Gaming seems predestined for a completely digital futureBut even though the vast majority of gamers buy games digitally, they still seem to choose consoles with disc drives over consoles without disc drives. According to recent data on the current state of the console race, the all-digital PlayStation 5s appear to be the least popular hardware of this generation.
On Wednesday, market research firm Circana released a sales breakdown between regular PS5s and PS5s without disc drives, as well as the Xbox Series Managing Director Mat Piscatella wrote on Bluesky. “40% of total PlayStation 5 hardware unit sales in September came from PS5 digital consoles. Digital consoles now account for 18% of all PS5 hardware sales to date.”
The last PS5 sales figures reported by Sony in August showed that a total of 61.7 million units were sold. That means about 50.6 million of those were disc-enabled models and only 11.1 million were fully digital. Microsoft does not publish official Xbox sales figures, but rather company data Aldora Intelligence told The Wall Street Journal Last month, an estimated 28.3 million Xbox Series consoles were sold. Using Circana’s percentages, that comes to about 13.9 million fully digital Series S consoles and 14.4 million Series consoles
Why is that exactly? One reason could be that the PS5, which is only available digitally, started at $400 and was actually priced, unlike the Series S, which normally costs just $300 and is often on sale for significantly less Increase to $450 when the new Slim model replaced the Launch Edition. The console is even more expensive in Japan, where Sony recently increased the price again. The optical drive, sold separately, costs $80, making it more expensive than the $500 PS5 with the drive already installed for anyone who decides to upgrade later.
Another reason could be that while most gamers buy games digitally, many of them still physically own older PS4 generation games or want the ability to use their PS5 to watch Blu-rays. Even if they never actually insert a CD into their console, the habit of doing so in the past might lead gamers to opt for consoles with CD drives, at least for now. It’s also worth noting that certain games, particularly first-party blockbusters from Sony, are liked God of war Ragnaröksold more copies physically as digital.
Perhaps this proves that even if gamers continue to opt for the convenience of digital downloads, they are keeping the dream of physical gaming alive by continuing to opt for consoles with disc drives. Based on the numbers above, all-digital PS5s and Series S together account for just 27 percent of the current high-end console install base, and we’re already nearing the end of the four-year mark of this generation. On the other hand, the data may just be a lagging indicator, indicating a final flare-up of old gaming habits rather than lasting preferences. That is certainly the story The gaming department at your local big box store would tell you.
There are already fears that both Sony and Microsoft could move to fully digital consoles only option sometime in the future. Some analysts have predicted that Microsoft will make this leap with its next console, while Sony will have to wait another generation for it. Physical games now account for an ever-shrinking market share, but tens of millions of copies are still sold every year. As long as there are at least some some die-hard fans If console makers buy them, they may have an incentive to continue offering disc drive options.
