From an opinion piece on GamesIndustry.biz concerning the lately launched PS5 Professional that went on sale this week: What I might argue is definitely extra fascinating about PS5 Professional in a wider perspective is not what Sony has achieved to the chips within the system — it is what they’ve chosen to not embrace, and what it tells us concerning the decision-making course of that is seemingly occurring for the corporate’s future {hardware}. PS5 Professional would not have a disc drive. Anybody who needs to play disc-based video games on the system might want to purchase one of many add-on drives Sony began promoting when the PS5 Slim mannequin was launched, including additional to the price of the already very costly system.
So as to add insult to damage, Sony would not appear to have made any effort in any respect to make sure that these drives are literally well-stocked for the launch of the Professional. I can solely converse on to the scenario in Japan, the place they have been out of inventory at most main retailers for months and even second-hand models are being offered at three to 4 occasions SRP by scalpers. However asking round means that the scenario is not significantly better in different areas. That is a really tough welcome to PS5 Professional possession for anybody upgrading who has a set of video games on disc.
It is doable, after all, that Sony excluded the drive just because its price would push the Professional’s price ticket even larger. Nevertheless, the incongruity of Sony’s “Professional” console missing the essential capability to play the video games Sony sells at retailers all all over the world is putting, and it is tough to see the choice to simply accept that incongruity — and the inconvenience it could inevitably trigger for purchasers — as something aside from strategic.
Digital gross sales make up an even bigger and larger portion of the trade’s revenues yearly, however bodily sport gross sales are nonetheless a really huge deal — and bodily video games are merchandise that fall exterior the management of publishers and platform holders in a means that they’ve discovered more and more irritating lately. Individuals who purchase bodily video games can promote them second-hand or lend them to their pals, retailers with bodily video games in inventory can low cost them or embrace them in bundles as they see match.