Earlier at this time, Sony unveiled the $699.99 PlayStation 5 Professional — a mid-generation improve mannequin for the PlayStation 5 that requires a separate $79.99 disc drive if you wish to play your bodily video games. As The Verge’s Jay Peters writes, the announcement “might have marked the start of the tip for recreation console disc drives.” From the report: Microsoft is clearly eyeing the discless route with Xbox as nicely. The extra reasonably priced Xbox Sequence S cannot play discs, and there is a discless Sequence X in white that is set to launch later this yr. Final yr’s big Xbox leak revealed a cylindrical, “adorably all digital” Xbox Sequence X redesign too. That hasn’t been introduced as an official product, however it reveals a disc-free future is on Microsoft’s thoughts. It appears doubtless that Sony and Microsoft are testing the waters for going all-digital for the PlayStation 6 and the following technology Xbox — or at the least providing disc drives individually. It is like Apple eradicating the disc drive once more.
However this time it is not simply the individuals making the units. Retailers are stepping again from bodily media, too. Redbox is toast. Greatest Purchase mentioned final yr that it will cease carrying bodily films, and Goal just lately confirmed that it will be all however ditching DVDs in its bodily shops. I do know films aren’t video video games, however it does not seem to be a giant leap that brick-and-mortar shops would possibly cease carrying bodily video video games down the road; UK retailer GAME has already ended online game trade-ins.
