Sony is exiting yet another market it used to dominate: Blu-ray players. You’re likely having flashbacks to PlayStation’s big announcement that it was killing off game disc production in 2028. The thing is, this move has more subtle ramifications, one that will impact far more than just movie collectors. It’s turning all physical media into a potentially expensive proposition built only for the most dedicated to collecting it.

Japanese blog and Sony retailer Kunkoko (via FlatPanelsHD ) first reported that Sony had stopped shipping its UBP-X700/K Blu-Ray DVD player. It’s currently listed as out of stock on Sony’s Japan-centric webstore with a note that it will not be restocked. Sony has positioned that player as its last budget device for 4K discs. Now that it’s no longer in production, expect it to cost a lot more than a “budget” price from resellers.

The worst part about all of this is that, while you can procure a current-gen console to play your Blu-Ray movies, they are not the best for that purpose.…