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As if a The new PS5 wasn’t exciting enough, Sony gave gamers a choice: grab a full-featured PS5 for $ 500 or get the same next-gen graphics without the drive for $ 400. That cheaper PS5 can. be attractive (only the most symmetrical design is attractive), but I think the disk version is still worth it. Listen to me.
You will offset the cost with cheaper games
I love games, but I love much more. I’m not looking to pay extra money just to say I have the best system; in fact I think the $ 500 PS5 actually save your money in the long run.
Disks aren’t always cheaper than digital downloads, but they often are, especially when a game has been out for a while. At the time of writing this article, The Last of Us Remastered it’s $ 5 cheaper on disk than downloading it. NieR: Automata it’s $ 10 cheaper on disk than on PlayStation Store. And for some unholy reason Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition it’s $ 50 cheaper on disk than buying it digitally. If you’re willing to buy used discs, you can save even more and easily get that $ 100 back over the life of the console (and a bit more).
Oh, and that’s not even taking into account the fact that you can sell those games when you’re done. I’m not saying that I buy all the games on disk, if I plan to revisit a game often (like Spiderman) or play it regularly over time (such as Tetris effect), I will pay a little more for a digital copy that I don’t have to change at the unit all the time. But the games I plan to play once and never play again, like Shadow of war, are best bought on disk and sold on Craigslist to recoup some of the cost. The $ 400 PS5 Digital Edition is one way for Sony to take more money from gamers in the long run, and I refuse to be fooled!
Disk drives are versatile
Look, I get it: getting off the couch and swapping records is annoying. (I’m not kidding, I actually hate it.) But disk drives have other advantages: When you buy a disk, you can install the game much faster than if you downloaded it, especially if you have a slow Internet connection. Connection. Sure, you’ll have to download the occasional patch, but they’re usually a fraction of the size of the actual game.
If you have PS4 games on disc, the more expensive PS5 lets you play those titles whenever you want; If you buy the digital edition, you will have to buy back the old games you want to keep or keep your old PS4s in the closet to play them later. (By the way, selling your old PS4 will easily offset the additional $ 100 cost on the disc-enabled PS5.) And if for some reason a game is pulled from the PlayStation Store, it will be nice to have the ability to turn to a disc, even if you have to buy it used, to see what the fuss is about.
Ultra HD Blu-ray is amazing
Finally, remember that the disc drive not only plays PS4 and PS5 games, it also plays Ultra HD Blu-rays. I know most of the world has moved toward streaming movies and TV, but trust me: if you want the best video and audio quality movies have to offer, 4K Blu-rays are where the action is. Even if you don’t plan to buy all the movies in 4K again, you should get some of your favorites on disk, because they will really blow your mind. In the Spider-Verse is a perfect example of an album that comes out of water and the remastered version of Matrix it is a sight to behold.
If high-quality movies are even a bit appealing to you, get the full PS5. Most Ultra HD Blu-ray players cost over $ 100 anyway, so it’s actually a great price for that functionality. Along with the above savings, you are easily saving money in the long run. The only real cost is the lack of symmetry in your entertainment unit.
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