When placed side by side, the PS5 versus Digital Edition looks identical, which is likely to deceive any novice buyer. It’s a difficult argument to analyze unless you are well-versed in both, but it’s crucial if you want to upgrade your system with a Sony next-gen release.
Yet there is much more to contrast between the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition’s external features, including something crucial like a disc drive, which one machine is missing. As its name implies, the PS5 Digital Edition is a completely digital system that does away with the disc drive to accommodate users who don’t buy physical media. Due to the built-in disc drive, the regular PS5 still supports physical media, which is something to keep in mind if you’re a player with a collection of physical media.
Price and availability details for the PS5 vs. PS5 Digital Edition
If you choose the regular PS5, which devours Blu-ray discs like they’re dessert, you will initially pay $499.99, £449.99, or AU$749.95. With identical specifications other than the removal of the disc drive, the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition costs $399.99, £359.99, or AU$599.95.
Yet, similar to the Oculus Quest 2, Sony has increased the price of the PS5, blaming the increase on the world’s increasing inflation rate. While there are no price rises in the USA, this has had an impact on prices in the UK, Europe, Australia, and other countries. The normal PS5 costs £479.99, €549.99, or AU$799.95 in those locations, while the digital edition costs £389.99, €449.99, or $649.95. Therefore, others contend that this is the worst moment to purchase a PS5.
The PS5 was released on November 12 in some regions and on November 19 in other regions. Both console versions are readily available everywhere. The decision to go completely digital would therefore result in a huge savings of $100 or £90. But, there are a few more things to take into account.
Specs of the PS5 vs. PS5 Digital Edition
This are all of the PS5’s official specifications, from from Sony, with changes for both models highlighted where applicable. Performance-wise, the two PS5 models are equivalent, which is a considerable improvement from the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, whose prices are vastly different.
They both employ the same custom processor and have an 825GB SSD; the main difference is that the more expensive PS5 console will contain an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive.
Ray tracing, or sophisticated lighting, which was previously only possible with the greatest graphics cards for PCs, is now possible on consoles. As a result, you can anticipate fancy reflections in the games you enjoy, such as those in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
No matter which PS5 edition you purchase, 3D audio is a significant feature as well. Immersive 3D audio is supported by the Tempest Engine, which multiplies sound sources by hundreds to provide realistic audio. Although a software upgrade did make 3D audio available through TV speakers as well, a headset would provide greater sound quality for this.
Many gamers won’t need 8K resolution on their 1080p TVs, but the PS5 can support it (with a firmware update). More of a mystery is whether all games will run natively at 8K, as we presume that only the least graphically demanding games will. The only game (The Touryst) that supports 8K at the moment can only output 4K.
Games for PS5 vs. PS5 Digital Edition
This is the simple part. The PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition play the identical PS5 games in exactly the same way, save from the fact that one can play games from discs and the other only through the console’s internal storage system. You can play 4K games at high refresh rates on both the PS5 and its digital-only version thanks to their same internal specifications, so don’t anticipate any gameplay variations.
Sony has some fantastic exclusive games planned for both consoles. Big titles like The Last of Us Part 1, Gran Turismo 7, God of War: Ragnarok, the remake of Demon’s Souls, and others are presently playable. That’s before taking into account games from third parties like Resident Evil 8: Village and Cyberpunk 2077. There are also upcoming games like Final Fantasy 16.
The backward compatibility front is where things start to become a little murkier. The PS4 digital edition of the console can play PS4 games, but obviously not your disc-based collection already in existence. You’ll need to buy them digitally once more.
Conclusion
We can’t really decide for you on financial problems, in all honesty. Yet, if you’re a serious player who lacks the funds to upgrade to the top-tier PS5, by all means, get the digital console. On that entry-level device, too, new-generation gaming will still be a treat, and it’s fantastic that performance is consistent between the two.
Nonetheless, our hunch is still that, if you can afford it, you should get the conventional, disc-based PS5 console. With this, you may enjoy watching 4K Blu-rays (they look better than 4K Netflix streams, I promise! ), as well as potentially save money over time by trading disc-based games with your pals and at second-hand stores.
