Is the PlayStation 5's Disc Drive Worth the Money?

Right now the only thing harder to get than a PlayStation 5, is the digital edition.

[PS-Gamer-1986]

Yes it is. It costs 100 bucks more, but i will get that back very soon by saving on games which i can find cheaper in other stores( online and offline) than ps store and having the option to resell them once i'm done with them

[Double_O_Revan]

Exactly. You could make up the price with reselling the 1st 2 games you play and beat.

[savedsynner]

Exactly. Digital game codes typically take much longer to go on sale(though are more likely to become free over time) plus it can double as a blue ray play as many people use their playstation as a complete home entertainment center(kind of like how nintendo marketed the NES originally).

And if you're like me, you have a sub to gamefly to try a game and this is only possible with physical copies.

[Eidolon]

Gamefly/renting/borrowing is an option. A lot of my physical library is pre-owned games I got cheaper than any digital sale(even long after). So many physical sales through retailers, too. And yeah, you can resell. It'll save you money in the long run, and pretty quickly if you're game enough.

[1Victor]

To answer the title YES, YES IT IS 🤦🏿 people only see the $100 more and the disk but forget about bigger SSD as well 🤷🏿so YES ITS WORTH IT

[TheScotsman]

It's as valuable as you see it, I don't part with games so I went all digital and I don't mind paying the prices, but each to there own right. If discs is your thing then enjoy

[isarai]

If you have a library of physical ps4 discs like me then it's a no brainer. Plus paying the extra $100 up front will pay for itself VERY quickly in what you save from second hand games

[FallenAngel1984]

Damn straight it is

[Fist4achin]

Disc drive for me please. With it, you could have the best of both worlds...

[ClayRules2012]

Right there with you. Best of both worlds indeed. That way I have the option for digital (which is rare) but I do it on occasion with episodic games like Life is Strange season 2.

I personally will not go “Full digital” with gaming.

[savedsynner]

Honestly, I fully expect the next generation to be all digital. I could be wrong as I thought this generation(PS5) had a good chance of being all digital. IMO, it's a matter of time before it does, tho it may be a couple more generations until we can truly say the entire world has high speed internet.

[ClayRules2012]

And when that happens, I’ll humbly leave gaming. I’m grateful to have had the gaming experiences I’ve had so far already. If PS5’s my last console, I’m okay with that.

[Fist4achin]

If it were ever to go fully digital and always online, I'll just continue chewing through my backlog!

[ClayRules2012]

@Fist4achin

There ya go. Do what you wanna do. Sounds like a good plan, I think.

[Nacho_Z]

Bit overdramatic. I find it hard to believe that anyone who cares even a little bit about gaming would seriously rule themselves out of ever gaming again for the rest of their life if they couldn't use discs anymore.

Don't see the big deal.

[Phoenix76]

Better to have and not use, than not have and then need.

[andy85]

Of course. Physical games are often 25% cheaper and that's without resale value of games

[Limitedtimestruggle]

Going all digital at this point, when Sony is raising game prices might be the worst timing ever. I would never lock myself to an all digital device, well as long as I have another option of course! Buying physical is cheaper, always. And you get to join in on the digital sales as well.

Best of both worlds.

[NeoGamer232]

I have been all digital for 1.5 generations now. Will not go back to buying discs. I do have a lot of discs. Probably in the neighborhood of 3,000 between CD/DVD/Blu-Ray. But in the past 5 years I have only pulled them out on very rare occasions.

I can understand the argument for buying discs and reselling. But, it is not for me. First, I travel a lot so a case with a console and a couple of external hard drives is a lot easier to carry around then a case and a bunch of binders of discs. Second, I am too lazy to get off my couch to change the disc when I am at home, so I just download my games to drives hooked up to my consoles. Third, I have a bunch of TVs and consoles. Keeping track of discs is just a lot of work. And finally, I have no space for discs anymore. My current collection sits in binders on two Ikea Billy Book cases. If I buy more I would be needing yet another book case. I just don't want to do that.

[Limitedtimestruggle]

All valid pros ;)

[sourOG]

All digital with 600 gigs wouldn’t work for me

[Ron_Danger]

Are you implying that the console reads off the disc while you play the game?

The first time you insert the disc it installs the same amount of info on the hard drive as it does when you go all digital. It’s exactly the same console, just one has a disc drive.

[sourOG]

Dont have to download it though. And I expect the install is much faster this time around due to the architecture right? I buy enough games to have to work around 600 gigs. Can’t install games on the external, would have to delete and download every time. Worst case scenario I get a huge update to download but hopefully they work on that as well.

[Ron_Danger]

I gotcha. Downloading is an issue depending on personal speeds and data caps for sure. From what I’ve read, the instal is still dependent on how fast the disc drive spins so it’ll still take time, just not as long as a download would be if your speeds are slow. Personally I’m not worried about downloads cause I’ve been averaging 150-200 mbps so even big games download in under an hour but everything you said is legit. I was in the same boat at the start of the PS4 gen but as time went on I started going all digital. The last disc I bought was God of War. The thing that sealed the deal for me was playing PSVR. It got annoying fast to have to take off the headset to change discs and then recalibrate it when you put it back on.

[sourOG]

The install for miles morales was quicker I’d say but not by much. Quicker than the upgrades I had to download so you are right. I just like the options, I buy both physical and digital depending on things. The digital games I bought like borderlands 3 were easy upgrades and it’s convenient. It’s easy to see why someone would go digital. Yeah VR games have to be digital lol. The only disc I have is RE7.

If you have no intention on buying a disc for any reason then you don’t want options, you want steam. And there’s nothing wrong with that either. Maybe I’ll buy the collectors edition of bioshock down the road or something like that. I can run it like a digital console but still have the option. A 100 dollar option lol. The digital ps5 is a steal and should be considered, it’s just not for me. Not saying it’s a bad choice by any means, they killed it.

[crazyafrican100]

Personally I feel it’s a bit much. Here in Canada the digital version is $500 and the disc version is $630. Yeah I can argue that I can save money in the long run if I buy games cheaper in store but $130 dollars extra for a disc drive is a little extreme for me. When I buy one I will see which one suits me best I guess.

[Knightofelemia]

Yes 4k blu ray access to your physical PS4 games

[lio_convoy]

I haven't bought physical games in years and already have a standalone UHDBD player. The digital edition would make the most sense to me. The $100 isn't so much of a dealbreaker, it's just paying for something I wouldn't use. My PS4 disc drive hasn't spun up in 3 or so years now. No idea if it even works anymore tbh.

[InklingGirl]

I wouldn’t buy one without it.

[Positivelypositive]

I don't understand the logic behind the digital only. Physical games have sales that dwarf the digital ones especially locked to a single store platform. If you live in a country that does not have physical game stores it makes sense i guess maybe. I always buy the physical game. the only ps4 games I don't own physically came from the PS+ sub. I also tend to not buy games unless they have physical releases so I am happy indies are starting to get more of those(admittedly those are very overpriced).

[Ron_Danger]

Physical sales don’t always dwarf digital. I got Nier for $5 when the disc was still $40 (I was waiting for it to go under $20). It’s all about right place/ right time.

[DFresh]

I still have disc PS4 games so my only option is the PS5 Physical.

[NewYork214]

Yes and only because I want a 4k bluray player. I buy all my games digital.

[chaoticsoulxx]

i'd rather have a digital version because it looks nicer, but i'd rather have the disk ps5 than none at all, lol

[Rebel_Scum]

All digital because I like not getting up off the couch to change disks.

[Ron_Danger]

Especially when playing PSVR

[Army_of_Darkness]

Exactly... . Who wants to take the VR headset off after having it adjusted and perfectly positioned on your head, just to switch games when I can leave it on and switch in-game on the fly??

[jznrpg]

It is to me

[AuraAbjure]

It depends if Gamestop stays in business. If they do, buying used games is a no brainer plus blu-ray discs don't scratch easily.

[anast]

Disk drive, of course.

[VersusDMC]

Well i bought most of my PS4 games at 30% or more off at launch through Amazon Canada with their preorder deals. And then i sell them when i beat them. I'll rebuy them digital at 20 and under when i want to replay and add them to the library.

So the disk drive is a no brainer.

[BoudaSmoke]

Another point in favour of the disk drive version, which the article doesn't mention, are the upgrades for physical copies of current-gen games. For example, I own the physical PS4 version of Borderlands 3, so I need to insert the disk into my PS5 to get the free upgrade to the next-gen optimised version. If I had the diskless console, I would have to buy the game again. This may not be true for every PS4 game, but many developers are offering this upgrade provided you have the original disk.

[Profchaos]

Or to put it more simply is flexibility worth money?

Seems most people agree just based on the stock pile I saw at my local EB Games this morning where I picked my console up every single system in their stock room was a standard ps5 it could be because Australia has terrible internet infrastructure but this was a busy store and I did not see a single black box for the discless version.

PSN sets a price which can differ greatly to the cost of the same game on Amazon. I like buying digital however i stillmoften buy physical on new releases as they can cost up to $30 less than digital in Australia.

Games that go on PSN sales after two years however are typically much cheaper than physical stores some exceptions like agents of mayhem which I recent grabbed a physical copy for $1

[Shadowsteal]

I have the digital edition and staring at this buy 2 get 1 free sale at Target...

[yoshatabi]

Bro same. 😭 I want 3 games but can only get 1

[mastershredder]

Hmmm... another storage medium I think that's a YES. Another disc based movie player... That's another Yes. If you have a PS4 disc library -Gonna have to got with, Yes!

Get it internal while you can, you're out of luck externally (Proprietary lock out for blu-ray).

[BlaqMagiq1]

Of course it is. I want the edition that allows me to actually own my games.

[agnosticgamer]

It really depends if you like physical copies or trading in games once you are finished playing them. If you do then the disc drive is for you. If you are fine with the digital prices, digital sales, and loading games from your chair and don't care about trading in games Digital will be fine.

[RCslayer]

It's like condoms, better to have and not need then need and not have.

[SmokinAces]

Absolutely, for me it definitely is.

[SamTheGamer]

Yes, Of course.

[l33t_haxx0r]

last gen I bought very few discs, i gave up at cod when i still had to download 70gig lol all my games are digital on ps4 with my 8tb external so this gen im getting digital ps5

[TheTony316]

Of course it is. Physical games are cheaper at launch and prices drop much quicker. Than you have resell value and you can still play your games 20 years from now if you keep the console.

[CDbiggen]

Yes, because my internet speed is ass, and I hate dealing with storage space.

[vivid83]

I bought the disc version because I’m not gonna pay £70 pounds for a game ..... I’ll just buy my games when the prices to drop or used

[Pyrofire95]

yup. being locked down to one store while retailers often have pretty good deals, or just used games. (I try not to get used to be fair BUT STILL)
On the other hand the digital console is nice and symmetrical.

[traumadisaster]

For about $60 I ebayed 10 ps4 game classics this month that would have been over $500 new, I had to have the disc version since I skipped ps4.

[TheOtherMoon]

This is one of those articles where comments will get dislikes because the entire situation is based on opinion. I would save the $100 and remove the disc-drive. Maybe I have a poor impression of the PS market place (I was rarely on my PS4) and I feel like, based on my time in the MS market place, that games are on sale constantly. the biggest draw back to the digital library is the HDD space the games take up. I saved a lot of money in the digital-purchasing of games, and saved space. Purely disc purchase would mean I physically own 250+ games... I do not have the physical space for that.

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

Uhhh...hell yes it's worth it as the top comments of this comment section have pointed out. Plus I'm old school I like having my physical copies of games.

[Einhander1971]

Yes so I can buy physical games, not digital downloads.

[Spartacus10]

If you spend a lot on games you're saving about £10 on every game at launch buying physical compared to the PS Store price. If you don't spend a lot on gaming there are tons of great PS4 games that you can buy pre-owned for less than a fiver which still cost £20 on the PS store.
Sometimes the PS Store sales are good but you have to wait for them and there isn't as much choice as there is when buying pre-owned.
Also game sharing and selling of a physical copy is allowed but account sharing and selling is against Sony's terms of use (and very inconvenient).