The PlayStation 5’s launch sales will considerably impact the way consoles are manufactured for years to come. Sony is selling two versions of its next-gen console, a Standard Edition with a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc drive, and a Digital Edition of the PS5 that will most likely retail for a cheaper price and only play games through digital s. Depending on the success of the Digital Edition, this could be the last PlayStation console that plays physical games.
Even before mandated lockdowns caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, digital sales were slowly starting to overtake physical game sales on the PS4. In July 2019, digital sales increased by over 70% in the same time period with players staying at home due to the pandemic. This last quarter, digital sales ed for 74% of all game sales, although store closures and lockdowns are guaranteed to have had an effect on that percentage.
With two versions of the PS5 available at launch, it’s clear that the PS5 Digital Edition will be the cheaper of the two. Giving this option to consumers is an excellent opportunity to survey the percentage of players who would be fine with only purchasing digital games during an entire console generation. The lower price point is guaranteed to lure some gamers into an all-digital ecosystem, which has its own set of benefits outside of cheaper hardware.
PlayStation Could Have A Digital Future
Early Xbox One marketing showed the world that gamers weren’t ready for an always-connected, digital-focused console. That was about seven years ago, though, and society has rapidly developed since then. While issues such as slow connection speeds and the inability to sell digital games are still reasons to keep the physical format alive, the continuous focus on game streaming services like PlayStation Now is paving a new path for console manufacturers altogether.
It’s difficult to say how the world’s internet infrastructure will advance by the time the PS6 releases. However. as time goes on wireless cellphone providers are finding new ways to bring high-speed internet to areas that lack the infrastructure to do so. If a majority of console players are able to connect their consoles to the internet with decent enough speeds, it would greatly increase the accessibility of services like PlayStation Now. It’s hard to find a family that still uses DVDs and Blu-rays since video streaming became popular, and sooner or later, it will happen with gaming as well.
As Xbox Games continues to succeed and bring value to Microsoft’s gaming brands, PlayStation is guaranteed to try and compete using its PlayStation Now service. If the Digital Edition of PlayStation 5 sells more than expected, it would be no surprise to see Sony manufacture digital-only Slim or Pro versions and leaving the disc drive in the past.
Source: Sony
