentional," UVW-CWA says in a Bluesky post. "How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it."
UVW-CWA is a direct-join union representing game workers across the industry, but it does not represent any one specific workplace. The CWA part of the name is for the Communications Workers of America, which supports several workplace unions at various Microsoft-owned game studios, including Bethesda.
The timing of this kind of press is intentional. How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it.
— @videogameworkers.bsky.social (@videogameworkers.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-17T20:21:37.854Z
Employees across Microsoft's gaming divisions staged protests last week in support of those affected by the Xbox layoffs. Game Developer reports that unions are also taking legal action against Microsoft.
According to CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth, "The unions CWA and CWA Canada have jointly filed unfair labor practice complaints against Microsoft alleging the company has unlawfully fired people without giving notice to or discussing it with the union as the employer is legally obliged to do when we are in the middle of ongoing bargaining [for] a collective agreement."
For her part, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is celebrating the historic success of Bethesda's various franchises on Twitter. "The achievements of these franchises are remarkable: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has crossed 65 million units sold, becoming one of the 10 best-selling games of all time, Fallout 4 has also crossed 35 million units sold, joining the top 25, and Starfield will soon reach over 1 billion hours played," she says.
Todd Howard just shared plans for the Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Starfield franchises. These worlds have earned a special place with hundreds of millions of people over many years. I'm looking forward to what's next, including the partnership with Obsidian on a new Fallout… https://t.co/8Debzwo6IgJuly 17, 2026
But at a certain point, you have to start asking whether the developers who actually made those games have actually seen the fruits of their success. Certainly, they're not getting royalties – come on, this is the video game industry – but many aren't even getting to enjoy continued employment. We've only gotten anecdotal details on individuals who have been laid off, but we know their numbers include Christiane Meister, a 27-year veteran of everything from Morrowind to Fallout 4, and Dane Olds, a 20-year vet with a similar list of credits.
But hey, Fallout 5 is coming! And The Elder Scrolls 6! And Obsidian's making a new Fallout game of its own, finally – never mind the reports that Microsoft canceled the studio's Avowed follow-up in order to have it build something for the far more popular franchise. I'm certain that the developers who remain at these studios are putting their all into their work, but it's tough to see today's announcement as much more than Microsoft's attempt at jingling keys in front of the eyes of gamers who've grown increasingly exhausted of the industry's most cynical business practices.