It feels like I’m playing a game Destined for a fully digital futureBut even though players overwhelmingly purchase games digitally, they still appear to choose consoles with disk drives over consoles without them. According to recent data on the current state of console competition, the digital-only PlayStation 5 appears to be the least popular hardware of this generation.
On Wednesday, market research firm Circana released lifetime sales figures between the regular PS5, PS5 without disc drive, and Xbox Series X and S. “Xbox Series Mat Piscatella, industry analyst and Circana Managing Director Written for Bluesky. “Forty percent of all PlayStation 5 hardware sales in September came from the digital PS5 console. Digital consoles currently account for 18% of total PS5 hardware sales.”
Sony’s last reported PS5 sales figures for August showed a total of 61.7 million units sold. This means that approximately 50.6 million are disk-capable models and only 11.1 are all digital. Microsoft doesn’t release official numbers for Xbox sales, but data companies include: Aldora Intelligence said. wall street journal Last month, it was estimated that the Xbox Series Using Circana’s ratio, that works out to about 13.9 million fully digital Series S consoles and 14.4 million Series X consoles. By a narrow margin, both are still more widespread than the discless PS5.
Why exactly? One reason may be that, unlike the Series S, which typically costs just $300 and often sells for much less, the digital-only PS5 is actually priced starting at $400. Increased to $450 When the new slim model replaced the launch edition. The console is much more expensive in Japan, and Sony has recently increased prices even further. The optical drive, sold separately, costs $80, which is more expensive than the PS5 ($500) that already has a disc drive installed, for those who decide to upgrade later.
Another reason could be that despite most players buying games digitally, many still physically own older games from the PS4 generation or want the option to watch Blu-rays using the PS5 . Even if you don’t actually insert a disc into your console, past disc insertion habits may lead players to choose a console that has a disc drive, at least for now. It’s also worth noting that there are certain games, especially first-party Sony blockbusters, such as: god of war ragnarokSell more copies physically Better than digital.
Perhaps this proves that even as players continue to choose the convenience of digital downloads, they will continue to pursue their dreams of playing physical games by choosing consoles with disc drives. According to the numbers above, the all-digital PS5 and Series S combined represent just 27% of the current installed base of high-end consoles, and we’re already nearing the end of year four of this generation. If so, the data may be a lagging indicator of the last breath of old gaming habits rather than an ongoing preference. That’s definitely the story The gaming section of your local big box store will tell you..
There are already concerns that both Sony and Microsoft could transition to digital consoles. only Please select an option. Some analysts have predicted that Microsoft will make this leap with its next console, while Sony waits one more generation to do so. Meanwhile, physical games’ market share is shrinking, but they’re still selling tens of millions of copies every year. at least as long as it exists some big fans If you buy it there, console manufacturers will have an incentive to keep including a disk drive option.
