It’s been almost exactly a year now since the release of the PS5 and while both iterations of the console have been harder to get than rocking horse poop, I think it would be fair to say that the disc version has been notably more popular with consumers than the digital release. – With the market in recent years taking a significant trend towards digital downloads, however, following a report via GamesIndustry, PS5 game sales figures have given us something perhaps moderately surprising. Namely, that physical copies of titles have been outselling digital on a scale of 3:2.
PS5 – Physical Media Outsells Digital!
Although the figures do tend to vary depending on the title, by and large, we have seen a definite trend in recent years for digital versions of games to outsell their physical counterparts. Just merely, for example, I believe the last figures for COD Vanguard showed that digital downloads represented around 60% of the total sales. – Based on the figures provided here, however, it seems very clear that physical media is still very much alive as, for the PS5, it currently represents the greater portion of sales.
Now, admittedly, a 3:2 ratio isn’t huge. Let’s be honest though, considering that the digital version of the PS5 has (almost certainly) been easier to get hold of, you wouldn’t have been surprised to see downloads leading the race. Or, at the very least, they’d be on par with the physical!
What Do We Think?
There are still clearly major question marks as to how long physical ‘boxed’ sales will continue in the modern world of gaming. While it is certainly a somewhat nostalgic aspect of PC gaming, that platform is, roughly speaking, probably over 99% fully-digital now. – Consoles, however, do have the notable advantage of seeing physical as being the more preferable format. Most notably in the basic fact that you can both buy and sell second-hand games. – Remember though, these figures do not include those sales. This is simply based on ‘new’ purchases which, again, perhaps makes the fact that physical is in the lead so surprising.
Well, either that or the PS5 Digital isn’t doing anywhere near as well as the disc-based system. I mean, I didn’t want the disc version, and I daresay most of you reading this didn’t or don’t either!
What do you think? -Let us know in the comments!
