Why A PlayStation 5 With A Disc Drive Is The Best Model You Can Buy

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Of the PlayStation 5 lineup, the PS5 Digital Edition (Slim) is the cheapest at $599 because it doesn't include a disc drive. Buying digital is enticing — you get instant access to the game, so no need to wait days for it to be shipped to you. Furthermore, the PlayStation Store constantly has a sale going on, allowing you to snag great titles at discounted prices. You'd think there's no need for physical discs, especially when titles like "Assassin's Creed Shadows" and "Crimson Desert" require an internet connection to finish the installation anyway.

Yet physical is still king, and that's a good thing considering how much control these companies have over digital media. For $649, you can get the PS5 Disc Edition (Slim). If you own the slim Digital Edition, you can get the disc drive add-on for $79. While that added cost might seem like an unnecessary expense, especially with the recent PS5 price hike, that disc drive can more than offset the extra cost over the PS5's lifespan. You should also consider the issues that plague the PlayStation Network (PSN), such as license checks and outages. With discs, you're never left without games to play. Additionally, with Blu-ray making a comeback, you can even build an entirely different kind of collection separate from your games.

With the PS5 Digital Edition, your primary way of accessing games is PSN. With a disc drive, however, your options expand greatly. You're largely untethered from PSN, and you get the best of both worlds, especially when it comes to saving. Whether the sale is on the PlayStation Store, Amazon, or GameStop, you have more options to find the cheapest game.

It gets deeper, though. Did a friend just finish playing "007 First Light" or any other latest game? You can borrow it and save $70. Alternatively, you can find it on eBay or GameStop for less after people sell or trade in their copies after beating them. Physical copies typically continue to get cheaper as weeks go by, while digital versions take a little longer to go on sale. You can also sell the physical copy and channel those funds toward a new game. All these savings can add up over the years — the games help pay for themselves.

Since you're not solely dependent on PSN, you can avoid some of its quirks. These include a one-time license check for new digital games, losing access when PSN goes down, or your account getting hacked or suspended. Sony cannot stop you from playing the physical games you've bought (not even if your console is suspended), which is as close to true ownership as it comes.

One of the smartest decisions Sony ever made was including a Blu-ray player in its PlayStation consoles. It started with the PS3, which was the cheapest Blu-ray player when it was released in 2006. In 2010, it became capable of streaming Netflix through a native app, broadening the available passive entertainment options. These days, you can also stream Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV in 4K on your PS5. However, Blu-ray remains unbeatable at that fidelity.

Where 4K Blu-ray gets an edge is its higher bitrate (data transmission speed). It has a bitrate of up to 100 Mbps, while streaming averages between 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps. These numbers are why 4K Blu-ray will look better than 4K streaming — although the more discerning viewers will likely notice this more than the average person. You're also not reliant on an internet connection, meaning no interruptions, buffering, or quality dips when the internet becomes intermittent. So if you're a cinephile as well as a gamer, getting that disc drive means you don't need a dedicated Blu-ray player (more savings), considering the PS5 also supports Dolby Atmos.

With streaming, your favorite TV shows and movies can be removed from a service due to factors like cost-cutting and licensing issues. If you have them on Blu-ray, though, that's true ownership and control. When you own the discs, at no point can PlayStation, Netflix, Disney, or any of these media giants stop you from starting a collection, selling them, or borrowing from a friend.