// ENGADGET — GAMING
4 drawbacks you should know before buying a PlayStation 5
Now isn't the best time to buy a PS5, so know what you're in for first.
There's arguably never been a worse time to be a PlayStation fan or buy a PS5, with systems more than half a decade old costing more now than they did at release. RAMageddon is screwing tech fans worldwide, and Sony seems dead-set on burning the goodwill it's built up. We're at a particularly bad point to invest in a game console.
While both the PS5 and upgraded PS5 Pro are great systems, neither represents decent value for money right now — especially when we don't have any idea when a PlayStation 6 is going to launch.
Sony won't put games on discs starting in 2028, which means when the PS6 eventually comes out, it won't support physical games. Sony is seemingly doubling down on killing disc-based media going forward, per FlatpanelsHD's reporting that the UBP-X700/K will be the last 4K Blu-ray player the company manufactures.
So as of 2028, Sony will end the PlayStation's legacy as a true media hub. That's frustrating given how many past consoles made strides in this area. The PS2's DVD playback was a huge part of its enormous popularity, while the PS3 was one of the most affordable Blu-ray players of its time. I stood in line to buy a PS2 on November 24, 2000 not just to play EA's snowboarding classic SSX, but also because that system let me play my brand-new DVD copy of Jurassic Park for the first time. Discovering chapter skip and DVD extras on what's still my favorite film of all time was an awesome moment.
That will all be gone soon. GTA VI will just be a code in a box if you buy the "physical" version, for example. Soon, there won't be an option to loan games to friends or take advantage of in-store sales.
I take a share of the blame for the switch to digital. During this generation, the only PS5 games I've bought on disc, out of my 36-title PS5 library, are Demon's Souls, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarök and Saros. That means I've purchased a mere 11 percent of my PlayStation 5 games physically over the six years I've owned the console, which feels wrong as a self-proclaimed defender of physical media.
Not only are the two launch models, supercharged Pro and svelte PS5 Slim not cheap, all four machines are significantly more expensive than when they first launched. In past generations, consoles have gotten cheaper the longer they're on the market. But in the era of extreme RAM shortages, where Sony is forced to hike up hardware costs because memory and SSD prices have never been more expensive, gamers' wallets are being hit hard.
When the original disc drive PlayStation 5 and cheaper Digital Edition launched in North America on November 12, 2020, their respective $499 and $399 price tags were pretty reasonable — especially considering the PS4's $400 launch price and the PS3's infamous $599 from 14 years prior.
Want to pick up either the disc drive PS5 or discless version now? It will cost you $649 for the disc-equipped system, or $599 if you don't care about physical games. That means the PS5 is now 30 percent (disc) and 50 percent (digital) more expensive than in 2020. Ouch. At least the disc model has 1TB of storage compared to 825GB at launch, though the Digital Slim has dropped to the lower storage amount again.