The Analog Revival Transcends Nostalgia

There’s no denying that physical media has been enjoying a renaissance of late. Members of Generations X and Y have been snatching up the records, DVDs, and game cartridges they grew up with.

It was easy to dismiss the analog revival as nostalgia …

… until Zoomers likewise started buying old media.

A Canadian physical media retailer says his video game sales have surged since Sony announced their ill-conceived plan to stop making new PlayStation discs. Some physical game prices have jumped dramatically as buyers scramble for copies.

Nor is this phenomenon limited to games. American CD sales jumped almost 46 percent in the first half of 2026. Vinyl climbed to 21 percent. Sales of other supposedly obsolete formats like DVDs and cassettes rose more than 73 percent.

To be sure, streaming still dwarfs all physical media. But consumers are rediscovering what the convenience of digital media blinded them to these past years:

Read the full post on Substack.

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