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Did Sony made PlayStation 5 Digital Edition just to brag about low price point?

Godot25

Banned
I decided that it is time to buy a PlayStation 5. But since it won't be my primary platform and I will mainly use it to play PlayStation exclusives through PlayStation Plus Extra, I thought it will be waste of my 100€ to buy classic edition of console, so I picked Digital Edition as my ideal choice. FYI, I'm living in a country where PS5 are starting to appear in stores and are available.

But that's for "classic" console. Not for Digital Edition. There are few stores that have PlayStation 5, but non that have Digital Edition. I even asked a guys in stores about Digital Edition and they told me that Sony is sending PlayStation 5 consoles in 20:1 ratio - so 20 "Classic" consoles and only 1 Digital Edition.

On one hand I get that Sony is loosing more money with Digital Edition. But, what is even a point of that console if they are skewing production so hard towards classic console? Is it so they can brag about "lower price point?" I really don't get it.
 

anthony2690

Banned
I decided that it is time to buy a PlayStation 5. But since it won't be my primary platform and I will mainly use it to play PlayStation exclusives through PlayStation Plus Extra, I thought it will be waste of my 100€ to buy classic edition of console, so I picked Digital Edition as my ideal choice. FYI, I'm living in a country where PS5 are starting to appear in stores and are available.

But that's for "classic" console. Not for Digital Edition. There are few stores that have PlayStation 5, but non that have Digital Edition. I even asked a guys in stores about Digital Edition and they told me that Sony is sending PlayStation 5 consoles in 20:1 ratio - so 20 "Classic" consoles and only 1 Digital Edition.

On one hand I get that Sony is loosing more money with Digital Edition. But, what is even a point of that console if they are skewing production so hard towards classic console? Is it so they can brag about "lower price point?" I really don't get it.
Pretty much.

I think it was so they were as close as possible to the series s price point wise, at launch.

Who removes £100 for a disc drive 🤷‍♂️

I haven't seen the ps5 digital in stock in forever, but the standard ps5 is near constantly in stock (usually bundled with a game)
 
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Chukhopops

Member
Based on user reviews and assuming all the stock produced is sold to customers, it seems the production ratio of PS5s is around 80/20 for the Disc model.

I would guess it’s deliberate in order to sell a more profitable model.
 

midnightAI

Member
Brag? No, underestimate the number of people going digital only? maybe, prefer to sell the console that at least (reportedly) doesnt lose them money? definitely.

I also think they had to do it, I'm sure they knew what Microsoft was doing well in advance, but I certainly prefer Sony's method of doing the cheaper console (even though I own a Series S)

However, initially it was the disc version that was selling the best so I think for early adoption the split was probably about right.
 
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I bought a digital version because it was the only one I could get at the time.

This was over a year ago when it was still very difficult to get one at all in Britain or Europe in general.

Personally, I'd rather have the disc drive as it's always better to have more choice/options and not being able to take advantage of second hand games is a bit annoying... especially when AAA exclusives are £70 on the ps store.
 
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SLB1904

Banned


scarfflat,800x-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Pretty much.

I think it was so they were as close as possible to the series s price point wise, at launch.

Who removes £100 for a disc drive 🤷‍♂️

I haven't seen the ps5 digital in stock in forever, but the standard ps5 is near constantly in stock (usually bundled with a game)
What's funny is its always a disc drive model with a digital code foe a sony game lmao.

They could save their customers so much money if it was digital plus digital lol guess that doesn't work though.
 

reksveks

Member
They’re de-emphasizing it because even with the disc model, more and more people are buying digital. So no need to take the loss on the digital model.
It's largely this, there is no point in making alot of the digital edition if you are able to have your cake and eat it to.

I also think it does raise the question about the price of this 'slim' model.


Interestingly 2/5 of the digital links is actually oos, another 2 are like extremely unappealing bundles, argos is a pain to determine actually figure out cause its obviously based on location.

Y2IheNk.jpg


We probably do require more data re the splits other than Japan.
 

Tams

Gold Member
I decided that it is time to buy a PlayStation 5. But since it won't be my primary platform and I will mainly use it to play PlayStation exclusives through PlayStation Plus Extra, I thought it will be waste of my 100€ to buy classic edition of console, so I picked Digital Edition as my ideal choice. FYI, I'm living in a country where PS5 are starting to appear in stores and are available.

But that's for "classic" console. Not for Digital Edition. There are few stores that have PlayStation 5, but non that have Digital Edition. I even asked a guys in stores about Digital Edition and they told me that Sony is sending PlayStation 5 consoles in 20:1 ratio - so 20 "Classic" consoles and only 1 Digital Edition.

On one hand I get that Sony is loosing more money with Digital Edition. But, what is even a point of that console if they are skewing production so hard towards classic console? Is it so they can brag about "lower price point?" I really don't get it.

Any proof that they've been bragging about it? And no, just advertising the price isn't bragging.

Really, it's there because not everyone wants a disc drive, and we live in an age where thatcs perfectly fine.
 

SLB1904

Banned
It's largely this, there is no point in making alot of the digital edition if you are able to have your cake and eat it to.

I also think it does raise the question about the price of this 'slim' model.


Interestingly 2/5 of the digital links is actually oos, another 2 are like extremely unappealing bundles, argos is a pain to determine actually figure out cause its obviously based on location.

Y2IheNk.jpg


We probably do require more data re the splits other than Japan.
My point is digital is in stock regularly. It just sells out as quick as the disc version.
You could make the same thread for the disc version as well
 

reksveks

Member
My point is digital is in stock regularly. It just sells out as quick as the disc version.
You could make the same thread for the disc version as well
Not sure, we have the data to say anything conclusive. Think the question raised by the OP was the amount of stock dropped and not the frequency of the stock drops.

The disc editions has been in stock on PS Direct for a while.
 
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SLB1904

Banned
Not sure, we have the data to say anything conclusive. Think the question raised by the OP was the amount of stock dropped and not the frequency of the stock drops.

The disc editions has been stock on PS Direct for a while.
I'm just talking by experience. When I was looking to buy my second ps5. I could find digital but no disc version. And the date we have is the stock for disc version os higher. We know isn't 50/50.
Anyway this thread is tinfoil hat territory
 

anthony2690

Banned
What's funny is its always a disc drive model with a digital code foe a sony game lmao.

They could save their customers so much money if it was digital plus digital lol guess that doesn't work though.
The cheap bastards charge you for the bundled games too 🤷‍♂️

I remember when a game being bundled was usually a freebie haha.

Like when I got my Xbox 360 elite with mass effect 2 :)

I'm still salty I was forced to buy Myles Morales when I had my console briefly. 😔
 

Exede

Member
I have a digital one.... just because i hit order lightning fast when it was available 2 years ago.... then i realized shit no drive but i couldnt cancel and when the packet arrived i sayed screw it im digital now. Im old and have patients to wait for PSN sales for games ^^ this 80€s a game thing sux, so sales or im not playing the game. I kinda miss the drive though
 

DeepSpace5D

Member
I picked up a digital edition PS5 as a second one for the living room about 8 months ago.

Was relatively easy to get from the PlayStation Direct website.
 

ZehDon

Member
I figured it was an experiment. With most of the population going digital, it might be a value proposition for them to save a few bucks and not get a disc drive. Makes sense, really. I'm not sure on the split, however, it seems for one reason or another, it appears Sony didn't get the results they wanted, and aren't producing a lot of them.
 

anthony2690

Banned
Have a look at the date of delivery,

6ddnLaZ.jpg


I am not sure what's happening exactly. Maybe trying to boost black friday week numbers by enabling pre-orders to estimated inventory.
I think they put that for safety, last time I ordered something saying that, I got it a day later. (My ps5 with Myles Morales launch year)

Same with my work mate who ordered a series X last year :)

I think they do it to cover themselves for when they run out of stock, so first come first serve for the batches.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
PS5 Digital Edition is a trap. They can offer it at lower price because once you buy it you're limited to PlayStation store. And prices there can be ridiculous compared to disc games. Not to mention used games.

It's a cheap option that is substantially more expensive than disc version. They know what they're doing.
 

reksveks

Member
I think they put that for safety, last time I ordered something saying that, I got it a day later. (My ps5 with Myles Morales launch year)

Same with my work mate who ordered a series X last year :)

I think they do it to cover themselves for when they run out of stock, so first come first serve for the batches.
Yeah, that's another possibility.

Sadly, no way to tell. Wish NPD or GSD was able to give us the split but ehh. Not too interesting a topic personally.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Pretty much.

I think it was so they were as close as possible to the series s price point wise, at launch.

Who removes £100 for a disc drive 🤷‍♂️

I haven't seen the ps5 digital in stock in forever, but the standard ps5 is near constantly in stock (usually bundled with a game)

The £100 isn't to cover the cost of a disc drive. It's a cheap price point on the hardware because one you're in, you're in, you're locked into their pricing scheme and have zero choice as to where you buy your Playstation games from.]

But, as someone said above, something like half the players are buying all digital now on consoles anyway. So there's VERY little disadvantage to owning a disc model if you're a digital buyer anyway. Few extra bucks for someone who is consistently buying games at maximum RRP isn't going to be an issue and they can also play 4K movie discs which are always better than streaming.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
I've never seen the DE. Well, I've never seen a PS5 in a store at all I suppose. Everyone I know who has a PS5 has the disc version.
 
As long as Sony is still relying on various shops to sell their units, those stores probably want to sell the disc version, since they want to sell discs. If Sony sold everything already on Direct, which hasn't launched in many countries at all, the numbers might be different.
I think the rumored attachable drive for the revised system, might swap the focus and then shops might drop PS5 game sales like they already did with most PC games. Maybe not this gen though, but sort of soonish.
 
Digital edition makes them more money over time, every game purchased has to be through the PSN store so they get the extra money that would have gone to a retailer for a physical copy. So NO they didn't make it to brag, this isn't an elementary school yard lol they made it as a machine that will lose more money up front but make them more money long term than a standard model would. They are making more standard models than digital models, I have the digital model personally and it's what I wanted anyway so I'm fine with it. When I pre-ordered my console that night they went live I was like 8th in line and all of the standard models they had for pre-order were taken up by people ahead of me, they had more digital pre order slots than physical that day.
 

ikbalCO

Member
Since they are nowhere to be found, yes.

I was searching for the digital edition back in last january and had to "settle" for a disc one.

Never have used the disc tray yet.
 

Rykan

Member
To call it to "brag" is kind of a strange way of putting it, but yes, the system was partly designed so that 399$ can be used in advertisements to work in its favor. The actual PS5's digital that are being produced are probably but a fraction of the regular PS5 amount, because the disk drive certainly doesn't cost 100$ to produce, so Sony makes a lot more money on a regular PS5 sale than a digital one.
 

tommib

Member
What's funny is its always a disc drive model with a digital code foe a sony game lmao.

They could save their customers so much money if it was digital plus digital lol guess that doesn't work though.
It does. There’s digital bundles everywhere. A co-worker just got the Ragnarok digital bundle. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
 
Is it so they can brag about "lower price point?" I really don't get it.
I think it makes sense for the retail store to carry more of the console that will enable them to sell discs.

I also find hilarious that the disc console usually comes bundled with a game: a voucher to download the game.
 

yazenov

Member
They are allocating stock based on demand. It seems that the market demand for the disk version exceeds the digital version, so they are producing more based on actual market research and actual orders from retailers. It's not a conspiracy.

I am certain that orders from the retailers are more for the disk versions since it's in their best interest to sell you boxed games. So they order the disk version of the PS5s rather than the disk less SKU. Its called business.
 

tommib

Member
PS5 Digital Edition is a trap. They can offer it at lower price because once you buy it you're limited to PlayStation store. And prices there can be ridiculous compared to disc games. Not to mention used games.

It's a cheap option that is substantially more expensive than disc version. They know what they're doing.
Same with the Series S then?
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
I don't know, I know a few that got the Digital PS5 because they couldn't get the Disc Version.
One is even gonna get a Disc Version to replace his Digital PS5 when he gets the chance because he has a bunch of PS4 games he can't use on it and is missing out on the free upgrades.
But he wanted one so he got it.
I don't think it's deliberate, more people want the Disc Version regardless of whether they buy new games digital or not and because they have a bunch of Disc PS4 games
I guess they see it as being the full version and not gimped.
So it's more sought-after.
 

yazenov

Member
I think it makes sense for the retail store to carry more of the console that will enable them to sell discs.

I also find hilarious that the disc console usually comes bundled with a game: a voucher to download the game.

Yeah, retailers need that 30% cut from those boxed game sales.

Why should they order the digital version where there is little profit to be gained?
 
I decided that it is time to buy a PlayStation 5. But since it won't be my primary platform and I will mainly use it to play PlayStation exclusives through PlayStation Plus Extra, I thought it will be waste of my 100€ to buy classic edition of console, so I picked Digital Edition as my ideal choice. FYI, I'm living in a country where PS5 are starting to appear in stores and are available.

But that's for "classic" console. Not for Digital Edition. There are few stores that have PlayStation 5, but non that have Digital Edition. I even asked a guys in stores about Digital Edition and they told me that Sony is sending PlayStation 5 consoles in 20:1 ratio - so 20 "Classic" consoles and only 1 Digital Edition.

On one hand I get that Sony is loosing more money with Digital Edition. But, what is even a point of that console if they are skewing production so hard towards classic console? Is it so they can brag about "lower price point?" I really don't get it.

Also see our next headline:
Did MS try to aquire Activision just to cry about how bad they are at game development compared to sony in the investigation by the EU-Commison?!
 

feynoob

Banned
Ps5d is there to match up xss. But stock wise, ps5 normal is big, due to disc's.
The issue is that ps4 had disc's, and since the console supports ps4 games, majority of people would want disc based ps5.
Xss on other hand is different. Majority of Xbox users are digital users. So it makes sense for mS to print out more.

Tldr: ps4 disc games makes it hard for Sony to print out more ps5d stocks, compared to the rate of xss.
 

skit_data

Member
Or…just maybe… they’re selling out the SKU that they take a smaller/no loss on and see no reason to change the ratio between the two.

But don’t worry, all PS5s will be digital with an optional drive next year if that info is correct.
 

Saber

Gold Member
I don't think so. They probably make it because a bunch of people keep spouting about being "full digital" everytime. Selling them a digital only version was a smart choice imo.
 
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No. They made it because the number of people buying physical games is falling rapidly, and making a PS5 without an optical drive is cheaper, which means it can also retail for less.
Yes I think the PS5 digital is a test run. Fully expect PS6 to drop the blueray entirely.
 
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