This marks the end of an 18-year journey for the company after Blu-ray became commercially available to the masses in 2006. It follows a decision to end production of recordable B

It's another sore day for physical media fans. After an 18-year run, the media giant is leaving the Blu-ray game.

Sony says it will stop manufacturing blank Blu-ray discs for the Japanese market along with MiniDiscs and MiniDV cassettes that could be used to save media in a physical format. W

Sony has announced it will discontinue the manufacture of Blu-ray discs, a format it invented and championed, setting the stage for the possible imminent end of the optical format. As the world has embraced streaming in recent years, Blu-ray sales have declined sharply, paving the way for Sony’s decision.

Sony's exit is a sign of the times for physical media, but not necessarily the end of the road.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Fans of physical media—myself included—tend to be a morbid bunch, dwelling on the rise of streaming while bemoaning the steady decline of Blu-ray, the home-media format of choice for cinephiles. So when word came down that Sony will exit the recordable Blu-ray market next month,

Sony is officially ending production of recordable Blu-rays. In an announcement from Japan spotted by Tom’s Hardware, Sony Storage Media Solutions said it will stop manufacturing the discs in February,