Recent reports suggest that Sony is far from fully invested in the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. This is a console that has no disc drive, it won’t take them. Instead, it allows you to download all the games you want, and store them internally. While this presents issues regarding preservation, as well as space on the console as games get delivered in larger and larger packages, it’s a solid deal. This console is far cheaper, with a £100 discount on the standard version. But still, Sony doesn’t seem to want to push it as much.
A recent article from Eurogamer shows that retailers were allocated about 75 percent standard PlayStation 5 stock, and 25 percent Digital Edition stock. This shows that Sony clearly thought that more people would want a next-gen console that takes discs. This makes it possible for you to play all backwards compatible PlayStation 4 games that you have physically, and is perfect for those people, like me, who want to own a physical copy of all the games they buy.
What I’ve seen from people in the games industry, and out of it, is a preference for the Digital Edition though. Most people seem to want this version because it’s cheaper, but also because they don’t want the faff of dealing with physical discs. I understand that not everyone wants a physical copy, it makes complete sense. It’s also better for the environment, so of course why wouldn’t you just opt for a new console that does away with them?
Sony definitely doesn’t see it that way though. As far as they’re concerned, everyone wants to run physical discs, and that’s what they’re inadvertently pushing by giving retailers more stock of that standard console. They’ve definitely been surprised by the way that people have chosen to purchase with this next-generation, and now it’s biting them in the ass. Unless they start to provide more Digital Edition consoles for people to buy, they’re going to be fighting a losing battle.
At the end of the day, there are two digital-only next-gen consoles on the market. These are proving to be the most popular, so the companies making them need to meet the demand. If they can’t, they’ll lose out on sales to their competitor. This generation, more than any other, has barely anything differentiating Xbox from PlayStation. You could get the same experience on either, minus the other’s exclusives. If Sony doesn’t put more energy into their Digital Only PlayStation 5, they’re going to lose out on a lot of sales.