CBC | Top Stories News
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Olivia Pizzuco-Ennis
A film studies professor at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue says that Gen Z's desire for analog technologies is driven by growing up in a period of political and financial instability. A store owner, Mike Strickland, has seen a surge in sales of physical media such as CDs, cassette tapes, and vinyl records, which he attributes to a backlash against streaming services like Sony's decision to stop releasing PlayStation 5 games on disc. This move caused prices for physical media to spike by up to 10 times, with many gamers complaining about the change. The store owner believes that owning physical copies of media provides stability and security in an era where algorithmic changes and de-platforming can suddenly make content unavailable.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Ontario, specifically in the area around Hamner (about 25 kilometers northeast of downtown Sudbury), a growing demand for analog media has led to a surge in sales. This trend is driven by nostalgia and a desire among some consumers, particularly younger adults, to own physical objects such as records, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and CDs. Mike Strickland's store, Strickly Nostalgia, has become a hub for fans of the pre-digital era, selling collectibles, retro games, and consoles, in addition to physical media. According to Strickland, this market is fueled by customers' desire to hold onto something tangible that can't be taken away, unlike digital rentals. The prices of physical media, such as PlayStation and Nintendo games, have also increased dramatically due to a shift towards streaming platforms.
Written for “Streaming Services Under Fire” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Streaming platforms face backlash as analog nostalgia fuels 'slow media' market
Analog media in demand at Hanmer, Ont., store serving fans of the pre-digital era
A custom 3-D printed sign in the style of old BlockBuster Video stores entices analog-seeking patrons to Mike Strickland's shop in a mall in Hamner, Ont.
asserted
sign → stream → Hamner
Strickly Nostalgia sells collectibles, retro games and consoles, and physical media like CDs, cassette and VHS tapes, and vinyl records.
asserted
Nostalgia → sell → CDs
The business serves a growing market driven by nostalgia and the desire to own physical objects, Strickland said.
asserted
Strickland → serve → objects
“For younger adults right now, it's being able to hold on to something tangible — whether they play it or not — like a record.
asserted
they → hold → record
Some people will ... just hang it on their wall," he told CBC News.
asserted
he → hang → News
Knowing that it can't be taken away — in contrast to renting digital media — was important, said Strickland, as it represented "owning something."
asserted
it → know → something
Though the Hamner area is about 25 kilometres northeast of downtown Sudbury, Strickland initially found his customers online, selling on eBay.
asserted
Strickland → find → eBay
But with the high fees platforms like eBay charge, a friend suggested that opening a physical storefront could better serve the market for nostalgia.
uncertain
opening → charge → nostalgia
The growing market for these kinds of physical media reflects a desire for stability and ownership of one's own collection, safe from algorithmic changes and de-platforming from a streaming service, according to Louis-Paul Willis, a film studies professor and researcher at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
uncertain
market → grow → Témiscamingue
Willis researches nostalgia in popular culture, and in 2022 wrote Analog Desires On Stranger Things and the Logics of Nostalgia, exploring desire through the lens of Matt Duffer's cult series Stranger Things.
asserted
Willis → research → series
Gen Z in particular "has this appetite for analog technologies,” Willis said, their yearning for objects from a more secure era the result of growing up in "a period of political and financial instability."
asserted
yearning → have → instability
An incipient backlash against massive media conglomerates may also be fuelling the market for physical media.
uncertain
backlash → fuel → media
Strickland said he’s seen a spike in video game sales since Sony announced it would stop releasing PlayStation 5 games on disc.
asserted
it → say → disc
The decision has caused the prices of physical media from PlayStation and even Nintendo to spike dramatically, Strickland said, citing a 10-fold increase for some games.
But Sony insisted the move was a "natural direction", enabling it to "align more closely" with how its customers prefer to access and play games, the company's communications director Sid Shuman wrote at the time.
asserted
director → cause → time
Many gamers disagreed, flooding the company's social media channels with negative reactions, calling it a terrible decision and some vowing to boycott PlayStation games and consoles.
asserted
some → disagree → games
Strickland too cited patrons complaining to him about the decision, and believes PlayStation made a mistake by shifting away from physical media.
asserted
PlayStation → cite → media
The shift to digital streaming services appeared to be be an attempt to pre-empt the kind of peer-to-peer sharing that caught the music industry off guard when fans began pirating albums on sites like Napster in the early 2000s, according to Professor Willis.
uncertain
fans → appear → Willis
Back then music and entertainment industry "dinosaurs" were slow to shift with market changes as peer-to-peer sharing threatened to wipe out their business model, Willis said.
asserted
Willis → shift → model
Entertainment industry 'finally got the upper hand'
asserted
industry → get → hand
Now the entertainment industry has "finally got the upper hand," he said, with consumers "held hostage" to subscription services.
asserted
consumers → get → services
"If you want to consume music, movies, [or] TV shows, you have to subscribe,” he said.
asserted
he → want → music
The shift to digital media has also discouraged sharing, Willis said.
asserted
Willis → discourage → sharing
“If I buy a film and I want to lend it to a friend … I'm entitled to do that as a purchaser of this DVD or VHS tape or CD," he said.
asserted
he → buy → DVD
"That no longer being possible shifts [how we consume media] in a major way.
asserted
we → shift → way
And I don't think it's necessarily for the better.”
asserted
it → think → better
The renewed consumer appetite for physical media is a reaction to these changes, he said, pointing out that the experience of going out to rent a movie represented more than just the disc or VHS tape that one left the store with.
asserted
one → renew → store
“I'm old enough to remember going to the video rental store and... shopping around for what I'm going to watch on this Friday night," he said.
asserted
he → remember → night
It's really hard to find something to your liking in a fairly reasonable amount of time,” Willis said of Netflix’s streaming model.
asserted
Willis → find → model
At Strickly Nostalgia that old model of browsing for media you can share with friends remains alive and is the main attraction, Strickland said, recounting how customers stroll in on Friday and Saturday nights looking for something to watch.
asserted
customers → share → something
"People love coming in here," he said.
asserted
he → come → ?
